£1,549 from Taga stockists

The perfect child-carrying machine?

Tell yourself that this bike/pushchair is stylish and functional, and it will attract attention from the Yummiest of Mummies when you strut its funky stuff around town.

Tell your wife that Taga will bring you closer to your child and allow you to explore together in style.

I might have just found Holland’s most exciting export since Ruud Gullit. Taga is a pushchair that converts into a bike with child seat. While based in the Netherlands, Taga’s UK office has kindly loaned Henry and me a demo bike that we have been rigorously test-riding – to much admiration from all who have witnessed our travels.

Taga, you’re it

Taga is an adult plus child tricycle (with 2 wheels at the front) or a 3-wheeler pushchair (with 2 wheels at the rear). It is sold with a child seat as standard that will accommodate children between approximately 6 months and 6 years of age. Coming later this year will be all sorts of clever add-ons that will allow Taga to take car seats for newborns, and even to carry two children at once. Taga is designed to be cycled into town and then pushed around the shops, and all without having to disturb your child.

Quick switch

First things first: just exactly how does Taga convert between a pushchair and a bike? Allow Henry and me to demonstrate in this short video:

So you can see that the conversion takes literally seconds, and switching back to pushchair mode is similarly swift. All parts of the process are simple and intuitive, while the mechanisms on the Taga seem like they would stand up to frequent conversions. The Taga also disassembles into a smaller format that could fit into a car boot for transportation.

Sturdy birdy

It seems that quality parts are the signature of Taga. The frame is sturdy and robust, while all moving parts give the impression that they are built to last. This quality comes at a price, however, with Taga being over twice as heavy as a conventional pushchair and around 50% heavier than a standard bike with child seat. You won’t notice the added weight while cycling around town, but during a walk your biceps will soon begin to notice the extra flab.

Good times

In bike mode, Taga is immensely fun to ride. The front wheels steer on a pivot system that makes for sharp turns that might catch you out at first, but soon become natural. You ride nice and high as does your child, making frequent interaction a fun part of the ride (“Look Henry, a dog!”, “Look Henry, a birdie!” “Look Henry, a Yummy Mummy!”). The 3 gears are sufficient for moderate speed and slight inclines although no more than that, but for a gentle cycle on the level they are just fine. The chain mechanism is nicely shielded so there’ll be no oil on your trousers, and there are both front and rear brakes for ultimate safety. The front brake lever also has a pushbutton locking mechanism that acts as the handbrake/footbrake.

Bad times

Sadly, it is when you convert Taga into a pushchair that you begin to see where serious compromises have been made in its design. The biggest problem is that the single front wheel does not swivel, which makes Taga incredibly difficult to manoeuvre around town. Even when walking down a long, relatively straight path, you constantly have to make minute adjustments in direction that require tilting Taga back on its two rear wheels before you can swivel it around. This would be annoying enough with a light pushchair, but considering Taga’s girth the inconvenience becomes very tiring indeed. Of course, the front wheel can’t swivel because it holds the gears and chain mechanism for the bike mode, but there must surely be an innovative solution to make it work.

Help, I’m stuck

The second major issue with pushchair mode is that the single front wheel does not roll backwards. When you’re shopping with a pushchair there are countless occasions when you need to reverse, and without a swivelling front wheel this is even more important. During a shopping trip with Taga there were so many times when I had to drag that front wheel backwards, or tilt back onto its rear wheels, in order to extricate Henry and I from a tight spot. Again, the added weight makes this doubly frustrating.

No, honestly, I’m really stuck

The final nail in the coffin of Taga’s pushchair mode is its sheer size. The wheelbase is 71 cm compared with our usual (Jané Slalom Pro) 3 wheeler’s 61 cm. You would be amazed at how many shop doors we had to scrape and how many shop aisles we simply couldn’t fit through. The extra 10 cm clearly makes all the difference, as we have never had such trouble with our Jané. To make matters worse, the sticky-out handlebar configuration actually makes the handlebar span even greater at 74 cm. So the times when our wheels just made it through the door, our handlebars started grinding awkwardly against glass and hinges.

