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Step 11DONE! (and lessons learned)
Alright, there you have it...a working trailer!
To test it out, I took the two pavers (40 lbs) on the trail for a 15 minute spin. The trail is unpaved that consists of mulch, crushed rock, washout and hardpack dirt. It was the perfect test for what I'd be experiencing on the C&O Canal towpath. After returning home, I inspected the brazed joints and they seemed to have held up well.
Of course, the real test was day one of the trip. When we pulled into the campsite that first night, I inspected everything and it all looked good. The only problem I encountered on the trail was when the wheel guard bent a little (I still haven't determined exactly how that happened) and started rubbing against the tire. I bent it foward a little bit and that fixed it for the duration of the trip.
The only thing that wasn't done prior to the trip (and still has yet to be done) is paint it. I've decided on painting it yellow and am toying with the idea of adding a cut out of flames for the sidewalls. That would be cool.
Things I would do differently next time:
1. Make sure the fork is straight so the wheel is perpendicular to the ground.
2. Decrease the length of the trailer. Sure, it worked for our trip, but it also allowed us to bring more because the space was there. (I'm not sure how much the gear we took with us weighed, but it was far more than the 40 lbs. the pavers weighed!) It would also (probably) make it easier to handle, especially when going down hills.
3. Adding a way to stand the trailer upright (without having to lean it against something) would be beneficial.
4. While the way I secured it to the bike worked, it wasn't easy to get on and off. I would come up with a quick-release mechanism so that it could switch from one bike to another w/o having to unload the trailer and take the wheel off. (In order to take the screws out of the braze-on, the rear wheel of the bike needed to be moved forward so that the screw wouldn't hit the cogs of the cassette.)
5. When I was stripping the bike, I tossed the sets of bearings in the head tube. I should have kept them as they would've helped decrease the stress at the pivot point by allowing the head tube to move around the seat post in a smoother manner. I'm not sure if it mattered, but it's something to think about in the future.
So....there you have it: a single wheel bike trailer. I hope you enjoy making one as much as I did!
To test it out, I took the two pavers (40 lbs) on the trail for a 15 minute spin. The trail is unpaved that consists of mulch, crushed rock, washout and hardpack dirt. It was the perfect test for what I'd be experiencing on the C&O Canal towpath. After returning home, I inspected the brazed joints and they seemed to have held up well.
Of course, the real test was day one of the trip. When we pulled into the campsite that first night, I inspected everything and it all looked good. The only problem I encountered on the trail was when the wheel guard bent a little (I still haven't determined exactly how that happened) and started rubbing against the tire. I bent it foward a little bit and that fixed it for the duration of the trip.
The only thing that wasn't done prior to the trip (and still has yet to be done) is paint it. I've decided on painting it yellow and am toying with the idea of adding a cut out of flames for the sidewalls. That would be cool.
Things I would do differently next time:
1. Make sure the fork is straight so the wheel is perpendicular to the ground.
2. Decrease the length of the trailer. Sure, it worked for our trip, but it also allowed us to bring more because the space was there. (I'm not sure how much the gear we took with us weighed, but it was far more than the 40 lbs. the pavers weighed!) It would also (probably) make it easier to handle, especially when going down hills.
3. Adding a way to stand the trailer upright (without having to lean it against something) would be beneficial.
4. While the way I secured it to the bike worked, it wasn't easy to get on and off. I would come up with a quick-release mechanism so that it could switch from one bike to another w/o having to unload the trailer and take the wheel off. (In order to take the screws out of the braze-on, the rear wheel of the bike needed to be moved forward so that the screw wouldn't hit the cogs of the cassette.)
5. When I was stripping the bike, I tossed the sets of bearings in the head tube. I should have kept them as they would've helped decrease the stress at the pivot point by allowing the head tube to move around the seat post in a smoother manner. I'm not sure if it mattered, but it's something to think about in the future.
So....there you have it: a single wheel bike trailer. I hope you enjoy making one as much as I did!
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Knowing that you have a similar kind of skill base as I do regarding brazing and the like and then seeing the result of your efforts I feel very confident that I could recreate this excellent design.
Thanks a lot for posting.
An alternative for the connection to the bike would be to go up and over the rear bike wheel up to the seat post as seen on the Atomic Zombie site here: http://www.atomiczombie.com/product-cyclebully.htm You could also do a U joint from the seat post from a block of metal.
One last suggestion: Use a 2x6 the width of the trailer and stood on end for support of the trailer/bike so you don't have to lean it up against anything at all.