Replacing the Car : Bicycle Trailer

Hagakure_Leofman

Hello Folks,

And so I've taken advantage of shipping, as it still exists, to invest in a bike trailer to help replace the use of the family car. I contemplated building a trailer myself, but after weighing up the material + time investment vs. purchasing a ready-made, the latter won out; and I'm glad it did.

Over the last six months, I've progressively replaced my auto driving habits with bike riding ones. I now live in a rural area of central Victoria Australia with my lovely partner and young daughter, and while I'd previously done a lot of riding while living in cities, I must say it's far more enjoyable in the country. I'm now riding between 150-200km a week, and enjoying the benefits of fitness and not at all missing the petrol bowser!

Of course, up until now, there were still some 'missions' that required the use of our car; a number I'm glad to say has now been significantly reduced. Typical trips for groceries, animal feed, general errands and so forth, that exceeded what my saddle bags could carry, will now be handled by the BOB.

So my 'Beast of Burden' trailer was delivered this morning and I'm looking forward to taking it out for it's first spin. This evening I unpackaged the trailer and assembled it. The photos I've included below, along with some observations. Tomorrow, I'll make the final attachments to my bike and document the test ride and provide a description of how it rolls and so forth.

For those interested, I hope you enjoy Smile

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Australian (or international people I suppose), might like to know that I ordered this on recommendation from the people at Dean Woods. Very fast delivery. I considered a second-hand trailer, but at the time, there wasn't any BOBs for sale (though I have seen them previously). Weighing it up, I thought it might be safer to go with a new one since they take a fair punishment.

This was somewhat amusing. I don't consider myself mechanically minded either. Although it listed the tools required (which I was concerned I wouldn't have), I didn't end up needing anything special beyond a basic allen key set, phillips head screwdriver, and a couple of spanners.

efficiently packaged...

...and unpackaged.

Thankfully, the BOB people provide excellent instructions. Generally, I intuitively put things together, but at times assistance was required. This instructions were written in english and not translated from chinese!

As you can see from the photos, the yellow bag is 'all weather'. It's a robust rubber bag that folds over at the top, and it's basically water-proof. It fits perfectly into the trailer tray, and is secured by a set of stretchy monkey thingos (or whatever they are called).

The tray can be seen well here. In this photo, it seems small, but the trailer is very well proportioned. In one review that I read prior to deciding, the reviewer said that they thought the BOB design was somewhat 'dated'. How ridiculous a statement that is! Considering that in this department, efficiency, aerodynamics and lightness are key; once a good design it arrived at, changing it for the sake of something so vaporous as 'style' is the height of stupidity.

The tray is large. It is rated to carry 32kg or 70pounds. Though I'm sure depending on the kind of cargo and road surface it would handle a lot more.

Sturdy mud guard (fender). In my research (for those interested), the Ibex (the model with suspension) has a poor fender. The Yak (this one), is superior in fender. I did consider the Ibex (suspension trailer), though I'm a fan of simplicity, and ddon't like the idea of more parts that break down. I understand that the Ibex also sits higher off the ground (assuming rougher terrain). It's tray appears a little smaller. It certainly wasn't money that determined my choice. The Yak was it.

Small, though wheel.

The assembled product.

With the dry-sack included.

So tomorrow, I'll rig up the bike and take a test drive before reporting back here with some more observations...

dunewalker

Hagakure, thanks for the write-up! That looks like one nice trailer. Using only one wheel would seem to reduce weight, rolling resistance, vulnerability to punctures and makes for a simpler machine. How much does it weigh? I recently built a bicycle trailer after going through much the same decision process that you did. It has 2 wheels, 20" and is made from discarded steel tubing. The hitch is a piece of radiator hose from my truck and seems to work quite well. Obviously your trailer is much lighter. Mine can double as a hand-drawn cart if necessary-it could even carry the broken bicycle!
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jlw61

Hagakure,

I too will be very interested in your updates. While I agree that the single wheel version is probably far superior for pedaling, I fear losing my load should I dump my bicycle (this is not a minor concern as I am somewhat of a clutz).

I'm hoping someone with a comercial two wheel cart will share their experiences here, also. A lively debate on the pros/cons of each would be wonderful for those of us wanting to move towards a bicycle lifestyle.
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Hagakure_Leofman

Pops

We have the daughter's retired 2-seat kid trailer, it is the 2 wheel kind obviously. if is could haul those little porkers it could easily haul 100#+ of whatever and it's covered. Change out the tubes to the foam non-pneumatic jobs and it would be pretty reliable.

I'd think they would be pretty common at yard sales, flea markets and consignment shops...
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IanC

Excellent post. Good job!

We, too, are into cargo bikes for our local trips in Portland.

If the trailer thing does not appeal to someone, check-out the Xtracycle (Xtracycle.com). I've had 2 children and 4 bags of groceries on it and it balances very well.

We recently got a tandem from BikeFriday.com and have a single wheel bike trailer behind it for a triple family bike train. WAy fun. No gas. Kids love it.

People on the street are asking more and more about our family/cargo bike options every day... I wonder why....

-Ian

steam_cannon · Expert Joined: Dec 28, 2006 Posts: 2466 Location: MA

Looks nice! Very Happy

skyemoor

Good work, Hagakure. Thanks for the assembly experience, too.

Others might also like to see a Trailer Comparison Chart of many available trailers.

I've been thinking about a Bikes At Work trailer, which are fairly configurable and heavy duty.

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frankthetank

I found this picture about a week ago on another site. Had to share it.

