# Kids, who needs 'em?



## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

Roll out, 8am Saturday









My stoker ruins another photographic masterpiece. 









And teases the volunteers









Dunno what I'd do without him


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## CaseLawZ28 (Jul 14, 2005)

Where were you specifically?

Nice pics by the way. Very nice


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## Gay Biker On Acid (Jan 8, 2005)

*you know ...*

if we were asked to vote for post of the year, you would have my vote.

nothing cooler than father and son riding bikes together. that's really beautiful. thanks for posting. :thumbsup: 

peace


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*No he doesn't.*



wooglin said:


> My stoker ruins another photographic masterpiece.


I'h have to call this one classic.


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Ridin' and Racin'*



Gay Biker On Acid said:


> ...nothing cooler than father and son riding bikes together...


Cool pics. Brings back many pleasent memories when I would always finish a ride ahead of my son (on the tandem). Now my only memories are fogged by the pain of lactic acid as I try to sit on my kids wheel as he rails through a crit corner. You have many great memories ahead of you.


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## YuriB (Mar 24, 2005)

*i agree*



MB1 said:


> I'h have to call this one classic.


that one is great


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## the_dude (Jun 25, 2004)

i agree with yurib and mb1, one of the best photos i've ever seen posted here. i can't wait until i start riding with my son. 

the_dude


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## undies (Oct 13, 2005)

the_dude said:


> i agree with yurib and mb1, one of the best photos i've ever seen posted here.


My thoughts exactly. Priceless photo!


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

My son and I have a deal: when I take a pic of him I take two. In the first he has to look "normal"; in the second he can make a face. I sometimes catch him practicing. I never should have turned him on to Calvin and Hobbes.


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## yetisurly (Sep 30, 2005)

wooglin said:


> My son and I have a deal: when I take a pic of him I take two. In the first he has to look "normal"; in the second he can make a face. I sometimes catch him practicing. I never should have turned him on to Calvin and Hobbes.



What was your son's age when you started to ride with him on the tandem? Usually, I ride with my wife on the tandem(s) and my son in the trailer. He will be 3 in a few months, and he started on the trike about a month ago. I can't wait.

Great picture!


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

yetisurly said:


> What was your son's age when you started to ride with him on the tandem? Usually, I ride with my wife on the tandem(s) and my son in the trailer. He will be 3 in a few months, and he started on the trike about a month ago. I can't wait.
> 
> Great picture!


He was on a trail-a-bike at about 3 and a half, and on the tandem at about 5. The hard part was getting him to hold on.


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## jh_on_the_cape (Apr 14, 2004)

wooglin said:


> He was on a trail-a-bike at about 3 and a half, and on the tandem at about 5. The hard part was getting him to hold on.


which do you think is better? the tandem with the higher crank kit, or one of those trail a bikes?

the trailabike is certainly cheaper!

I have been enjoying towing my boy in the chariot cougar 1. I highly recommend that product! looking forward to when we are both tired from a ride...


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## CFBlue (Jun 28, 1999)

I would love to do this with my sons, and I have a few questions. How far can he stand to ride? Do you have to change gearing from your normal cadence when he is on the back? I would assume you end up mashing a bit, unless you can gear the stoker kit differently. Great pictures, by the way. It really looks like you two have fun.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

jh--While a trailabike is cheaper its a short term solution to a long term opportunity. I expect us to be riding the tandem for years, long after he's outgrown a trailabike. You can start them on a trailabike earlier though I think. 

John--That was a 43 mile ride. Took us about 2.5 hours in the saddle, plus stop time. Although its our longest ride to date (our usual ride is 25 miles) I think he could have handled a metric if we'd had company to keep him engaged. Next year he wants to work up to a full century. The child stoker kit isn't geared differently, but it does have much shorter cranks. He's quite comfortable at my cadence, which is pretty high. Occasionally one of his feet will slip off a pedal, but I feel that instantly and coast so he can get back on. There are also tandems out there, by Santana I think, that will let the stoker coast even while the captain is pedaling.


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Learning to Ride*



wooglin said:


> jh--While a trailabike is cheaper its a short term solution to a long term opportunity. I expect us to be riding the tandem for years, long after he's outgrown a trailabike. You can start them on a trailabike earlier though I think.


