Bike Trailer -- tough and light

Step 6 Assemble the Tongue

Cut a length of angle iron to 31 inches long. At about 19 inches down, cut a vee notch to allow the piece to bend about 40 to 45 degrees. The short end of this piece becomes the connection to the read axle on your bicycle, so you need to check the length of your bicycle wheel first. The dimensions here are probably fine for most mountain bikes, since that's what I tow the trailer with.

Once your satisfied with the length and bend angle, cut two pieces of angle iron to reinforce the tongue. The lower one is about 10 1/2 inches and upper one is about 12 inches. Bolt these to the tongue to form a C in section.

Cut two more piece of angle iron, each 7 1/2 inches long. Bolt these to reinforce the bend in the tongue.

Fashion a clip that will reinforce the connection between the tongue and chassis frame. Its made from three pieces, two 2 1/4 inches long and one 1 1/2 inches long. They all bolt together with one bolt, then bolt them to the tongue and frame.

In early models of this trailer, the weakest part was the tongue, which flexed so much during riding that it permanently bent and twisted and caused the trailer to sit crooked. So if there seems like a lot of reinforcing on the tongue, it for good reason.