I have a bicycle trailer for the kid, but we've only used it 2x (winter doesn't want to die). I've noticed that without it i avg about 15-17mph (computer) and with it and the kid its about 10mph...so it does slow you down. Mine had pretty big tires (2o inch?).
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katkinkate

How do you fair with dogs? Isn't the fast traffic on narrow country roads a bit dangerous? I don't want to be critical but I've thought about it as an option for myself and I have concerns with these things myself.
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Hagakure_Leofman

Hagakure_Leofman

Following up from my original post with details of the trailers attachment to the bike itself, plus observations on the maiden voyage.

It was raining this morning when I went to attach the trailer for the first time, but since rain is a total rarity now where I live (see: Wikipedia : Effects of global warming on Australia), I saw it as a good opportunity to test out the fender performance and find out if I need to make any modifications for wet weather riding (however rare an event that now seems to be!).

Pictured below is my original rig. This consists of a pair of very reliable rear panniers (strange name for them - apparently it's any bag or similar container strung in pairs over a beast of burden, though it's also the name of a kind of undershirt worn in the 18th century). These bags have served me well for years now, doing thousands of useful kilometers for pleasure and function.

For the purpose of testing the new trailer, I decided to remove them temporarily. I'd heard it said that front panniers are actually more beneficial to trailer use, as they stabilize the bike and prevent the front wheel lifting off the ground. Since the BOB is so low to the ground, I doubt very much that rear panniers will be a problem, but I can imagine some difficulties on extremely heavy loads.

Here she is, all assembled and ready to be attached.

Now with rear bottle holders, that were removed from my bike and placed on the nifty bottle attachments. Though now with the cancer risks over hardened plastic, I'm not sure I'll be using these suckers any longer. I never really like the taste of water held in plastic anyway.

Out come the instructions again! Don't want to mess up this attachment, as my life relies on it!

The BOB comes with a replacement quick-release rod for your bikes rear wheel. This provides you with a inch or so greater length on the rod, thus allowing the trailer to be rigged up. Apparently, on some bikes, this rod has to be hack-sawed shorter, though I was the perfect length for mine.

As you can see from this photo, there is a extension bolt that sites beyond the standard quick release tightening bolt. This thing is asymmetrical so it can be reversed so the trailer will sit properly. It's got a groove in it, that supports the trailer. The trailer itself is secured by passing a curved pin over the bike frame and through a small hole (that presumably all modern bikes have).

I know, that probably sounds like pig latin, but honestly, I worked this part out by trial and error - not from the included instructions!

So here it is, all ready to go.

And again...

And now for the 'hero shot'! The trailer in action. I'm totally satisfied with this purchase. I'm been working a lot personally, on reducing my personal consumption habits, and purchases like this are rare for me. I generally spend a long time researching these kind of things before making a decision. As a result, I'm usually quite pleased with the outcome of my decisions. This is exceptional. The BOB is a great addition to my life, and for only $465, I think it's a total bargain. It boggles my mind that people invest $50K on cars that only enslave them with further insurance costs, and petrol fees.

With this baby, beyond maintenance, it's essentially free, and riding it only makes me fit and positive (even in bad weather - as it makes the bath or shower afterwards, that much more enjoyable).

It trailers performance is beautiful. It glides behind the bike like it wasn't there. I can't emphasis that point too much. It tracks perfectly with the bike. Admittedly, I haven't carried a heavy load yet, but I'm certain it won't present any problems.

A few groceries to test out of the monkey grips (is this what they are called anyone??) At this point, I was quite amused by the stares. As I said earlier, people look at this things like the monkeys look at the monolith from Kubrick's 2001 : A Space Odyssey! To me, it seems so simple and elegant. An efficient design, and I'm amazed that people haven't been using these from a long time. I suppose that it's only really in the west that people don't use this kind of thing commonly. I've personally seen some pretty amazing motorcycle rigs around the world. Carrying one's own weight though, plus cargo seems pretty essential an activity.

Having said all of this, later I intend to ride my horse for the same tasks, as I don't believe roads will be properly maintained. So really this is a medium term solution to replacing the car.

Leaving this behind...

I'm willing to bet I'll see a couple of these trailers appear in the local area within the next 6 months. Just using this trailer makes me an advertisement for other people to realize they don't have to pay through the teeth for a diminishing resource that only enslaves them.

I saw the newspaper headline as I was buying some food, and it read "$125 / month increase on average family food expenditure". Of course, none of these articles ever ask WHY oil is more expensive.

Maybe, hopefully, as I cruise by someone might ask themselves if they really need their car for every small trip to town. You never know, it might jsut be the beginning for them, of a new awareness.

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1519

Hagakure,
Great posts! Love the pictures, and well told, too.

I don't understand how the whole rig works in a turn. It appears there is no steering to the trailer, and looks like the trailer wheel would have to skid sideways to turn sharply. What am I missing?

This is the first single wheel trailer I've seen. The 2 wheel trailers are attached with a hitch that swivels for turning. I'm mystified about this.

edit: Okay. I see the pivot now. Duh. Stupid here.
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Hagakure_Leofman

Hagakure_Leofman

You could definitely build one Patience.

I saw a good example recently and wished I had my camera with me. Tomorrow, I'll take a closer photo of exactly how the trailer attaches so you might gain a few ideas for your own. A bike technician I know told me that he recently repaired a bob saw a lot of action and the bottom mesh was the only issue. In building your own, take into mind punishment from below the bike.

Glad this thread has inspired you!