Utility Cycling - Towing another bicycle

I've searched around on the forums, but I must not be using the right words to narrow my search. So I used that as an excuse to draw up a very rough sketch of my idea/question:

Does a product exist that would allow me to use my road or commuter bike to tow my mountain bike to a trail head? I have two local mountain bike trails that are 4.5 and 8 miles away from my home. I don't mind riding the mountain bike to those to go riding. However, there are trails that are in the neighborhood of 15-30 miles away that I would be comfortable riding to and from, but NOT on stubbies. Also, this would be a great option for taking my mountain bike to the shop when I break things, and in all cases avoiding driving a car. I often have difficulting mentally resolving the concept of DRIVING to a BIKE trail.

Here's the sketch. Anyone have any ideas? Improvements? Does a product exist, or will I be making my own? The idea is to only catch the front wheel (but securely) so that the frame and rear wheel are free to turn (a la any other "trailer"). Many thanks!

http://shostako.com/bikeforums/bikes/biketowing.gif

If you could make a mounting bracket which could to a bike off of dropouts or the seat post, I'm pretty sure it would sell.

http://www.trail-gator.com/
Maybe that'll work.

Nashbar sells it, but indicates that it will fit 14" - 20" wheel size children's bicycles.

Actually, I've been thinking about how to do the same thing. Securing the front wheel was the problem I kept running into. Then I thought, take the wheel off, and all you have to secure are the forks. And they make stuff for that!

I'm thinking I could mount one of these (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=0669&sku=15324&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Brand:%20Delta) on my rear rack. If it's secure enough for a roof rack, it's certainly secure enough for a rear rack on a bike. As for the towed bike's front wheel, all I've come up with so far is to zip-tie it to the towed bike's frame. I suppose that in a pinch you could just hang it from the towed bike's bars.

Anyway, that's where I've been heading with the idea. Won't have to try it for a couple of months, so I don't know exactly how well it will work. But for $20, it's worth a shot.

It doesn't seem worth it to me. You're still going to have the weight of the bike, and the resistance of at least one knobbly tire.

There was a system years ago that attached the front forks of a second bike to the rear axle of a first bike. It was touted as a cheap way to have a tandem. Can you open the rear quick release on you road bike far enough to fit the front forks of your MTB? There are special trailer units for towing canoes and kayaks behind bikes. Try adapting one of them. Or just break down and buy a normal bike trailer. Then bungee your MTb to the trailer.

Thanks for the comments so far.

Yeah, i thought about the trailing knobby, and thought it might be worth creating a tiny platform for that. Something like roller-blade wheels that are relatively cheap and have low rolling resistance, as well as holding up well. All I'd need is a simple axle and mounting frame to tie to the rear wheel.

I thought about removing the front wheel and using a fork mount, too. I hadn't thought of zip-tying the front wheel to the frame though! That's actually a really great idea, but it does require carrying zip ties with me. At least the plastic can be recycled. :)

It may not prove to be worth it as a short-distance idea. I think having something like this would be worth it enough simply to tow a bike to the shop with another bike. I do think it would be worth it for me for a longer-distance trip, and may actually entice me to consider biking to farther-away distances for long-weekend vacations.

I suppose it is definitely something I'll need to try out to see if the road bike plus drag resistance and weight of towed bike actually proves more efficient than mountain bike alone.

Always good to think of different options. :) I'd like to move to a more car-light sensibility, so I'm trying to think of every option possible.

There was a system years ago that attached the front forks of a second bike to the rear axle of a first bike. It was touted as a cheap way to have a tandem. Can you open the rear quick release on you road bike far enough to fit the front forks of your MTB? There are special trailer units for towing canoes and kayaks behind bikes. Try adapting one of them. Or just break down and buy a normal bike trailer. Then bungee your MTb to the trailer.


I'll have to check that out this weekend.... that's not a bad idea either!

There was a system years ago that attached the front forks of a second bike to the rear axle of a first bike. It was touted as a cheap way to have a tandem. Can you open the rear quick release on you road bike far enough to fit the front forks of your MTB? There are special trailer units for towing canoes and kayaks behind bikes. Try adapting one of them. Or just break down and buy a normal bike trailer. Then bungee your MTb to the trailer.

