Trail Gator Tow bar and Accessories

The media could not be loaded. 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.

I am quite a handy person. Even built a loft from scratch with my 6 year old for him. With all the raving reviews I had to have this product now that he can ride by himself but not for 12 miles. First the directions aren't very good, second they forgot to give me a bag that had a bracket that with my mount I didn't need but could have. It took me over 2 hours of trial and error to get this right. First problem was his bike is a 20" and on my wifes bike her seat isn't high enough to elevate his front tire. That was after monkeying with his mounting bracket and spacers for 30 minutes. Then mount it onto my bike. Then back to an additional 20 minutes of getting his spacers right again and the 4 bolts. The support arm to prevent his handlebars from moving pops onto a little ball and works when it stays connected. We did a test run around the block and the little guy thought this was great.Following day we meet up with 20 people after an hour drive for a nice Memorial Day 12 mile ride. The kid starts out riding himself and after .5 miles is upset there are so many people on the trail and wants to be attached. Ah HA this is perfect and I am a great Dad for having this all taken care of. We get rolling and he doesn't like how wobbly it is (We have a Wee-Ride tandem he has used for years and loves). I calm him down and not .75 mile later the handle bar stabilizer pops off and he freaks out. We stop. Spend 20 minutes talking him back into having confidence in this product because the reviews were so good. I make an adjustment while the other 17 people on the ride continue on. He gets back on and within 1 minute pops off again and he is done. We end up having to walk back that 1.5 miles to the car and drive to meet the rest of the group for lunch.On the way back he swapped with his little brother and rode the Wee-Ride back and had a great time.We bought a second for another friend who was doing this ride with us. After 2 hours of them trying they gave up and didn't even bring it with.Big dissapointment since the up side is great but the execution was lacking. Nice sturdy steel but when you have too many moving parts you are bound to have movement. This will definitely be going back. I'm just glad he didn't get injured.

This is a super cool concept, but the design leaves a lot to be desired. My daughter loves it, and was comfortable with it right away, even without being able to ride her pedal bike on her own yet. Unlike a standard tag-along, I love that this allows us to tow her bike longer distances, and then unhitch it and let her ride around on her own.I suppose the double-pun in the name should have tipped me off that this was not going to be a model of elegant design, but it is REALLY cumbersome. The seat post attachment for the adult's bike is HUGE, and requires multiple wrenches and completely removing the seat post to install it, so don't expect to take the bracket on and off regularly. The head tube attachment for the kid's bike is also big, and tightening it enough to be safe will DEFINITELY damage the finish on the bike, so expect chips and scratches in the paint when you take it off. The quick release levers to secure the armature to the brackets at both ends are so poorly designed that they rarely hold enough tension to stay in place—it's not a safety issue because the levers are really just safety pins for the bulky brackets, but it's annoying. The fold-and-stow feature is a nice idea, but it's awkward. I find it easier to just remove the armature completely when we're not using it. My daughter and I ride with this thing daily, so I've gotten used to a lot of the quirks, but it definitely took some patience.All that said, the core functionality and the experience of riding bikes with my daughter and building her enthusiasm for the sport makes it worth it.