Recreational & Family - Chariot Carrier and Alfine Hub

Has anyone put a Chariot Carrier on an Alfine and Disk brake equipped bike?

A few weeks ago, I emailed several bike manufacturers and Chariot to see if this was possible and received no response.

In the interim, my wife fell in love with the Giant Transend. The floor model was the DX, but she wanted the EX (Alfine and disk brake equipped). The LBS mechanic said it would fit so we ordered it.

Just this morning I received the following from one of the bike manufacturers:

"The Shimano axle is a precise length considering their lock-nuts and the axle is not long enough to add the Chariot mount. When the Shimano and SRAM hub engineers are designing their respective hubs, their priority is the function of the hub, so they are not terribly versatile as far as aftermarket modifications."

So now I've got a bike en route with doubts as to whether it will serve as intended. I searched and found a product called Bob Nutz, but don't know if it will work with the Chariot.
http://www.bobgear.com/accessories/accessory.php?accessories_id=14

Any experience, advice, etc. is appreciated.

My wife and I have two youngsters, one car and can reach 95% of our location via bike (work, parks, groceries, market, etc.) so we really want to make this work.

Does Chariot not make an "Alternative Hitch (http://burley.com/products/accessories/index.cfm)" like Burley does. Burley's "Alternative Hitch" mounts to the stays rather than to the axle.

We've mounted an older version than this picture shows:



of Burley's regular hitch to a nexus 8 redline axle w/ no problems. I don't think discs would complicate that at all. I don't think the alternative hitch (that jams into the triangle where seat and chain stays meet) would work w/ a disc caliper.

Hardy - thats great news. I've got to think the redline and the alfine are close in terms of mounting. The chariot version is nearly identical to what you show. As long as their is enough space to screw the nut over it (I can even leave out the spacer if necessary) all should be good.

JD - I saw the "alternate" on their website, but it says you can't mount it with disk brakes.

I guess only time will tell. The bike won't be in until next week so that will be the moment of truth, but I feel much better now.

Good luck.

I do think the spacer is important on the redline, it has machined surfaces to clamp onto the dropout and keep the axle/hub from sliding. If the alfine has a shorter axle than the redline and can't fit the hitch and the spacer, I would look into finding a longer axle somewhere.

Isn't the axle built into the hub? How would you find a longer axel?

Isn't the axle built into the hub? How would you find a longer axel?

I haven't taken it apart that much; sorry for that. But anyway, I'd be surprised if the alfine has a shorter/more finely tuned axle than the redline. The redline has enough thread that I can tighten down the nut on the hitch and spacer and it all stays put.

Well - the Chariot hitch-mount worked great with the Giant Transend EX w/ the Alfine hub. The axle is plenty long. The potential problem with the other bike was the way the rear-drop was designed. If there is a sliding rear drop out it may be difficult (see the new Swobo Baxter and 2009 Trek Soho). The axle is attached to the "slide-out" portion and this would cause the hitch-mount to overlap with the frame and make it uneven; i.e. you can't do it. However, on the Transend EX the drop-out is not sliding so there was no problem - there was no conflict with the fender or rack.

My wife has been pulling the kids around every day since picking it up last Friday (its Monday today). She likes the bike so much she looks for reasons to run errands and the kids love going to the park whenever offered. This isn't a review of the bike, but I have to say the Giant Transed EX is one awesome ride. The Alfine is awesome and uncomplicated. The ride is relaxed and comfortable without being too upright - it is simply a solid package. I've even ridden it several miles and am bummed that it doesn't come in my size.

outstanding!

Well - the Chariot hitch-mount worked great with the Giant Transend EX w/ the Alfine hub. The axle is plenty long. The potential problem with the other bike was the way the rear-drop was designed. If there is a sliding rear drop out it may be difficult (see the new Swobo Baxter and 2009 Trek Soho). The axle is attached to the "slide-out" portion and this would cause the hitch-mount to overlap with the frame and make it uneven; i.e. you can't do it. However, on the Transend EX the drop-out is not sliding so there was no problem - there was no conflict with the fender or rack.

My wife has been pulling the kids around every day since picking it up last Friday (its Monday today). She likes the bike so much she looks for reasons to run errands and the kids love going to the park whenever offered. This isn't a review of the bike, but I have to say the Giant Transed EX is one awesome ride. The Alfine is awesome and uncomplicated. The ride is relaxed and comfortable without being too upright - it is simply a solid package. I've even ridden it several miles and am bummed that it doesn't come in my size.

Sweet! Glad to hear it worked out!