When I made the decision to buy a tandem when my son was 5 the way I justified it was if I got to spend an entire summer with my son and sold the tandem at the end of the summer it would be worth it. The tandem rides/handles more like a real bike which will make things more fun for you. We started with the higher cranks, then moved to crank shortners and finally graduated to a regular setup. Don't fool yourself, you will still be tired at the end of a tandem ride with a youngster on the back. The tandem is definitely a better choice than a trail-a-bike.



wooglin said:


> John--That was a 43 mile ride. Took us about 2.5 hours in the saddle, plus stop time. Although its our longest ride to date (our usual ride is 25 miles) I think he could have handled a metric if we'd had company to keep him engaged. Next year he wants to work up to a full century. The child stoker kit isn't geared differently, but it does have much shorter cranks. He's quite comfortable at my cadence, which is pretty high. Occasionally one of his feet will slip off a pedal, but I feel that instantly and coast so he can get back on. There are also tandems out there, by Santana I think, that will let the stoker coast even while the captain is pedaling.


As Wooglin noted, often times the key to extending a ride is keeping them engaged. I found this easiest to do when riding with groups of people as my son would talk to anyone else on a bike and not notice the miles going by. One trick to extending rides is thinking like a kid, having destinations (ice cream) and making appropriately timed stops (playgrounds) and keeping them hydrated (camelback) and fueled. In addition get them some decent cycling gear with some padded shorts. Work your way up to mileage and focus on maxing out the first year to 2-3 hours in the saddle plus playground time. 

I toned down my cadence from just over a 100 to the low 90's but still maintained a pretty good spin on the tandem. One key is getting real bike shoes with pedals that have a very low release tension or some shorter toe clips and straps. Be realistic but the best way to have them learn to cycle is to do it right. Learning to spin also serves them well if they decide to race. My son did well with BMX because of his spin, is great in Junior fields because he can spin junior gears and loves the fixed gears on the track. 

Payback is great as I can now draft off my kid for an entire century just enjoying the pull. Occassionally we will end up in the same field and I can hold his wheel until the final sprint when he just smokes me.


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## eric (Mar 28, 2005)

Great photo.

I'm still on the trail-a-bike thing, but he's getting stronger.....I must investigate the tandem world as I know is way out of the biking mainstream.

I imagine the trail a bike works better on the trails due to the tighter turns, however. I have towed him down some heinous stuff.




























This rig is fairly capable off road.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

Hey, no fair! How come your kids don't make funny faces!!

You make a good point though, not all trailabikes are created equal. Around here you see Giants and Treks. The way the Giant attaches to the bike leaves a lot of play, so the trailabike flops noticably from side to side. Never heard a kid complain about it, but it sure looks uncomfortable. The Trek on the other hand has no side to side play when mounted right. Definitely my preference.

And for those who want to start researching tandems:

http://www.thetandemlink.com/


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

My co-worker rides his tandem with his 13 year old son. They enjoy their rides together. He strongly encourages me to get one, too. I just can't justify it to the finance manager (my wife).

I'm seriously thinking of getting a trail-a-bike for my daughter as she rides too slow on her 16" bike with training wheels compared to my son who's riding a 20" BMX bike. It's a lot cheaper than getting a tandem, a lot easier to transport and store, too.


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## eric (Mar 28, 2005)

Squidward said:


> I'm seriously thinking of getting a trail-a-bike for my daughter as she rides too slow on her 16" bike with training wheels compared to my son who's riding a 20"


They work great for that application. I frequently ride with the 4 yo on the trail a bike, and the 6 yo on his own 20" bike. Longest ride so far: 8 miles.

Trail a bikes are easier to store and transport than tandems as well.


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## YuriB (Mar 24, 2005)

a thanks.
this thread has coninced me tis high time to get the munchkin a trail-a-bike. b-day in nov and he'll be 4...


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

I've got twin boys (2 y.o).

So I guess I better I had better get mama riding, then get 2 trail-a-bikes, then 2 tandems.

And she though my bike was expensive.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

Sledgehammer03 said:


> I've got twin boys (2 y.o).
> 
> So I guess I better I had better get mama riding, then get 2 trail-a-bikes, then 2 tandems.
> 
> And she though my bike was expensive.


Nah, give her a break from childcare sometimes....


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## FrontRanger (May 19, 2004)

Another vote for the trail a bike. Not that I would turn down a tandem.

<IMG SRC="https://www.aphoto.net/aidan/images/nydride5.jpg">


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## JP (Feb 8, 2005)

wooglin said:


> My son and I have a deal: when I take a pic of him I take two. In the first he has to look "normal"; in the second he can make a face. I sometimes catch him practicing. I never should have turned him on to Calvin and Hobbes.


Oh that's a great idea. I'm gonna steal that one.


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## paramountz (Mar 10, 2004)

*Bike Friday Family Tandum*

here is a link. http://phoenix.craigslist.org/bik/209381587.html


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## YuriB (Mar 24, 2005)

*and a result of this thread*



YuriB said:


> a thanks.
> this thread has coninced me tis high time to get the munchkin a trail-a-bike. b-day in nov and he'll be 4...


happier dad and happier kid cuz they can ride longer together.
we're even getting mom out on her bike.
so thanks.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

You're very welcome.


