The Chainlink

how to pull a bicycle with a bicycle - need advice

I was wondering if anyone has advice/suggestions on how to pull a bicycle using a bicycle? I've done the "pull a bike behind using my arm" thing, but I didn't like it too much as I had some trouble steering and I got some uncomfortable (you stole that bike) stares. Anyway, I've got 2 occassions coming up where pulling a bike would come in handy. I have a rear rack and I'm thinking the best way would to somehow attach the front wheel of the transported bike to the rack so that only the rear wheel is rolling. And I'm guessing one or some of you smart people have done this before. If you have, let me know or if you have any other suggestions, please shoot.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on March 1, 2013 at 11:51am
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on March 1, 2013 at 12:39pm

I had absolutely no intent of being critical -- just stating my opinion on the matter. Not sure why you think I'm trying to shoot you down-- I'd certainly like to see someone come along with a safe option.  As I stated it would need to involve towing the bike somewhere close to horizontal to be safe.
Even with a good shoulder I wouldn't consider carrying a bike or even ghost riding to be a safe option.

Would lend you a trailer if you live reasonably close (2400sx2600w.)


spencewine said:

It's not that I'm hell-bent on the idea of towing rather than carrying, I've got a messed up shoulder (see post above) which means that I can't carry. Besides there are probably a lot of other people interested in how to tow because they may not be physically able to carry a bike while biking.

h' 1.0 said:

If you're hell-bent on the bike being "towed" rather than just carried, the only way to do so safely would be to rig something that allows the towed bike to be reasonably horizontal and has only the back wheel on the ground.  I think Alex W had fork mounts on the back of a trailer at some point in the past and it worked to tow two additional bikes behind the trailer, IIRC.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on March 1, 2013 at 12:40pm

That'll carry the wheel... what about the bike?

Kelvin Mulcky said:

Permalink Reply by Bikefreeek on March 1, 2013 at 1:56pm

I've been interested in this idea of towing a bike by bike (and not necessarily on or by trailer) and I've seen and heard of mounting a fork block to a rack and towing like a kids trail-a-bike. So I tried it today and was impressed by how easy it works. I will say that it does effect handling, especially walking or at slow speeds and tight maneuvering. Compared to ghost riding, infinitely better.

Easy to set up, stop by Open Shop at WTB tomorrow if you're interested. Bike needs to have a rack, $20 for the fork block part + a donation for the shop time. Have a look...

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 1, 2013 at 2:05pm

Yeah, Alex! Thanks for sharing.

Bikefreeek said:

I've been interested in this idea of towing a bike by bike (and not necessarily on or by trailer) and I've seen and heard of mounting a fork block to a rack and towing like a kids trail-a-bike. So I tried it today and was impressed by how easy it works. I will say that it does effect handling, especially walking or at slow speeds and tight maneuvering. Compared to ghost riding, infinitely better.

Easy to set up, stop by Open Shop at WTB tomorrow if you're interested. Bike needs to have a rack, $20 for the fork block part + a donation for the shop time. Have a look...

Permalink Reply by John C. Wilson on March 1, 2013 at 3:46pm

Carrying the front wheel - or any spare wheel - is really easy.  Wear a belt. Everything will be easier the first time if that belt is worn in a pair of pants with belt loops. Put the wheel next to your hip. Lace the belt under the rim and refasten the belt buckle. Ride away. The wheel will hang straight down. It will hang square to your hip. It will not bounce or interfere with pedalling in any way. If there is any problem it is most likely that you will forget the wheel is there. You can carry a pair of wheels this way, one on either side. In fact you can carry a pair of wheels on each side, though they will bounce and clatter a bit and you will be wide in traffic. Done this hundreds of times and shown it to dozens of riders. Be cautious mounting and dismounting.

You don't need a commercial mounting block to attach a fork to a rack. All you need is a spare axle with correctly spaced locknuts and a quick release. Secure the axle very very securely, no wiggle, no possibility of coming loose. Hoseclamps are good and lashing with lots of small gauge bare wire is better. Some racks will have the bars in the wrong place. Do not attempt this on fancy tubular racks. Otherwise this is usually simpler and cheaper and more compact than using a prebuilt fork mount

Permalink Reply by spencewine on March 1, 2013 at 5:03pm

Looks great. Funny, the reason I posted this was that I need to bring a bike home (the Panasonic PT-3500) that I've been working on over there at WTB. I'm also hoping to pull a bike to the bike swap in March. 

 

I've got an idea for stabillity to the set-up you've posted here - it involves building something like training wheels (or a variation of them) to stabilize the back wheel of the bike being towed.
 
Bikefreeek said:

I've been interested in this idea of towing a bike by bike (and not necessarily on or by trailer) and I've seen and heard of mounting a fork block to a rack and towing like a kids trail-a-bike. So I tried it today and was impressed by how easy it works. I will say that it does effect handling, especially walking or at slow speeds and tight maneuvering. Compared to ghost riding, infinitely better.

Easy to set up, stop by Open Shop at WTB tomorrow if you're interested. Bike needs to have a rack, $20 for the fork block part + a donation for the shop time. Have a look...

Permalink Reply by Anika on March 2, 2013 at 11:59am
Borrow a Yuba?

This was our primary reason for upgrading to a yuba a few months ago. I carry multiple kids but sometimes my 6yo likes to ride. There is a tow tray attachment for one of the running boards where we can pop any size bike in, strap it down and be off within 60 seconds. Best thing we've found so far and I've tried a lot if different ways.
Permalink Reply by Josh.E on March 4, 2013 at 11:56am

And that is how baby bikes are made children. Any questions?

Bikefreeek said:

Permalink Reply by spencewine on March 4, 2013 at 12:07pm

On Saturday, I stopped by West Town Bikes and Alex was kind enough to help me with the set-up he posted here. It was dead easy to pull together- it required drilling 2 holes into my rack top and attaching a fork block. I tested it out and it seems to work quite well. I'll be towing a bicycle on Tuesday, so I'll post some more photos of the set-up.

Permalink Reply by Jeff Markus on March 4, 2013 at 12:50pm

If you attach a fork block with a couplke of bolts I would suggest a 'safety cable' so if the bolts break/loosen or the rack releases in anyway you are still connected to allow a controlled (well sorta anyway) stop.

If you look at any towed vehicle you'll notice that as well as a swivel mounting (ball hitch or truck trailer pad) there is usually a safety chain or cable to assur the attached portion will not take of on its own.

You wouldn't need a Krytonite NY chain but a 1/16 wire rope should be enuf.

Jeff

Permalink Reply by MagMileMarauder on March 5, 2013 at 11:44pm

So I tried the front axle/hose clamp combo and it looks pretty sturdy! Thanks for the idea! As suggested, I'm gonna use a bungee as a back-up in case something comes loose. Now I just need to test it!

Here's the close-up of the set-up:

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