Can I tag-along? A guide to riding with your child on a tag-along bike
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A tag-along is an ideal way to take your child riding, effectively converting your bike into a tandem...
Tag-along convert Robyn Deed offers comprehensive advice for tag-along wannabes, compiled with assistance from Ivanhoe Cycles' Greg Griffiths
Is a tag-along safe? How much will it cost? What's it like to ride with one attached? How old should my child be to ride in one? These are just some of the questions that I had when first buying a tag-along. You can get advice from your local bike shop, and I'd definitely recommend that, but it's also good to be prepared with a bit of knowledge before you head to the shop.
This guide to riding with a tag-along is based on information from Greg Griffiths of Melbourne's Ivanhoe Cycles, along with my own and other tag-alongers' experiences. Some of it's a matter of opinion but it should help you to work out the questions to ask.
What's it like to ride with a tag-along attached?
What are some of the available brands and prices?
Is a steel or alloy frame better?
Do I need gears on my tag-along?
Do I need a folding tag-along?
Do I need to purchase any other equipment?
How does the tag-along attach to the adult's bike?
Can the tag-along be used with more than one adult bike?
What's the life-span of a tag-along?
General recommendations for purchase
What is a tag-along?
A tag-along is a single-wheeled bike for young children that attaches to the seat-post of an adult bike. It's like converting your bike to a tandem, allowing your child to ride with you while attached to your bike. You may have seen a few of them around, and, as is often the way, once you have seen one you'll start noticing many more!
Is my child old enough for a tag-along?
Greg Griffiths notes that it's not so much about age but whether the child is developmentally ready to ride a tag-along. Children need to be sensible enough to stay on the bike when riding and when stopped, and to follow your instructions. Greg says, 'you don't want them to get excited when they see a dog running by and jump off to chase it.' When the kids are getting off the tag-along, you'll want to be sure that they'll follow your instruction to head to the footpath. They're pretty likely to be ready by five years of age, but some children may be ready earlier or later.
Your child also needs to fit a tag-along, just as with a two-wheeler. They need to be able to reach the pedals and handlebars comfortably. All tag-alongs enable the seat height to be adjusted; some also allow for handlebar height adjustment.
Take your child and your bike with you when going to purchase a tag-along. The bike shop should permit a test ride to help you decide.
We got a Trail-A-Bike alloy tag-along for our child, Ben, just after his fifth birthday. At that stage he was just big enough to reach the pedals with the seat at its lowest point. I was surprised at how readily he took to it. He loved riding it from the moment we got it and the only problem is that occasionally he decides to try and steer by pulling the handlebars to one side - somewhat destabilising for the adult up front!
Is my child too big for a tag-along?
Tag-alongs have weight limits that should be observed because, for obvious reasons, you should not stress the attachment mechanism beyond its capability. Our Trail-A-Bike tag-along has a weight limit of 36 kg.
What's it like to ride with a tag-along attached?
I'd already done some riding with Ben in a bike seat on the back of my bike before we tried the tag-along. I found the tag-along easier in some ways and harder in others. A tag-along makes it easier to get the child on and off the bike, and it's easier to hold the bike steady when stationary.
Because of the nature of the attachment mechanism, the tag-along can rock to one side or the other as you're riding along, which may make you feel as though you're going to lose balance. It took a couple of weeks until I felt fully comfortable - I'm not sure whether that's because I built up leg strength to help keep balanced, or whether, just like learning to balance when riding a bike for the first time, it takes time to get the 'feel'. Greg Griffiths observed that the rocking is more disconcerting than dangerous.
I now feel pretty comfortable riding with the tag-along. The only problem is that when Ben decides to try and steer, he pulls the tag-along sharply to one side or the other. We haven't had an accident but it does feel possible. I got rid of my clipless pedals and swapped to a set of large-based Kona pedals because I didn't want to run the risk of getting stuck in cleats if I had to stop suddenly.
Is a tag-along safe?
Like all parents, this is the question that most concerned me when I considered purchasing a tag-along.
