Hypno Toad

I'm having a little mental break from a tiring day at the office and dreaming of building out a set up to use for travel (business and vacation). I travel about once a month throughout the year and would love to bring a bike with me, plus I would have the option to bike to/from the airport.

I'm thinking a simple Bromton and a Burley Travoy might make a great combo to bike to the airport, fold & pack up, check the bags and have a bike ready to go when I get to where I'm going.

I have no experience with folding bikes or the Travoy ... let me know if you have any experience with this kinda set up. Am I just daydreaming ... or is the a solid idea?

For reference, I use bike shares (like Divvy in Chicago) and other bike rental options depending on the location. I'm fairly good at navigating new places by bike, but have been known to make mistakes - Chicago's Lower Wacker is not a good place to ride a bike I found my way out of trouble with little effort and swearing at myself.

fietsbob

IDK Why Not. I only own the bike, Brompton & bike Friday Tikit ,
Travoy attaches to the seat post...
the BF , Packs in a suitcase which has a trailer kit, to tow it , available ..

PakIt is Bike Friday's cuttent bike , having discontinued the Tikit

+ their 20" wheel travel bikes..






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linberl

I own the Travoy and the Bike Friday pakiT. I use them in lieu of having a car. If you have specific questions, just ask. Also, I use google maps (has a bicycle setting) in unfamiliar places. You can get turn by turn directions.

tcs

Another option would be either the Brompton or Dahon Curl and the Radical Designs Cyclone IV Chubby trailer. The RDCIVC is designed to pack up its wheels and the folding bike into airline-size luggage.


If you decide maybe riding to & from the airport could be sacrificed, either of these bikes will slip right into a hard shell, airline non-oversize Samsonite Stryde Glider Long Journey.

You'd want to pad the bikes up in either case.

berlinonaut

I've traveled quite a bit for business reasons with the Brompton and the Travoy and it works. Never used an airplane with this combo but trains and there is works flawlessly. There are however a couple of issues:
- the Travoy folds well and reasonably quick, but not totally small. So you won't be able to get the trailer together with the Brompton into a bag that fit's airline regulations. With two separate bags it could work.
- The Travoy Bags are not that brilliant for travel. Depending from what you need to transport you may be able to transport the same amount in a big backpack standing the rack and tied to it and the saddle/seat post. Furthermore the alternative bags from Burley are expensive for what they deliver - in my eyes far overpriced, at least here in Europe (can't speak for US prices). And they do not use the full potential of the trailer.
- riding with the Travoy over shorter distances is fine and as a grocery shopper it is a good solution. Longer distances work, too, but due to it's mount on the seat post it "pumps" quite a bit, especially with higher weight on the trailer. Higher speeds downhill leave a bit to be desired as well, to say it politely. Also the hitch on the seat post is in the way when folding/lowering the seat post. The build quality of the Travoy is ok but for my taste there's too much cheap plastic involved and the whole thing is a bit flimsy in itself which possibly has it's part as well in the suboptimal handling when touring. The little peg that leaves it standing upright is a misconstruction in itself - hard to fold due to a harsh bolt that has to be pressed, not too stable (in some situations the trailer will fall over), connected to the trailer with a piece of plastic that broke on the second use of the trailer with me.

Personally I do no longer use the Travoy for that kind of journeys in most cases - I am now using a Bike City Trailer from Carryfreedom - it seems however to have gone out of production. Here you can see it in a demonstrator video: It has a couple of downsides and weak areas in terms of build quality of the proprietary bag, the total lack of rain protection and some questionable, impractical aspects of the construction but in general it is a great solution for travel and especially for your intended way. Handling on the bike is simply brilliant even at higher speeds and you can stack additional luggage on top of the standard bag as well.

Carry Freedom do have an alternative in the form factor of the Travoy as well: the leaf. For travel I'd still prefer a trailer that has it's hitch on the rear axle as these are far better in terms of weight distribution and handling when on the bike. Their Y-frame is a classic in that aspect. But regarding folding for airline transport I see it potentially worse than the Travoy. So if I was in the business of searching for a trailer for airline transport and in combination with the Brompton I'd probably go for the Circe Atlas: Folds very well and small, is mounted to the axle (and thus will have good handling), indefinite luggage options of your personal choice w/o the need for (expensive) proprietary bags and very flexible usage as a consequence. It uses the same lollipop hitch as the Carry Freedom which works brilliantly. I've no personal experience with the Atlas but would not hesitate to buy one if I was in the need.

If you go for one of the above trailers I'd recommend to carry a spare tube with you. They are easy to get hold of but not sponanuously, so it's better to be prepared. I had a couple of blows on the Travoy and w/o a spare tube you are doomed.

The already mentioned Radical Design Cyclone Chubby is a also a good solution though a very expensive one. Designed for use with the Brompton and with flying in mind. And with bigger wheels than the others. Not as flexible as the Altlas but maybe a bit more comfy in it's dedicated design area. In the end it depends from your needs taste and budget.

Hypno Toad

Thanks for the feedback! Lots of fun stuff to research as I daydream about N+1. The Circe Atlas is a nice option, I've never seen this before ... very nice!

fietsbob

Unfortunately the carry freedom city trailer production batch is finite , and there are no more being made. ,

As they told me (after I got mine) US dealer Balked at the Minimum reorder investment commitment .. required ,
so the production (TW) ceased..





