Follow Me Tandem

ADCD4

I spotted a family touring with this set up in France last year. I was impressed with how sturdy it looked and how it folded up relatively neatly when not in use. I have priced it at about GBP 220 in the UK. Has anyone any experience of using one or any comments?


http://www.followme-tandem.com/english/index.htm

serendip

Not used one myself, but I encountered a Dutch family touring with one of these in Switzerland last summer. They seemed to be getting on grand. It helps the kids up the hills and on longer stretches, but allows them to cycle independently for a while too.

That said, 220 quid seems steep for a few bits of metal.

Zen0

Price seems very steep. I use a Trail Gator for towing my 6 year old. It works really well, but wouldn't allow you to have a second child on a seat (the Trail Gator fits to the seatpost). I got mine for about €70 on Amazon. Folds up small and can fit on the bike when the little one wants to cycle herself. She absolutely loves being towed along, and giving me the odd push with her pedals. It means we can cover a much greater distance than if she was cycling herself. Halfords have them for about €90, see:

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_213103_langId_-1_categoryId_212384

johnam

will be following this thread... looks like a sturdy bit of kit.... I like that it is so low to the ground, the saddle post ones would really throw your centre of gravity I would think....

I have been using a WeeRide for the last two years, great bit of kit, but will have to make the step up to using my daughters own bike this year.

johnam

ok, seeing as no one seems to have any further information on this, do you mind me asking where you priced it up for £220, and did that include delivery, I see cyclesense.co.uk have it for £210, but charge £10 to deliver to the UK, however when you select Ireland, that £10 disappears. I don't know if this means that they don't deliver to Ireland, or if they price the delivery separately

midonogh

I was the OP, but posted with the wifes boards log on rather than my own. I had priced at £220 at Velorution in London. Think I have subsequently seen it at €220 on German ebay, but I don't have enough German to be sure of cost and delivery options
Velorution was GBP242 to deliver to Ireland, but delliver for free to UK, which means it will be going to my parents up north
Found another review below


http://cathowell.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-of-followme-tandem-coupling.html

doozerie

Here is another German site, selling it for 239euro but it's not obvious whether that includes shipping or not - you have to register to get a definitive shipping quote by the looks of it.

Somewhere else that might be worth checking is LikeABike in the UK. They don't seem to list the FollowMe tandem on their website but we bought a bike from them recently and they included a small leaflet/brochure on the FollowMe in the box so if they are advertising it I assume they may resell it too so it could be worth contacting them.

smacl

Also used the trail gator with my seven year old, and it works well enough. It's pretty sturdy and folds up well when not in use. I found it took a bit of getting used to, about half an hour on the local cycle track.

The follow-me looks more stable with the lower connection position, but also looks like it would have a far wider turning circle that could cause problems on certain routes. This is particularly true where you have narrow sections of track with turns. We took a family break cycling the greenway in Mayo last autumn which was full of such obstacles, making child towing quite a bit more difficult than using any kind of regular road.

midonogh

smacl wrote: »

Also used the trail gator with my seven year old, and it works well enough. It's pretty sturdy and folds up well when not in use. I found it took a bit of getting used to, about half an hour on the local cycle track.

The follow-me looks more stable with the lower connection position, but also looks like it would have a far wider turning circle that could cause problems on certain routes. This is particularly true where you have narrow sections of track with turns. We took a family break cycling the greenway in Mayo last autumn which was full of such obstacles, making child towing quite a bit more difficult than using any kind of regular road.

Thanks smacl. We hope to do the Greenway at Easter and that in part is what is leading me to purchase this

johnam

doozerie wrote: »

Somewhere else that might be worth checking is LikeABike in the UK. They don't seem to list the FollowMe tandem on their website but we bought a bike from them recently and they included a small leaflet/brochure on the FollowMe in the box so if they are advertising it I assume they may resell it too so it could be worth contacting them.

