# How tall should a kid be for Trail-a-bike?



## HappyDawg (Apr 15, 2010)

I've been pulling my 5 year old around in a bike trailer but am wondering if she is ready to move up to a Trail-a-bike. I've seen people with kids younger than her using them, but the problem is she is really petite. She is only 38" tall so I wonder if she could even reach the pedals? 

How tall were your kids when you started using a Trail-a-bike? 

I do like the trailer because I can load it up with stuff & ride to the beach (my two older kids are riding their own bikes) but this summer I'd really like to start taking the kids out on the trails more and the trailer is a pain on anything but smoothish fire roads. 

Thanks!


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## slcdawg (Jul 28, 2003)

I'm not sure how tall my daughter is, but she's right around the 50% percentile. We started her on the trail-a-bike at 4. She could barely touch the pedals with the seat all the way down. I wasn't sure how she would like it (had mixed results on her bike w/training wheels and balance bike) - but it was a HUGE hit. She really, really digs it. Only problem (and I understand this is common) is I can only get her to pedal when going downhill. "Faster daddy, faster!"  Uphills are all on me. 

Adams also makes a compact trail-a-bike. You should be able to find an LBS that carries both for sizing.


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## nanook93 (Oct 16, 2008)

slcdawg said:


> Only problem (and I understand this is common) is I can only get her to pedal when going downhill. "Faster daddy, faster!"  Uphills are all on me.


Then I m very lucky! I have 4&1/2 year old twin boys and I took one of them on a trail in a local open space park. Not a long loop, and not too rough, but it has some good climbs and descents. Liam pedaled the whole way, even up the ascents. I could feel little surges from the trailer bike as he pedaled. In fact, we passed several solo bikers on the way up!

The only thing we have to work on is having the boys resist suddenly leaning out to the side when they want to see what's out in front.


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## Jwiffle (Jan 26, 2004)

I started my son on the trail-a-bike when he was 3. He could just reach the pedals, but he was a pretty tall 3 year old. He was probably around 36-38" tall at the time. If she can't reach the pedals, just use some pedal blocks. Go with the trail-a-bike, she will love it. We went from trailer to child seat on the bike to trail-a-bike, and my son loved each progression better than the previous.


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## EBasil (Jan 30, 2004)

We put our son on a Trail-a-bike as soon as he could reach the pedals with the seat slammed down and using the rigid seatpost (rather than the boinger version). I swapped out the "bmx style" bars for some flat bars, so that he didn't have "ape hangers" and could begin imprinting MTB, ha ha! Worked great! A nard guard on the stem is a good idea, since that's way up by their faces on the Trailabikes, fyi.


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## makomyday (Mar 24, 2010)

I started my two boys around 2.5 years. Replacing the huge bars with flat was a big help, along with cutting the seat post down. 
Big mud/rock guard is also a huge help when you are booking it down the trail. The trailering person gets sand/mud/dirt/bugs in his nose mouth and eyes.


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## bme107 (Jul 23, 2008)

I got my son on as soon as he could reach the pedals. We shopped locally and found he could fit a Trek Mt Train 206 at 5yrs and ~38" tall.

I chopped the seat post and adjusted the handlebars down to where he could fit. I got the bike with a 6spd grip shift rear hoping to extend the life of the bike. He couldn't spin the grip so I swapped it out for a thumb shifter.

Now at 5.5yrs and a little bit over 40" he's tearing it up. Sometimes I need to suggest what gear he should be in, but when he gets it right he can push me on level ground and up modest hills.

More so than fit I worry about kids hanging on. We've hit 34mph on group road rides.


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## Jwiffle (Jan 26, 2004)

bme107 said:


> More so than fit I worry about kids hanging on. We've hit 34mph on group road rides.


Ain't that the truth! My son likes to do no-hands or no feet, and sometimes he'll do both at the same time. Then I'll have to yell back to hold on, because taking everything off really makes me nervous.

Hit 37mph down a steep hill once; I was squeezing the brakes pretty hard the whole way, too. Once it gets moving, it likes to keep moving.


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## the-one1 (Aug 2, 2008)

I just put my little girl on one last week and she is 3. I took out the crank and tied a pipe through the BB. Now she has a platform to rest her feet while daddy does all the pedaling. We've gone off road once for about a block and it was scary as the trailer bike rocks side to side making by bike want to suddenly turn.


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## Clones123 (Apr 29, 2010)

Saturday I took my 3-yr old son with a trail-a-bike to a large MTB park a 30-min drive from where we live. In the middle of the park we stopped for a water break and a couple on MTB's joined us. Not realizing we had a trail-a-bike, after a bit they got curious and asked which way we'd come. I pointed up the intermediate trail. Surprised, they asked how old my son is and I told them. Reeling for a moment they tried to make sense of what I'd just said and they finally found an explanation of how a 3-yr old rode down an intermediate trail into the middle of the park - "Oh, it's one of those trail-behind bikes!" Perhaps they'd been thinking my son was a MTB prodigy or a midget 10-yr old. LOL.

