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So I'm hoping to construct a trailer for my bike this fall and was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what to use for an axle to connect two small bike tires I got together. I was thinking a threaded dowel with two couplers connecting the tires to the dowel. Any suggestions?
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Re: Bike Trailer
Sun, September 20, 2009 - 3:14 PMYou would have to have something for the bearing races to ride on.
Why not just get one of those kid, carrier type trailer used for $20-30 ? I found one with a solid bottom, that could be used as e kid hauler or cargo trailer. I ripped out the kid part, now I have a enclosed cargo trailer that hauls 50 lbs, for 20 bucks, much easier !!
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Re: Bike Trailer
Sun, September 20, 2009 - 3:26 PMweldless bike trailer plans, in a hard-to-read handwritten PDF (it's worth it):
www.seedhead.org/Seedhead/...%20res.pdf -
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Re: Bike Trailer
Sun, September 20, 2009 - 4:44 PMThat was cool, and yeah - worth it! Great link, Girl Mark -
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Re: Bike Trailer
Sun, September 20, 2009 - 6:36 PMThat seedhead site has some very interesting DIY innovative thought to it. Some ideas are good, but need a little refining.
A lucky $20 pre-owned trailer is definitely the way to go. A few tweaks and you're in business. But this is not an item that everyone can find easily at that price.
comments on the seedhead design>>
A wood box will not be a stable frame for a bike trailer. I see it falling apart quick--- unless you get a strudy frame made of bolted-together 2x4" stock under it. And that's so heavy that one may as well go to welded tube for a basic frame under the box. Whatever box can be bolted on to what will basically be a flatbed made of tube.
The towbar from the trailer needs to be attached to this underframe, not depending from the box side.
I've seen variations of the tirewall rubber link and that works.
The forks can lay down horizontally rather than be positioned straight up, and be welded into the steel tube bed for maximum integrity. [ The U-bolt attachment is just going to rattle loose and allow wheels to track haywire so don't go there with it.].
You want the lowest center of gravity possible for rig stability so use forks & wheels from a kid bike -- 24" or 20" wheels, not full size wheels.
If welding is outside of your skill set then go back to plan A > checking Craigs or Freecycle for a used rig to convert. -
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Re: Bike Trailer
Sun, September 20, 2009 - 7:30 PMactually, we (residents, and recurring visitors like me to the Seedhead homestead) used them for years. Sometimes what you "see" just by perusing plans isn't what actually happens.
Granted there's a little less rain in NM, where the trailers were, but the sun is just about as brutal, especially on wood. Also, this zine was written in about 1997 or 98 when there was little internet and no Craigslist. The cheap kid bike trailers weren't available. Necessity is the mother of invention (and obviously obsolescence happens, too).
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Re: Bike Trailer
Sun, September 20, 2009 - 7:34 PMby the way, I didn't see any of those things you talked about happen. It's all dependent on how well you bolt your stuff together, etc. -
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 10:33 AMExactly... if you use screws and glue it is not going anywhere. I wish I could have looked more thoroughly at the seed head plan... the wording gave me an almost instant headache
JSin
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 6:03 AM
A lucky $20 pre-owned trailer is definitely the way to go. A few tweaks and you're in business. But this is not an item that everyone can find easily at that price.<<
Oh contrair , my fuzzy friend. They are to be found at any number of flea markets, or thrift stores $ 20 - 40 is the going price. I know of 4 at this moment.
Like all kid stuff, they out grow it, and ends up in the re-sale circuit .
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 8:01 AMWhile I liked the "cost" associated with the PDF on building a bike trailer I am uncomfortable with a couple of things:
1.) Weight of clamping two drop tubes from bike front ends.
2.) Wood. Wood? Wood is heavy.
3.) No way to align the wheels. U-clamps won't ensure a fixed position. the wheels will be knocked all over the place by every rock and bump.
If you can't get wheel assemblies that allow you to run an axle through the hub.
Try this way of laying out the drop tubes:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File...ekking.jpg
This allows you to get the wheels aligned and ensure that they stay where you put 'em.
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 11:16 AMCliff, I've towed all sorts of crap with this same trailer and also used commercial Burley ones. It's really not that bad. We did overnight camping trips with them, used them to tow compost home, did a shit-load of tool-hauling with them- clamp/u-bolt construction is a lot more stable than it seems. -
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 11:39 AMI can see a big and simple improvement now that I have struggled through the blurred crap..
2 screws per fork to contol drop and rotation... very simple and rotational issue should it occur solved
JSin
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 3:41 PM****************Cliff, I've towed all sorts of crap with this same trailer and also used commercial Burley ones. It's really not that bad. ***********
You are a better man than I.
I can hardly haul my own ass.
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 4:46 PMThe wiki plan is totally doable --- even has the metal flatbed with forks attached laying down just like I picture it..
There's the matter of the asymmetric -fixed trailer pull that somehow seems more subject to side forces instead of a centerline fixed pull rig set up high from the seatpost where it won't jerk the wheel sidewise on a hard turn or crossing the tracks .
On 2nd thought, a bolt together rig can be done using extruded structural aluminum beams as frame rails. Structural members like those from an old screendoor frame or storm windowframes, and cleverly cut and lap joined as a tight nut & bolt setup.
The wheel bearing forks need first to absolutely be welded into alignment beforehand by two paralell pieces of 75cm steel rebar. The aluminum frame can be bolted atop this. The trailer pullbar can be attached either to the rebar or to the aluminum framebed. Once you have a dependable rig that rolls round, then it doesn't matter what kind of box you put on top, be it funky or functional.