The difficulty with this arrangement is that you cant lock the front dropouts of the rear bike as you have to allow for vertical movement of the trailing wheel over bumps.

I know that this is not what you had in mind, but on the chance that it might be useful . . . I sometimes need to haul an additonal bike to or from a bus station or school. I use our Burley trailer folded flat. Then I put the extra bike on top, upside down. I use toe clip straps to attach the handlebars and a bungee around the seatpost to stop the bike from sliding around. It's fast and easy. Even loosely secured, the extra bike rides pretty well.

I've done it... Towed an old lugged steel five dollar bike home about 8 or 9 miles. I just strapped the front wheel to a fold out grocery rack on the bike I rode in on as well as possible with four bungees. The handling was really wierd, because the odd angle that the towed bike's headset was at would cause the towed bike to lean at odd angles in turns, which caused a little rear steer input. It's nothing impossible, just don't stand on the pedals while the bike(s) is(are) in motion.

Try this first: Stand in front of your bike, grab the bars, and lift the front wheel off of the ground. Walk around with it, but keep the bars level and the front wheel airborne. All of that wierd twisting force is what you'd be working against while towing a bike.

If you break something on your bike, it may not be possible to tow it to the LBS anyways. Just a thought.

Haven't had need to try it yet, but I have thought of a possible way to tow one or two bikes behind another using my Burley Flatbed Trailer.

Put a cross piece on the front and the rear of the bed rails of the trailer.

Attach two cross pieces to these that run the length of the trailer (four for towing two bikes). Space these so that the front wheel(s) of the bike(s) to be towed will fit between them.

Place the front wheel of the bike to be towed on the trailer, between the lengthwise cross pieces and tie the front wheel securely to the trailer.

I have considered if a set up like this would have a tendency to tip over, but with a two wheeled trailer like the Burley I don't think this would be a big problem for a single bike if it were centered on the trailer. If towing two bikes, the back wheels would add to stability. I think. Like I said earlier, I haven't tried this.

G5Ti I have two comments...

1) I would use a trailer to carry the bike

2) The bikes in your sketch look like they're copulating (c'mon guys, admit you thought the same thing :p )

I thought about removing the front wheel and using a fork mount, too. I hadn't thought of zip-tying the front wheel to the frame though! That's actually a really great idea, but it does require carrying zip ties with me. At least the plastic can be recycled. :)


Or you can use something reusable like velcro straps...

There is this option:

http://xtracycle.com/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=public&id=dave_gray_s_rig

And you might notice that my avatar is my bike caring another bike (plus a kid, plus snacks, plus ... )

I had a gadget years ago that we built. It clamped to my rear rack and hung down a bit. It was similar to the bed rail fork mounts that you buy today. Then the front wheel was bungied to the frame of the rear bike. Worked pretty good, but got stolen a while back and I have never bothered to replace it. Handling was affected but as long as you watched where you were riding and kept the speeds sensible it worked.

Aaron:)

I would like to figure out how to use my Scooter to transport my bicycle. That way I could use it instead of the car; I use the car for the first few miles of my commute, then park and ride in to work. The first few miles are too dangerous for my sensibilities. I could scooter them easily, though.

I would save some fuel using the scooter, vs. my fuel-efficient car.

I would like to figure out how to use my Scooter to transport my bicycle. That way I could use it instead of the car; I use the car for the first few miles of my commute, then park and ride in to work. The first few miles are too dangerous for my sensibilities. I could scooter them easily, though.

I would save some fuel using the scooter, vs. my fuel-efficient car.

I do something similar, depending on the time of day. The first 2 miles of the commute are on 55-mph curvy road with no shoulder, then 1 mile on a 6-lane 45mph stretch. I usually just drive through that, then park at a sports complex and ride the remaining 12 miles (which is almost all bike path). If it's really early, or at least reasonably light out (both to and from), I'll ride the whole way. Gotta have the lights charged and ready though. ;)

The scooter idea is fun... I would imagine it would be even easier to employ the trailer suggested mentioned here with a scooter.

