Pacific Tag Along

[tobyshadow]

I recently bought a Pacific Tagalong on Ebay with the hitch that attaches to a seatpost. However, when I got home I realised that the hitch was way too big for my seatpost diameter. I came up with a half arsed remedy by wrapping a bit of inner tube on the seatpost then attaching the hitch and tightening the bolts so that it was very tight.

However, it seems that the hitch constantly moves to the right side presumably because my son leans all the time. However it does not readjust at all so I have to keep stopping and move the hitch back into the correct position.

Just wondering what the best solution would be? Would getting a seatpost shim help?

Also how tight does the hitch need to be on the seatpost? I've seen conflicting ideas on this. Some people have said that it should be not too tight so that there is some movements around the hitch/seatpost. However, I always thought that the tagalong pivots around the quick release bolt on the hitch (that attaches the tagalong to the hitch part).

Thanks.

[ironhanglider]

I recently bought a Pacific Tagalong on Ebay with the hitch that attaches to a seatpost. However, when I got home I realised that the hitch was way too big for my seatpost diameter. I came up with a half arsed remedy by wrapping a bit of inner tube on the seatpost then attaching the hitch and tightening the bolts so that it was very tight.

However, it seems that the hitch constantly moves to the right side presumably because my son leans all the time. However it does not readjust at all so I have to keep stopping and move the hitch back into the correct position.

Just wondering what the best solution would be? Would getting a seatpost shim help?

Also how tight does the hitch need to be on the seatpost? I've seen conflicting ideas on this. Some people have said that it should be not too tight so that there is some movements around the hitch/seatpost. However, I always thought that the tagalong pivots around the quick release bolt on the hitch (that attaches the tagalong to the hitch part).

Thanks.

The hitch should be clamped firmly onto the post with no movement at the clamp at all. A shim will do the trick well.

The hitch usually has two pivots to take care of the movement of the tagalong. One of them is likely to be the quick release bolt, the other one will be at 90degrees to that. I find that the hitches are usually the worst thing about tagalongs. I've just spent the afternoon modifying the hitch of my Aldi one to tighten it up. The slightest looseness in the hitch translates into a lot of uncontrolled movement for the rider which has got to be disconcerting. As long as my daughter continues to enjoy riding on it then that is good enough for me.

Cheers,

Cameron

[william]

Unfortunately there are a lot of the cheaper Tag-a-Longs that are close to being a safety concern. The Pacific brand is one. The reason is the universal joint as you describe. It's made of pressed metal and the axles are mild steel with no strength in the bushings,meaning they wear quickly and then the bike sags one way or the other.
Better ones are the Giant branded ones if you can still get them or the American Adams brand. They use a solid machined hitch joint that can be greased and adjusted. They're heavier than a regular bike but they won't break.
I had an Adams that saw 3 kids over 7 years use and was still as serviceable as new.