Simple No-Weld Bike Trailer

As with all good instructables, this one was born out of necessity.  I needed to get a bunch of stuff from point A to point B. 

I am a scavenger so I needed a bike and trailer to get me around to garage sales, curb alerts, landfills, dumpsters, etc.  Growing up, I was taught to never let anything go to waste.  It's kind of my life's ambition to reclaim, re-purpose, and reuse.  We live in a culture of waste, where all goods have become disposable.  If you take anything from this instructable, I hope it's an inspiration to think twice before you throw something useful away.  I built this entire bike trailer, beautiful and functional as it is, at zero cost entirely from other peoples' trash!

Since Instructables is already inundated with bike trailer tuts, I wouldn't have created this one if I didn't think it was simply better than all the others.  In addition to being free, eco-friendly, strong, sturdy, and nimble it was exceedingly simple and quick to make.  It required no welding, grinding, sawing, or drilling and took a total of 4 hours of planning and construction!  Let me show you how I did it...

Step 1: Gather Materials

This bike trailer was built primarily from two things:

1.  A steel framed "Big Wheel" type tricycle
2.  An old 10 speed mountain bike

The tools you'll need are very common:

1.  Socket or wrench set
2.  Allen Key set
3.  Pipe wrench
4.  Screwdriver
5.  Pliers

The specific make and model of the trike is a "Micro, Spinmove."  Though I don't think its necessary that you track down this exact trike for your own bike trailer, I have to say this one worked out perfectly.

Because the old 10 speed was a junker, it took some extra elbow grease to crack through the layers of rust a grime. However, I'd rather take more time and effort parting out a nonfunctioning bike than dismantle a perfectly good bike.  Which leads me to our next step...disassembly.

Comments

[infernisdiem]

I would love to make this, but not a huge fan of the permanent look. wish that i had a welder, instead of the fork, I would have a flat surface with a couple of holes in it to attach to a bike rack that way you can pop in a couple of pins to hold it in place, but other than that, awesome build, looks pro :D

[rocklocker]

Of all the bike trailer designs i have seen on this site yours is the best. Great job.

[Pfarmkid]

agreed

[stephenniall]

I've recently built one out of recycled steel box section. It doesn't look half as good as thism, probably the best looking trailer i have seen !

[Mythbuster Kid]

Awsome! I have been needing to make a bike trailer for some time, but I would rather not use a frame from a big wheel. Though after reading this I did get an idea on how to modify the design to suit my needs. Thanks!

[BrociliTree123]

The "Big Wheel" or Drift Trike Frame is worth like $50 over here in NZ

[CatTrampoline]

Very nice! I was especially interested in how you attached the bike wheels to the trailer, since I have been saving some salvaged wheels for the purpose of making a cart or trailer.

[l8nite]

nice job !

[testcase]

It looks to me that you miss one angle freedom. When you tilt your bicycle to 60 degrees (for example), doesn't one of trailer wheels go up?
When trailer is loaded this can cause problems with riding.

[mr.mcninja]

When I'm riding, my bike is generally between 80 and 90 degrees with the pavement in either direction. The pivot of the fork will allow for this.

You're right about tipping the bike at 60 degrees; a wheel will lift off the ground. However, if your bike is at 60 or 70 degrees with the ground you're already falling. If anything, the trailer makes you safer because it prevents this from happening.

[testcase]

60 degrees was just an axample :)
I'm glad it's not a problem wnen riding.

Congratulations on great DIY!

[rimar2000]

I like everything, except the cleats. That little screw (forst photo in step 5) looks too weak for the work to be done. And the hole for it is located too near the edge of rear forks.

Fixig that, it is for me a good idea.

[mr.mcninja]

I'll give you that. The original plan was to mount the trailer fork drop outs right onto the rear wheel hub, but the skewer was too short. If the screws ever became a problem, I'd find a longer skewer.

[rimar2000]

"forst" = "first" (here in Villa Elisa)