The assessment of risk depends on the individual. For us, the benefits outweigh the risks. Ben loves riding on the tag-along and it's great to be able to enjoy riding together. We're all getting fitter and hopefully we're setting down good patterns for Ben in terms of living an active lifestyle. We try to minimise the risks through careful choice of route and riding carefully.
Riding with a tag-along certainly requires some adjustment to the way you ride. It is less stable than riding a single bike. You need to take corners more slowly and widely and be prepared for the occasional jerk to the left or right if your child decides to jump around. You'll also take longer to stop given the weight up back. In general, you'll want to ride at a slower pace than usual to allow for both the different handling and to give you more time to react if necessary.
Visibility is a potential issue: because it is lower, car drivers may not see the tag-along as readily. All tag-alongs should come with a safety flag to make them more visible to cars. Greg Griffiths recommends avoiding riding on roads where possible, or riding with a second adult bike behind to increase visibility.
To be able to use our tag-along as our main transport method (we no longer have a car), we do ride on roads. While we use bike paths wherever possible and try to avoid busy roads, we ride short distances on busy roads that have bike lanes. We ride with care on such roads and avoid moving out into the traffic - for example, to turn right, we would usually do a hook turn, or cross with the pedestrian lights. We also occasionally ride on footpaths to avoid dangerous sections of road.
It is not recommended to ride at night with a tag-along due to visibility issues. However, we ride the short distance (about one kilometre) home from child care between 5.30 and 6pm, and in late autumn/winter this is in the dark. We have lights on our bikes and on the tag-along, and we also have a (very geeky but very visible!) light-up sash that Ben wears.
The other issue that concerned me before we purchased the tag-along was the safety of the attachment mechanism. Could a tag-along become detached while riding along, due to wear-and-tear or incorrect attachment?
After purchasing our Trail-A-Bike tag-along, I discovered on the internet that there had been two cases in the USA of Adams Trail-A-Bikes becoming detached. The detachment was due to a faulty part, which has since been recalled.
I've also discovered that it's possible to insecurely attach our tag-along if the bolt is not inserted correctly. The bolt must be inserted through both the hitch (permanently attached to the adult bike) and the tag-along's attachment joint. However, it's possible to not push the joint far enough into the hitch, and so not have the bolt go through the joint. We rode about a kilometre without the tag-along securely attached (thankfully without incident) and didn't realise until it came off later, when not in . The same thing happened to a fellow tag-alonger, although he realised before placing his child on the tag-along.
This has made me more exacting in checking that the attachment is secure before riding off.
What are some of the brands available and prices?
Adams Trail-A-Bike 
Steel frame $239
Steel frame with gears $329
Alloy frame $315
Alloy frame with gears $369
Pacific (distributed by BikeCorp)
Steel frame $249
Steel frame with gears $319
Giant Half-wheeler
Alloy frame $349
Alloy frame with gears $395
(Brands and prices supplied by Ivanhoe Cycles, Melbourne, May 2007)
Is a steel or alloy frame better?
The main advantage of an alloy frame is that it is lighter and easier to handle when attaching or storing your tag-along.
Do I need a tag-along with gears?
When we purchased our tag-along, we decided that by the time gears were something that Ben could manage successfully he should really be riding his own bike. They are definitely no use for a younger age group, but Greg Griffiths believes that they would be useful to help teach an older child (aged, say, seven or eight) to use gears. You'd need to do the work to teach them to use the gears effectively, but it would be easier to do this on a tag-along than on their own bike as they don't have to worry if they get the wrong gear. Once they master the gears they can pedal effectively uphill, downhill and on the flat (though your child may not see this as an advantage!).
Do I need a folding tag-along?
You're likely to need to transport your tag-along in a car at some point, even if it's only back from the bike shop. A folding tag-along is very handy for this because, unfolded, they are longer than will fit in the average boot. A folding model is also handy for storage. Most recent models do allow folding (including all those listed above). With the Trail-A-Bike tag-along, you can fold it quickly and easily by removing the quick-release seat post.
Do I need to purchase any other equipment?
