Living Car Free - Transporting a Bike on a Bike.....130 Miles

I recently put together a bike for a friend of mine. I live in Columbus, He lives in Cincinnati. For my own amusement, and because oil companies are doing well enough by themselves, I have decided to bike the bike to him. Updates on whether or not my trip is successful will come.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=75444&stc=1&d=1215313335
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=75445&stc=1&d=1215313344
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=75446&stc=1&d=1215313382

Wow! Have a safe journey & a speedy return!

i vote no

I like your enthusiasm, but that looks a little iffy. I can see the fork working its way loose into your rear spokes. Check often.

Would an extra long skewer work? Put the fork on the rear drop outs and pull it like a trailer or is the fork spacing too far off for something like that?

I like your enthusiasm, but that looks a little iffy. I can see the fork working its way loose into your rear spokes. Check often.

Would an extra long skewer work? Put the fork on the rear drop outs and pull it like a trailer or is the fork spacing too far off for something like that?

:thumb: That was my thought. Tie, tape, or bungee the front wheel to the unmanned bike.

Uh, you're doing 130 miles in one day? Pretty hardcore :eek:

If you aren't doing it in a day, how do you plan to store your gear?

Setup definitely looks iffy, not something Id want to do 130 miles on. Good luck none the less though, impressive undertaking

"I've got a bad feeling about this..."

as long as the bungees are the heavy duty kind and it is super tight i think it may work. there is a frame bulder who rides his newly built bikes to his customers..whats his name?

those bungees really dont look like the heavy duty kind....

I recently put together a bike for a friend of mine. I live in Columbus, He lives in Cincinnati. For my own amusement, and because oil companies are doing well enough by themselves, I have decided to bike the bike to him. Updates on whether or not my trip is successful will come.



Good LUCK!

Aside from safety, I would pad every spot where the bikes touch. You may or may not know how much damage can be caused by 2 parts being in contact with each other over that distance. They will rub each other raw. It would be a shame to deliver the bike with a big mar on the fork as a result.

-D

I think you are a sking for some serious physical damage to you and the bike. That does not look stable at all. Be careful.

Can you figure out a way to attach one of these to your rear rack? Then the frames won't touch and it would be more secure.

You're crazy.

I like it!

What routes are you planning to take out of curiosity?

I like your enthusiasm, but that looks a little iffy. I can see the fork working its way loose into your rear spokes. Check often.

Would an extra long skewer work? Put the fork on the rear drop outs and pull it like a trailer or is the fork spacing too far off for something like that?
I considered this idea, but...
Front OLN = 100mm. Rear OLN= 120mm.
I even considered removing the rear wheel of the trailing bike and leaving on it's front wheel, and hooking the dropouts of the trailing bike over the dropouts of my bike. This would be messy (derailleurs/brakes getting in the way of each other), not to mention the difficulty of steering something like that.


Good LUCK!
Why thank you


Can you figure out a way to attach one of these to your rear rack? Then the frames won't touch and it would be more secure.
I thought of this too,( there has even been one of those in the clearance bin at my LBS for at least a year now). Mounting the bike in that manner would put the trailing bike's handlebars up 4 feet in the air, and make steering very iffy.


You're crazy.
I like it!
What routes are you planning to take out of curiosity?
I am taking Fisher/Feder road out West of central columbus, and eventually hopping over to Rt. 40. This will take me to West Jefferson. Just south of West Jefferson I can pick up the Prarie Grass Trail, which will take me all the way to Cincinnati. The whole trip will be on a slight downhill.

I have, of course, tested my setup and have had no difficulty biking around with it. I have full faith in the strength of my bungee cords, and I can't forsee any situation in which they would be pushed to the extreme.

Update when I arrive tomorrow afternoon

I considered this idea, but...
Front OLN = 100mm. Rear OLN= 120mm.
I even considered removing the rear wheel of the trailing bike and leaving on it's front wheel, and hooking the dropouts of the trailing bike over the dropouts of my bike. This would be messy (derailleurs/brakes getting in the way of each other), not to mention the difficulty of steering something like that.


