She had the weight of the world on her rack....

Permalink Reply by Steven Lane on November 13, 2008 at 12:43pm

The Critical Mass Bike Winter Art Show 2008 was a pretty crazy bike cargo experience, especially considering a 50 gallon oil drum was one of over 30 pieces of Art to be moved 4 miles in the dead of winter, and Travis D's Flip Bike was also in the show, so he also had to haul his ride home along. We had two trailers to bring the show to the Heart of Gold, but I wound up hauling the whole show back home on one six foot trailer, which included my burley trailer. Very tricky... Would I do it again? Hell yeah, stay tuned for info regarding the Bike Winter Art Show 2009!!!

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Permalink Reply by spacemodular on November 13, 2008 at 1:26pm

I was the first guy to deliver Time Out Chicago by bike trailer - I started with a trailer that I hauled my son around in and then moved to flat beds built by my brother Alex. I did this weekly for over 2 1/2 years before calling it a day. Besides that I have helped move my house twice by trailer - with probably about 60 trips between the 2 moves and helped others move as well.

My largest load (on more than one occasion) was 22 boxes of Time Out Chicago - 3 rows high of magazine boxes. I don't know the exact weight - but it was definitely over 400 lbs.

I also have broken axles 3 times on overloaded trailers... Chopper Carl bailed me out w/replacement trailers and I locked the broke down trailer to a street light to retrieve later... all in the service of Time Out.

Alex eventually came through with a robust solution to broken axles by using BMX wheels/axles that were inside a piece of black pipe. No break downs since...

I have thought about cargo bikes - but they are too unwieldy to store/get through the door - and they are too expensive in comparison to a heavy duty trailer made from scrap that has way more capacity.

My last move was a couch from the Gold Coast to Humboldt Park - It was an easy move...

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Permalink Reply by Stickfiguredanny on November 13, 2008 at 1:51pm

The best I have done is carrying a car battery in my backpack.

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Permalink Reply by BalloonBiker on November 14, 2008 at 10:00am

Okay, I got a turkey last night for a party this weekend. Twenty-five pounds of dead, frozen bird on the bike of my bike. Here's the picture. I apologize for the quality as my blackberry camera kind of sucks

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Permalink Reply by k8 on November 14, 2008 at 11:33am

Nothing too wild. I've made the occasional trek with a case of beer on my back. Made one ride with an empty pony keg haphazardly attached to my person. That was terrifying and hilarious. Every once in awhile I go overboard at the grocery store and my bag is too full to hold anything else, so I dangle grocery bags full o' stuffs from the various clips and straps on my bag. Them's some sllooowww rides home.

I look forward to doing it all again. Ridiculous objects transported via bike ftw.

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Permalink Reply by jessiejane on November 14, 2008 at 11:50am

My Mom actually has a trailer (no idea what kind) and the last time I was home, she had me haul 7 20 pound rocks that she found at a demo site. It was fun! I would do it again but I don't have the trailer, the best I've done here in Chicago is a giant metal Bell basket full of a CSA meat share I used to get...so maybe 30 pounds of meat. Really though, nothing comparable to the feats of bicycle pictured in this discussion!

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Permalink Reply by o0_dan_0o on November 14, 2008 at 7:22pm

no pics(so maybe it didnt really happen) but i once strapped like 4 8' 2x2s and 12 8' 1x2s to the top tube of my bike to get that shit home from menards.

another time i loaded about 40 lb of tools and my hard hat on my rear rack to try to get some work on the horseshoe casino project. if i do something like that again ill def use a trailer.

on various camping trips i've brought clothes/tent/sleeping bag etc..

nothing really crazy though.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on November 15, 2008 at 5:35pm

Ive taken a drunk friend home 3 miles back to logan square one night. He was just sittin side saddle on my rack with a beer in hand while we cruised down armitage at like 3am. I think me must weigh at least 140lbs.

Now i guess my Pleischer rack is rated to carry up to 20lbs, so this was an extreme overload. But i've read that you can haul way more weight when it is capable to lean into turns as opposed to a static load.

I am suprised no one else has given friends rides on their racks, I've done it a couple times now with minor problems.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on November 15, 2008 at 5:36pm

Ive taken a drunk friend home 3 miles back to logan square one night. He was just sittin side saddle on my rack with a beer in hand while we cruised down armitage at like 3am. I think me must weigh at least 140lbs.

Now i guess my Pleischer rack is rated to carry up to 20lbs, so this was an extreme overload. But i've read that you can haul way more weight when it is capable to lean into turns as opposed to a static load.

I am suprised no one else has given friends rides on their racks, I've done it a couple times now with minor problems.