I live in Chicago and I will be a sophomore in highschool. This year I am not taking the train to school at all even during the winter.
My birthday is next month and one present is due to arrive in a few days.:)
A Burley Flatbed!
I know there are some owners out there. What do you think of it?
I recieved an '07 Specialized Crossroads last month as an early present.
This trailer will be useful because I am taking a class on Small Engines. On weekends I will be bringing home a 6hp Briggs and Stratton Lawn Mower Engine.
This is fine. I will be winter cycling as well though. There is no way in hell I'm using my new bike on salty Chicago winter streets. So I bought a 13 year old Trek mountain bike on Craigslist and I will be ordering some Snow Stud tires for it as soon as I have some money.
Last year I used my dad's five year old Trek Hybrid (more like a road bike than a mountain bike)to tow a rehabbed kid trailer tow haul a sled and couldn't get traction for the life of me.
How hard will it be to tow about 85 pounds on snow and ice with Snow stud tires?
PDXJeff
08-03-07, 03:43 AM
You're my new hero.
Juha
08-03-07, 04:17 AM
Congrats on the new baby, let us know how it works out.
How hard will it be to tow about 85 pounds on snow and ice with Snow stud tires?
On ice, quite doable provided you have traction. Which you will with proper studded tyres. The trailer has no brakes, so take it easy when braking to avoid jackknifing. On ice you need to take corners carefully anyways, so the risk of trailer wiping out there is fairly small. If you do a lot of riding on icy surfaces, consider studded tyres for trailer as well. That would help reduce (not eliminate) the risk, but it would also increase rolling resistance.
Which brings us to snow. In snow you will be in trouble, studded or not. Burley is a 2-tyre design, so you will be plowing a path not only with the bike but with both trailer tyres as well. If you have, say, 5-10cms of loose snow or more, you're in for a real workout. It's even worse if the top snow layer is frozen, but not frozen quite enough to carry bike and/or trailer all the time. Make sure you have low gearing. I see potential for a Burley sled mod... :)
--J
CrimsonEclipse
08-03-07, 06:16 AM
I see potential for a Burley sled mod... :)
--J
ooooooh....good idea!
:beer:
CE
Chicagoan
08-03-07, 09:48 AM
Yeah once I have the money I am buying studs. Anyone got recomendations? I still have a good four months before snow here in Chicago. Mayor Dailey is pretty good about getting the snowploughs and salt trucks out there so snow shouldn't be too much of an issue. I was thinking of doing a sled kind of thing though as well.
I have a sled that I am much too tall for now but it's ski parts are made of plastic. I also have some waterskis too our boat that we never use (the skis not the boat)
donnamb
08-03-07, 07:09 PM
What an excellent birthday present. I love my Burley Flatbed. It handles really well in driving rain, so I'm sure it's good in other forms of bad weather, as well. As for studded tires, the best are made by Nokian. I know you've got snowplows and salt in Chicago, but I don't think you should forgo the studded tires because of that. It'll still be slippery on a bike.
Do you know how to lock your trailer when it is attached to the bike?
Chicagoan
08-03-07, 08:03 PM
Yeah I will buy some, But I have no money. Thats okay though because I will have plenty by first snowfall so sometime between now and November I will buy some. Burley says not to use it in weather below 35 Degrees but I think they're just being conservative. THey claim some plastic part of the hitch will become brittle and break. But they say dont travel over 15 mph but I have taken my now dead rehabbed kiddie trailer downhill at 35mph empty.
No but I can probrably figure it out. Its due in tommorow. I will only need it once or twice a week and I park my bike in front of Chicago Police Headquarters. (not just some normal police station the biggest one in the city. Cops come in and out constantly.
CommuterRun
08-04-07, 02:52 AM
I've a flatbed for a few years and love it. Used to use it almost daily until I was given racks for a couple of my bikes and panniers. Still use the flatbed from time to time.
85 lbs. of cargo is a lot, but not outrageous.
I've had this trailer up to speeds in the high 30's on a downhill run that was on my commuting route when I was living in Okinawa.
Some modifications I made: The PVC is attached using heavy zip-ties. The horizontal pieces are so I don't have to tie down most loads that fit in the trailer bed. The vertical pieces are fishing rod holders. I replaced the reflectors on the rear of the trailer with Cateye TL-LD500 lights. This gives me reflectors and active lighting on the trailer.
Can't comment on towing in snow and ice, but the sled idea sounds intriguing.:)
cerewa
08-04-07, 07:52 AM
THey claim some plastic part of the hitch will become brittle and break.
Plastic parts really do get brittle and breakable in cold weather, and depending on the stress the part is under that might be a serious issue.
A 6hp motor is probably enough to put a lot of stress on your hitch, too.
donnamb
08-04-07, 10:45 AM
Burley makes an alternative hitch out of metal, I believe.
wahoonc
08-04-07, 11:05 AM
Yeah once I have the money I am buying studs. Anyone got recomendations? I still have a good four months before snow here in Chicago. Mayor Dailey is pretty good about getting the snowploughs and salt trucks out there so snow shouldn't be too much of an issue. I was thinking of doing a sled kind of thing though as well.
I have a sled that I am much too tall for now but it's ski parts are made of plastic. I also have some waterskis too our boat that we never use (the skis not the boat)
Nokians or Schwalbe are the best IMHO. Peter White Cycles (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp) has a pretty decent article on them. FWIW I could get 3-4 seasons out of a pair. YMMV
Aaron:)
CommuterRun
08-04-07, 11:32 AM
Burley makes an alternative hitch out of metal, I believe.
I didn't know that. I'll have to look into it.
I've kind of been wondering, for some time now, how much a machinist would charge to make a hitch from aluminum alloy, but I've been afraid to ask. :o :)
Raiyn
08-07-07, 04:46 PM
Yeah I will buy some, But I have no money.
Who needs money when you've got people buying you bikes and trailers?
I wish I had it like that.
Bushman
08-07-07, 04:54 PM
I didn't know that. I'll have to look into it.
I've kind of been wondering, for some time now, how much a machinist would charge to make a hitch from aluminum alloy, but I've been afraid to ask. :o :)
your looking at MINIMUM about $35 bucks an hour , if not more.
donnamb
08-07-07, 08:58 PM
I didn't know that. I'll have to look into it.
http://burley.com/support/images/07hitchguide.pdf
Michel Gagnon
08-07-07, 10:23 PM
Or get the hitch from here (http://wicycle.com/parts.htm).
It's said to be fully compatible with Burley trailers.