MTB Trailers

man of bronze

Good afternoon fellow MTB`ers!!
How many times have you been to a weekender, a race meet or just out with your mates and cursed numerous times attempting to load the bike onto your rack or lift onto your roof bars (especially after the ride when your cream crackered and the bike is covered in crud).

:idea: What about this then? A bike rack built into a trailer but one loaded to the gunnels with all the maintenance stuff you could possibly want and ....... a trailer armed with it`s own built in power washer. Fantastic.

The idea is currently at the design stage, but as a clever marketing plan, I am trying to gain as much positive feedback as possible, so leave as much info as you can - good and bad.

Cheers

nicklouse

sounds like what i have allready.

what are you actually doing?

making/designing......

alaric@epicmtb

Looks a bit like this?



Capacity never fully tested but probably 20 bikes or so.

12v power washer + 100 litres of water.

Carries bikes and equipment securely and away from the weather and road grime.

Doubles as a changing room and secure storage.

Anonymous

looks very nice i didn't think you should powerwash bikes ?

forcutty

with all due respect the design sucks, spec good though.
p.s i used to make hgv lorry trailors for Lawrence david so if i can help just say.

man of bronze

Cheers for the responses every one,

I think though that (and no disrespect to our greek friend) a box trailer does not warrant as a specialised piece of kit for transporting one bike around.

What i had in mind was a one-bike specific unit containing all the gubbins required to ensure your trusty steed remains well maintained, clean and out of the view of prying eyes.

Up to now, all i can find on t`interweb is a flat bed trailer, with what appears to be roof bars on hardboard bolted it to it.

I think i may be able to improve on that

Keep your answer comin` guys.

8)

nicklouse

what is the point of a one bike trailer?

sorry that is a big failling.

if you have a trailer then you can take mates. but what about their bikes?

saracen blitz chris

Only one bike?
At least 2 methinks or is it just me that goes riding with more than one person?

saracen blitz chris

nicklouse wrote:

what is the point of a one bike trailer?

sorry that is a big failling.

if you have a trailer then you can take mates. but what about their bikes?

wow great minds think alike!

nicklouse

needs to be at least a 4 bike trailer or it is not even worth considering.

alaric@epicmtb

I was kind of joking - not everyone has the requirement to transport the quantities of bikes and equipment that we do....

One thing to bear in mind when guaging the possible popularity of this sort of product is that ,for the sake of the convenient carriage of one of two bikes, you need to store a very bulky trailer and are also limited to a maximum of 60mph even on the motorway.

You'll also need to keep the gross weight below 750kg (not too difficult) or you'll be excluding the sector of the market with newer licences that have not got a trailer endorsement on their licence.

Alaric.

p.s. I'm not Greek, I just live here!

man of bronze

Thanks for the response guys.

Ok, what about a trailer for three bikes, with the retention device having the capability to transform into a workshop type workstand enabling the riders to carry out any maintenance if neccessary.

I`m still loking at applying the power wash system, somehow using the towing vehicle 12V electrics and have seen the `dirt worker` jet wash on the net - anyone got any feedback on this?

Leave your feelings people

forgotrafe

As my "second car", I've got an old Land Rover Lightweight that's configured as a pickup truck. In the back I've got a Delta Hitch Pro. Awesome way of carrying a bike - you don't have to worry about scratching the car's paintwork or getting in the front all dirty Also good for taking rubbish from the house renovation & garden to the tip. And for going off-road. Can't imagine how people cope without one

Joking aside, the Landie earns her keep by being so versatile. So if you do design a trailer then if you can make it so the bike carrying bit comes out easy the trailer would be useful for taking garden rubbish to the tip etc. Perhaps making it easier for your customers to justify having one?

Also, I was only thinking the other day it'd be good to have a removable pressure washer (not v. high pressure, "mains" pressure would be plenty in the Landie. Good for when I'm on the bike and if I put some hot water in it before-hand good for when we take the dogs out.

Rafe

alaric@epicmtb

The "Pressure washer" I use is the "Jet Away", from Manic Deals: http://www.manicdeals.com/Product/Jetaway

I actually produces a jet more comparable to a reasonable garden hose, so it's ideal for washing bikes. It can use water from any source, I used to use water from the pond near the end of our ride in Epping Forest!

It is much more effective than the Dirtworker, but doesn't hold it's own water, and gets through a fair bit of water per bike - with practice I could do a good job of 2 bikes per 25 litre drum.

It can be bolted down to a surface or used as a stand alone. It's very well made and can easily be dismantled to clean the filters.

Alaric.

forgotrafe

I saw the JetAway on ebay for £60 inc. postage. Good to have some feedback on it.

Not sure I can justify spending money on such a thing though

Rafe

p.s. I grew up in Epping Forest!

alaric@epicmtb

Hi Rafe,

I wasn't convinced for a long time, had it in my favourites for ages.

When we were living in Enfield I couldn't really justify it, especially as it was over £100 at the time. We had a hose on the front of the house, so could wash the bikes off as soon as we got home, within half an hour of finishing riding.

When we moved to Willesden, though, it was a bit different. I was keeping the bikes at work, so I'd have to unload the bikes when we got back (at least an hours journey), clean them and then load them back to take in on Monday morning...

That's when I got the Jet Away, and it was so much better: Clean them up before putting them in the car, and nothing to do when I got home. At £60, if you've got room to carry some water in your car, or a water source at the end of your ride, I'd go for it.

It will also be excellent if you go to any events - Sleepless etc. as well.

Alaric.

forgotrafe

Thanks for the info Alaric.

Maybe I'll ask Santa...

Rafe