I’ve been toying with the idea of a Towwhee to give my 6 year old a boost on the longer climbs. However 40 quid for a tow ropes
seems a little rich.

Came across these: Silverline Tools 425492 2 Ton Elasticated Tow Rope, Blue https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0757472WF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dmhpDbB1T2DHP
Which, apart from the connections (I’ve got a few quick draws that I can use) seem to do pretty much the same job. Anyone used one of these as an alternative?

Yep, except mine’s a slightly different design, and yellow.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F123770057726

Swapped the heavy steel hooks for a couple of screwgate karabiners.

Kids love it, works great.

I have a towhee, it works really well with just the right amount of stretch to take out any yo-yo effect between the tower and towee

I have made my own Towwhee style towing rope with 25mm tubular climbing tape and 6mm shock cord.

The 6mm has the best stretch to strength ratio, but this is actually irrelevant as the way it is assembled (tied!) the tape takes the strain before the shock cord reaches it’s elastic limit.

Works well with no bungee effect on my 5yo and 8yo.

2 tonne towrope?! How heavy is your 6 year old! 😮

Been looking at these so I’ll check out the cheaper options.

Last weekend out with my 6 yr old on a local trial and a guy came by doing 10-15mph towing his young lad with a solid rope….you can guess the rest he swerved round some walkers and pulled the bars straight out the poor kids hands. Really felt for the kid and once he had calmed down and brushed him off they carried on without the rope.

Not much to add but we have the towwhee and its excellent . will be getting used at Glentress Tomorrow

Having towed Hoppy jr around today you may be better served by a boat.

I did the same as TroutWrestler. Total cost was £6. The kid loves it.

Edited to make images work

Sweet! Cheers guys! So, for a non climber, tubular climbing tape = non stretchy ‘o’ section webbing type stuff?

And shock cord = bungee, basically?
Thread shock cord inside climbing tape, then just fold the ends and stitch together? (And stitch a loop in the climbing tape?)

Are people mainly using these for helping on climbs? Holiday in a few weeks time. We’re staying a good few miles from beach. I reckon we could probably make a one way trip under own power, but return leg might be stretching it a bit. As its all on cycle path wondering if I could drag my son/wife back (depending on who is moaning most).

Long climbs when little dude is a bit knackered is all I want it for. My wife is a grown woman. She can look after herself.

You got it Submarined. This is the stuff I bought:

5ish metres of 26mm Tubular tape
https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15913772/mammut-tubular-polyamide-webbing-26mm-sold-by-the-metre-15913772

5 metres of 5mm shock cord
https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15899627/vango-shock-cord-5mm-15899627

Run 2 lengths of ~2m shock cord through the tape (the ends of the shock cord is about 40cm from each end of the tape). Make sure the tape (minus spare for loops) is shorter than the fully stretched shock cord so the tape takes the load at full stretch. Stitch through the whole lot about 40cm from the end of the tape at both ends (leaves enough to form the loops). Then fold the ends over to make loops and stitch. It’s about 2.5m sprung and 4m stretched.

MrPotatohead – We use ours on hills she can’t get up and also if she gets tired and just wants a tow for a while. I have used it to tow my wife as well when she couldn’t be arsed to ride up the last hill home!. It works great. I wrap it around her steerer just above the head tube using a larks foot then hook the other loop over my saddle nose. Takes seconds to set up and is very stable.

Top banana. Exactly what I needed! Really appreciate it. 🙂
Will head off on a mission.
Thanks again!

@johnm81 thanks so much for posting the instructions to make the bungee towing thing up, and the picture. I’ve been reading all the different threads on Singletrack about towing people up hills and this is the best thing by far. Can’t wait to try it out with my 5 year old, as others have said he’s a bit little for very long draggy climbs so this will make lots more fun happen for sure. Just have one question…does it matter much what kind of thread you use to do the stitching? Cheers!

Being too lazy to learn sewing, I spunked a total of £15 on a tow rope and some loop straps:
– https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0757472WF
– https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07F7Y4RN7
Only given them some basic use but they seem fine. Added bonus of several useful straps 🙂

I made my own the same as JonM81. It’s great. Cost me about £15 in those materials and I took it to a local sewing lady who has done a great job.

The only improvement I have after comparing with a friend’s towwhee is to use a lighter outer sheath. Another friend (check me) had some sheath from an extendable hose pipe, like this:

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/go4-home-expandable-garden-hose-pipe-552770111

I haven’t been able to find any without the whole hose pipe, but at £8 it’s still as cheap as the climbing tape and indeed you could make / sell the material for plenty more, and / or get a free hose pipe! It’s almost tempting to make a few more…

£15 in parts? £10 in labour from your sewing lady, bit of markup.

£40 for a towhee seems pretty reasonable…

On a slight tangent, I have a Towhee I hadn’t used for ages, as my 9yo has turned into a bit of a mountain goat and just disappears off as soon as the trail points upwards.

This weekend I thought I’d try it out with my 4yo as he’s now riding solo. All was fine and dandy until I noticed he was riding beside me whilst simultaneously heading either side of a 4ft post. Cue hilariously grabbed brakes and disaster was just about averted.

Set of again and I could immediately feel his tyre buzzing mine. I put a half a turn on the pedals to give a bit of distance and some how managed to pull the bike from under him.

I think I’ll leave it a bit, until he’s a bit older and his dad’s a bit less of an idiot.

That’s part of the reason I just prefer a bit of string/light rope Halbmastsicherungswurfed around the stems of the bikes… if either you or the kid relaxed your hand grip the rope falls to the ground and the connection is instantly broken.

Unlike using a crab or a clip to attach it irrevocably.

( the other reason being that the rope solution costs about a quid)