So I have this rad setup for my bike that lets me attach Zev’s bike to mine. It’s like those third wheels you see, where the kid gets their own seat and pedals, but instead of a front wheel, it just attaches to the adult’s seat post, except in this case, you can take a normal kid’s bike and just attach it to the back of the adult’s bike.
The advantage over the other setups is that when you get where you’re going, you can decouple the bikes and the child can ride independently. We do this quite a bit: at six and a half, Zev isn’t old enough yet to ride over the top of Wallingford down to Green Lake (or I’m not comfortable with him doing it, anyway). So I attach his bike to mine, and we pedal the distance together.
When we get there, though, I just release his bike from mine, fold up the coupling, and we take a ride around independently. It’s fantastic. Not as fantastic as it would be if I could Knight Rider him off the back, still in motion, but still fantastic.
I mention this because I can’t take a ride on it without getting buttonholed at street crossings from amazed parents wanting to know where I got it. So, here’s the info:
It’s called a FollowMe Tandem, it’s made in the UK, and the only US distributor that I know of is Clever Cycles in Portland. Fortunately, it’s 2015, which means you can order it from them over the Internet, and they’ll deliver. It’s pricey at $399, which may or may not be worth it to you.
If you’re comfortable with tools, it’s not difficult to assemble it yourself. Once it’s assembled, it’s super easy to attach and detach the kids bike. You can also remove the coupling from the adult bike entirely when it’s not in use (it adds weight, for sure), but it takes a bit of hand strength, which may be more of a challenge for the moms than the dads.
It works on various size wheel bikes (12″ to 20″, according to the web site) and Zev adores it. If anything, my main complaint is that he likes it so much that he prefers it to riding separately.
(Thanks for the tip, Julian from the now hibernating Totcycle.)
As it happens, I’ve been looking into buying one of those. It’s good to hear the endorsement. Ridiculous price though for what it is.
Cute, but that price is nuts. A new schwinn runabout is $100:
http://www.toysrus.com/buy/bags-trailers/schwinn-runabout-trailer-3000506
that schwinn runabout doesn’t offer the capability of the follow me bike. it’s also a poor design since it attaches to the seatpost, which will push on the bike when going around corners and impact handling. If you want a poor design that attaches a kids bike to your bike, go here: http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;menu=1000%2C5%2C213;product=56790;mid=0;pgc=0;page=2;dbp=8
a step up from the follow me bike would have be the new burley piccolo, which offers a coupling bike option. the hole setup would cost around $500, and be a lot lighter then the follow me option. I believe G&O sells these, but you can see it from another local retailer here:
http://www.rei.com/product/843750/burley-piccolo-trailer-bike
I saved some $$$ on that cheaper runabout, and my kids are having some trouble riding it when I detach it at Greenlake. Tips?
The cheap version that actually does what a FollowMe tandem does is the Trailgator. We did try that. Very hard to get it tight enough, kid bike ends up canted at an angle, whippy feeling, not great for use beyond the occasional let’s dust off the bicycle-shaped objects from ToysRUS use.
FollowMe Tandem couplers are awesome! This is exactly what I wanted before I discovered cargo bikes. They’re particularly good for rolling with a rear kid seat *and* kid bike coupled behind since it connects down low. Not a lot of options for pulling two bigger kids with a normal-sized bike. I ended up getting a cargo bike instead, but I still kind of want one for my old bike I use when busing with the kids.
Also, you can get them in Seattle now! At G&O Family Cyclery in Greenwood.
Sass aside, practical/durable Euro-family-bike stuff does seem crazy expensive over here. But spending $400 at G&O Family Cyclery in Greenwood, supporting rad people and a great local small business, getting years of actual hard use out of it, and then reselling on Craiglist for $200-250 seems a better deal to me than wasting $90 on the Trailgator as we did, using it 3 times, and dumping it at Goodwill. If you can afford the upfront, which is a big if. Lots of decent trail-a-bikes on Craigslist if you can’t …
Big caution about department store bikes: they are horrible and are assembled by people who have no idea what they’re doing, often with fork on backwards, etc. You end up spending a shocking amount to make them safe and ridable on a regular basis. Recycled Cycles and Bike Works are options for better used bikes, as is CL, if you’re on a budget.
We used our Schwinn Runabout at least 50 times, worked great the whole way through, sold it used on craigslist. As for unhitching, the last thing our kid wanted to do when we got places was sit on a bike seat for longer, plus you have the extra weight while you’re riding.
On that note, I just bought an Isla bike for $300 plus. My four year old picked it up and rode off into the sunset. I’m a sucker I know. These prices are nuts. I’m having a hard time accepting that I am one of the Joneses.
We recently bought the WeeHoo
http://www.rei.com/product/886190/weehoo-igo-turbo-bicycle-trailer
$399 is expensive and we only put down the money because we got a deal on used ones for our two kids
They are super fun, gives the kids a chance to pedal, and keeps them in the seat when they pass out.