Towing an empty bike

Initialised

My son is getting into BMX, so we rode to a local indoor Skate/Scoot/BMX place and he learned a few new tricks and loved it. But it took an hour (6.5 miles) due to a poor riding position and 25x9 gearing on his BMX.

Next time I'm thinking of towing his bike on a Trail Gator or similar so he can use an MTB to get there.

So a few questions:

Is it safe to ride towing another bike without a passenger?
Is it safe to attach a towbar to a carbon seatpost?
Are there any handy tips for avoiding scratching both bikes with the tow bar clamps?
What model of tow bar should I use for a 20" BMX?

baudman

Is it safe to ride towing another bike without a passenger? - Yes, although it will bounce around a bit without the weight of a rider. (Just like an empty trailer behind a car).
Is it safe to attach a towbar to a carbon seatpost? - Nope
Are there any handy tips for avoiding scratching both bikes with the tow bar clamps? - Nope. They need to be secure.
What model of tow bar should I use for a 20" BMX? - A trailgator would suit fine.

macbikes

One thing you could do is have a spare saddle and seatpost for your bike with the tow bar attachment on it so you could swap around when needed. The attachment would need to stay on the BMX as it does take a while to install.

Initialised

Thanks for the advice.

@Baudman: Why not safe on a carbon post?

Would it be OK if I wrapped the area where the clamp would fit in neoprene foam or helitape (less bothered about the seatpost tbh)?

Leaving the clamp on the BMX may not be a good idea.

I have a spare saddle but not a spare seatpost, three bikes with 26.2mm posts usually I move my post and saddle between them depending on what/how I want to ride.

Looking at bike calc dot com I could get him a higher seat for the BMX and train him to ride at 90 rpm for a more reasonable 13.6mph, even 12mph at 80rpm or 10.6mph at 70 would make the ride there much more bearable (and half as long). Maybe the answer is a tall seatpost and a spare saddle on the BMX for travelling too and fro rather than towing the bike. Maybe some turbo sessions to get him used to riding 6.5 miles at 70-90rpm!

htsw5

I did it for a while with a Trailgator without problem. I was just doing nursery drop off so had to tow the empty bike with me on to work and finally home.

It is a bit wobbly but you get used to it. I probably looked a bit strange heading through traffic with a empty bike.

I ended up preferring a tag-a-long for this as I was getting worried about the distance I was putting on the rear hub of the bike with its little wheel.

Since moved on to a tandem which is far nicer to ride solo.

tlw1

I give my eldest a decent push up every hill - this vastly increases the average speed!

Initialised

@oxoman, The point is that he's too slow on the BMX but needs the BMX at the indoor park, I took my other son around Keilder on a TagAlong, they are great but no use here. His bike's 12kg (a little more than my road bike) so I don't expect him to tow it. I'd tow it but as you say the damage may be too much as they are both good bikes.

So having measured him up I guess I need a 25.4mm diameter, 500mm tall rail seatpost so he can ride the BMX with much better pedaling efficiency so we can do it in 30-40 minutes instead of over an hour. Any ideas where to get something like that?

The only 25.4mm post I can find don't go past 400mm and the only 500mm posts I can find are for unicycles. I guess 400mm will have to do for now.

baudman

Initialised wrote:

@Baudman: Why not safe on a carbon post?

Carbon is interesting - it's incredibly strong in one direction, not so much in another. I seriously doubt many manufacturers are building carbon seatposts designed to put up with the types of forces a trailgator will give it. And besides, it says it on the installation instructions.

The unit isn't really designed to be added/removed quickly. In fact, it'd be a PITA. You put the mount on the bike and leave it there. In my experience, damage to the bike being towed is minimal. Yes, it's there, but it's not that much. (This is an aluminium frame).

Post TrailGator use scratches by baudman , on Flickr
Once I picked at it with my thumbnail, it actually looked a lot better - just some minor paint scratches (I was expecting deep gouges, as I'd seen that before).

It's when the bolts aren't tight enough that significant damage can be caused.

A longer seatpost on the BMX could be a good option.

Initialised

Yeah, we settled for a 400mm post and will use one of my old saddles.