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.
“List Free, Shop Smart, Save Gas!” This is the motto of Randall’s bicycle-powered advertising business. He used an Extrawheel Voyager to prop his “Ad-Bird” and he can still haul cargo in his 6 Ortlieb panniers as he advertises. Way to multi-task. Also check out Extrawheel’s other trailer, the Advert — an alternate design for promoting your own business or cause by bike.
Just last month, John took his Burley Nomad Cargo Trailer on the C&O Trail from D.C. to Maryland. The Nomad proved to be a safe fashion choice amongst the changing of the leaves from last season’s green to this season’s yellow. Although I’m sure John had a greater appreciation for the Nomad’s heavy-duty carrying capacity – 105 liters and 100 lbs. Still. Color-coordinating your gear with Mother Nature doesn’t hurt. All Burley Cargo Trailers are now 10% off at BikeTrailerShop.
Yvan needed more space than the Bob DrySak would allow. So he took matters into his own hands.
I decided instead to adapt my BOB trailer with a luggage rack. It cost me only $40 for the support. The advantages are that the panniers are lower, and therefore more stable. The weight is on the rear wheel and the panniers are protected against the wind by the BOB DrySak. It is now very stable!
Don’t be shy — Put your own welding experience to the test and modify your trailers to fit your specific transportation needs as well! Just make sure to email us your experiences – good or bad so we can all learn from your successes and/or failures. BOB Trailers are also currently 10% at BikeTrailerShop. Happy experimenting my dear Dr. Biken-steins!
Leslie recently brought her Croozer Cargo Trailer along on a 180 mile ride on the Katy Trail in Missouri. She loaded the heavy-duty trailer with 3 sleeping bags and a 7-person tent. Leslie comments “The Croozer was easy to assemble and hook up to my bike. It had more drag on the trail than I had hoped, but overall I’m pleased with my purchase.” Select Croozer Cargo, Child, and Dog Trailers are now 10 to 20% off!
The polls are officially closed — Our “most creative trailer build” award is going out early this week! Bob’s trailer knocks the concept of “re-purposing” out of the park:
I bought a used Adams Trail-A-Bike off Craigslist for $50. Cut off the handlebars. Removed the drive train. Replaced the wheel with a stronger BMX wheel. New 100psi recumbant tire. Installed a rear wheel rack and attached it to the seat post using the support section from the handle bars. Installed a metal fender. Attached 2 removable waterproof kitty litter pannier boxes to the rack using S hooks bolted through the boxes. Top of the boxes are level with the rack. I almost gave up on the project due to the trailer wobbling horribly as weight and speed increased, which I fixed by wrapping the U joint with strips of rubber bike tire tubing, with a final cover of electical tape. This makes the joint very stiff, which doesn’t easily allow for tight turns, but as it completely eliminated the wobble problem it is a minor concern.
Send us your re-purposed bicycle photo submissions so everyone can witness your total awesome-ness as well.
In David’s own words:
About six years ago I decided I would turn the resources of my display business towards making affordable cargo trailers during off-peak times. The next idea was to try to make them out of as much recycled material as possible. After thinking “how hard could it be?” I spent the next six years finding out it’s not that easy. However, after a lot of polishing I now have rugged affordable and useful product.
Check out David’s “Little Red Trailer” on their facebook page. Also check out our review of the “Little Red Trailer” on Commute by Bike.
Electric boost bike trailers are pretty awesome. We especially dig the Ridekick, which makes hills less daunting and carrying cargo easy on the legs. Tim is also manufacturing his own version, pictured below. As he puts it, “The surging cost of gasoline and a desire for a greener commute are turning more and more people to these electric push trailers to propel their bikes.” Good call, Tim. Check out his products at poweredbiketrailers.com.
How do you get a 24 foot mast and boom to its 20 foot sailboat if the boat is 30 miles away? Sound like one of those algebra questions from high school? Jay’s got the answer and even used ratios to explain his decisions. He built a trailer, attached it to his bike, and made the long, hilly journey over. “It was a fun project and a fun day.” He also made a video of his journey if you find yourself in a similar situation and could use a few pointers.. Here are some of the highlights.
Testing the turning radius.
Road testing – 30 miles to go!
For those of you in Victoria, BC who want to give back to the soil that sustains you, but don’t have the time or energy, or don’t know where to start, Pedal-To-Petal has a solution:
Pedal-To-Petal is a permaculture-based collective of bicycle loving food security activists who are taking direct action to reduce carbon emissions and landfill waste and to feed the soil and the city’s hungry.
We offer weekly pick-up of kitchen scraps to your residence or business in Victoria, BC. We provide sturdy, air and water tight 5 gallon pails for your scraps, and flexible pickup schedules. Most residences fill up one of these every other week. Our business clients tend to fill one or more buckets every week.
This is Trevor’s full-time job – hauling compost from Pedal-To-Petal clients in his awesome compost bike trailer-mobile!
Richard from Viña del Mar, Chile found inspiration on the Bike Trailer Shop pages. He constructed this simple single-wheel trailer out of the extra rusted steel he found laying around his home.
I used a 26″ wheel with an old fork and polished the rusty steel. In a week I’ll travel with my girlfriend to Patagonia with our trailer that looks like an Aussie road train. I’ve proven that you don’t have to pay a lot of money to build a bike trailer. On the internet and in Chile, people sell homemade trailers for $160. I only spent $4 in paint and tire rubber cost.
I had to google “Aussie road train” and this is what I came up with. See the resemblance? Actually, yes. Quite comparable, Richard. Agreed.
Aussie Road Train comparison approved!
