Parcel trailer?

Peter Cole wrote:

My latest experiment with hitches is my "3-wheeled" tandem. I made this
from 2 bikes. The front bike is unmodified except for the replacement of
the rear hub's axle with a very long one. I spread the legs on the fork
of the rear bike enough to go outside of the front bike's rear dropouts.

How does the thing work as a bearing? The Zoo Bombers in Portland
make double and even triple kidbikes that way, but they use bikes that
have an axle-sized hole in the rear dropout, and bolt up the fork's
ends with two nuts so that the bolt is not clamped where it passes
through the other bike's dropout.

Yaw is provided by the rear bike's headset, pitch by the rear bike's
fork on the front bike's axle. The bikes are coupled in roll.
[...]
I worried a lot about handling, particularly from yaw/pitch coupling and
torsional stiffness.

My biggest concern would be side loading on the rear bike's fork.
With out-of-sync pedaling, you could rock your bike one way while you
wife rocks hers the opposite way. That seems like it could be
especially hard on the fork tips, if nothing else. I suppose your
wife is a lot lighter than... somebody else's wife. But given some of
the mortal injuries that I have seen inflicted on forks by roof racks,
I'd be aware of the potential for problems.

The acid test is my wife. After a lot of initial skepticism (typical),
she now thinks it's a blast to ride. It's fun to get the WTF reaction,
too (much like trailering a skiff). On one ride we passed a squadron of
bents, judging from the geeky cries in our wake I think we rocked some
worlds.

I frequently ride several machines that have that effect, but the
Austin Bike Zoo's 80-foot-long 33-wheeled rattlesnake is
unparalleled. I usually help transport it between events, through
city streets where there isn't anything in particular going on.
"Stupefied" is the word I'd use to describe most people's reactions.
After snapping out of their blank stares, a lot of folks whip out
their camera phones and try to catch a snapshot as the giant reptile
slithers away.

http://austinbikezoo.org/image/tid/3

Chalo

Werehatrack wrote:

Mike Rocket J Squirrel

So my question
relates to practicality of modifying a kiddie trailer to carry the load.
Sturdy enough to support 80 lbs? Enough room for 24'' square parcel
between the wheels?

Usually "yes" to both. *Varies by what's available. *I'd avoid the
ones with all-plastic wheels, though.

Plastic mags vary a lot in quality and structural integrity. One of
my buddies has a trike and trailer with 16" Skyway nylon mags set up
as duallies-- 4 wheels on the rear of the trailer, and 4 wheels on the
rear of the trike. He's had more than a dozen adults aboard that
trailer with no structural or mechanical issues. He beefed up the
axles and bearings to 5/8" for his application, but the wheels and 16"
Maxxis Hookworm tires have exceeded expectations.

No-name plastic mags from department store kidbikes have proven to be
pretty sketchy, though.

Chalo

Chalo wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:
My latest experiment with hitches is my "3-wheeled" tandem. I made this
from 2 bikes. The front bike is unmodified except for the replacement of
the rear hub's axle with a very long one. I spread the legs on the fork
of the rear bike enough to go outside of the front bike's rear dropouts.

How does the thing work as a bearing? The Zoo Bombers in Portland
make double and even triple kidbikes that way, but they use bikes that
have an axle-sized hole in the rear dropout, and bolt up the fork's
ends with two nuts so that the bolt is not clamped where it passes
through the other bike's dropout.

I did something similar. I didn't want to modify the front bike, so I
used very thick (~2mm) brass washers. The washers are sized to be an
interference fit in the rear fork's lawyer lips, I use 2 on each side of
the fork tip, 8 in total and greased them. On the outside, I double
nutted. The axle is resting on brass and the pitch causes motion between
the greased washers. In other words, going outboard from the front
bike's (rear) dropout it goes: nut, washer, washer, fork, washer,
washer, nut, nut.


Yaw is provided by the rear bike's headset, pitch by the rear bike's
fork on the front bike's axle. The bikes are coupled in roll.
[...]
I worried a lot about handling, particularly from yaw/pitch coupling and
torsional stiffness.

