Trail Gator Tow bar and Accessories

I wanted some way to bring the kid along on longer bike trips, but she's barely out of training wheels and her kid-sized, fixed-gear bike with small wheels was never going to let her keep up. The tagalongs seemed like a possibly solution, but they were big, heavy, expensive and then she doesn't get to ride along. Then my wife found the Trailgator and it works like a charm. I connect the kid's bike, she gets on, I get to take her through traffic and at speeds she could never reach by pedaling and when we get to the bike trail we uncouple and she bikes on her own until she's tired. Then I take her home again - no muss, no fuss. Coupling and uncoupling takes about 30 seconds, if that. The connection is sturdy (as is the whole Trailgator) and the towed bike is exactly where it should be. You definitely notice the extra weight and you'll need to take corners more carefully, but it's really not a problem. The kid's pedaling doesn't seem to help at all, but it may make them feel like they're doing something. Hills are a challenge and you may want to ensure you've got low gearing if you're tackling a bunch of them. But in general I don't feel any major issues no matter how much my kid is shifting, pedaling or looking around behind me. Just be aware you're towing about 80-100lbs of combined bike and kid behind you. Installation is not as difficult as some people are complaining about. The instructions are pretty clear, especially if you carefully read them and look at the accompanying diagrams. The design of the whole thing is actually pretty clever. I borrowed a torque wrench, but in retrospect I didn't really need to bother as long as I cranked things down as tight as I possibly could. Some points: - Make damn good and sure your seat height is where you want it before you start because you will NOT be able to lower it after the Trailgator is installed. - Find something to use as non-slip padding under the mounting bracket for the kid's bike. Someone else suggested an old inner tube and I ended up using a rubber backing for carpet. Either way, you are going to be cranking down those curved U-bolts as tight as you can and you do NOT want them to slip. This will prevent damage to the paint on the towed bike and keep anything from slipping - which is where I think most of the complaints are coming from. Tighten your damn bolts, people! - There are a number of variable parts that support different bike shapes and sizes. Again, read the instructions carefully and use the options you need to fit your bike. The shims for the mount on the towed bike are going to be essential to get the correct ride height and you may have to test that front mount a couple of times to get the angle correct. A power nut driver with a deep socket is ESSENTIAL for this! Same goes for the shims that fit around the seat post and front forks. Try to see what fits and be prepared to backtrack if it isn't working. - The front wheel stabilizer seems to be easier to install on the handlebars, rather than the front fork but YMMV depending on the towed bike. - You may have to think a bit outside the box. For example, I found it easier to connect the storage bracket to a hole for mounting a carry rack rather than to my rear wheel bolt since the quick-release got in the way. That took an extra washer or two to get the spacing right, but it was simple enough and the bracket is rock solid. Overall, the whole thing adds about 20lbs to the towing bike when stored, but it's not particularly noticeable. You will not be able to use this with any sort of of rear carrying rack, though. Overall, this is a fantastic item and worth every penny. I particularly like the fact that when by daughter outgrows her current bike and moves up a size, I can just move the mounting bracket over and continue to tow her for a few more years. I found it pretty easy to install and it works better than I expected. Excellent product with a very clever design.

Almost a good idea, too late to return and I purchased two. I am very skilled mechanically and I was able to get both if these to work on a boys and a girls 20" 5 speed bikes with front shocks and brakes. I would not suggest to mount these on bes with shocks. The girls bike was a great fit. The boys with the shocks forward was difficult and requires cutting off the supplied u bolts. Any how, this was not the problem . 1st problem, the hardware needs to be upgraded to stainless steel. The supplied bolts need to be tight and they can strip. 2nd problem. The conception to the seat post. Note: if you have a spring loaded seat post on the adult bike you might have to replace it with a solid seat post. I was fine, need more room on my wife's bike. This is the biggest problem the mount on e pist will eventually move/slip. When this happens the child bike is on an angle to the ground and no longer perpendicular to the road. It will contine to get worse. I found it very difficult to keep this from slupping even after I upgraded with stainless steel bolts and roughed the surface of the seat post with a file. Maybe a rack weld, a drilled and tapped hole into the seat post or a better hardware that bites into the seat post.. 3rd problem, the mount on the child bike has the same issue. I believe this is due to the stretching of the U Bolts after use and being of poor quality. You have to have these bikes and parts aligned or you will have problems. Take a tool kit with you! Good Idea, it works well when it works. The mounting hardware is insufficient. I purchased two and will never use them except around the block. Huge problem at Mackinaw Island. I was even stopped by a man that thought my girl was falling off when the bike was leaning.

I was cautiously optimistic about purchasing this product based on some of the other reviews that I read on Amazon. Having used it several times now, I like it very much. It is not without its drawbacks, but is a reasonable variant of the numerous "trailer bike" type solutions in the market. It fulfills my main requirement of getting my young son and his bike from my house to an area that is more friendly to him riding on his own. I did not encounter the problem some people noted about the connecting pin in the bar being loose. The one on mine has a very tight fit and has no slop. There is a small, but acceptable amount of slop where the bar connects to the bracket on the child's bike. To be clear, I was able to mount the bracket to the child's bike very securely. This is slop between the bar and the bracket and is mitigated by the quick-release bolt that goes through this connection. The weakest point that I see with this design is the bracket that attaches to the child's bike. I had to tighten this several times over the course of a few test rides. The problem is that if the bracket is not tightened sufficiently, then the child's bike will start to pivot in the bracket. This might not have been an issue if I'd had a torque wrench. I see this as a necessary evil in the design. A purpose-built trailer bike will not have this problem since the towing arm and the childs bike are a single unit. Having this bracket allows me to tow a real bicycle. As a competitive cyclist who does their own bicycle maintenance, I found this product to be relatively easy to install. The bracket will damage the paint on the child's bike. This was not an issue for me. I also used a spare "heavy duty" seat post to attach the bar on my bike because I was nervous about scratching the paint on my "good/light" seat post. The bracket that stays on the adult's seat post has some mass, so this solution has the added advantage of allowing me to trade seats/seatposts depending on whether I plan to ride by myself or with my child. Pros: * Allows me to tow a child's bike with or without child on it. * Can connect/disconnect bikes without a lot of effort. * The price was reasonable. Cons: * It's heavy, but I suppose that means it's sturdy. * Quick release bolts go through holes, so connect/disconnect is more work than changing a bicycle wheel that has a quick release. Again, this makes for a more solid connection, so I can live with this.