Clicking on the About us section on the like a bike web site brings up a photo of the cycle sense shop.... they are one of only two resellers listed on the follow me website in the U.K. The units work out at less than the €200 mark from the Polish http://www.dwaplusdwa.pl/hole-rowerowe.html and Czech http://www.dveplusdve.cz/follow-me/follow-me.html resellers listed, but the polish shop shows no availability.
It would be handy if it was available in Poland, I have could easily find someone who could pick it up and deliver it back to me for the cost of a suitcase with ryanair (€15.00). I have emailed the shop to see if the website is correct and when they plan on getting them back in stock.... the Polish exchange rate has been getting better and better for us recently, so that would bring the price down

midonogh

I ended up buying the tandem from Velorution back in the spring. I moved house and the road outside was quite busy. The tandem has been a good solution to keeping the 3 yr old safe on the road until we get to footpaths or when we need to get to somewhere in a hurry

Downsides are the price and the weight. Outweighing that is that it is a very effective piece of kit. The centre of gravity is very low and therefore very stable for both cyclists. The set up is very rigid and the childs pedaling is transferred very effectively. On the flat my three year old can push both of us along under his own effort. Inital attachment is reasonably tricky, but there afterwards attaching and reattaching is easy.

While unattached the childs bike is minimally impacted. There is a socket strapped across the downtube and two pegs on the front wheel, much like stunt pegs. When not attached the kit pivots up on the adults bike and is attached with a strap to the saddle.

It has been a great success for us and I would not hesitate to buy it again, but it is expensive.
Tandem Crop.jpg

johnam

Thanks for the reply, it is always good to get a follow up to a question.
I am getting one in the new year to go with the new bike Santa will be bringing my daughter. Glad to hear from someone with first hand experience that the kit doesnt affect the stability if the bike. But I have two queestions,
1) how has it weathered? I read somewhere and cant for the life of me find it now, that the unit is susceptible to rust. True?
2) I also read not to use it with stabilisers on the kids bike as (tight) cornering will lie the bike over a bit, which will tilt the kids bike up onto one stabiliser, and lift the back wheel off the ground. I have been trying to find flip up stabilisers for using with it, but cant find any. What is you experience? an issue or not?

Make that three questions. in the picture you have an extra attachment on you bike for your chain....what is it for? never seen one before....and just being nosey now!!!

midonogh

I can have a go at answering all your questions

With the late evenings and some busy weekends I have not used the tandem for a few weeks. Last night while in the shed working on another bike I noticed a few spots of surface on the tandem. Tiny amounts that would be dealt with with a rub of a cloth and a bit of oil. This was after using the tandem in a heavy shower when I was last out. Nothing to spook me, it would not be as bad as the few spots of rust you might get on a chain if not lubed after a spin in heavy rain

My son is very attached to his stablisers and will not allow me to remove them. He is well able to cycle without them having been a demon on his balance bike before, but I have decided not to push the issue as I do not want to put him off cycling. There is no doubt that the tandem would handle better if he took them off. I am careful when riding over speed bumps or taking corners. Turning circle is much wider with the stabilisers on. Again it is not a major issue but I do look forward to him taking them off. He is on an Islabike Cnoc which is a great bike, but it does not allow you to adjust the stabilisers up or down. So when they are on, they are on.

The name of the yoke on my bike escapes me. Its function is to stop the chain jumping around too much while mountain biking. I fitted it to stop chain suck and it had a reasonable impact. Its been 10 years since I went off road in anger so it is more of a decoration now.

I live in Skerries. PM me if you are interested in coiming out to see the tandem and we can see what we can arrange

Best of luck

Holyboy

Just a quick note on this, Trail-gator make flip up stabilisers that work very well, they just have a plastic knob instead of a standard nut so it can be undone and they just flip up and point at the sky, well worth the extra few euro I think.

johnam

Finally got around to ordering one online....now lets hope it arrives before Santa delivers my daughters new bike

nickibopp

This is such an old thread I'm hoping some previous poster might have a Followme for sale second hand by now! Worth a try anyway ;-) ... thanks all...

midonogh

nickibopp wrote: »

This is such an old thread I'm hoping some previous poster might have a Followme for sale second hand by now! Worth a try anyway ;-) ... thanks all...

Sold my one on last year

marvin42

I have a Trail Gator for sale. P.M for details....