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2_i 

I have been using the Bike Friday trailer system with Brompton, see this thread. The essential issue is in deciding with how many pieces of luggage you are going to fly and how are you going to regroup the luggage upon landing. Is the trailer going to serve as a container for bike when flying? Is any piece of luggage going to serve as a trailer bed or are you going to carry a dedicated bed that serves no other function. Multifunction items tend to work better in travel.

berlinonaut

Another point worth mentioning is that the Atlas seems to be the same trailer that Airnimal sell as trailer kit addon for the hardcase for their Chameleon bike (apart from the deck that the Atlas has) to convert it to a trailer (Circe and Airnimal are closely related or maybe sister companies as far as I know). The hardcase for the Chamelon seems to be the same as the Brompton Clapton case by B&W. So I would assume you could buy the Atlas (for a minimally higher price than the rrailer kit) and - in case you want it - simply exchange the wooden deck with the Brompton Clapton case. I would assume that the trailer would fit into the case along with the Brompton (as that is the case not only with the Chameleon but also with the Bronpton with the Bike Friday Trailer along with the Clapton Case - but the BF-Trailer needs some modification to fit the Clapton Case). So the Atlas can be used in multiple ways if you demand or need it.



It is however even possible to transport a hardcase on a Brompton w/o using a trailer, though it looks a bit funny:



This is the Brompton B Pod by Polaris - a case that was announced for ever by Brompton but for unknown reasons never made it to the official accessory program. It is much lighter than the Clapton Case and a bit smaller - two big advantages. The build quality is a bit questionable, especially for the price - maybe that's why it was drawn from the official accessories list before it was even available.

This way you can fly with the bike with only one piece of luggage (the bike in the hardcase along with a few smaller luggage bits that may not go into cabin luggage) and have the Brompton front bag as cabin luggage. From the Airport you can ride off normally and even put some luggage in the case if necessary. Obviously only works on a Brompton with rear carrier.

Hinge

Check out this guy:

planbike: Fly, Land, Bike! Look Ma, no transit, no rental car.

I'd really like to try this myself. I have all the stuff, I just need to take a flight and try it.

linberl

If you decide to get a Travoy, I highly recommend getting if from REI. If you apply for an REI mastercard, you will receive a $100 gift card. If you wait for one of the 3 times of the year REI has a 20% off one item sale, that along with the gift card gets you a Travoy for just over $100! That's what I did.

bikebikebike

Travoy can be tippy and loads the seatpost in ways that does not please Brompton Inc.

A good way to assess trailers is to video them under load with rear facing camera

The Travoy is pretty flexy and where it CAN be loaded down (nobody stops you). It has plastic hinges that flex a lot under load.
Most trailers get overloaded, so plan on that, cuz that's where awkwardness happens.
Personally I like axle trailer mounts and have a bob and a Cruiser
the IGH makes the Bob a big project on a Brommie

linberl

I suspect it has a lot to do with HOW you load a Travoy. I routinely carry 2-40lb bags of dog food home from Costco on mine, and have never felt unbalanced or had any issues at all. While I have used it with my BF pakiT, I now have a Dahon Mu Uno dedicated to the Travoy and carrying cargo as I"m more comfortable locking up the Dahon and leaving it outside Costco while I roll the Travoy inside to shop; I don't like leaving my BF locked anywhere.
I've had it over a year and hauled big heavy stuff to UPS, carried unwieldy stuff (a Weber Smoker), along with full Costco runs. I can't speak to how it works with Brompton. There are plenty of folks who have toured with it, an easy google away.

berlinonaut

It would also be a bad idea - an one-wheeled trailer hitched to the axle puts too much stress on the Brompton's rear frame hinge sideways. An one-wheeled trailer attached to the seat-post is not a problem, the same goes for a two-wheel trailer on the axle.

fietsbob

BoB nuts can substitute for funnel nut on 3 speeds and on the left side

No knowledge 1st hand of using them on a Brompton..

BoB trailers don't fold .. so you would be embarking on a custom build project to have one..

that does..





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Hypno Toad

Right, I have a BOB - nice trailer, but not an option to bring on flights. There have been some nice trailer options in the thread, trailers I didn't know about before starting this thread... Thanks!

Hinge

When I go to Costco, I fold up my Verge and put it in a cart and push it around in the store. Then I get people asking me what aisle I found the bike on!

You could also fold up the Travoy and put it next to the bike and put the dog food underneath. This is assuming your Costco has the same mega-carts as the one I go to.

Anything to avoid locking up the bike outside.

linberl

When I was using the Travoy with my BF I did that - the pakiT easily quickfolds into the car with plenty of room for groceries. But I've actually found it's simpler for me to dedicate the Dahon, leaving the Travoy hinge bracket on it, and lock the bike outside with a mini u lock and roll the Travoy around instead of a Costco cart. I'm not at all concerned about leaving the Dahon locked up. That also ensures I don't buy stuff that won't fit on the Travoy - easy to do at Costco if you aren't careful. This leaves my BF free of the trailer hinge, a small weight savings, and also makes it easier to fold by dropping the seat post.

bikebikebike

Thanks
I noted the same strain on the rear frame when I toyed with putting the Brommie 2 speed on a axle mount Cyclops resistance trainer
It is not designed to handle that type of torsional leverage on the rear frame.
Seat post may handle that stress better,
Interestingly I have used a GoPro to "selfie"the bike when I wanted to watch how my bags and panniers performed under load and when getting bounced. Better than my prior way to assess, which is by counting things at the end of a ride.
Seat pics might keep me from running for office, later on, though.
Got the idea watching the Travoy and seeing it flex and bounce like a buckboard at the plastic hinges. It needs care in loading
I have seen one on Ebay for parts before they sold the hinges as parts.
Got dropped loaded and upper hinge broke
Trailers are so often overloaded that it needs to be factored in.
I have used the BoB to tote propane tanks but at wheelbarrow speed
and on bikes with more solid rear triangles

Fietsbob: the Bob Nutz are solid and won't pass shifter chain ( ? funnel nut = shifter side hub nut?)
Their other downside , beside cost, is the possible need for a separate wrench in the tool pouch