Kid’s Trainers/Tag A Longs
05-28-18, 09:19 PM
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Kid’s Trainers/Tag A Longs
I am debating between getting a Burley Piccolo and a Trek MT tag a long for my 6 year old (and will eventually be used by my 3 year old). The reason it is between these two is because I can get them used for a decent price. I am specifically wondering about the gears in the Piccolo and how necessary they are. I am wondering if they will just be a distraction for him. Anyone have experience they can share? I will be using the it for longer rides and when riding the the street to help teach safety. Then will also eventually be using as a trainer for my three year old for family rides until he is more confident in his own.
05-29-18, 03:06 PM
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Having tried both styles, the Piccolo is a much more stable design, with the rack attachment mechanism vs. the seatpost mount for the Trek. For a 3-year old the gears may be a distraction, but for an older kid, they're definitely useful. We have the single-gear version of the Piccolo (Kazoo) and now that my son is 7, I wish we had gears. In addition to the Kazoo, we also have a FollowMe tandem that we use with a geared 20" bike. With the Kazoo, he ends up not being much help at higher speeds, but when we use the FollowMe tandem with his bike, he is able to switch to a higher gear and really push us along.
06-01-18, 10:44 AM
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Thank you. This is helpful. How easy is it to switch the Piccolo between bikes? It seems like it might be a bit more cumbersome than the Trek?
06-01-18, 01:02 PM
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I also have the Burley Kazoo, had a cheaper one before. No regret spending more money for the Burley.
06-04-18, 03:25 PM
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At a stop on a street-closed-for-recreation event I overhead a father reassuring his daughter on the trailing bike that it might feel like she was going to tip over, but that she wouldn't unless he did, and he wasn't going to.
Later on saw them riding and noted that (apparently due to road camber) the trailing frame was actually tilted a few degrees to the side compared to the parent bike - no wonder she felt uneasy, though I doubt the coupling was going to fail and cause her to fall.
Thought about trying to get close enough to mention that to him without the kid hearing; then for a moment thought I had a chance to catch up with a woman who looked to be the other parent and mention it to her, but then conditions needed fuller concentration and missed the chance.
No idea what brand this was, but will just point out that it might be a good idea to have someone ride behind a bit for a "rolling inspection" especially if a kid is complaining.
Later on saw them riding and noted that (apparently due to road camber) the trailing frame was actually tilted a few degrees to the side compared to the parent bike - no wonder she felt uneasy, though I doubt the coupling was going to fail and cause her to fall.
Thought about trying to get close enough to mention that to him without the kid hearing; then for a moment thought I had a chance to catch up with a woman who looked to be the other parent and mention it to her, but then conditions needed fuller concentration and missed the chance.
No idea what brand this was, but will just point out that it might be a good idea to have someone ride behind a bit for a "rolling inspection" especially if a kid is complaining.