My biggest concern would be side loading on the rear bike's fork.
With out-of-sync pedaling, you could rock your bike one way while you
wife rocks hers the opposite way. That seems like it could be
especially hard on the fork tips, if nothing else. I suppose your
wife is a lot lighter than... somebody else's wife. But given some of
the mortal injuries that I have seen inflicted on forks by roof racks,
I'd be aware of the potential for problems.

That was my major concern, too, as my wife would be hard to replace. The
forks I used are very beefy MTB (rigid) forks with thick dropouts.
Bending forces are distributed by the washers, but most of the bending
forces are reduced by the bracing angle of the fork legs. Currently, my
axle is 300mm, and made from solid high strength steel. I also have some
1" OD, 10mm drilled aluminum stock that I thought I might make spacers
from and increase the fork spread further. I'm not sure it's necessary.

The acid test is my wife. After a lot of initial skepticism (typical),
she now thinks it's a blast to ride. It's fun to get the WTF reaction,
too (much like trailering a skiff). On one ride we passed a squadron of
bents, judging from the geeky cries in our wake I think we rocked some
worlds.

I frequently ride several machines that have that effect, but the
Austin Bike Zoo's 80-foot-long 33-wheeled rattlesnake is
unparalleled. I usually help transport it between events, through
city streets where there isn't anything in particular going on.
"Stupefied" is the word I'd use to describe most people's reactions.
After snapping out of their blank stares, a lot of folks whip out
their camera phones and try to catch a snapshot as the giant reptile
slithers away.

http://austinbikezoo.org/image/tid/3

Chalo

Cool. My creations seem so dull by comparison. One thing about the
3-wheeled tandem though is that it almost looks normal. Non-bikers don't
seem to even notice, bikers are the ones that seem to do a double-take.
Towing a skiff gets strange reactions sometimes, like almost militantly
positive (fist pumping) like I'm doing something
bike-y/counter-culture-ish -- perhaps I am. It does make me a little
self-conscious to do something on the city streets in broad daylight
that I've never seen anyone do before. It's bad when the bent riders
look at you like you're eccentric.

Hi,

Werehatrack wrote:
Usually "yes" to both. Varies by what's available. I'd avoid the
ones with all-plastic wheels, though.

There's a very broad range of quality in plastic wheels - some are more
like "gliders", while some are quite suited for trailers - my homebrew
trailer uses child-buggy wheels which have ball-bearings in their
plastic housing (with plastic spokes and rim). Works quite well for me.

Ciao...

Werehatrack wrote:
On Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:57:15 -0800, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
may have said:

Seen those around, look highly functional. However, no gottum bucks for
new trailer. Must save pennies and purchase used. Kiddie trailers are
commonly available in these parts in used condition. So my question
relates to practicality of modifying a kiddie trailer to carry the load.
Sturdy enough to support 80 lbs? Enough room for 24'' square parcel
between the wheels?

Usually "yes" to both. Varies by what's available. I'd avoid the
ones with all-plastic wheels, though.

I think these "plastic" wheels would be good for trailer use, however:
http://www.hedcycling.com/wheels/hed3carbon.php.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the precipitate.

On Nov 14, 6:52*pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 11/14/2008 12:52 PM Fritz wrote:





On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:20:55 -0800, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:

On 11/13/2008 11:07 AM Fritz wrote:

On Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:57:15 -0800, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:

On 11/13/2008 4:53 AM !Jones wrote:

On Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:07:57 -0800, in rec.bicycles.tech Mike Rocket J
Squirrel wrote:

Every so often I have to haul a parcel to the post office. Smaller parcels
fit into my handlebar basket, but I have these larger ones that
occasionally need a lift. They are 24'' square and about 15'' tall.. Weigh
about 80 lbs.

I'd like to find a little trailer for this. Used kiddie trailers are
frequently craigslisted around here, but I dunno how easily one could be
modified into a flat platform, whether they are hefty enough for a load
like this, or, with the tent top removed, are commodious enough for a 24''
square box within.

