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#1
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trail-a-bike leans wrong way (was adams trail-a-bike rubbish shifter)
Thanks for the feedback on the shifter - I eventually replaced the
shifter wth a twist-style one (unfortunately still too hard for little hands to change to lower gears but that'll come much sooner than it would have with the un-useable original rubbish). I also made crank shorteners from a pair of old cranks - much better for a 4 1/2 yr old. A new problem is the hitch, and leaning, specifically: when the lead bike leans to enter a corner, the trailing bike leans the same way, but once in the corner the trailing bike is now slightly sideways on and leans out of the corner !! Not helpful for the learning process! [I've since googled for it and perhaps it's a well known issue...ho hum but for those that don't know...It happens because the vertical pivot on the hitch is parallel with the seatpost which of course slopes backwards, quite a lot on my MTB. Not the brightest of designs - if the pivot had simply been welded at an average seatpost-lean-angle it would be better, or even better something with adjustable angle, like the adjustable handebar things]. So, to cut to the chase, has anyone altered one of these hitchs to work more sanely? If so how did you go about it? (I'm considering re-welding the clamp such that the vertical pivot really is vertical. But I'm wondering if I should replace the hitch altogether with something better - it's already developed slop after little use - presumably a function of the short length and crudeness of the pivots. However, I don’t want to have to fabricate the whole thing myself). rgds all, graham. ps - yes, i know I should have just bought the piccolo! The problem was that it doesn't fold, though in retrospect that was a simpler problem to work round! |
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#2
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trail-a-bike leans wrong way (was adams trail-a-bike rubbishshifter)
graham wrote:
Thanks for the feedback on the shifter - I eventually replaced the shifter wth a twist-style one (unfortunately still too hard for little hands to change to lower gears but that'll come much sooner than it would have with the un-useable original rubbish). My experience was that very young children didn't get the idea of shifting anyway, so I'd just stop before a hill and shift it myself. The shifting never worked very well on my Adams, the very short chain stays don't help. I also made crank shorteners from a pair of old cranks - much better for a 4 1/2 yr old. My Adams came with kid-sized cranks, I started my daughter at 4 1/2 without any problems. A new problem is the hitch, and leaning, specifically: when the lead bike leans to enter a corner, the trailing bike leans the same way, but once in the corner the trailing bike is now slightly sideways on and leans out of the corner !! Not helpful for the learning process! I'm having trouble understanding your problem. I pulled my daughter from age 4 1/2 to 9 1/2 in many environments, including a lot of technical off-road trail riding. She had no problems switching to a single bike, which she rode alternately, starting perhaps at age 6. Today, at 12, she's an excellent cyclist, with very good bike handling skills. [I've since googled for it and perhaps it's a well known issue...ho hum but for those that don't know...It happens because the vertical pivot on the hitch is parallel with the seatpost which of course slopes backwards, quite a lot on my MTB. Not the brightest of designs - if the pivot had simply been welded at an average seatpost-lean-angle it would be better, or even better something with adjustable angle, like the adjustable handebar things]. So, to cut to the chase, has anyone altered one of these hitchs to work more sanely? If so how did you go about it? (I'm considering re-welding the clamp such that the vertical pivot really is vertical. But I'm wondering if I should replace the hitch altogether with something better - it's already developed slop after little use - presumably a function of the short length and crudeness of the pivots. However, I don’t want to have to fabricate the whole thing myself). The last thing in the world I'd experiment with is the hitch on a trailer-bike (and I have a degree in mechanical engineering). I had one of the earlier Adams, with the smaller hitch. Ours developed quite a bit of play. I came to regard the play as a feature. Given that almost any hitch design will have some play, I found that a lot was better than a little. My daughter didn't seem to mind the "list" at all and became quite adept at preventing the bike from "flopping" to the other side. In short, she learned to balance very well and kept it leaned. My main problem with the Adams was the "chain keeper", necessary because of no front derailer. It was constantly getting badly bent from hitting rocks and logs and straightening it was a chore. ps - yes, i know I should have just bought the piccolo! The problem was that it doesn't fold, though in retrospect that was a simpler problem to work round! I have never understood the desirability of folding, the trailer-bike isn't very big. I disliked the Piccolo because it required a special rear rack. I wanted to switch towing bikes occasionally, and most of the bikes I wanted to tow with either had a rack for other purposes or were bikes that I didn't want to put a rack on. |
#3
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trail-a-bike leans wrong way (was adams trail-a-bike rubbishshifter)
Peter Cole wrote:
I have never understood the desirability of folding, the trailer-bike isn't very big. Huh? My Halfwheeler is longer than any of my single bikes - way too long to fit in my car, it would even be ungainly in the back of my minivan, and there's no way to put it on my roof rack; but with the boom folded it fits easily in the trunk/boot of my sedan. |
#4
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trail-a-bike leans wrong way (was adams trail-a-bike rubbishshifter)
graham wrote:
So, to cut to the chase, has anyone altered one of these hitchs to work more sanely? If so how did you go about it? I gave up on the seat-post mounted trail-bikes. It's a poor design, both for the pilot and the stoker. I bought a used Burley Piccolo. Six years later I sold it for about $10 less than what I paid for it. The Burley mounting system is much better. Used Piccolos don't last long on craigslist. |
#5
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trail-a-bike leans wrong way (was adams trail-a-bike rubbishshifter)
Diablo Scott wrote:
Peter Cole wrote: I have never understood the desirability of folding, the trailer-bike isn't very big. Huh? My Halfwheeler is longer than any of my single bikes - way too long to fit in my car, it would even be ungainly in the back of my minivan, and there's no way to put it on my roof rack; but with the boom folded it fits easily in the trunk/boot of my sedan. Huh? I just tossed mine on a trunk rack for five years. |
#6
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trail-a-bike leans wrong way (was adams trail-a-bike rubbishshifter)
Thanks for your responses guys. Interesting take of more-slop-is-good, Peter. I suppose it might encourage balancing skills! though right now I'd like a little more control both for me & the towee. The problem with the lean is quite pronounced - maybe my seatpost leans more than yours did; maybe your old model was a slightly better angle; maybe there was so much slop in your hitch after all that off-roading that you couldn't tell SMS - yup, I can see why the piccolos hold their price. But I won't be getting one - have spent enough already for something that's used relatively infrequently. I think I'll get a spare seatpost hitch attachment and reweld it at a better angle (or, if my welding turns out to have deteriorated in disuse I'll pay someone to do it). I'll let you know how I get on! rgds. |
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