You may want to consider a mudguard on the tag-along's frame and/or on your back wheel to prevent mud from flicking up from your wheel onto your child. Ben was not amused at the splattering he got on our first ride in the rain on a dirt track! We now have a 'crud catcher' on his frame. Some models come with mudguards as standard.
How does the tag-along attach to the adult's bike?
All tag-alongs listed above attach to the seat-post of the parent's bike. Some models attach to a rack but these are unavailable in Australian bike shops.
To reduce stress on the seat-post and reduce rocking, Greg Griffiths recommends that the tag-along attachment be fitted as low as possible on the seat-post so it is close to the frame.
The Trail-A-Bike and Pacific tag-alongs use a hitch fitted to the adult bike's seat-post, to which the tag-along can be attached/detached as needed. The tag-along's attachment joint slides into the hitch, and a bolt through a hole in both the hitch and the joint is used to hold it in place. The bolt is secured with a nut and butterfly clip.
The Giant tag-along uses a different approach with a quick-release attachment which is part of the tag-along's tow arm and attaches straight on the seat-post.
Can the tag-along be used with more than one bike?
The ability to swap the tag-along between bikes is great for the situation where one parent drops the child at child care or school and the other does the pick up.
With the Trail-A-Bike and Pacific tag-alongs, you can buy a second hitch to allow the tag-along to be switched between bicycles. With the Giant tag-along, Greg Griffiths advises that you can swap it between bikes without needing a second hitch as the hitch is part of the tow arm. However, you will need to adjust the fit using an Allen wrench if the two bikes have seat-posts of differing diameters.
Can all seat-posts be used?
There is a range of opinions on seat-post suitability. The Trail-A-Bike owner's manual recommends using only a high-quality cro-moly seat-post and against using steel or thin alloy seat-posts. The Giant owner's manual notes that your seat-post should have a wall thickness of at least 3mm. Greg Griffiths says that you should definitely not use a carbon-fibre seat-post or (in most cases) a suspension seat-post. Take your bike with you when purchasing your tag-along and your bike shop will be able to advise you.
What's the life span of a tag-along?
A tag-along's life span will, of course, depend on how much it's used and how it's maintained and stored. Greg Griffiths believes tag-alongs have a long life with very little wear and tear. Tyre and chain will wear as with any bike. He notes that with wear you may experience increased rocking from side to side but believes that while it may feel disconcerting for the parent rider, it is not in itself dangerous. He has never had to replace the coupling in 10 years of selling tag-alongs.
The reports from parents are a little different. One parent who has been using a tag-along for two years, on average four times a week for rides of up to five kilometres, says that he regularly tightens bolts on the coupling to try and stop the attachment from getting wobbly. He feels it's a common problem - the tag-alongers he meets all comment on it. As with anything, watch out for wear and tear, and get it checked if unsure. Greg Griffiths advises that quick wear like this could be caused by an incorrect initial installation.
General recommendations for purchase
To assist with any questions you may have, and also to get the tag-along set up on your bike, I'd recommend purchasing a tag-along from a bike shop. Take your bike and child with you and the bike shop can help you work out whether your child is ready, check your seat-post is okay and set up the tag-along attachment on your bike. You should also be able to take the tag-along for a test ride. If your local bike shop doesn't stock tag-alongs or doesn't know much about them, try looking up dealers on the manufacturer's websites or contacting the Australian distributor.
To find out more about what it's like riding with a tag-along, talk to people you know who've got one (or even those you just meet on the street!). There's likely to be a few tag-alongs parked out the front of your child's school, kinder or child care centre so that's a good place to start. If you can borrow one to try out, so much the better.
Many thanks to Greg Griffiths and Ivanhoe Cycles for their assistance in compiling this information. Greg has over 20 years experience in the bicycle industry, over 30 years as a racing cyclist and 15 years as columnist for Bicycling Australia magazine. He's also a former AIS mechanic, a current UCI International Commissaire, and a member of the technical commissions of both Cycling Australia and Cycle Sport Victoria.
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