Originally Posted by
Sixty Fiver
The threaded pipe joint provides the rotation and allows the bike or trailer to go well off camber without affecting the other. It's my favourite part of the trailer since this and the fact it connects directly behind the back wheel makes it a trailer that handles well at speed.
As a fellow u-joint proponent I must commend you on your design. It's also may favoured part of my trailer. Anyone who appreciates a good mechanism can't help but love the u-joint. I like the idea of non-bike wheels, I was looking for an oddly sized wheel, 14", and might look to see if that size exists in non-bike wheels. Just took my trailer (12" wheels) through 5" of snow, the trailer became a snow-plough. A complete joke.
The arms of your hitch, are they sufficiently rigid to dstop the hitch flexing side to side? I'm starting to get the feeling I massively over-engineered everything.
Homeless Dave, thanks for the information. Soon I'll come to terms with the idea that 16" wheeels are my only alternative to 12". When my 12" rims came in the mail I almost choked to death on my scoffs. They looked ridiculously, laughably small. In my naivety I thought at the time that 12" was the rim diameter. However, no-one has laughed at me yet, even the gangs of kids I've passed. It's weird, you can buy a children's bicycle with 14" wheels, but you can't buy 14" rims separately.