Alt Bike Culture - Bicycle Sidecar

I found a website that had the plans for a bicycle sidecar. Since I've always liked the look of a sidecar and wanted to be a bit different, I decided to rip down an old road bike and repaint it and replace the gears and cables and such, paint it and then create a sidecar. The sidecar frame is laid out and I'll be welding it tomorrow morning.

My sidecar deviates from the original creators in that his was smaller, but I want to be able to put a bit more in mine. So I was wondering, would it matter if my wheel on the sidecar was in line with my back tire? (as in they would be side by side) or could I put it farther forward so it would be more like - _ - then the way he had it, which was like this - =.

Just asking if you have any suggestions, I think it would look more like a sidecar if it was a bit more center than in line with the rear tire.

Never thought about it. But in doing an image Google search for "sidecar", it looks like 95% or more are built with the sidecar wheel and the rear wheel aligned.

Ideally, if you have multiple wheels on a vehicle, you want the centerlines of those wheels to all pass through a common point when turning. With a three-wheeler with two wheels on one axle, or aligned that way, it's always the case. However, they make tandem trucks where this is not the case, and they can obviously still steer without any problem, so it may just not be that critical.

The positioning of a sidecar wheel is a source of much debate and several theories, but if it helps any my old sidecar rickshaw has the sidecar wheel in line with the bicycle rear wheel.

After googling "motorcycle sidecar" and looking at the various types people had, it seems that most did indeed have the rear tire aligned with the sidecar wheel. So I will follow that design. I'll also take some photos today and maybe write up a post about how it was put together. I figure people might be interested.

As a side note, this will be my first bicycle manufacturing experience, my dad was a toolmaker for 20 years and now installs theatrical rigging. I help him in the summer, so fabricating things is nothing new to me, just haven't gotten around to doing it on a bicycle yet.

I've always been under trhe impression that the sidecar wheel's axel should be a bit(but not much)ahead of the rear wheel's axel---at least that's the way my old harley was.
Also you will need low gearing to pull the hack.

None of these are mine, they're pictures I had on my hard drive.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/sidecar.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/sidecar_large.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/wb049-1Picture029.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/mayday03t.jpg

I like the top one, looks like a fantastic answer for a family of 4, or even a physically handicapped person could possibly ride.

The top one is my favourite too :)

the top one is very cool. too bad the bar on the front seat doesn't row/pedal too.

here's one i saw a few weeks ago down the street:
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u156/basscadetz/IMG_0740.jpg

Lucky kids :D

This one belongs to my buddy;

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/409491453_155b216123.jpg?v=0

I've built both motorcycle and bicycle sidecars. I've never heard of anyone who knew what they were doing having the car wheel in line with the rear wheel. Even the 2WD Russian MC rig I saw last month had the sidecar wheel about 6" further forward. 10" is about average but that would have given the U-Joints fits.

I built this for a friend with a severely handicapped daughter.
http://www.bikesmithdesign.com/Nikki/Sidecar2.jpg

The cantilevered pedals are so her mom doesn't have to lift Nikki over anything, to seat her on the bike.
When Nikki gets tired, mom just flips a shift lever to disconnect her pedals from the drivetrain.
The sidecar wheel is adjustable for camber, toe in and height. The height adjustment is used to determine lean-out of the main bike. In order for mom's heels to clear Nikki's crankshaft I had to place the whole car rearward, so the car wheel only leads by about 4".

See this post if you didn't:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=456311

Wow, that is an amazing heavy duty rig. I love the steering wheel instead of handlebars.:thumb:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vUEhS0lU3eU/SKwq8TyHgNI/AAAAAAAAF3c/ijz3jL0Q9wk/s400/d+trishaw+r.JPG


coooool.

So what do you think the gearing on something like that is? Are they single speeds or Internal geared? I doubt they'd have derailleurs because of maintenance reasons.

Not much telling on the gearing. Probably single speed. You'll notice that bike is some old double-barred Raleigh clone, likely 28". I've noticed on various pictures that when they have bikes really loaded down in some of these places, that they're just as likely to be pushing it by hand as trying to ride and pedal. I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't the original 42:18 gearing still on there.

http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictures/Bike/Giant/Sidecar1.jpg
Xtracycle + Burly Flatbed trailer

I'm not being able to link these...two photos of BMX w/ sidehack that won MiniBikeWinter Chariot Wars this year:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21556345@N00/2276211008/in/set-72157603936436262/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21556345@N00/2276211248/in/set-72157603936436262/

The further the side car wheel and the bike wheel are out of fore and aft alignment, the more they will scuff on turns. This is probably not too important, as the tires scuff anyway. Look at the front tire on a side car equipped motorcycle to see what I mean.

Cool! I actually built a sidecar for my BMX bike when I was about 13 years old....out of 2x4's and scrap plywood.:twitchy: It was heavy, it was nearly impossible to move with a passenger onboard, and it darn uncomfortable for the passenger.

