I´ve put this short video together for those Mums and Dads with children transitioning from 12″ or 14″ bikes (balance bikes or bikes with training wheels) to bigger 20″ wheels.

A Tag-Along (or sometimes referred as a “Tag-a-long”) bike has some PROS and some CONS, but I think the PROS outweigh the CONS.

PROS:

• Parents can safely ride with their kids at higher speeds than they would be able to if the kids were on their own bikes (mind you higher, not “high”).
• Allows older children to be towed on longer journeys.
• Aids child fitness levels (assuming they pedal! Keep motivating them)
• Child can pedal as much or as little as they like. Depending on age they can tire pretty quickly.
• Harder workout for the parent. Fit parents are an example for their children.

 CONS:

• Child cannot ride independently.
• May take longer to develop balance and they may get dependent on the parent (may not want to learn how to ride on their own)
• Generally only available with a 20″ diameter rear wheel.
• Cannot be used at the same time as a rear mounted baby seat, so may be a 1 child solution only, but depending on the age of the 2nd child a Kangaroo seat can be an option if you have children with significant age differences.
• Parents need to be careful as movement by the children may cause a wobble that can throw the parent off-balance.

Click here for my earlier post (review) about the Adventure Echo Six Tag-Along bike