cherydactyl (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cherydactyl) wrote2008-08-25 07:33 pm
cherydactyl) wrote2008-08-25 07:33 pm
Trail-A-Bike oddessy
Today I finally went to assemble the Trail-A-Bike that came to our door two weeks ago. The box had been sitting in our living room across from my computer for long enough. Upon really looking at the box, I discovered that a tools needed list was printed on the outside of the box. This was a good thing. I am reasonably handy, but at least two of the items listed I had never heard of before. I googled "cone wrenches" for starters, and immediately decided that I should let a professional put it together, as buying new tools just for this one assembly job seemed like a bad idea.
After calling Two Wheel Tango, and finding out that they had a two-week backlog, I decided to bend my loyalty a little bit and call around to other shops. I love Two Wheel Tango, but was unwilling to consider trekking over 13.5 miles (according to google maps) to the far side of A2 to their other store, even if they could fit me in the schedule. Luckily for me, Wheels in Motion, about a mile north of Two Wheel Tango, said they could do it and even quoted me a price to do the job, a price I was willing to pay. Forty minutes later, my kids and I dropped off the rather awkward box, and about an hour and a half after that, they called me to say it was ready to pick up. Hallelujah!!
It was amusing trying to figure out how the tagalong was supposed to fold when we put it in the back of my van. I was trying to hastily read the manual when the service guy suddenly figured out that it involved removing the seat post of the trailer. Problem solved.
Back home, I still had to install the trailer hitch to my bike's seat post. I am not afraid of tools. Not a problem. It took me a little while to find the allen wrenches, figure out which shim I needed to use, adjust my bike's reflector, install the hitch, readjust my seat's height, make sure the trailer arm would fit over the rack on the back of my bike and finish installation. The rack on the back of my bike is the base from from the removable toddler seat I used when my kids were smaller. I had thought about removing it and finding panniers, but it occurs to me that the bike seat is so old that, like baby seats, it's probably too old to be safely given to another user. It ought to be trashed for plastic of an age old enough to imply dubious structural integrity. So instead I am now considering using the wire frame as the base to make Instructables's DIY Bike Panniers, as soon as I figure out what to use for the actual panniers. I'm not sure messenger bags are the ticket for me, as I chiefly want them for grocery and household stuff shopping. Maybe I can make it removable/changeable, because it sure would be nice to be able to take my laptop on my bike and mobile compute at a coffee shop, but I digress.
After all that installation stuff, we adjusted the seat height on the trailer for M. I'm still not sure the seat is entirely level, but I don't have the right kind of wrench for the seat attachment, and it's pretty close. When I was satisfied with all that, we took a practice lap up and down our block. At first M was terrified with the speed, but she pretty quickly was telling me she liked it very, very, very, very, very, very, very much. Yes, she did use something like 10 "very"s. I was probably going more than twice the speed she can usually maintain on her own. The amazing thing was that I could actually feel her helping to propel us...the trailer has working pedals and chain so she can contribute. I could chiefly feel it because she is not a smooth pedaller yet, but that's okay. She does not yet use her own bike without training wheels, and I was definitely compensating for her incomplete balance skills. I am hopeful that the tagalong will actually give her the balance practice so she can make the leap to no training wheels effortlessly.
Shortly after that, M and I donned our backpacks, and we took off, along with S on her own bike, for Target and Meijer's to do our planned shopping. We kept ourselves to what we could carry on our backs and in S's handlebar-mounted bag. This included ten single subject notebooks, two packs of loose-leaf paper, a large aseptic package of soy milk, and other stuff like tennis balls, lettuce, mushrooms, scissors, and pencils. You will note that I mentioned the heavy stuff first, because it was rather heavy and in *my* backpack. My pack was probably 35 pounds at least, perhaps more. M had some stuff in her pack too, perhaps 5-8 pounds worth. I forgot to measure them when we got home. Anyway, the tagalong makes me work harder, but I'm not sure whether the way back was made hardest by the trailer and kid, the extra weight of a large mass of paper and soy milk on my back, or the fact that home was uphill from there. I was actually struggling a bit, and had to downshift in places I normally don't bother. I'm still not entirely sure of the turning parameters with the trailer, but it seems not as bad as I was fearing. All in all, I am very pleased.
The trail-a-bike comes with an orange safety flag for mounting on the permanent holder alongside the trailer's wheel. The hitch had a quick-release mechanism so the trailer can be easily removed and reattached, but is also securely attached when in use. It folds for easy storage and transport, as I mentioned. The model we have does not have gears and a shifter, but there are models that do to help kids understand how, why, and when to use gears. It comes in a variety of colors, including basic black to match my mountain bike. Extra trailer hitch hardware is available so it's possible to quickly switch the trailer from one bike to another. It gets two thumbs up from me, but only when safely stopped and definitely not while in motion with a child in tow.
After calling Two Wheel Tango, and finding out that they had a two-week backlog, I decided to bend my loyalty a little bit and call around to other shops. I love Two Wheel Tango, but was unwilling to consider trekking over 13.5 miles (according to google maps) to the far side of A2 to their other store, even if they could fit me in the schedule. Luckily for me, Wheels in Motion, about a mile north of Two Wheel Tango, said they could do it and even quoted me a price to do the job, a price I was willing to pay. Forty minutes later, my kids and I dropped off the rather awkward box, and about an hour and a half after that, they called me to say it was ready to pick up. Hallelujah!!
