Looking for a Bicycle Trailer & Need Advice!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on April 7, 2012 at 10:43am

The kit sells for close to $200 on their website and I've purchased several at full retail.

http://bikerev.com/pg2.cfm

Not sure how to answer your question, other than "you get what you pay for."

M K said:

This is intriguing. Does the kit just include the hardware? Interesting thought, but if it is just the hardware, why does it cost around $100? Just curious, although it's an interesting option and may be good for what I'm looking to do.

h' said:

Thanks!

Still need a slightly better picture of the bike-- would be good to know if it's internal hub, but more importantly what the dropout looks like in terns of what sort of hitch it would need.

I don't have any experience with the Burleys personally-- they seem to have a lot of proponents but I think they're kind of pricey.

IMO the best deal out there that would work well for you is one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bicycle-Trailer-Kit-trailer-/280412450302?p...

Add a 2'x4' piece of plywood, some sturdy hooks, and there's room for two 18 gal totes for your crafts:

Put the tables and chairs on top of the bins, bungee down, and good to go.

The trailer stores upright and takes up very little space.

Very easy hitch mechanism.

Would be happy to assemble it for you.

I've built 5 now, I think-- here's the latest (only about 30" long to fit the instrument case-- the kit calls for 3x2 but I usually go 2'x4'.)

And here it is upright on the red line (advantage of having the wheels close to the back edge):

Probably the absolute best trailer for your needs would be a Bike at Work, but even the short one is out of your price range:

http://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/

M K said:

Sure, I would need to haul it 7-10 miles, from Edgewater to Avondale, but possibly further in the future. My bike is a mixie 10 speed cruiser/road bike type. Everyone is always shocked when I keep up with the road bikes out there because it looks like a lazy cruiser but rides like a road bike. It's a bit on the heavy side, however.

I would ideally either keep the trailer in my bike room which is down a small flight of steps but is roomy and has plenty of room to lock it to a bike rack, or folded in my apartment, which in this case it would need to be very fold-able. So, depending on the trailer, this will determine where I store it, if that makes sense.

I'm a fairly strong rider, but don't do long trips when I don't have to. I ride around town often, at my own cruiser-ly speed to work, to play, to run errands, etc.

I like to fix my bicycle when I can and am not afraid of getting dirty, and keep my bicycle maintained but definitely need help often enough because I am no expert. I can adjust my brakes, I can oil my chain, I can change my tubes, and that's about it right now.

Hope this helps your thoughts!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ryan L on April 7, 2012 at 3:17pm

I second the Burley Flatbed Trailer. Bought one after seeing how well John's worked. One of the issues I have with a trailer is that I have a set of stairs before the storage room and a heavy trailer would be too much of a hassle to get up and down the stairs. The Burley Flatbed weighs nothing. I also have a giant rubbermaid bin on it for grocery shopping. I just take the trailer off the hitch and push it around like a shopping cart when I do major grocery shopping.

Bought mine at Village Cycle Center for $250. One of the best purchases I've made. http://www.biketrailershop.com/burley-flatbed-bike-cargo-trailer-p-...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on April 8, 2012 at 4:12pm

MK, this might suit your needs:

http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/for-sale-bicycle-trailer-f...

Better jump on it-- at that price someone will probably snap it up for garage candy and never use it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by M K on April 11, 2012 at 11:42am

I ended up getting the DIY trailer from craiglist for $50. Now for a couple of repairs and adjustments! I'll post pictures once I figure out how to get everything tied down.

Can't wait! I loved hauling it home, made me feel like I could conquer the world :)

M K said:

This is intriguing. Does the kit just include the hardware? Interesting thought, but if it is just the hardware, why does it cost around $100? Just curious, although it's an interesting option and may be good for what I'm looking to do.

h' said:

Thanks!

Still need a slightly better picture of the bike-- would be good to know if it's internal hub, but more importantly what the dropout looks like in terns of what sort of hitch it would need.

I don't have any experience with the Burleys personally-- they seem to have a lot of proponents but I think they're kind of pricey.

IMO the best deal out there that would work well for you is one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bicycle-Trailer-Kit-trailer-/280412450302?p...

Add a 2'x4' piece of plywood, some sturdy hooks, and there's room for two 18 gal totes for your crafts:

Put the tables and chairs on top of the bins, bungee down, and good to go.

The trailer stores upright and takes up very little space.

Very easy hitch mechanism.

Would be happy to assemble it for you.

I've built 5 now, I think-- here's the latest (only about 30" long to fit the instrument case-- the kit calls for 3x2 but I usually go 2'x4'.)

And here it is upright on the red line (advantage of having the wheels close to the back edge):

Probably the absolute best trailer for your needs would be a Bike at Work, but even the short one is out of your price range:

http://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/

M K said:

Sure, I would need to haul it 7-10 miles, from Edgewater to Avondale, but possibly further in the future. My bike is a mixie 10 speed cruiser/road bike type. Everyone is always shocked when I keep up with the road bikes out there because it looks like a lazy cruiser but rides like a road bike. It's a bit on the heavy side, however.

I would ideally either keep the trailer in my bike room which is down a small flight of steps but is roomy and has plenty of room to lock it to a bike rack, or folded in my apartment, which in this case it would need to be very fold-able. So, depending on the trailer, this will determine where I store it, if that makes sense.

I'm a fairly strong rider, but don't do long trips when I don't have to. I ride around town often, at my own cruiser-ly speed to work, to play, to run errands, etc.

I like to fix my bicycle when I can and am not afraid of getting dirty, and keep my bicycle maintained but definitely need help often enough because I am no expert. I can adjust my brakes, I can oil my chain, I can change my tubes, and that's about it right now.

Hope this helps your thoughts!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on April 11, 2012 at 4:47pm

Do you mean the one Keith built?   Ought to be workable once you fgure out a way to keep stuff away from the wheels.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by D. Will on April 28, 2012 at 5:51am

M K: You might have 'gotten' your solution by now but:

 i see now bikesatwork already mentioned so I will second that for a like:

http://www.bikesatwork.com/ has some that take 300lb loads. They will take some basic assembly upon arrival. I also have some links of various carts-trailers on in my tbin.co---------section: Traffic /containment. It's (or they) are bunched with other related random links. lecyclo.com; xxcycle.com (Europe) -some favs of mine sites--has various, but shipping is quite costly. But it seems USA excels in very excellent offerings as the replys state. Good day and good haul.

 

D. Will 

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page