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## Chris H (Jul 7, 2005)

What an awesome thread.

I don't know how I missed this one before. My 2.5 year old tried to convince me yesterday that she could make it to the bike shop just fine on her tricycle (it's about 3 miles) because she thinks she's too big to get into the trailer anymore.

I'll have to start planning for options as she gets older. Both the Trail-a-bike and tandem seem like good choices. Much more aero than the trailer as well. Although pulling a parasail behind you for 20 miles is a great workout...

When did you guys know they were ready to transition to something like this? My main concern is her falling off/falling asleep then falling off. That could be some nasty road rash.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

She'd only do it once though... 

My son was on the trail-a-bike at about 3.5, as I mentioned above. He'd ride no handed all the time it seemed, but never fell off. I didn't really know he was ready at the time, but it wound up not being a problem. One thing you might do is put a mirror on your bike so you can see what's going on back there.



Chris H said:


> When did you guys know they were ready to transition to something like this? My main concern is her falling off/falling asleep then falling off. That could be some nasty road rash.


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## FrontRanger (May 19, 2004)

wooglin said:


> She'd only do it once though...
> 
> My son was on the trail-a-bike at about 3.5, as I mentioned above. He'd ride no handed all the time it seemed, but never fell off. I didn't really know he was ready at the time, but it wound up not being a problem. One thing you might do is put a mirror on your bike so you can see what's going on back there.


No hands? I would never let my little guy ride with no hands..........

<IMG SRC="https://www.aphoto.net/aidan/images/nydride5.jpg">


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## JeffS (Oct 3, 2006)

FrontRanger said:


> No hands? I would never let my little guy ride with no hands..........


Don't ever turn your back on him then... 

Seems like he's just mugging for the camera


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## luvmybike (Aug 19, 2002)

*Sweet*

I am inspired. We have not gotten to the trail a bike yet but soon I hope. My girl does have a bike and loves to ride... So far my best experience has been after a significant crash I was carrying her and the bike back to the house to clean up some scrapes and blood (not much) and I sat her bike down 'cause I just could not carry eveything. SHe screamed " DADDY DON"T LEAVE MY BIKE!!!" I thouht, yup, she is my girl and so I stuck it out and carried it all home.

Tonight I am going to pick her up on the bike from day care. It will be her first commute!


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*Amazing thread - so many good memories.*

We had a tandem with a child stoker kit, but by the time they were 7 the boys wanted to go on their own bikes. Group rides were so exciting that going the distance never seemed like much of a problem for them. They'd wear their charity ride t-shirts with mud splattered up the back until they couldn't get them on. 

At 15 and 14 they joined my wife and me for a 70 mile final day of a five day ride. Each one took charge of pulling one of his parents through the last day. Keep it fun and you can have lots more good times to look forward to.


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## FB296 (Jul 20, 2004)

*height*

How tall does the child need to be for a trail-a-bike? I have a 3 year old I would like to try to get on one of these, but haven’t spent the cash wondering if she is tall enough. She is just over 3'.

Thanks


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## TWD (Feb 9, 2004)

That picture is classic! 

My 5 y.o. told me the other day that he could now ride no handed on his trail a bike cuz he said a prayer first, so it was OK.

We got him the trail a bike when he turned 4. He's only fallen asleep once. I had him out on a gravel fire road at night, and he was chattering away then it got quiet. 

I looked back, and his arms were hooked over the bars, with his head resting on the handlebar pad. There was no waking him up. He was pretty steady on there, so I had to ride the last 4 miles home VERY carefully.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

Here's another option to traditional tandems or a trail-a-bike I just stumbled across from the [email protected] list. A bit funky, but choices are good.

https://www.browncycles.com/tandems.htm


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## simoriah (Jul 21, 2005)

Chris H said:


> What an awesome thread.
> 
> I don't know how I missed this one before. My 2.5 year old tried to convince me yesterday that she could make it to the bike shop just fine on her tricycle (it's about 3 miles) because she thinks she's too big to get into the trailer anymore.
> 
> ...



Falling off? Adams makes a seat-back with a SEAT BELT that you can get from REI for about $15. It attaches to the seat-post and then comes up the back kinda like a 'bent seat. Clamp-height is about an inch, so the seat might have to come up a touch, depending on your setup.

It saved my son a few times this year.ZZZZzzzzzz


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## Hjalti (Feb 26, 2004)

*They are great, when you don't want to kill 'em*

Sometimes it is all worthwhile:


















Not a nutritional role model.









Rollin'.


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