Hot answers tagged trailer
13
Delicate items would probably survive best in a small backpack. Your body acts like a natural shock absorber so anything strapped to your back should get the smoothest ride, especially if you're out of the saddle for the bumpiest sections. Remember to keep the pack light though.
Put heavier items like milk on a rear rack, rear panniers or ideally on a ...
12
One-wheeled trailers are more agile and don't increase the width of your bike. They lean with the bike. If you're going to go really narrow places, you need one-wheel.
Two-wheeled trailers can generally carry more weight and are less prone to making the bike fall over when you stop.
So, what are you going to do with the trailer? Going up and down ...
12
Recommendations for transporting twins on a bike? A trailer.
I'm a father myself - my son is nearly 9 months old, and I cycle a lot. In the area that I live, I wouldn't feel safe having him on the road with me at all.
If I were offroad, or on more quiet roads, I would definitely prefer to have him in a trailer; they're more stable for you and your child ...
10
You could always get a seat for one in front of you (handlebar mounted child seat)
and the second behind you (conventional rack-mount child seat). Probably have to have them trade off to minimize fights, since the front seat is probably a lot more fun (and easier to watch the kid). I see a couple around town where the wife carries their kid in a handlebar ...
9
Followed some links from your links and found the actual text of the law, which summarizes the law as:
Prohibits person from carrying child
under six years of age on bicycle or
in bicycle trailer.
Elsewhere in Oregon law, a bicycle is defined as:
[a human-powered vehicle] designed to travel with not more than three wheels in contact with the ...
9
Advantages of a one wheel bike trailer
Easier to add suspension
Less wide (less likely to be hit by a motorist)
Advantages of a two wheel bike trailer
More stable at low speeds
Climbs better (since it does not need momentum to remain up right)
Probably has more cargo capacity
Easier to make
8
This is pretty unconventional and not necessarily available to you, but here's some food for thought. Friends of mine had had a custom 'rack' built for their Kona Ute by a local rack & frame-builder to transport their two daughters (although they are much older). It came out exceptionally well (plus the girls love it):
(Photo courtesy Lois Keenan, ...
8
I don't transport a lot of groceries, but physics tells us that we really shouldn't worry about going up and down so much, but that we should worry more about things getting knocked around. An egg in the carton shouldn't break simply because you accelerate it quickly, it's going to get broken when it takes flight and then falls back down. Uneven pressure ...
6
I just built a trailer based on the Wike DIY kit.
I decided to make it after seeing this great looking trailer.
I don't have experience with single wheel trailers. I am happy so far, but my experience has been very limited. The intent was to use it for local cargo runs - not long-hauling/touring
I'll report more here as the months go by
Here is a ...
5
I buy all my bike lights from http://www.dealextreme.com - they are in HongKong but have free postage to Canada.
You are just buying the same made in China stuff in the shops direct from the makers in China. Avoid the very cheapest stuff (destined for a Dollar store near you!) and check the reviews.
edit: specifically for your trailer you can't beat this ...
5
A trailer with a 100# capacity fully loaded over the axle is unlikely to cause significant damage to your bicycle frame--even using the attachment device shown for the Rhode Gear trailer, above. The "tongue weight" of such a trailer would probably be in the twenty-to-thirty pound range.
Just don't load this trailer--or any trailer--with all of the weight ...
5
My personal experience is go with the one-wheel trailer... you won't even now its behind you if you pack it balanced. My trailer is just like the first picture and while I was training for a 100+ mile ride - I loaded it down with gallon water jugs... and if I got really tired pulling it I just poured the water out(usually some on me - it gets really hot in ...
5
Depending on how comfortable your kids are on a bike, you could get something like the Trail-a-Bike Tandem It's as narrow as a regular bike. I don't have any experience with it, but it seems like it might work.
Xtracycle also have various bolt on longtail attachments for regular bikes. I'm not sure if two four year olds would be too heavy on a longtail, ...
4
If you have the requisite skills you could make one of these (or get someone to make it for you):
There are lots of details on his site Rutzer Tales.
4
How do you feel about modifying your trailer?
adding some suspension could absorb some of the bumps
bigger wheels and high profile (i.e. lots of rubber) low pressure tyres would also go a long way towards smoothing out bumps in the road, though a warning: if they're too wide they might reduce your manoeuvrability with the trailer attached
some permanent ...
4
These hitches don't work very well. They don't grab tightly enough, so they can twist around the bar and bump in to the wheel. As they twist they will take off the paint. They also require a lot of turns to attach and remove.
I had two trailers with this kind of hitch, and 3 bikes to pull with. I bought this Burley flex connector for each trailer:
I used ...
4
For what you are asking about I would recommend buying a used kid trailer (for about $50 - $150), cutting off the fabric and adding some kind of floor/bin. Interestingly enough most child trailers are rated for up to 100 pounds were as the BOB trailer is only weighted for 75 (if I remember correctly).
The only advantage of a BOB or Extra wheel trailer is ...
4
The FollowMe Tandem is the only commercial product that I've seen that does this effectively.
This is not a cheap solution but it likely carries high resale value. The unit is well made (I've installed several) and can be completely detached from the parent bike except for the mounts on the rear axle.
You can probably get some good DIY ideas from their ...
3
I don't know about strip lighting, but can help with side lighting: REI ships to Canada, and they sell spoke lights. While they don't satisfy your requirement for rechargeable batteries, they are easy to install, come in Amber, and are waterproof.
These aren't as bright as, say, a Planet Bike Superflash -- which REI also sells -- but the motion of the ...
3
Something like the Bob trailer could be useful. It has suspension.
The BoB trailer is a one wheeled trailer so probably modifying yours to work like the Bob would be impossible. However if you were to build a new one making something like the bob could be a good idea.
My understanding is that one wheel trailers are better for rough conditions.
...
3
Strip the textile parts off, check the construction of the frame.
If the frame is a rectangle, put a fitting plastic bin / tub from home depot inside the rectangle.
If the frame is interspersed with beams, put a platform on top and put a bin / tub on top of that. Or maybe just a short railing like the one on croozer cargo.
You want to have the center ...
3
I had one of these that had, at the end of the towing arm from the trailer, a moulded plastic part that fit in the angle between the seat stay and chain stay tubes, it then had a hinged part that was tightened down onto the seat stay. It only took 30 seconds to fit or remove. Having said all this I do not know if this it the 'classic' or 'alternative' ...
3
Besides talking to individuals in your local bike shops, you can look for 'recreational' or 'touring' clubs. A Google Search for Bicycle Touring Clubs turns up clubs like our club in Utah, Bonneville Cycling Club (formerly the Bonneville Bicycle Touring Club).
Larger recreational or touring clubs will usually rate their group rides by a couple of measures ...
3
There are recumbent trikes available here in Australia which link together so that one tows the other - if the back person chooses not to pedal then it would effectively be a trailer, with the rear person just sitting like in chair. These would be much lower and more stable than having a scaled-up kiddie trailer or wheelchair.
For slow speeds and a ...
2
I've had experience transporting a laptop, which I also didn't want to jostled. The best padding for it was not an official "laptop sleeve", but wrapping it in bulking fleece jacket, and then stuffing that into my pannier, which made a tight fit. I would be inclined to take the same approach with a carton of eggs: wrap them in fleece jacket, stuff that in a ...
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