Sorry but I just don't see a plywood box as being structural enough to clamp wheels onto. Ya maybe for children to drag around in backyard play, but that thang would go about one mile on asphalt before the wheels wiggle out of true. A wood axle? novel! Why don't automakers build cars of wood?
Well the same principles apply here.
You'll want something that rolls along, following smoothly, rather than a big old heavy drag that you'd have to stand on the pedals to hump down a flat road.
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 5:56 PMwhat part of "we've used these to haul heavy shit like long-distance bike trip gear and even loads of compost, and the trailer lasted for several years" is so hard to picture that you guys keep claiming it couldn't possibly work? I'm talking from experience, you're extrapolating from reading. Sure, there are cheap second-hand options right now and that's not a bad thing. However, this is a DIY tribe. The original question was about lining up wheels and such, which if I recall right, the Seedhead article covers. I can see a gazillion reasons to build your own trailer for one configuration or another, the used-cloth-and-aluminum option isn't necessarily what you always want.
Good luck hauling a lot of weight or sharp corners with a cloth-bottom Burley once the cloth starts to age, by the way (a major thing I disliked about the Burley). Really- plywood boxes are sturdier than they'd seem.
There's another zine from the same era, before Craigslist, done by a bike enthusiast from Santa Cruz, which covered about 10 different designs for building your own panniers, racks, and other equipment, out of found objects such as dumpster-dived suitcases, pieces of old bike frame, etc. This is also from someone who's done crosscountry travel with such gear. There's a whole world of DIY bike gear fans (mostly punk scene types, actually) who did or still currently do things like this. It works. -
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Re: Bike Trailer
Mon, September 21, 2009 - 6:24 PMMy used kid trailer has a one piece solid shell bottom. hauls 50 lbs, no problem. And weighs about 10 lbs, I can fold the tow arm, pull off the wheels in abt 10 sec's, store them in the trailer throw it and the bike in the camper. Why haul all the weight of a wood and steel box around if you don't have to ?
And I wouldn't keep the cloth bottom anyway. The Alum frame is strong, and light . that plus the sturdy axle / bearing setup make for a good starting point. Remember these things were made to haul precious cargo. A decent kid trailer is pretty well made.
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Re: Bike Trailer
Tue, September 22, 2009 - 2:30 AMI love to recycle old crap to build stuff out of.
See burning bikes tribe for some projects that people are making anymore.
It's a great hobby.
One guy made a bike out of bamboo.
Maybe one day I can build a horsecart out of wood. It won't win any races.
If I am the horsepower though, then I want to get something made of space age materials machined down to close tolerances and trued up laser straight. Call it my desire to get the most mileage out of each drop of sweat.
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Re: Bike Trailer
Tue, September 22, 2009 - 12:17 PM*********what part of "we've used these to haul heavy shit like long-distance bike trip gear and even loads of compost, and the trailer lasted for several years" is so hard to picture that you guys keep claiming it couldn't possibly work?***************
Oh Babe, no one's telling you it can't work. The thrust ( if I read it correctly) is that the core idea is great and that it can use a lot of improvement. So the improvements are being offered and bandied about.
That you've been hauling a wood cart around for years is not the issue, and I ain't seen any one disputing it.
It's "how to do it better" that's caught fire.
Can't blame a tinkerer for wanting to take a base idea and think about how to go it one better can you?
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Re: Bike Trailer
Wed, September 23, 2009 - 7:12 AMwww.sheldonbrown.com/shimano.html
You can get hubs etc from this guy and quite possibly he can get you an axle that will allow you the freedom to install a spoke hub on either end in some length.
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Re: Bike Trailer
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 2:29 PMnot from Sheldon any more - he passed away last year - but Harris Cyclery, where he worked for years, will be happy to sell it to you. Also, Mr. Brown's website is full of info re: bikes/bike building/bike maintenance, perfect for any DIYer
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Re: Bike Trailer
Wed, October 21, 2009 - 7:00 AMI picked up a used kid carrier to work for the time being as I collect the components to complete my own. I'm thinking salvaged PVC frame. I'll post pics as it comes along.
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Re: Bike Trailer
Fri, October 23, 2009 - 10:28 PMCould you go back to Square one and tell me;
1: what you want to carry on/in this trailer,
2: terrain, smooth, rough, slopes,
3: motive power, and
4: construction capabilities/tools
Single wheel styles are Jack London/bob yak/flatbed and "third Wheel" styles
(e.g. www.biketrailers.20m.com/MAIN.htm, and
www.phred.org/~alex/bikes/bobcoz.html )
Double wheels differ very widely but there are some excellent crate carrying designs around.
Although, this one is a bit extreme
moz.net.nz/photo/2008/1...garden-3.html
somewhere, now gone, that guy had a nice milk crate trailer design.
there are also some "african/oxfam aid type trailers around.
That scrounged bike design is pure cap. The last place you want to run a trailer from is your seat post as it can pull/push you over very easily. -
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Re: Bike Trailer
Wed, November 4, 2009 - 4:51 PMI agree with your criticism for a seat post hitch,some are illustrated in this link
but ther's also a lot of good stuff as well.
planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-...d.html
Lot's of photos&plans. -
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Re: Bike Trailer
Wed, November 4, 2009 - 6:41 PMthanks rik bear for that tour of some neat trailer designs.
seat post tube hitch should be fine as long as the trailer center of gravity is slung down low to the ground. The CG being low, it makes less difference where on the frame the trailer is hitched.... it's all one frame.
Hitching hinge can be made of an oblong slab of truck tire sidewall and that chunk of rubber, bolted between bike frame and trailerpull tongue will be real flexible 360 degrees up down & sidewise and yet firm enough to not be wiggling and wobbling too silly.
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