If I get some time, I may play around with the towing thing more. I talked with one of my friends, and we came up with some goofy ideas for ways to support the front and rear wheels of the bike to be towed (so that the bike being towed doesn't have to actually function at all), along with adjusting for the steering axis of the towed bike.

Again, it's probably more effort than it's worth. But it's fun.


I'll pose one more thing - for bike maintenance, do you most of you actually use a bike stand? I thought I could just take a 3-4' length of metal pipe, attach a 90-deg join and then another 12-18" section to that. Mount the long section to a stud in the wall, and voila! A bike stand (to support under the saddle) that can fold flat against the wall. I'm sure someone's done something similar...

HA! I'm in Columbus, too. Gotta love those Cols. rush-hour soccer mom's on their phones (not). The first part of my ride is on Old Worthington Rd; 50mph avg traffic 2-laner with no shoulders. I've had some real scares. I'm done with that.

Gotta figure out that scoot thing.

Recently, we threw together a brakeless race bike for a cruiser class 'Little 100' relay race at the local oval. Not wanting to street it across town to get there (and wanting the team to arrive in style) I came up with this:
http://static.flickr.com/89/228502390_8b2124b8fe_o.jpg

HA! I'm in Columbus, too. Gotta love those Cols. rush-hour soccer mom's on their phones (not). The first part of my ride is on Old Worthington Rd; 50mph avg traffic 2-laner with no shoulders. I've had some real scares. I'm done with that.

Gotta figure out that scoot thing.


I actually sent you an e-mail through your .Mac account. :)

We must live very close, as my commute starts off on E. Powell, continues on to Old Worthington and then to Polaris Parkway en route to Cleveland Avenue. When that stupid construction project on Africa is done, it won't be so bad... 'cause there's a cut-through there to avoid Polaris Pkwy (my most feared obstacle) altogether.

As far as the trailer goes in the above post, that ROCKS! Time for me to bust out materials and get to work....

The rolling resistance of the MTB tire wouldn't be so bad since there is very little weight on it.

Basically, the knobbie tire has a higher friction coefficient and the Force (to propell the wheel) = friction coefficient x Weight.

I don't have a good mounting idea though :(

What would be wrong with mounting it high on a rear rack? One of my bikes has a big milk crate on the rear rack- if you rested bike #2's top tube along the top of the crate (so it was perpendicular to bike #1) and tied it down there, I don't see any major problems that could arise. I mean, you would have to be real careful about your balance, but otherwise it would be just like an ordinary car rack.

It doesn't seem worth it to me. You're still going to have the weight of the bike, and the resistance of at least one knobbly tire.

You obviously haven't towed a bike before.

Here are some of my experiences. It's amazing what you can do with a simply rack and electrical insulation tape...

The first picture shows my touring bike with the MTB attached. The front wheel of the MTB fitted neatly between the right pedal and the frame and was secured with insulation tape on the top tube.

The second picture shows how I secured the front fork with simply insulation tape. Four or five rounds of it in each location. The seat was taped across the top of the rack. I towed the MTB around 20km, including 2km on a rough gravel road.

The third picture shows a tandem, a fixie, a road bike and a frame or two on a trailer I built for various duties... it ended up moving my household stuff to storage. It did carry up to six MTBs for training courses at one stage.

The fourth picture is a close-up of the front fork drop-out clamp that I fabricated. It would be easier now to go to a bike shop and get the type for roof racks.

So, yes to the OP, it is entirely possible to tow bikes. For your purpose, a drop-out clamp bolted to the back of a reaer rack probably would be ok. The only problem you might experience is going over significant bumps (gutter crossings), but assuming you have lawyers lips on the bottom of the MTB's forks, you may be able to leave the quick release a little loose to compensate for this.

Instead of the drop-out clamp, why not use an old hub? It should be pretty easy to find someone to weld an attached point onto the center section (or use a hose clamp or two to attach the hub to the rack) then even with the front fork of the bike-in-tow clamped tightly in place, it can still pivot up and down over bumps. If you're handy with fabricating parts, you could really simplofy the whole set up since you can get away with simple bushings instead of the hub's bearings.

