We love our TowWhee! And there's a new improved version to make it even easier to get your children out on the trail and to have a family mountain bike adventure.
You may well have read our previous review of the TowWhee (see here if you haven't). We loved it so much that we got a second one and the design has been updated and improved.
We have also got one of the quick release accessories that we have been putting through its paces.
In case you haven't come across a TowWhee before, the concept is quite simple. It is basically a bungee tow-rope that allows you to assist your Little Ones on bike rides. Generally speaking, it is for the uphills but we have also used one on flatter, more technical sections at Trail Centres and, on one occasion, we used it on a downhill section to get us home when an emergency brake repair was beyond us. The main point is, it gets us places that the Little Chaps couldn't get to under their own steam so we can mountain bike as a family.
Pics L-R: uphill at Penmachno, Penmachno singletrack for Little Chap #1, big views courtesy of the TowWhee
The new version features a quick release tab that is sewn into one of the end loops. This makes it quicker and easier to remove from the bike that is being towed. It really does work! Little Chap #2 can now release the TowWhee from his bike himself much more easily. This speeds up the process of stopping, removing and re-packing the TowWhee in the rucksack. Not an onerous task in itself you might say, but when you are taking it on and off all day (at e.g. a Trail Centre) then it makes a real difference. Also, we have found on longer, wilder rides that the Little Chaps want it on, want it off as energy levels dip, want it off again etc so this simple update is a really good addition to the TowWhee.
Pic: Quick Release carabiner and loop; Little Chap #1 and Mummy in action
The Quick Release loop (Quick Loop on TowWhee website) is an accessory that you can add to your TowWhee. I was initially sceptical about this, figuring that I could always make one from our climbing gear if I felt it necessary. Obviously, I never made one and now we've used it, we are convinced of it's worthiness!
Little Chap #2 spends quite long periods on the TowWhee as his little legs are still developing their power. Little Chap #1 is more powerful and tends to need the TowWhee in quite short bursts up steeper sections. As such this on and off nature can get really tedious on a long ride. The Quick Loop is an even quicker to release and install loop that the TowWhee fastens into. It makes these changeovers much quicker - even allowing for the new quick release tab.
The additional bonus of this accessory is that it is now possible for Mummy or Daddy to sling the whole TowWhee over their shoulders in between tows. The carabiner creates a loop that be quickly fastened around your shoulders and chest, much quicker than stashing in your rucksack and close to hand when required, inevitably, just minutes later.
Pics L-R: Daddy and Little Chap #2 attempting a "challenge" (we made it!), nearer the top, in Timna Park (Israel) where we wish we had packed the TowWhee!!
We are really sold on the TowWhee. Without it, we simply would not be undertaking the rides we do with the Little Chaps. Penmachno is quite a remote man-made trail in North Wales and we managed some impressively technical stuff with the Little Chaps. This is where an unfortunate incident led to us using the TowWhee in reverse to get Little Chap #2's bike back down the hills after an innocuous accident broke his brake. Our recent rides in the North Dales (Smardale and Barningham) relied on the TowWhee and enabled two fantastic rides. Our recent visit to Timna Park in Israel (see the blog here) would have been much easier if we had thought of packing it! A small addition to our luggage would have saved my arm a lot of pushing on an unexpected mountain bike ride - it will be going everywhere in future!
In short, if you are parents who love to ride mountain bikes and who want to share the same experiences and a sport that you love with your kids, get a TowWhee (or 2 like us!).
The TowWhee strapline really does mirror our own here at WildWaysWildDays - Bigger Adventures Together
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