Hi I’ve been feeling a very proud mummy as my son has mastered riding a bike with stabilisers but for longer rides we have been thinking of getting a tag along. We did speak to another Dad who said that it can be bad for the childs back due to balancing and it was better to get a balance bike. So who has used a tag along and what are your experiences and is a balance bike a waste of money?

sorry but it sounds to me that the other dad is talking rubbish. The balance bike is great but should be used instead of stabilisers – intorduce the nipper to cycling on a balance bike then he gets used to the idea of scooting and travelling on two wheels, then add pedals.

as for tagalongs, I used a trailgator for my nephew which in effect turns his regular bike into a taglong, with the advantage that you can take them off when you reach a park so they can play, then hook them back up for the return trip.

I bought a cheap one when my little ‘un was small, because I was unsure if we’d use it much, she’d like it etc. etc.Can safely say it was the best 90 quids worth of cycling accessory I ever bought, (told you it was cheap!)

Can’t imagine why it’d be bad for a child’s back, and there’s no functional overlap between a tag-a-long and a balance bike, so you’ll be needing both.

(edit, wot he said, just a bit quicker!)

Tag alongs = control freak parents.
Balance bikes = kids with a sense of freedom

Sorry for the trollage. Just pointing out how they dont really serve the same purpose, balance bikes are far better for shorter range stuff, trailgators/tag alongs for longer rides.
The real advantage for tag alongs are the ability for the kids to stop pedalling and rest while on the move.

(edit. What they said!)

Little voice from behind you laughing and telling you to go faster is brilliant.

oh, and possibly the best place to go riding with a tag-a-long is Llandegla red.

Tag-alongs are great as are balance bikes. You should probably buy both.

Get one if for no other reason you enter the Big Bike Bash tag along race!

They are great for kids my son got so much more confidence and road awareness from being on his I am sure its helped him now he rides a 24″ wheeled mountain bike.

Big kids can have fun on them too

nbt – Member
sorry but it sounds to me that the other dad is talking rubbish. The balance bike is great but should be used instead of stabilisers – intorduce the nipper to cycling on a balance bike then he gets used to the idea of scooting and travelling on two wheels, then add pedals.

as for tagalongs, I used a trailgator for my nephew which in effect turns his regular bike into a taglong, with the advantage that you can take them off when you reach a park so they can play, then hook them back up for the return trip.

Exactly my experience. Balance bike – pedal bike (connected by tail gator for longer just-get-there rides) – proper geared bike.

Kev

Load of rubbish. What you need is a kiddyback tandem 8) . When did you last see 40mph on a tagalong? Son1 completed London-Oxford aged six on our Dawes Twocan.

For tagalongs, go for one that mounts to a rack if you can, handling is much better – we used a Burley piccolo, mounted to the tandem to make a triplet. Hills were, however, seldom a thing of beauty. Too slow up, and ridiculously fast down! Have now sold the tagalong, and the tandem may be next as we can now move to an adult MTB tandem.

mrlugz jr #2 learned on a balance bike when he was just under 18 months old. Never had stabilisers and is now riding a 16″ islabike unaided.

Cannot recommend them as a way to learn highly enough.

Tried him on a trailgator, didnt like being fastened in so he flopped his bike side to side until the thing broke.

TBH I much prefer to have him where I can see him when out and about.

Balance bikes are great for ’em to learn on but a tag-a-long gets ’em out on longer rides. Our original one got a lot of use & we changed it for another with gears which helped Jr work out what to use & when – it also meant he didn’t just stop pedalling when going uphill 🙂

Sold it on fleabay a few weeks back & since then 3 or 4 friends/neighbours have asked to borrow it during the holidays.

the other option is a trailgator so little un can ride a bit and then get towed but they are a lot less stable (think depends on the bike being towed) Mirror useful to check if feet aren’t on handlebars
oldest fell asleep once so beware – otherwise great fun youngest loved it and we used to go out a couple of times a week

ability for the kids to stop pedalling and rest while on the move

Don’t think my daughter has ever started pedaling judging by the all to regular comment “She’s not pedaling” from people we meet along the trails 😉

Love our Trek tag-a-long and we’ve enjoyed many countryside adventures with ours and I’ll always cherish those rides. For my kids learning to ride was seperate to the getting of a tag-a-long…buying one was just a great way for our kids to explore the country with us.

Agree with what nbt and others have said re: balance bikes and trailgators.

Never used a tagalong but hae had so much success with trailgator and seems so much more versatile and better opportunities with the kids that I’d not consider a tag’ now.

Stability and durability issues with trailgators seem to be fitting related. Make sure you do up the bracket on the kid’s HT tight.

Just used our trailgator for the first time with my 4 year old on his Islabike Cnoc 24. If we’re only going a couple of miles he is fine to ride on his own, further than that and he might run out of steam. The trailgator is great because the tow-bar bit is telescopic and can clip to your seat stay when not needed. So little’un can pedal until he is knackered then I can tow him 🙂 First ride got off to a bit of a false start as I hadn’t tightened the bolts enough that fix the bracket to the headtube of the Islabike. That meant it was leaning over when towed. Once tightened all was well though and we did about 4 miles in “tow” mode. Will do longer next time, it’s great!

Would it be ridiculous to put a balance bike on a trailgator thing? I see that no pedals might mean an uncomfortable ride, just wondering if anyone has tried it.

My lad is good on the balance bike but not ready for a pedal bike yet – be great to be able to go on longer (and hillier) rides.

I think it would be a bit dangerous to put a balance bike on a trailgator. The childs feet would be permanently hovering!

^ what he said. Go for a child seat on your bike for longer rides – only just stopped using ours and as I said above our lad is 4 now. Heavy but manageable (good hill training!)

Don’t fit any kiddy-drag-along device to a lightweight seatpost. SNAP…. Any normal, strong, post will be fine – just not a racey superlight jobbie.

The tailgators are a great idea as it allows a combination of freedom and dragging.

GB