There are other smaller issues, such as the very wide handlebar stance making my arms ache when pushing, the gear shifter making for an awkward grip on the left handlebar, and the plastic end-covers popping off the handlebars and wheels whenever they get the merest sniff of a narrow door. In fact, the only positive things I can say are that it has a generously sized storage bin underneath and the supplied sun hood is stylish and effective (although it rubs on your knees in bike mode). But overall, it is the sheer lack of manoeuvrability that unfortunately makes Taga distinctly unpleasant to use as a pushchair.

How much?

Retailing at £1,549 (Taga stockists) the Taga is a high-end product, no-doubt, but can the average parent justify such expense? Well, if the Taga replaced a posh 3-wheeler pushchair (worth, let’s say, £500) and a decent bike with child seat (let’s say another £500), then you’re still spending considerably more with the Taga. But does the neat integration of two devices into one justify the high price tag?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. I would recommend Taga as a standalone bike as it is really superb in that format – smooth, stable, and providing close interaction with your child. But the pushchair functionality is so woeful that you would seek to avoid it unless you absolutely had to. This means you’d still need to buy a decent pushchair as well as owning the Taga.

I really do think that Taga is a fun, fresh and innovative product. With an overhaul of the pushchair design, perhaps Taga version 2 might be able to win my wallet as well as my heart.

Dadgets.info says that the Taga makes a pretty cool bike for you and your child. However, the pushchair mode is best forgotten, and the price is far too steep for the bike functionality alone.

Grin like a child at the high cycling position and the looks of admiration from passers-by.

Cry like a baby when you get stuck in pushchair mode at the rear of Poundland with no means of escape from an angry mob of pensioners.

Dadgets.info rating: 6 out of 10

Do you remember the Taga convertible bike/pushchair I told you about back in June? Well, Henry and I finally have our sticky hands on a demo model and we’re test-driving the heck out of it right now. Please check back here on 1st September when you can read our full review. Will we find Taga to be the perfect child-carrying machine?

Before you had a child, a cosy little beach shelter would have been just the thing for a bit of summer nookie with your mistress. But now you’re a father, and your mistress has left you for a man without vomit on his clothing, you’ll be needing a beach shelter to house your gorgeous wife and child on those hot summer days.

Beach Shelta Family UV Beach Tent (£53.99 from Travelling With Children)

Shelta are an Aussie company and should therefore know a thing or two about sun protection. Their UV Beach Tent is self-erecting (snigger, snigger) and takes only seconds to construct. It has sand pockets to keep it firmly rooted to the beach, and also comes with a handy groundsheet so you don’t need to lay towels inside. Unfortunately it costs quite a bit of wonga - much too much when you consider what else is on the market.

Nivea Family Cabana Sun Tent (£39.95 from Jacksons Camping)

A little more reasonably priced is the Family Cabana Sun Tent from Nivea, who are better known for producing sun cream than sun shelters. Their sun-tent is also ‘pop-up’ which means that it will be erect quicker than a teenager in a brothel. Sadly, it doesn’t have an integrated ground sheet so you’ll have to use towels to avoid your little boy getting sandy balls while he crawls around the tent.

Coleman Sundome (£14.99 from Amazon.co.uk)

Can the winner of my sun shelter buying guide really cost only £15? Yes siree Bob! The Coleman Sundome really is a top-notch beach shelter for very little moola. It has the all-important sand pockets for stability, and impressively it has a huge groundsheet that extends far beyond the tent. This provides a really sizeable area to frolic around in, and has the added feature that it can fully zip up to close the dome while you are changing, or perhaps to hide your huge Dadget collection while you’re out at sea. The only downside is that it is not self-erecting – like a married man, it will require a few minutes of careful attention before it is fully erect.

Henry and I have bought a Coleman Sundome and we’ll give you our full review very soon! (Full review now here)