VastCrew

I'm looking for advice from others who have set up a towing train so to speak. I have been using the WeeHoo for several years and love it! It has been a fabulous investment. I'm looking to add a piccolo to the set up this year so the WeeHoo would be pulled behind the Piccolo.
I've heard great things about the piccolo being very stable but wondering if it may affect the rider with a trailer behind it? I'm assuming that the WeeHoo will attach fine to the seat post of the piccolo?
Also concerned about loading the rider in the WeeHoo at the rear of the train. Will most likely be one adult a 7 year old and a 4 year old present while loading and unloading this circus!
Feedback is appreciated!

mel2012

You can contact WeeHoo to confirm, but I don't think you're going to be able to hook up the WeeHoo to the Piccolo. Even if you shim up the hitch above the seatpost collar, I don't think the seatpost would be high enough for the arc of the WeeHoo to clear the wheel. Even if it is physically possible, I think the weight of the WeeHoo plus your 4-year old is going to significantly destabilize the Piccolo. While the Piccolo is stable, it's also fairly lightweight. That would also be an extraordinarily ungainly train. We've done a bike+Piccolo+Chariot train and bike+Weehoo+Chariot train, which both work okay because the Chariot actually adds stability, but was still difficult to maneuver. I can't imagine bike+Piccolo+Weehoo. Have you looked into getting a tandem and adding a Piccolo or Weehoo to that? I think that would be a better option.

VastCrew

That is the exact situation that I was hoping wouldn't be!
I understand that it would be a rather long setup but I don't think that would be much of a problem just riding around local.
We have tossed the idea around of a tandem. The problem is that we already have one but it is only sized for my husband to captain. It is much to be for me to take out with the kids. The husband is not real fond of the idea of trying to store 2 tandems and we will most likely be moving in the next 20 months or so.
I also think my 7 year old might want to ride the WeeHoo if the younger sibling isn't with us. We typically do several charity events a year and he is often my sidekick, can't usually get out to the house without him wanting to ride!

mel2012

Does your 4-year old care about pedaling? If not, my go-to suggestion (which is my current set up for my non-cargo bike) is a FollowMe tandem (bought through Bike-Discount.de) plus a rear seat rated for a larger child. I have the Qibbel Junior, but the Bobike Junior or Yepp Junior would work just as well. We actually have two FollowMe tandems, so I can switch up, from day to day, which kid pedals and which kid is deadweight. It's very stable and a heck of a lot easy to pull than a long train.

cplager

Or try a tandem trail a bike. It's significantly harder to pull than a single, but is designed for what I think you're trying to do...

CliffordK

Could you go with a Tandem towing your WeeHoo?

I think some of the tandems are designed for shorter stokers.





I only used my Alley Cat Shadow for a short time, but didn't like the stability of it. Hopefully I'll get to try out my tandem this summer with my nephew.

dwmckee

We had same situation and solved it with our older kid on the tandem as stoker and piccolo in tow behind tandem. We have many thousands miles with this setup and have several weeks of loaded family tours this way. Mom rides her single blisfully.



Here we are with 9 year old on tandem and youngest on back had just turned 6 but had been riding the Piccolo fro about 1-1/2 years

mel2012

I'm sure the tandem trail-a-bike has been successfully piloted by lighter leaders, but the Adams instructions recommend that the lead rider weigh at least 200 pounds, so this may not work.

VastCrew

I agree, an actual tandem bicycle would be ideal. Just don't think that is going to work for us this year.

My 4 year old will actually still fit in her seat. We have the Co-pilot and I think it goes up to 45ish pounds. I think she would enjoy the option of pedaling. We did a few rides this past fall and she fits very well in the WeeHoo. she did fall asleep though. The seat works fine but with her size she can certainly influence the stability of my bike.

I'm also not overly impressed with the tandem trail bike. I've chatted a few times with other riders that have used them, one even offered to sell his to me! My 4 year old is still not ready to be unsupported on a ride. Once we hit 14-15 miles she is zoning and ready to zonk!

Still searching for the right set up!

mel2012

I'm guessing you've already looked at and dismissed the WeeHoo 2 as a means to allow the kids to switch up pedaling? I think a 7-year would be squished in the back of that and it would be insanely awkward to handle. Plus it's an expensive solution to what seems to be a short-term storage problem.


I think the tandem TAB or a tandem plus Piccolo or Weehoo are really the only way to get both pedaling at the same time. In my case, even without a second FollowMe, I could theoretically have my kids alternate pedaling because my 4 year old just barely fits on his big sister's Islabike Beinn 20. However, my 6 year old much prefers to be lazy and sit in the Qibbel seat and let her brother ride his 16" bike either independently or attached to the FollowMe. If you're just concerned about a less ungainly way to take both of them places (other than bike+weehoo+trailer) and you have a level top tube bike, an inexpensive alternative that would let you keep the WeeHoo in circulation would be a seats that mounts to the top tube for your 4 year old:

Home / Bicycle Seat / Bulldog Child Seat / Bulldog Front Seat / Bulldog Children's Seat Mini Front Complete - White
Home / Bicycle Seat / Children's Saddle on Frame Tube / Oxford Child Saddle On Frame Tube Men's Bike with Footrest

dwmckee

The triplet and quad pictured above are very hard to find used. I have only seen 2 - 3 over a 3 year period that came up on ebay. They went for very high prices...

HardyWeinberg

A few times I set up a train w/ trail-a-bike and burley double (skewer hitch), and it was always fun but always more of a production than the fun justified (so great for everyone but me).

dwmckee

Well what do you know, a triplet just showed up for sale on ebay:
Triple Tandem Custom R E Rodriguez s s Couplers and Cases | eBay

chrihugh

I'm trying to figure a way to tow an empty 20" kids bike behind my Weehoo. My six year old can ride quite a ways but then he'll tire and need to sit in the Weehoo so I can travel farther. Not sure if a Follow Me Tandem will work on the Weehoo and it's a bit pricey in any case. When my wife rides with us she can tow his empty bike behind her using a Trail Gator tow bar. Trying to figure a way to attach an extra seat post to the Weehoo high enough and securely enough use the Trail Gator with the Weehoo.

mel2012

Just curious why you need both the WeeHoo and the Trail Gator? Why can't he just sit on the bike while you tow it with the Trail Gator?

fietsbob

WeeHoo is a sit in a chair with sides , sort of recumbent, where trail-a-bikes are saddle like upright bikes


Piccolo uses the special rear rack on the Bike (and has a accessory frontwheel. bars Brakes assembly kit, to become a 2 wheel bike, later)

the others use the seat post of the adult's Bike to attach the hitch..

chrihugh

I'm not convinced on the sturdiness of the Trail Gator towing the bike AND the kid. It's not as robust as the integrated trailer bikes. In any case, my six year old still loves a good midday nap - which often happens on our long Weehoo rides.

chrihugh

I'm not convinced on the sturdiness of the Trail Gator towing the bike AND the kid. It's not as robust as the integrated trailer bikes. In any case, my six year old still loves a good midday nap - which often happens on our long Weehoo rides.