FollowMe

Danny Colyer said:

Does anyone here have any experience of the FollowMe, reviewed briefly
in the latest VeloVision?

<url: http://www.followme-tandem.com/english/>

Quoted message said:

I've had an encouraging look around the manufacturer's website, but I'd
particularly like to read more about the experiences of people who've
bought the device. My main concern is about scratching the paintwork on
the child's bike.

Huh? You're worried about scratching the paintwork on a kid's bike.
Kid's bikes get dinged and scratched - live with it.

My commuter is dinged and scratched from where the lock is repeatedly
fastened and where it gets "thrown" in the back of the work minibus.
My best bike has a few scrapes and scuffs. They happen. life is too
short to worry about a pristine paint job.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

Danny Colyer said:

FWSE found a brief thread from 2005 where Roos mentioned a review in a
Norwegian magazine, do you remember much about it Roos?

I hardly remember posting that... Fair chance though that the magazine
still is around in one of our piles of rubbi..erm archives. I'll have a
dig.
I expect it would have been a fairly short article though as bikes aren't
the main subject of the magazine.

Roos

Phil Cook said:

Quoted message said:

I've had an encouraging look around the manufacturer's website, but I'd
particularly like to read more about the experiences of people who've
bought the device. My main concern is about scratching the paintwork on
the child's bike.

Huh? You're worried about scratching the paintwork on a kid's bike.
Kid's bikes get dinged and scratched - live with it.

Perhaps you've misunderstood.

If Danny's main concern is scratching the paintwork on the child's
bike, he is, almost completely, unconcerned.

Phil Cook said:

Huh? You're worried about scratching the paintwork on a kid's bike.
Kid's bikes get dinged and scratched - live with it.

I always managed to keep my bike in pretty good nick when I was a kid.
That's because I was brought up to take good care of my belongings, in
order that they should last longer. I didn't used to hurl my bike at
the floor upon dismounting, as children are supposedly wont to do,
rather I would lean it carefully against a wall or lay it gently on the
floor. My children are being brought up in the same way.

My grandparents grew up, during the war, with a "Waste Not, Want Not"
mentality. They passed that mentality onto my parents, who passed it to
me. I intend to pass it to my children. I know that most British
families seem to have replaced this with a "Don't Care" attitude over
the intervening generations, but mine is not one of them.

Quoted message said:

My commuter is dinged and scratched from where the lock is repeatedly
fastened and where it gets "thrown" in the back of the work minibus.
My best bike has a few scrapes and scuffs. They happen. life is too
short to worry about a pristine paint job.

So you take less care of your bikes than I do. Your machines, your
prerogative.

Bikes are, of course, there to be used and enjoyed. My kids won't get
into trouble if they accidentally scratch or chip their paintwork while
enjoying their bikes. Jenny /does/ get told off if she thoughtlessly
hurls her bike at the floor. The likely usefulness and convenience of
the FollowMe are such that a few scuffs won't bother me, as long as I
know about the likelihood beforehand. Actual damage would be a
different matter.

Although wear and tear is inevitable in use, there's no reason not to
try and minimise it.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

Roos Eisma said:

I hardly remember posting that... Fair chance though that the magazine
still is around in one of our piles of rubbi..erm archives. I'll have a
dig.
I expect it would have been a fairly short article though as bikes aren't
the main subject of the magazine.

Thanks Roos. If you've still got it, any opinion or review information
would be of interest.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

Danny Colyer said:

Roos Eisma said:

I hardly remember posting that... Fair chance though that the magazine
still is around in one of our piles of rubbi..erm archives. I'll have a
dig.
I expect it would have been a fairly short article though as bikes aren't
the main subject of the magazine.

Quoted message said:

Thanks Roos. If you've still got it, any opinion or review information
would be of interest.

It is online:
http://www.turistforeningen.no/article.php?fo_id=2771&ar_id=5593

"Follow me is a tandem coupling where the child's bike hangs on the
adult's bike. Unfastening is flexible - the child's bike can be quickly
freed so the child can cycle whenever they want. But it takes time to
install the link the first time, and the coupling is so heavy that very
few people will ride with it everyday if the child is not along.

Riding characteristics are good, mainly because the coupling fastens on
the axle of the following bike. The quality is good as well. This can be
related to the price which is higher than the simplest trailerbikes, but a
lot lower than the best trailerbikes."

The article has a link to a website about cycling with children, which
again has links to another review.
http://www.turbarn.no/default.asp?cat=followme/followme.htm

Some quotes:

a test compared the Burley Piccolo and the Follow me. Both got 5 out of 5
for stability while riding. Follow me 5/5 for riding quality, Burley 4/5.
Burley 5/5 for montage, FM 4/5.
It can take 30-60 minutes to install the follow me before use.
That article seems to be in German, if that is any more use than
Norwegian:
http://www.turbarn.no/followme/tester_omtale/TKB_0105_Trailer.pdf

(Actually, it could be that this is the dealer's website - it is a
bit single topic....)

Roos

Roos Eisma said:

It is online:
http://www.turistforeningen.no/article.php?fo_id=2771&ar_id=5593

<snip>

Quoted message said:

http://www.turbarn.no/followme/tester_omtale/TKB_0105_Trailer.pdf

Thanks Roos, both for the links and the translations.

Quoted message said:

(Actually, it could be that this is the dealer's website - it is a
bit single topic....)

You're right, the FollowMe website lists Turbarn as the Norwegian dealer.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

Danny Colyer said:

Does anyone here have any experience of the FollowMe, reviewed briefly
in the latest VeloVision?

<delurk>
I do.

I've had one for three years, and been thoroughly satisfied with it.
Once you've got it set up right the first time (an extra pair of hands
doesn't hurt, but it's doable on your own) then docking/undocking the
child's bike is an absolute doddle.

The child's bike has its front wheel a few inches off the ground when
on tow, but this was never a problem for us. The whole setup seems to
have much less slop in it than trailerbikes we've come across, and
there's no need to mess around with the child's front brake, as I've
seen on some Trail-Gator-type rigs.

Quoted message said:

It should also allow Jenny to ride her own bike for short distances
during family outings. Jenny loves the idea.

We also found that our little 'un was much more inclined to try riding
further on her own if she knew that a tow back home was possible.

Quoted message said:

I've had an encouraging look around the manufacturer's website, but I'd
particularly like to read more about the experiences of people who've
bought the device.

The manufacturer is very friendly and cooperative, especially when it
comes to spare parts and after-sales service.

Quoted message said:

My main concern is about scratching the paintwork on
the child's bike.

Not really a problem. There's a broad Velcro band that goes under the
rather vicious-looking bracket doodad that's attached to the child's
bike's downtube, so paint damage is minimal. We've taken the beast on
holiday and attached it to rented bikes several years running, and the
bike shop owner's still speaking to us, so we can't have done THAT much
damage.

--
Rob

Rob Abram wrote:
<stuff about the FollowMe>

Thanks Rob. My inclination would have been to wrap a strip of old inner
tube over any paintwork that might be in danger, but it's good to be
reassured that the manufacturer has dealt with that concern.

I've pretty much decided to get one. I probably won't need it until
next year, so I'll wait a few months to see if they get a UK distributor
sorted.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2