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Bike touring with a trailer?

Old 09-25-18, 08:25 AM
  #26  
indyfabz
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Originally Posted by jack002
Check out Nashbar for Bob-like trailers. They look like the Bob, and cost less. I have seen them there for years.
Link? I am on their site right now and see only 3 two-wheeled trailers, and two of them are kid carriers.
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Old 09-25-18, 08:47 AM
  #27  
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@jack002 I don't know if Nashbar carries them anymore. I could not find them on there. @indyfabz I know i saw the review as well. I was thinking that if I bought it at Walmart.com and it looked and seemed that bad I could take it back.
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Old 09-26-18, 10:16 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by RidingMatthew
@jack002 I don't know if Nashbar carries them anymore. I could not find them on there. @indyfabz I know i saw the review as well. I was thinking that if I bought it at Walmart.com and it looked and seemed that bad I could take it back.
Ok. they must have taken them down. It's been a while since I'd seen them there.
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Old 09-26-18, 12:37 PM
  #29  
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A week after the Warrenton Wally opened, the first bike, broken ,

BSO, showed up at LBS, asking about repair..

Take it back for replacement/refund , having saved the receipt is a good Idea..

Ikea has an adequate cargo bike trailer too..
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Old 09-26-18, 08:21 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by RidingMatthew
It is just a trial run on a gravel for the most part rail trail.
You are wise to start at Cass and end in Marlinton. You'll be going downriver, and therefore downgrade. The grade is slight, and it will be easier for the little fellow.
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Old 09-27-18, 06:24 AM
  #31  
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thanks @PhoenixBiker I was going to start in the south and head north but it seemed like campsites, water access, and the fact that we were riding slightly uphill seemed silly. I think he will enjoy it especially if i can get him a bike with gears before then. It is time for him to start learning gears. He hoped on a bike with handbrakes only at the bike shop and had no problem with them. He has already ridden 17.4 miles on a 20" kids bike (*single speed)
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Old 09-27-18, 08:24 AM
  #32  
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No matter what you do, plan it so that with lots of breaks time, and snacks time, all the usual things with any kid activity so that the whole experience is a fun one.
We did some bike activities with our kids and always did our best to make it just plain fun, to encourage doing more other times in the future.
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Old 09-28-18, 10:08 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by djb
No matter what you do, plan it so that with lots of breaks time, and snacks time, all the usual things with any kid activity so that the whole experience is a fun one.
We did some bike activities with our kids and always did our best to make it just plain fun, to encourage doing more other times in the future.
that is great advice and something i have tell myself sometimes. although he has said that when we are riding together every ride is a race but he doesn't tell me so he can beat me haha
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Old 09-28-18, 07:34 PM
  #34  
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thanks, as parents we just want new experiences to be good ones, and not put them off doing x or y activity.
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Old 04-10-20, 07:52 PM
  #35  
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Yak with a Kick stand

I bought a BOB YAK on Ebay for $80 and towed it with various test weights as an evaluation for using it on a trans America tour. I loved the way the bike handled with the trailer and I was even willing to live with the extra weight when climbing, but I just hated the fact that I could not lay the bike down with the trailer attached. I did not want to put a kick stand on the bike because I was told that it could damage the bike frame. In the end I did the ride with traditional panniers.

Some months ago, I came up with a design of a kick stand for the trailer that could support itself and the bike. (loaded or unloaded) I made it out of PVC pipe. The total cost was about $6. Now I love the trailer! I used it a tour of about 1010 miles and held the bike up perfectly for the entire tour (18 days)







Last edited by KFC; 04-14-20 at 08:11 PM.
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Old 04-11-20, 06:48 AM
  #36  
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A suggestion for those looking to buy trailers, I would make, is to future proof your purchase by getting one with a 29er fork if possible.

When I bought a different bike, my trailer was unusable due to my not knowing that the trailer forks, which attach to the rear of the bike, were suitable for a 26' wheel bike
and not my new 29er Surly Ogre, which caused some consternation initially.

If memory serves this is true for both a Bob and an Extrawheel trailer.