Rolling resistance of a nobby with no weight on it should be less than any trailer system or small (roller blade) wheeled platform. Forget about the extra weight of a trailer too. Also, that would be extra peices to lock up at the trailhead. I think I would spin the bike around and let the front tire be the one on the ground. I would tie the rear tire to the left side of the rack...if your rack has an extension for panniers there is a lot of surface available there for stability. I would be natured to try this out of curiousity...however, it seems that the awkwardness and time involved would negate any time savings from riding the road bike. Luck.

Edit: Also, the tread configuration of my mtb rear tire yields much more rolling resistance than the front tire.

I saw a post a while back with a trailer with a tray attached like you'd see on a car roof-rack. It looked like the most stable option I've seen yet, with a pretty low center of gravity. I'd opt for that even though it's a little extra weight.

I actually sent you an e-mail through your .Mac account. :)

We must live very close, as my commute starts off on E. Powell, continues on to Old Worthington and then to Polaris Parkway en route to Cleveland Avenue. When that stupid construction project on Africa is done, it won't be so bad... 'cause there's a cut-through there to avoid Polaris Pkwy (my most feared obstacle) altogether.

As far as the trailer goes in the above post, that ROCKS! Time for me to bust out materials and get to work....

Yeah, we must!

I live off County Line, between Old Worthington (the S of Polaris Pkwy version) and Cleveland Ave. Do you ride the Alum path? My wife rides that sometimes.

If I ride all the way (like every Tuesday) I ride S on Old Worthington until it meets up with Sancus. Turn L then R onto WIlson Bridge (going west). Take Wilson Bridge and ride the Olentangy Trail downtown... If I drive I just park at the northern head of Olentangy Trail and ride it in. I have a few other routes I can take that go straight in, but all go through some dangerous situations, so I prefer the drive/ride the best. Still 14 mi x 2, so a decent ride every day.

G5Ti
2) The bikes in your sketch look like they're copulating (c'mon guys, admit you thought the same thing :p )
Bike Porn!:eek:

2) The bikes in your sketch look like they're copulating (c'mon guys, admit you thought the same thing :p )
Guilty as charged. I think that's how I keep ending up with one more bike in the garage/basement!!!

Following up on this thread from September (http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=228764&highlight=towing), I bought a bike on the way home from work today and towed it home.

In the original thread, I speculated that mounting one of these (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=0669&sku=15324&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Brand:%20Delta) to my rack would work. Thinking it through, that could damage the fork dropouts. The reason is that it's meant to clamp the forks tightly in a roof or pick-up truck rack where the bike isn't moving, relative to the object it's attached to. Using it as a tow hitch wouldn't let the bikes pivot up and down over bumps. This would put stress on the dropouts and probably wouldn't make for a good ride either.

But the idea was close enough, that I worked something else out.

I removed the front wheel and attached it to my backpack using the load compression straps. Next, I rested the towed bike's fork dropouts on a crossbar on my rack. The fit was perfect. Then I bungeed the towed bike's downtube to the back of the rack--tight enough to keep it there, yet with enough "give" for over the bumps.

It rode marvelously. It was as if it wasn't there at all. I could have ridden miles and miles that way.

And the looks I got from cagers were entertaining.

Any chance of a photo? I don't quite understand the set up. I've thought about using "one of these" cause a have one, but just have had too many other things to do to, to test that method out. You never know when a new bike opportunity pops up. A trailer would work, but I'd hate to always tow a trailer. Some small equipment tow set up would be nice cause you could always have it with you.

I too have given some thought to the idea of a 'tow bike' and am intrigued. Pictures or death! (at least a schematic?)

Pictures! That would solve one of the main reasons I won't hunt for bikes at the thrift stores while riding mine.

I usually just ride with the other bike in my hand next to me. I have ridden like ten miles this way before.

What kind did you get?

I prefer the good old "grab the stem and ride carefully" method.

