Subject: [obc] Trail-a-bike Questions
I am looking at getting a trail-a-bike for my daughter (5 years old) for the upcoming summer so she can ride with me. Can anyone give me information on this bike attachment such as: -How safe is it? -What is the average cost? -What is the best brand? -Who sells it in Ottawa and are there places that sell used ones? ________________________________________________________________________ ___ - Safer than your five year old chasing after you on her single. - No idea. I purchased my Burley Piccolo seven years ago, which exceeds my memory capacity. - I like the Piccolo, but have no experience with the others. The Piccolo attaches to a special rear rack whereas many others attach to the "captain's" seat post. The disadvantage is that you have to re-install the rack when changing captains (or bikes). The advantage is that you don't have to adjust for fore/aft cant when changing the lead bike, and I understand there are other supposed engineering advantages as a result of the different attachment bias(horizontal rather than vertical) and the shorter length of the attaching down tube. - I can't imagine that most shops can't get one for you, depending on what models/suppliers they deal with. Some places like Rebec and Kroes have a bulletin board with private advertisements for used models. I don't think I'm quite ready to give mine up, though I could probably be convinced. Certainly you're welcome to borrow it for a few weeks this spring or summer. I agree with Brian Martin that there is some sway that the captain has to accommodate to, though some kids are less prone to sway than others. The Piccolo has five speeds, but I've always found it undergeared; anything over 25 km/h and the little legs can't keep up. I think you will find this a problem with all makes/models. I also agree with Brian that the Burley d'Lite trailer drags behind the captain better than the trail-a-bike, but often my five-year-old gets a sudden burst of energy or interest and turbo-charges me up the hill. She can't do that in the trailer. My ten-year-old stokes my tandem (when her mother lets her). And indeed the five-year-old much prefers to ride the tandem also (we just went to Kars and back yesterday). She's much more involved; she's close enough behind me to touch and talk to on the tandem, and she doesn't get the chance to just coast back there as she does on the Piccolo, as her dad doesn't coast much on the tandem. She also likes the (much) increased speed we're somehow able to generate on the tandem over the bike/Piccolo combination. Avery actually asks to go out on the tandem, while she's never asked to go out on the Piccolo. If it wasn't for the fact that she has competition for the stoker's position on the tandem I'd sell the Piccolo in a flash. In fact, if money wasn't an issue I'd purchase another tandem so Avery could ride with me, and Kelsey (the ten-year-old) could ride with her mom. Don Friedlander ------ To unsubscribe, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Club Office: [EMAIL PROTECTED], (613) 230-1064 Web/mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb Newsletter: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb/Newsletter ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiDo.a2i8p1 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
