Do You Need a One Wheel Bike Trailer for Your Child?

If your child is at least four years old and has grown too large for a baby bike seat, but is still too small to bike independently, a one wheel bike trailer provides a good alternative. The one wheel bike trailer is an attached extra wheel and seat that connects to your bike to allow your child to ride behind you. The child can coast or peddle and some models of the one wheel bike trailer come with gears. After our daughter outgrew her baby bike seat, my husband and I spent several months creeping along side her pink training-wheel bike before we found a better alternative for a satisfying family ride. Now, we are taking longer bike trips on the weekends, and our daughter feels as invested in these rides as us. What's more, we often take the bus to a park or trail, and the one wheel bike trailer easily detaches from our bike. Once on the bus, the one wheel bike trailer folds up smaller than a stroller.

What do you call it?
When looking for a one wheel bike trailer, it is difficult, at first, to sort through the confusion of the name. I went to four bike stores, and every one called the one wheel bike trailer a different name. In one bike store, I received a blank stare when I asked for a tandem attachment. Then I asked the salesperson for a one wheel bike trailer, and he smiled and escorted me to the toddler carts. Finally, after I explained using the word "thing" with several hand motions the sales person's eyes registered understanding and he exclaimed, "oh, you mean a tag a-long!" To help you avoid my frustrations, keep handy this list of the most common names: trail a bike, trailer cycles, tag a-long bike, attached tandem bike, one wheel bike trailer, tow bar, and caboose.

Is the trail a bike right for you?
Before you buy, it is very important to assess realistically your needs and the limitations of this bike. If you are training for the Tour de France, maybe you want a canopied trailer so that your child can entertain herself with crayons in the back while you log those long rides. Or, if you prefer to off-road it, perhaps you should leave the kid at home. These bike trailers have physical limitations. Our manual cautions against biking on busy roads and I can see why. The one wheel bike trailer responds to your bikes movements with a more exaggerated movement. So, if you swerve to avoid a rock, the one wheel bike trailer kicks out pretty far. However, if a pleasant afternoon ride in a park seems more your speed, then the one wheel bike trailer is perfect for you. We enjoy the new freedom is affords our family.

How do you choose?
It's up to you and your bike specialist to choose the bike trailer brand and style that is best for you, but I want to share some guidelines to help you get started and to streamline your search efforts.

Inexpensive:
If you are looking for the least expensive option for short spins in the neighborhood or for vacations, the Trail-Gator bike tow bar may be your best bet. The Trail-Gator tow bar attaches your child's two wheel bike to yours. A few words of caution: this style bike pulls the front of your child's bike up making it more difficult to maneuver and some people have had to use duct tape and bungee cords to stabilize the connection. Also, it is important that you trust that your child will not apply the brake. Finally, if your child uses training wheels, you'll need to invest $15 in a pair that flip up while in tow.

If the bar seems too unstable for you, the Spartan one wheel bike trailer is, by far, the cheapest attachable one wheel bike trailer option. An import from China, it sells for less than $100. Be aware that it is a relatively new product so the verdict is still out on reliability and performance.

Middle of the road
In the $100 to $200 range, there are many varieties of the one wheel bike trailer. The Adams trail a bike foldable model is very popular. What we liked best about the Adams trail a bike is that you can also purchase an attachable child seat with a three point harness to keep your four-year-old stable. In you have a smaller child, you can order a baby seat for the trail a bike. In addition to Adams I looked at several popular brands: InSTEP, Dawes, Ridgeback, Treck, and so many others. Each brand seems to have tweaked the design in their own particular way. Consult your bike professionals regarding the differences between the companies. Finally, in the mid price range, an intriguing option worth mentioning is the Morgan Cycle Caboose. The Caboose has two wheels instead of one for more stability. However, it is more difficult to find, and I wasn't able to find any reviews to verify that the two wheel variety could maneuver as easily as the one wheel bike trailer.

High End
All the bike stores and websites I visited seemed to agree that, for less than $400, the Burley Piccolo trailer cycle is the cream of the crop. Designed for superior handling and stability, the people I talked to all agree that it will provide the best performance. Additionally, they come with a nice shifting mechanism to teach your child the skills of shifting a bike. Most of the other brands of one wheel bike trailers I mentioned also manufacture higher priced gear shifting versions. We bought a gear shifting trail a bike for two reasons. We liked the idea of training our daughter how to use on the gears, and, secondly, some of our favorite trails are hilly, making the use of gears a handy alternative. After her first ride, our daughter learned that a person can only shift when the bike is moving. By her third ride, she was shifting with confidence.

Second Hand
You can find used one wheel bike trailers in second hand bike shops, listed on Craigslist, and eBay. Just one word of caution when buying second hand one wheel bike trailer. Many brands had recalls, especially of their versions before 2002, because of connectivity issues. Ask the seller if the particular model had a recall and if they applied the recall kit. In addition to talking to the seller, be sure to contact the manufacturer just to be safe or, better yet, stop in to a bike shop for an inspection. In most cases, you can order a kit to get your attachable tandem up to code.

Whether you call this exciting feature a tag-along, one wheel bike trailer, tandem, or trail a bike, I'm sure you'll appreciate the new freedom your family will experience. Next step, enjoy the ride.