Why thank you


I thought of this too,( there has even been one of those in the clearance bin at my LBS for at least a year now). Mounting the bike in that manner would put the trailing bike's handlebars up 4 feet in the air, and make steering very iffy.


I am taking Fisher/Feder road out West of central columbus, and eventually hopping over to Rt. 40. This will take me to West Jefferson. Just south of West Jefferson I can pick up the Prarie Grass Trail, which will take me all the way to Cincinnati. The whole trip will be on a slight downhill.

I have, of course, tested my setup and have had no difficulty biking around with it. I have full faith in the strength of my bungee cords, and I can't forsee any situation in which they would be pushed to the extreme.

Update when I arrive tomorrow afternoon

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/AzCowboy/Bike%20stuff/S7300146.jpg

I hauled this bike over 20 miles like that... the only thing to mention is that I had to support the handlebars of the rear bike as well, or it wanted to tip over too much... I secured both sides of the handle bars to the seat stays and had to stop to adjust the tension on the straps about half way back.

I would vote for something like 2 u-bolts on one side of the fork... one u-bolt on the chainstay and one on the seatstay. Still not sure how I would prevent the fork from steering as you went around a hairpin turn.

Been there, done that... though not for 130 miles.

I would prefer non-elastic nylon straps rather than bungee cords, and I would put some cloth, foam or cardboard between friction points otherwise you'll have lots of paint missing.

However, I much prefer a fixed installation on the rear rack or in a trailer.

You Can Do It!

The bungees are frightening. Too flexy.

Also it looks like you are trailing the towed bikes rear wheel. If so, what happens in a corner where it will try to follow it's own path.

How far have you test ridden this?

The most glaring engineering flaw I can find with it would be the prospect of making a right hand turn.

No matter how tight, those bungees are going to allow for some flex in the junction of the two bikes, especially since the frame of the trailing bike doesn't seem to be immobilized from its steering. This means that much like a trailer with a flexi-hitch, the trailing bike will tend to lag behind the leading bike when turning.
Not a problem with this setup when turning left, since the rear wheel of the leading bike will pivot away from the overlapping downtube of the trailing bike. Making a right hand turn looks like it will pivot the rear tire directly into the downtube of the trailing bike.
The other option is that the tension from the bungee around the top tube will pull the trailing bike into the rear tire of the leading bike.

I am happy to report that the trip was successful.

The tightness of the bungees was not an issue. I put them on relatively tightly, and they did not slip or come undone, even after crossing a large number of rough, uneven wooden bridges along the path.

My only issue was making sharp right turns, but there were very few of those. Even when biking through light city traffic, I had no major mavoueverability issues. The rear wheel rubbed a few times on the trailing frame, but the rubbing was light and of no consequence. Because both my fork and the fork of the trailing bike pivoted, my rear tire was rarely forced very close to the frame of the trailing bike. I was able to execute 90 degree turns to the right and stay within my lane.

Steering was relatively easy as long as I remained on the saddle. As soon as I stood up, the whole train started to wobble.

To those who wish to transport a bike on a bike in this manner, I suggest using lots of padding to prevent the two bikes from rubbing, and employing a route which has as few turns as possible.

Cool, glad o hear it went well :-)

Glad you survived. No major hills to go up and down it sounds like.

i rode this and it worked really well-
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a108/upperclasstwit42/100_2895.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a108/upperclasstwit42/100_2892.jpg

i rode this and it worked really well-


Is that a brake cable that is 2 feet too long?

I recently put together a bike for a friend of mine. I live in Columbus, He lives in Cincinnati. For my own amusement, and because oil companies are doing well enough by themselves, I have decided to bike the bike to him. Updates on whether or not my trip is successful will come.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=75444&stc=1&d=1215313335
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=75445&stc=1&d=1215313344
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=75446&stc=1&d=1215313382

You have testicles the size of grapefruit! :thumb:

Is that a brake cable that is 2 feet too long?

yup, hadn't cut it yet

yup, hadn't cut it yet

OK, but what about the rubbing, did you pad the fork sufficiently? Otherwise I can't see how it could survive at all!

that's pretty awesome it worked!