He's great motivation for me to go ride the neighborhood nature trail. When I get home from work he's usually at the door with his helmet and bike gloves on. "Can we get a bike ride, daddy?" Served with a hug - how do you say no to that?


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## EBasil (Jan 30, 2004)

We got our son on the Trail-a-bike just as soon as he could reach the pedals with the seatpost slammed down to the top tube. I put a bmx-top tube pad, flat bar and thin grips on it and he was dialed. So, I think the answer is, "as soon as they fit". 

On the other end of things, I recently saw a pretty big kid on one. What the heck?!


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## BOONER (Sep 19, 2008)

Both my boys started on the trail-a-bike around 2.5 to 3 years old, as soon as they could reach the pedals. I cut the seat post to get it all the way down and also tilted the handlebars back so they didn't have to reach so far forward.

Here's my youngest on the trails in Fruita...










Also rode the Slickrock practice loop with him on the trail-a-bike. That was cool seeing all the looks of amazement.

BTW, I think the trail-a-bike is the best tool out there for teaching a kid to ride a bike. Both my boys got the feel for pedaling and balancing on a bike from riding the trail-a-bike, then when I took the training wheels off their bikes, they were riding on their own in less than 10 minutes. Both my boys were riding a little 12-inch bike with no training wheels by 3-1/2.


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## slcdawg (Jul 28, 2003)

Booner - that is sweet! I'm looking forward to getting my 4 year old out on those trails off 18 road.


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## bme107 (Jul 23, 2008)

the-one1 said:


> I just put my little girl on one last week and she is 3. I took out the crank and tied a pipe through the BB. Now she has a platform to rest her feet while daddy does all the pedaling. We've gone off road once for about a block and it was scary as the trailer bike rocks side to side making by bike want to suddenly turn.


Nice idea with the pipe.
Without seeing your setup or riding style I'd offer that you just need to be smoother in your bike control since all of your motion is magnified back through the trailer. Standing on the pedals to crank up a hill is out of the question and so is accelerating hard out of the saddle.

If you're riding on flats or w/ toe clips I'd suggest clipless pedals to help you spin a complete 360deg rotation of the pedals and eliminate (reduce) the jerkiness of the strong downward thrusts of simple pedaling.


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## mhk (Dec 31, 2006)

I also hacksawed the seat post on the trail-a-bike (Trek Mountain Train w/ 20" wheels) enough so the saddle can rest right at the top of the seat tube. I used a velcro strap to attach the crank to the chain stay at first, when their legs weren't long enough to pedal, but you have to lift up the trail-a-bike if you have to back up, which might be troublesome for some. 

When they were old enough to balance with pedals in the "flat" (parallel to ground) position (about 28 mos old or so), I did away with the velcro strap. Soon enough, my older son's legs were long enough to pedal a full rotation, and before long I could feel the little newt's pedaling power behind me, which was awesome. 

I really think his proficiency on the trail-a-bike was what enabled him to learn how to ride a "real" bike so easily. We skipped training wheels altogether and, with a little patience, he was riding his 16" bike (it has a super short seat tube) on his own at 3. He's now ripping it on his 20" Precaliber SS (great kids' bike, by the way); he'll be five in July. He's actually done a few kids' races, last year on the 16" and one so far this year on the Precal. He absolutely loves riding his bike, which puts a huge grin on both of our faces.

I have a two year old who's now in the non-velcroed but non-pedaling trail-a-bike stage. His chubby little pegs are almost long enough, but not quite. He can--and loves to--pedal the 16" bike when I hold him up--I think because memories of his older bro on it are still fresh in his mind. At this stage, we're basically just riding around the yard and the neighborhood. No single track, but we have done a couple very short stints on double track/fire roads. 

I've actually only done one mild single track ride with the trail-a-bike, and it was with my older son when he was almost three and could pedal, but it was just too bumpy for him (lots of rocks and roots here in North-central WV), and I feared he would lose interest, so we didn't go again. Since he learned how to ride his own bike, he's had no interest in the trail a bike.

I have a feeling pretty soon those guys are going to be leaving me in their dust. It'll bring a tear to my eye. You know, because of the dust.


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## johnyboy2157 (May 10, 2010)

When child reach the pedal then start his biking, he just need little push up may fall few times, never show him to feel heart he will start learning very quickly


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## nanook93 (Oct 16, 2008)

*Dirt with a trail-a-bike is fun!*

Both of my boys (twins) love hitting the dirt on the trail-a-bike!
Liam:








Conor:








The Bluffs Trail in Lone Tree, Colorado.


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## Freediver (Jan 1, 2008)

I think i've posted this before but the trail-a-bikes all seem to have cranks that are way too long. My kids all went on the trail-a-bike when they were four, the problem when lowering the seat just meant that they hit themselves in the chin with their knee at the top of the peddle stroke! 
My solution was to swap the crank for a shorter one, plenty of one piece cranks from ten inch bikes around. Problem solved. My seven year old can still happily ride it with the shorter crank, but she is usually on her own ride anyway.
Give it a go, I have swapped a few over for friends as well, all happy.