There is also this (http://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/truss-bike-trailer/accessories.html) method:

I prefer the good old "grab the stem and ride carefully" method.

Not amenable to my 5 yr old's 12" bike.

Not amenable to my 5 yr old's 12" bike.

If the bike was that small I'd just strap it to my bag and go

When this was discussed before, someone mentioned attaching an old hub to the rack. This would allow using a quick release axle to attach the bike and also allow it to pivot over bumps. And a front hub in 100mm spacing will fit almost any bike and weighs about nothing. I have an Ebay bike I need to go pick up and really wish I had an old hub to work with. I'll probably just use my Flat Bed trailer again. Luckily this bike isn't 25 miles away like the last one.

Any chance of a photo?Probably not. I don't have a camera--either digital or analog.


I usually just ride with the other bike in my hand next to me. I have ridden like ten miles this way before.That was going to be my fallback position if this didn't work out. It was after dark, snowing, the roads were greasy, and most of the ride home was a four-lane with curbs and no shoulder. So I really wanted both hands on the bars and I didn't want to present any wider profile than necessary. Plus that would increase the possiblity of being mistaken for a theif. As it was, the cops didn't pay any more atention to me than the other cagers.


When this was discussed before, someone mentioned attaching an old hub to the rack. This would allow using a quick release axle to attach the bike and also allow it to pivot over bumps. And a front hub in 100mm spacing will fit almost any bike and weighs about nothing.This is essentially what I did, using the rack's crossbar in place of a hub. It fit right on the crossbar perfectly. then the bungee took the place of a hub's QR.

As for trailers, that would necessitate buying one and then storing it someplace. A bungee is cheaper, easier to store, plus I already own several.

Same goes for the xtracycle. I'd have to buy one of those, and then try to fit it up the fire escape stairs to in my apartment. Standard bikes are challenge enough. And again, I already own bungees.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have both a bikes-at-work trailer and an xtracycle. It's just not practical right now with my living space, nor can I justify the expense for such irregular use.


What kind did you get?http://www.brucew.com/images/wordpress/2007/trek-1000-yellow.jpg
This is what I bought. It's an older (although not quite elderly) Trek 1000. Needs only the usual wear items is all. I figured it was worth $100 (and a few parts) to have a spare bike lying around.

I found the same problem with a regular clamp on my rear rack - wearing on the dropouts when going over bumps/curb cuts/etc.

I fixed it by buying some 1/8" thick Delrin washers, and sticking that on both sides of the dropout in the clamp. That allows a nice sliding surface, but still holds the bike securely. They'll need be replaced every so often, but realistically I tow a bike 2 or 3 times a month max.

You could also do this with nylon washers available at any hardware store - not quite as lubricious as delrin, but it'd do.

A while ago I was thinking about a tow-bike, for bikes,
I thought about a small side-car that would go near the rear wheel of the towing bike.

This is essentially what I did, using the rack's crossbar in place of a hub. It fit right on the crossbar perfectly. then the bungee took the place of a hub's QR.

The hub would be a little more sophisticated but what you did is some good McGyvering. I might give it a try (after a test fit first before leaving home) before going to get my $41 Ebay Trek (way older than the bike you just bought though and needs a lot more work).

I don't know... it just seems the forks are too high. Making the fork turning action at a gangly angle. I'm thinking if I can get the forks down lower, then it would be at a more natural turning angle. So I'm going to try an attach some PVC pipe segments on the rear bike rack stays and just put the forks in there, like I've seen people do with fishing rods or rakes and shovels on trucks.

The poster here that often talks about their Xtracycles showed a picture of him with a bike strapped to the Xtracycle

The poster here that often talks about their Xtracycles showed a picture of him with a bike strapped to the Xtracycle

The only way to roll..

http://www.bikerubbish.com/xtracycle2/xtracycle/images/gallery/wedding41.jpg

http://www.bikerubbish.com/xtracycle2/xtracycle/images/gallery/wedding38.jpg

http://www.bikerubbish.com/xtracycle2/xtracycle/images/gallery/wedding40.jpg

Well there ya go :)

Always thought that was a cool setup