Oh a second tip is, be prepared to move your mudguard/fender "stays" as when I bought my Extra-wheel trailer, my setup initially lacked any articulation, due to the positioning of
the stays, which thankfully, were easily relocated upward, giving me some off road ability once again.
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Old 04-11-20, 07:13 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by KFC
I bought a BOB YAK on Ebay for $80 and towed it with various test weights as an evaluation for using it on a trans America tour. I loved the way the bike handled with the trailer and I was even willing to live with the extra weight when climbing, but I just hated the fact that I could not lay the bike down with the trailer attached.
Crossed the U.S. with some people pulling BOBs. You can put the bike at an angle and it and the trailer will stand up on its own.
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Old 04-11-20, 07:46 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
Crossed the U.S. with some people pulling BOBs. You can put the bike at an angle and it and the trailer will stand up on its own.
I tried that a few times, but it was 'touch and go' at best for me. If the bike fell over with the trailer attached, it put a BIG strain on the rear triangle of the bike and the fork of the trailer. I was only ever able to do it under ideal conditions - dead level, hard packed or paved ground. The PVC kickstand worked out very well. It supports the trailer and the bike whether the trailer is loaded or not. When I toured with it I never had to lay my bike down on the ground. The upright bike was a great place to air out my clothes and towel while in camp.
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Old 04-11-20, 08:01 PM
  #39  
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OOpps! Should have proof read before I posted.

'I used the trailer on a tour of about 1010 miles (see The Grey Beard's Tour) and it held the bike up perfectly'
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Old 04-12-20, 10:42 AM
  #40  
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KFC, Well done ! I love when creative people are willing to share their problem solving ideas. How does your stand remain folded up and out of the way while riding, is there some type of retention device or clip that I'm not seeing ?
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Old 04-12-20, 12:25 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by robow
KFC, Well done ! I love when creative people are willing to share their problem solving ideas. How does your stand remain folded up and out of the way while riding, is there some type of retention device or clip that I'm not seeing ?
Thanks! Initially I relied solely on friction from the 'saddleback' clamps. It worked well enough on smooth paved roads, but when I toured with it on the Erie Canal, GAP and C&O towpath (see Grey Beards Tour post in touring forum) the bumpy roads tended to dislodge it and it would bounce harmlessly along on the ground. I corrected that by installing a small stainless steel 'broom clamp' that I bought for 28 cents. . Works perfect!



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Old 04-12-20, 12:32 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by robow
is there some type of retention device or clip that I'm not seeing ?
… Sorry - forgot this picture

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Old 04-12-20, 04:11 PM
  #43  
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Seriously, something like that should come as standard equipment on a Bob. I'm thinking aftermarket here, your ingenuity and my marketing, I'm smelling big dollars here, what do you say ? Ha
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Old 04-12-20, 08:02 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by robow
...something like that should come as standard equipment on a Bob.
Oh, great, another project, and this time it's on the damn trailer.
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Old 04-13-20, 02:21 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by robow
Seriously, something like that should come as standard equipment on a Bob. I'm thinking aftermarket here, your ingenuity and my marketing, I'm smelling big dollars here, what do you say ? Ha
It actually received a good reception on a Facebook bike trailers group. Someone suggested that I should investigate making it out of one piece of aluminum tubing bent into the correct shape. Frankly I am not convinced that aluminum tubing would be as strong and as durable as the PVC, and I have no way to bend it. The 'feet' each have about one inch of adjustment in them (threaded) to allow for different size tires and fine tuning it to the bike. A friend of mine as an Asom trailer ( Bob look-alike), and I made one for him too. He seems very pleased with it. If you have a single wheel trailer, I heartily recommend you give it a try.

Last edited by KFC; 04-14-20 at 07:01 AM.
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Old 04-13-20, 03:10 PM
  #46  
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I've never been interested in using a trailer, but as robow says, I'm impressed with your creativity with coming up with a straightforward, light solution to what must be an annoying aspect of a one wheeled trailer.
Improvisational skills are a great thing to have.
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Old 04-13-20, 05:15 PM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by djb
to what must be an annoying aspect of a one wheeled trailer.
A fellow I toured with years ago often had difficulty finding a wall or a fence long enough where he could lean the length of his bike and the length of the trailer safely, without putting too much torque on the rear triangle.
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Old 04-20-20, 01:39 AM
  #48  
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I was looking for trailer some years ago for a longer tour. I ended up talking with the bike messengers in the town. Their suggestion was BOB. Yes it is expensive but believe me you want something that hold up when you are on the move.
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Old 04-20-20, 01:41 AM
  #49  
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This is fantastic!!!
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Old 04-20-20, 08:57 AM
  #50  
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thanks all I forgot about this thread. I have since bought my son a COOP bike with gears. he has to grow a little bit more into the bike. with the shut down of travel and parks we will have to rethink about camping bike plans.
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