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## woodyak (Jan 20, 2004)

Thanks, everyone! I'm looking for a trail-a-bike on craiglist now. Good to know it can be tweaked to fit smaller kids better. The big problem is going to be that my daughter is super-wimpy and scared of everything. I know she'll love it once she gets used to it but there will probably have to be some serious bribery to get her on the thing at first.

(edited to say this isn't actually woodyak posting, it is woodyaks wife).


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## tahj33 (Aug 15, 2007)

Hello Woodyak! I do have an Adams trail-A-Bike for sale that I only used twice; I bought it last year. I'm now looking for a 24" bike. Anyway, if you're interested, I'm in MD.

Here's a link to what it looks like:
http://www.trail-a-bike.com/products/trail-a-bikes/original-folder-compact/

PS: I'll probably advertise the bike this weekend on craigslist.


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## Polymer (Jul 25, 2006)

My little girl just turned 4 and she is from China so she is very petite.. I have an Adams trail-a-bike (which rocks by the way) and it has a suspension seat post which limited how low you could put the seat down. I ended up taking the spring out of the suspension post for now which lowered it another 3 inches and now it is perfect. She absolutely loves it!!

It is important that you do not substitute your child riding their own bike however.. Our oldest girl started riding at 3-4 and now at 7 she has a custom 20" 8 speed and rids 8-10 miles with us no problem. Our 4 yr old will also rid about 3 miles on pavement.

Good luck and God bless


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## neex (Mar 30, 2005)

HappyDawg said:


> How tall were your kids when you started using a Trail-a-bike?
> 
> I do like the trailer because I can load it up with stuff & ride to the beach (my two older kids are riding their own bikes) but this summer I'd really like to start taking the kids out on the trails more and the trailer is a pain on anything but smoothish fire roads.
> 
> Thanks!


My son is about the same height as your daughter and he has been riding behind me on a Mountain Train 241 all season. He had his first ride at 3 yrs old and was hooked instantly. At first a pair of clunky shoes did the trick for reaching the pedals. Now he's fine and holds on with no issue on single track, rocks, descents, etc. I don't take him on DH runs or anything but he hops curbs, logs, the odd rock garden. Good fun. We don't put about either as we last rode maybe 25km with about 400 ft of climbing (nothing really for you folks in the mountains but when pulling my son, it seems like a 3hr fire road sometimes - heh). He jammed his foot between the tire and frame once and stopped us both nearly instantly! The other bit of excitement was when he jumped off at an intersection and I didn't notice - I left him standing on the curb screaming for me to wait for him! He 'ate' his bell once on some rocky track as we were practicing the 'attack stance with his head low' - oops - too low daddy! Establish some 'rules' and it will be fine. You will both love the time together. I know we have.

Andrew.


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## coloradodad (Nov 4, 2010)

*height may not be the issue...*

I had an Adam's and my kids couldn't reacht the pedals. I added blocks and it worked. Problem was the stability. The kids could wiggle and ride me off the path. I switched to weehoo's bicycle trailer and the kids and I rode much more. Completely stable. Got mine from www.bicycletrailer.com. My kids are 7 and still have a few years to use it. As trailer bikes go, I heard the picollo is not too bad.


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## pegot (Aug 15, 2008)

I started both of my kids on our Trek Mountain Train trail-a-bike when they were four or five. My son is now 7 and rides a 20" Viper Jr and my daughter is now behind me. They both have loved riding the trails with me, and they also love hearing what people say as we ride by. On today's ride it was some BMXing teens saying "Whoa, look at them. Sick!" The trail-a-bike set up is also great training for helping the kids to be more stable on their own bikes.


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## cstieger (Jun 5, 2013)

Hello I realize this is an old post but does anyone happen to have a picture of how you set up the foot rest? I'm having the same issue with my daughter!


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

You might first try using a automotive hoseclamp to just fasten the crank to one of the chainstays, locking it ( and the pedals) in horizontal orientation as a fixed footrest. She will probably get the hang of it very quick and then you can take the hoseclamp off and have her start practicing with pedaling and learning to counterballance foot pressure to use the pedals as footrest when she needs. 

I did a 8-mile trail-a-bike ride with my 4-year old this past weekend, our longest yet and we had fun. When I am moving slow, my daughter has taken to practicing un-announced "cyclocross" dismounts and she is able to hop back onto the empty trail-a-bike while it is moving slow. Probably not real safe but she thinks it it hilarious.


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## northernblades (Jul 22, 2011)

GrayJay said:


> You might first try using a automotive hoseclamp to just fasten the crank to one of the chainstays, locking it ( and the pedals) in horizontal orientation as a fixed footrest. She will probably get the hang of it very quick and then you can take the hoseclamp off and have her start practicing with pedaling and learning to counterballance foot pressure to use the pedals as footrest when she needs.
> 
> I did a 8-mile trail-a-bike ride with my 4-year old this past weekend, our longest yet and we had fun. When I am moving slow, my daughter has taken to practicing un-announced "cyclocross" dismounts and she is able to hop back onto the empty trail-a-bike while it is moving slow. Probably not real safe but she thinks it it hilarious.


I also ziptied the pedals to the horizontal, and my 3 year old loves it. Nowhere near pedaling yet.


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