More to the point here, I had the sidecar wheel about midway between the front and back wheels of the bike, and I couldn't turn AT ALL.

Here's a great site for sidecars. http://bikerodnkustom4.homestead.com/sidecar.html

These rock. Looks like i will have a new project when my new welder gets here.

WOW these are awesome!

super duper awesome, I'm totally going to do this, and/or retro direct. My buddy has been looking at buying a sidehack from walmart just for fun.

wow I'm glad somebody fished this back up. I just posted up my conversion of an adult trike, but these are amazing!!!

Something I have thought would be really cool would be to go touring with a sidecar motorcycle, with a dog (preferably a white or brown lab) in the sidecar, wearing a scarf and Doggles. I can't imagine a better chick magnet!
But this thread has opened up the possibility of even doing this with a bicycle sidecar. But probably a smaller dog, say border collie or jack russell.

L.

Haha.. That's one of the best ideas I've ever heard :thumb:

lol, that's how I met my husband 25 years ago (but he had an exceptionally amazing dog :) )

I've built both motorcycle and bicycle sidecars. I've never heard of anyone who knew what they were doing having the car wheel in line with the rear wheel. Even the 2WD Russian MC rig I saw last month had the sidecar wheel about 6" further forward. 10" is about average but that would have given the U-Joints fits.

I built this for a friend with a severely handicapped daughter.
http://www.bikesmithdesign.com/Nikki/Sidecar2.jpg
I am quite impressed! Do you have a website or gallery of your other work?

The cantilevered pedals are so her mom doesn't have to lift Nikki over anything, to seat her on the bike.
When Nikki gets tired, mom just flips a shift lever to disconnect her pedals from the drivetrain.
The sidecar wheel is adjustable for camber, toe in and height. The height adjustment is used to determine lean-out of the main bike. In order for mom's heels to clear Nikki's crankshaft I had to place the whole car rearward, so the car wheel only leads by about 4".
I am truly impressed! Do you have a gallery of your work or website?

^^ That is pretty amazing, nice of you to do!

When I was little some other kids on the neighborhood had a bicycle+sidecar that their grandfather or somebody had made for them. It was pretty treacherous to ride, I suspect because it only had the rear bicycle coaster-brake.

With one kid riding and another two or three hanging on the sidecar, if the bicyclist slammed on the (coaster) brake, the whole bicycle would still try to keep going forward--but it would pull away from the sidecar, to the left pretty hard.

So if you only use two brakes, you might want to make sure they're on the two back wheels.

If it helps, I have a page on My site I just started with some good sidecar links http://www.thatbikeguy.com/sidecars.htm

Cheers
Chainmaker

Sidecar for my dog is exactly what I am looking for. She is 22 pounds, and I have pedelec Kalkoff Pro-Connect Wave. A definitive posting would be excaliber. Any luck adapting the Chariot "baby"/seated side cars for standup dog?. I would do a commissioning for someone with a little experience and imagination. How is that for "Buying American".

I could see my shepherd, ****, riding in a Watsonian sidecar. He would need the Kaiser's pickelhaube helmet, fer sure... 8]
Them old Derny Cyclotandems are pretty far out, with sidecar options.
193436

The only factory motorcycle sidecar available in North America is the Ural (http://www.imz-ural.com/). The Ural hack's wheel sits ahead of the tug's rear wheel.

Royal Enfield motorcycle dealers offer aftermarket sidecars. Again, the sidecar's wheel is ahead of the bike's rear wheel.

Production bicycle and sidecar outfit: Smike (http://smike.ch/index.php).

Production bicycle sidecar: Chariot (http://www.chariotcarriers.com/english/html/sidecarrier.php).

Seems like a sidecar would be a prime place (and reason) for an electric assist, though I wonder whether there'd be an uncomfortable left-turning tendency (right rudder! right rudder!).

Maybe, .. if you can train the dog to lean out over the sidecar wheel

when the sidecar is on the inside of the corner.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/sidecar_large.jpg

Anyone notice this one has crutches on the other side, two drive side cranks and ring sets, chains and two derailleurs?

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/sidecar_large.jpg

Anyone notice this one has crutches on the other side, two drive side cranks and ring sets, chains and two derailleurs?

Could have something to do with the electric assist?

Could have something to do with the electric assist?

Maybe so, I know I'd have that bike though, it looks rugged. Maybe it is built specifically for someone who has sustained leg injury and it is an attempt to regain lost mobility, strength etc.

Bailey and a Ural.

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4739/uralpics9409036.jpg

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/2518/uralpics9409023.jpg

Maybe so, I know I'd have that bike though, it looks rugged. Maybe it is built specifically for someone who has sustained leg injury and it is an attempt to regain lost mobility, strength etc.

Surly Instigator. I almost dropped the hammer on one of those, got my LHT instead. It just fits the mission better, but that Instigator looks like one tough hombre.