Has anyone here on this NG invented this wheel already, or has a bike shop
that sells Burly or similar that might be able to advise?
My favorite is BOB. *http://www.bobgear.com/trailers/
Seen those around, look highly functional. However, no gottum bucks for
new trailer. Must save pennies and purchase used. Kiddie trailers are
commonly available in these parts in used condition. So my question
relates to practicality of modifying a kiddie trailer to carry the load.
Sturdy enough to support 80 lbs? Enough room for 24'' square parcel
between the wheels?

Here is pic of my dumspter trailer that I turned into a grocery
trailer:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=wv34b4&s=4

Here is picture of the hitch I married to the old trailer:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2ah5iyh&s=4

This is where I was able to purchase the hitch:
http://www.biketrailershop.com/catalog/index.php

I found the kid trailer in a heap of trash and stripped it down so it
was just a square platform with wheels. *This trailer did not have a
hitch when I found it so I took one of the canopy support arms and cut
it to size and attached to the *left side of the trailers with bolts.
I then bought a very safe hitch system from a company on the internet
and attached it to the trailer and bike. *The hitch is very important
safety item for any bike trailer. *I also had to add a flex connector
to the hitch. *The hitch and the flex connector are made for burly
trailers *and cost around 35 dollars. Dont skimp on a decent hitch
and flex connector.

Then I bought the plastic tub and lid from Homedepot for about $12
bucks and some bunge cords to hold it on.

Works great and easily holds 80 to 100 pounds of stuff. * I know that
I have filled it with groceries and a few times and pulled it with not
much problem.

Cool. What's the spacing between the wheels? IOW, could you drop a 24''
wide box between them tires w/o rubbing?

The Spacing on my Trailer is 27 inches from rubber sidewall to rubber
sidewall.

Okay then -- you have the trailer I want. Just need to slip up behind you,
conk you on the head with a brickbat, and abscond with your trailer.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just laughed out loud at this. Conk, brickbat, abscond... you
paint with words my friend.

Thanks for starting this thread, by the way. I've been looking into
building a trailer myself, and I'm getting some good ideas here.

On Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:04:53 -0600, Tom Sherman
may have said:

Werehatrack wrote:
On Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:57:15 -0800, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
may have said:

Seen those around, look highly functional. However, no gottum bucks for
new trailer. Must save pennies and purchase used. Kiddie trailers are
commonly available in these parts in used condition. So my question
relates to practicality of modifying a kiddie trailer to carry the load.
Sturdy enough to support 80 lbs? Enough room for 24'' square parcel
between the wheels?

Usually "yes" to both. Varies by what's available. I'd avoid the
ones with all-plastic wheels, though.

I think these "plastic" wheels would be good for trailer use, however:
http://www.hedcycling.com/wheels/hed3carbon.php.

You will not find those already present on a kiddie-carrier trailer,
however, which was what the question was about. The kid trailers I've
seen with resin wheels have varied considerably in their quality, so
the best advice I can give about the trailers so equipped is "avoid".
That said, I'm swapping a set ot 16" plastics off of a kiddie trailer
and replacing them with 20" conventional spoked wheels for my
grocery-fetcher, and the 16" wheels will go on a box cart for yard
use. The trailer has a steel frame, which I will augment with plywood
and padded carpet, adding bungee eyes along the edges of the deck.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Werehatrack wrote:
On Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:04:53 -0600, Tom Sherman
may have said:

Werehatrack wrote:
On Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:57:15 -0800, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
may have said:

Seen those around, look highly functional. However, no gottum bucks for
new trailer. Must save pennies and purchase used. Kiddie trailers are
commonly available in these parts in used condition. So my question
relates to practicality of modifying a kiddie trailer to carry the load.
Sturdy enough to support 80 lbs? Enough room for 24'' square parcel
between the wheels?

Usually "yes" to both. Varies by what's available. I'd avoid the
ones with all-plastic wheels, though.

I think these "plastic" wheels would be good for trailer use, however:
http://www.hedcycling.com/wheels/hed3carbon.php.

You will not find those already present on a kiddie-carrier trailer,
however, which was what the question was about.[...]

What? No $1.5K wheel set as standard equipment on a kiddie-trailer? What
is the world coming to?

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the precipitate.