It was amusing trying to figure out how the tagalong was supposed to fold when we put it in the back of my van. I was trying to hastily read the manual when the service guy suddenly figured out that it involved removing the seat post of the trailer. Problem solved.
Back home, I still had to install the trailer hitch to my bike's seat post. I am not afraid of tools. Not a problem. It took me a little while to find the allen wrenches, figure out which shim I needed to use, adjust my bike's reflector, install the hitch, readjust my seat's height, make sure the trailer arm would fit over the rack on the back of my bike and finish installation. The rack on the back of my bike is the base from from the removable toddler seat I used when my kids were smaller. I had thought about removing it and finding panniers, but it occurs to me that the bike seat is so old that, like baby seats, it's probably too old to be safely given to another user. It ought to be trashed for plastic of an age old enough to imply dubious structural integrity. So instead I am now considering using the wire frame as the base to make Instructables's DIY Bike Panniers, as soon as I figure out what to use for the actual panniers. I'm not sure messenger bags are the ticket for me, as I chiefly want them for grocery and household stuff shopping. Maybe I can make it removable/changeable, because it sure would be nice to be able to take my laptop on my bike and mobile compute at a coffee shop, but I digress.
After all that installation stuff, we adjusted the seat height on the trailer for M. I'm still not sure the seat is entirely level, but I don't have the right kind of wrench for the seat attachment, and it's pretty close. When I was satisfied with all that, we took a practice lap up and down our block. At first M was terrified with the speed, but she pretty quickly was telling me she liked it very, very, very, very, very, very, very much. Yes, she did use something like 10 "very"s. I was probably going more than twice the speed she can usually maintain on her own. The amazing thing was that I could actually feel her helping to propel us...the trailer has working pedals and chain so she can contribute. I could chiefly feel it because she is not a smooth pedaller yet, but that's okay. She does not yet use her own bike without training wheels, and I was definitely compensating for her incomplete balance skills. I am hopeful that the tagalong will actually give her the balance practice so she can make the leap to no training wheels effortlessly.
Shortly after that, M and I donned our backpacks, and we took off, along with S on her own bike, for Target and Meijer's to do our planned shopping. We kept ourselves to what we could carry on our backs and in S's handlebar-mounted bag. This included ten single subject notebooks, two packs of loose-leaf paper, a large aseptic package of soy milk, and other stuff like tennis balls, lettuce, mushrooms, scissors, and pencils. You will note that I mentioned the heavy stuff first, because it was rather heavy and in *my* backpack. My pack was probably 35 pounds at least, perhaps more. M had some stuff in her pack too, perhaps 5-8 pounds worth. I forgot to measure them when we got home. Anyway, the tagalong makes me work harder, but I'm not sure whether the way back was made hardest by the trailer and kid, the extra weight of a large mass of paper and soy milk on my back, or the fact that home was uphill from there. I was actually struggling a bit, and had to downshift in places I normally don't bother. I'm still not entirely sure of the turning parameters with the trailer, but it seems not as bad as I was fearing. All in all, I am very pleased.
The trail-a-bike comes with an orange safety flag for mounting on the permanent holder alongside the trailer's wheel. The hitch had a quick-release mechanism so the trailer can be easily removed and reattached, but is also securely attached when in use. It folds for easy storage and transport, as I mentioned. The model we have does not have gears and a shifter, but there are models that do to help kids understand how, why, and when to use gears. It comes in a variety of colors, including basic black to match my mountain bike. Extra trailer hitch hardware is available so it's possible to quickly switch the trailer from one bike to another. It gets two thumbs up from me, but only when safely stopped and definitely not while in motion with a child in tow.
no subject
Whatever kind of baggage arrangement you make, be careful to load it symmetrically. Your riding it going to be affected by the center of gravity of everything together: you+your bike+your child+the child's attached bike+the cargo carrier+the cargo, not just your own personal center of gravity that you can adjust to without thinking.
no subject
The folding wire-frame panniers like you describe have actually been my grail and would work very well. I'm just not sure where to find them, as my internet searches have turned up bugger-all. It's likely that my usually reasonably good google-fu is failing me here or I just haven't found the right person to ask.
no subject
no subject
http://sportsbay.com/baskets.html
which has links to some items that sound like they might be what you are looking for, such as the one named, "''INCLINE H.D." FOLDING BICYCLE BASKET SET" or "BIKE BASKET - METRO SYSTEM". Also Amazon had a few, such as this one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AO9LDS
called "Bicycle Rear Rack Grocery Baskets, Folding - Wald 582 (Set of 2)."
no subject
Thanks for those links. Now I just have to figure out if I am too cheap to spring for the "metro" panniers and raincovers. Well, and if they would work with my existing rack or I need to get a new one. And whether I can use them while simultaneously using the tagalong. And finally if there is a viable bike route to AALC from my house.
no subject