Trail Gator Tow bar and Accessories

I bought this after seeing the mixed reviews and I was pleased I did. I think part of the problem is that you are asking a metal bar to do quite a lot. It is quite tricky to put together, so definitely do it the night before, but I managed it OK in about an hour. You do have to get everything lined up properly. In use it works really well when you are cycling on something fairly straight and not too bumpy. We managed quite well on the forest trails at Grizedale. When you try and turn sharply the bike at the bike will tilt over quite alarmingly and the child needs to just hold on rather than stick a foot out. Keeping balanced is also a bit trickier so wide handlebars are useful (mtb rather than racer!). My daughter did love it though.

Like many others, I thought the negative reviews are from people lacking technical skills for assembly, or patience to read instructions. I found it is not the case.1. Assembly is a nightmare for any average person. If you insist on buying it go to a professional. It involves equipment which is not found in every household (torque wrench, deep sockets) and careful adjustment and re-fitting to get the height right etc'. In one of these re-fittings one of the U-shaped bolts was deformed, which probably helped the inclined bike problem so many people encountered to occur.2. Usage - pretty easy to mount/dismount the bike. The parts themselves seem of good quality.3. Endurance - horrible, I used it with my daughter for maybe 3 times before I noticed (and people cycling behind me shouted) the the bike is inclined, due to the part connected to her bike to latch the rod effectively acts as a joint rather than clamped fitting. A slight movement results in inclination, which then acts to make it worse. Every attempt to corrected it seemed to make matters worse.After a few times, I stopped using it, encouraging my daughter to ride alongside me to school (which definitely improved her skills, sooner than I expected, and resulting in slower journey of course). Right now it is still mounted for two reasons:1. I'm too lazy to fight the U bolts in order to take apart.2. It's useful to tow her bike when she's not on them.Bottom line - avoid till they improve the product.To the seller, I wouldn't mind an amazon voucher for my lost time, heartache and headache.

Great product. Well packaged with relevant parts on seperate packets for easy identification. Bought two of them to use with a 6 year old and4 year old on 16 inch Ridgeback bikes trailed behind two mountain bikes. Take time to read the instructions and to be fair as long as you either have bike maintenance experience or a competent DIY person you will not have an issue. If you not familiar with the spanner trade I do suggest get your local bike shop to set it up. Seen reports where the trailed bike either leans or trails to one side that is when either a) the connector on the kids bike has not been properly lined up adjusted and tightened when behind the adult bike or b) comes loose. The U bolts need to be REALLY tight especially if you child does not have a sense of balance to then use training wheels. To be fair was only slight issue with the 4 year old the 6 year old was fine and we had some great rides this weekend. Also the main rider needs to remember you towing a trailer so you must take wider turns to avoid putting your kid in a ditch or something! This fantastic product works brilliantly quality made item but you need some common sense and if in doubt a cycle tech. Second one was all fitted unless than 20 minutes

This has been a great investment as with 3 boys on bikes, one of whom is only just off his stabilisers this enables all of us to get a decent trek in - my youngest, the 'towee' loves it.In use it's a lot easier than expected to ride as the adult - there is some feel of weight shifting side to side and it takes some careful and secure (tight) fitting to prevent the parts moving slightly off center which affects performance considerably. Just pay attention to a solid fit initially and it'll be ok. If your child is into peddling this can be a surprising help on longer treks, but the option to tow them free wheeling is also a nice option (for your child at least!). The turning circle increases obviously, which you have to account for, as well as navigating any gaps - make sure you're in a straight line to allow for your passenger! Having said that the tow bar allows for a good degree of departure from a straight line so when turning there's no issue of forcing any bikes wheels in a direction they don't want to go in. Once assembled properly (took me a couple of hours) it's easy to attach and detach which is great for letting your child run free on easier/safer sections of your journey. On intial outings it's worth taking a compatible spanner/s with you to make any adjustments. Once you're happy any attaching/detaching is done by hand without any tools necessary.All in all I would have paid the asking price to hire this for 3 or 4 outings - we've had a lot of fun out of it and intend to have plenty more! Recommended.