All hail the bike cargo trailer!
Bike cargo trailers are amazing tools for getting more out of a bicycle -- and keeping you a out of your car. In all their variety, bike cargo trailers are the perfect tools for hauling stuff by bike.
We cover touring, commuting, errands, and generally doing more by bike -- so we don't leave out cargo bikes and conversions.
The topics of bike child trailers and trailer-cycles are covered in our Family Cycling section.
This blog is about sharing the fun, the utility, and the creativity that bike trailers can inspire. We want photos of how you've used your trailer -- whether it's an off-the-shelf model in a beautiful or interesting setting, or if it's a Franken-trailer customized in a way only you could have conceived.
Photos help to spread ideas, and stimulate discussion. It doesn't matter if you bought from one of our shops or not -- Bike Trailer Shop, Bike Bag Shop and Bike Kid Shop. Your photos and the stories behind them want to be seen and heard.
Dean found that walking to different parts of trails that required maintenance and carrying tools took way to much time out of the day, and sometimes when you only have one day a month do to trail work time is of the essence. Dean felt that pre-made retail bike trailers where not cost effective, So he decided to design a bike cargo trailer that he could attach to his mountain bike and that would allow him to carry the tools he needed for effective trail maintenance.
Our friend Cass Gilbert sent us this inspiring picture of these well traveled Ortlieb Panniers. I’m not sure what the story is behind them, but they are inspirational. For more bike touring inspiration, check out Cass’s blog, While Out Riding.
Pete sent us some pictures of a bike cargo trailer he made for hauling gear, some where in the Western U.S. he tells us. This doesn’t look like the yuppie trailers roll’n around suburbia America. This is a working mans trailer. Pete constructed this ox from old road signs, bolts and wood, with 20″ Northern Tool HD rims toting a 200 lb working load each. Burly.
Pete claims the trailer has been tested at 40 mph+ with 100 lbs on the hwy, I’m wondering if these numbers were from being pulled by a bike or a duelie. He also says the trailer has pulled 480 lbs a.k.a six buckets of sand weighing 80 lbs a piece, at lower speeds. I really hope its flat were Pete lives with a tail wind coming from every direction.
In anticipation of our upcoming move, I’ve been planning the layout of our new location. This is the pretty color coded CAD drawing of the layout of our new location. The right side is the workshop where the Wandertec BONGO bike cargo trailer and other Wandertec products will be designed and manufactured. The top left is the office where we will answer calls, order products, list and blog about products, fine tune the websites and keep track of numbers. The center top is the shipping center where great cycling products from Bike Trailer Shop, Bike Kid Shop and Bike Bag Shop are sent out from. The bottom left and center is where all of those great cycling products will be organized and stored. We are anticipating getting in there in about 2 or 3 weeks from now and will likely have a Grand Opening celebration sometime in June.
For some, simply taking the little one on paved paths and roads, dirt roads or the occasional double track just isn’t enough. If you simply can’t bare to be away from your child but can’t stand to be away from the single track then take a look at the Tout Terrain Singletrailer. For me personally I like the thought of having a little alone time in the woods, shredding my favorite trails just by my self, away from the family for a little while. The Singletrailer bridges the gap between a normal bike child trailer and having your children live with you till they’re thirty.
There are a lot of bicycle cargo trailers in the world, some follow the single wheeled premise others subscribe to two wheels. When it comes to off road riding I think it is well accepted that single wheeled bike trailers are the ticket. They track well behind your bike and can still carry a significant load. One of the most well recognized names in single wheeled cargo trailers is BOB Cargo Trailers. BOB has been making single wheeled cargo trailers since the early 1990′s, and have established themselves as the leaders in bicycle cargo trailers.
We’ve got BOB Trailers on the brain as we currently have the BOB Trailer Spring Sale running at BikeTrailerShop.com. BOB Yak Trailers are currently on sale for $259 while BOB Ibex Trailers are only $319!
Here at the shop, we’re working on making our Wandertec Bongo Bike Cargo Trailer more versatile and useful. One of the many projects in the works is an extended hitch arm for carrying longer cargo. It won’t be ideal for hauling really heavy stuff, but it’ll be great for moving a little lumber, a ladder, or lightweight boats. The prototype pictured here is about 3 1/2 feet long, which allows you to center an eight foot long load over the trailer axle. We’re considering making it a little longer, or possibly offering two sizes. What do you all think? What kinds of long cargo do you want to haul with your bike trailers?
And for those of you who want to carry the long and/or heavy stuff, check out industrial strength offerings over at Bikes At Work.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for riding bikes.
-Casey
There are a lot of bike child trailers out there, some good, some not so good. As the parents who pull the child trailers we never truly get to form a solid opinion as to what it is really like to be pulled inside a child trailer. What do the kids think? They’re the ones who have to endure a rough ride or be lowed to sleep by a smooth ride. How do we know what bicycle child trailers are comfortable and which ones are like ridding in a wagon train across the prairie one hundred and fifty years ago.
Walking around Chicago, came across this utility bicycle. Note the nice handlebar bike rack, double kickstand, pants fenders, internal gear, easy step across and other great features for urban living.
We set up these 3 Wandertec BONGO Bike Cargo Trailers to be used by a local crew to pick up garbage on an earth day event. We have joined in for the Earth Day trash pick-up with bike trailer fun the past 2 years but had a bit too much to deal with over the weekend working on our new website update.
The 3 trailers here are 2 large Wandertec BONGO Trailers on the sides and a small trailer in the middle. The one on the right has a loadbed with box strapped on. The center BONGO has a 24 gallon Rubbermaid ActionPacker bolted on while the left Large BONGO has the ActionPacker attached with a sneak peak of our prototype quick attach system.
