Utility Cycling - Dragging a bike behind a bike?

I want to ride with my son to his school, then tow his (BMX) bike back to the house before riding in to work.

I've thought about a cargo trailer (http://www.biketrailershop.com/catalog/505-burley-flatbed-wsetup-options-p-153.html) and I was impressed with this setup for an Xtracycle:

http://www.bikerubbish.com/rubbish/may2008/zzzzzz.jpg

However, it seems awfully silly to carry a bike when it has wheels of its own. Has anyone seen a rig for carrying the front of a bike, perhaps on the side of a rear rack?

It has nutted axles, so I'd rather not take off the front wheel.

do you have a rear rack ? maybe figure a way to bungie the front wheel straight on the rack (with a home made bike rack thing of some sort) , and let the rear wheel ride along behind like a trailer. ?

I attatch the frontwheel of the spare bike to the longtail (lifted up) and the spare isrolling on its rear wheel. no need to haul around the two pieces of wood.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk51/badmother-bikes/Dogbiketrailalong2.jpg

Yep just put the wheel in the pocket. I use an extra strap(yellow in pic) that runs under the snapdeck that runs over the top of the wheel. Sometimes a bungee or strap(red in pic) from the front to the back down low. With a 20" bike you need to place the bike back in the pocket as the wheelbase is shorter.

I tow a bike with mine quite a bit.

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2076/131/67/1050007747/n1050007747_30286007_3387.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o192/conion1/0924081735.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o192/conion1/0608080813a.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o192/conion1/xtracycle/0522071704.jpg

I'd just carry a socket wrench to remove your kid's front wheel. Get a $10 truckbed fork mount, (http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/14572-255_SETHC6-2-Accessories-38-Racks/Sette-Hitch-It-Bike-Mount.htm) a $20 rear rack, attach fork mount to rack.

Remove kid's front wheel (bring an extension if he's got pegs), lock fork into fork mount, toe-strap kid's front wheel somewhere.

Of course, with a cargo bike or trailer, you can haul a few other things than with this setup on non-school days, but they're way heavier and likely way more expensive...

I have seen (don't remember exactly where) a device that is designed to make a normal kids bike act like a one wheeled tag-along bike. I would think that it would work fine with no kid on it.

edit: Found it:http://www.trail-gator.com/

Chris

A nice supplement to the xtra tow is to wrap a inner tube bungee around the handlebars and then thru your seatpost for additional rigidity. Makes it really nice and stable.

Abit before winter rolled in here I made a very neat attachment for my home built longtail, I made something like a bikerack, the kind the slip the front tire into, it tows behind the longtail like a tow truck and even folds up or can be quick released, it works with one bike but three or so might cause problems lol when I go out on garbage day I use my burly kids trailer and leave sides up only so they are like walls and I've attached it to the longtail, one night I brought home nine bicycles and some parts home lol, longtails have good hauling power, when the snow goes away I have some neat ideas i'll be doing and be sure to look out for my intresting and unique longtails.

Another tangent to consider - could you just lock the bike at your son school?
That's what I do with TAB at DS school and trailer at DD daycare in the morning.
Wife picks them up in the afternoon.

This is how you do that:

http://images30.fotki.com/v1037/photos/1/1012/5428382/fietser24-vi.jpg

This is how you do that:

That's how I always did it. I even used to push my tandem around with my single.

I do quite a bit of that because sometimes people pick me up at work, so eventually I amass 3 or 4 bikes at work.

Doing track stands is really easy when you have a second bike to lean on.

A friend of mine has a bike that she calls a "moombo" or something. ITs a frame that is similar to the xtracycle but it looks like a better design to me.

You can just stick the other bikes wheel on it and go. It was designed for doing that very thing.

A friend of mine has a bike that she calls a "moombo" or something. ITs a frame that is similar to the xtracycle but it looks like a better design to me.

You can just stick the other bikes wheel on it and go. It was designed for doing that very thing.

A Yuba Mundo perhaps? Looks like there's room for a wheel to fit in the side bars.

http://www.yubaride.com/utility-bicycles-models.html

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3321295552_d2f6943afa.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3321294206_96dcbabaa6.jpg
http://www.jeremygrant.com/blog/?p=408

you can just bolt a hub on anywhere :)

This is how you do that:

http://images30.fotki.com/v1037/photos/1/1012/5428382/fietser24-vi.jpg

I like that windscreen, wonder if it's commercially available or homemade?

Sorry for the off-topic comment.

I like that windscreen, wonder if it's commercially available or homemade?

Sorry for the off-topic comment.

It's designed to shield the kid in that front seat.
Here are a few...
http://www.mammoet.nl/store/catalog/index.php/cPath/185_66_265/sort/2a/page/5

This is how you do that:

http://images30.fotki.com/v1037/photos/1/1012/5428382/fietser24-vi.jpg

yep, never tried it but students transport bicycles like that a lot here

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/AzCowboy/Bike%20stuff/S7300146.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/AzCowboy/Bike%20stuff/S7300148.jpg

I like that windscreen, wonder if it's commercially available or homemade?

Sorry for the off-topic comment.


It's an add-on for the Bobike Mini. I had one with my daughter. Kept her warm during the cold months, and did a very good job at shielding her from the rain.