General Cycling Discussion - Trailing a bike with a bike?

So, I found myself needing to transport a bike, to a friend/repair shop a couple times this summer. The thing is, my vehicle is a bike, and I do not own a car. I hate dropping my bike to the reapir shop and needing to take a cab/slow bus back home.

Is there a cheap, safe and effective way to trail a bike?

Benyben,

I can't think of any way unless you can hook one on a BOB or something. How far is the bike shop? If not real far, why not walk home? For example if you enjoy taking a good 2 hour ride on your bike, why not a good 6 mile walk back home? A change of pace until you get your bike back.

Cheers,

I've seen people carrying a bike on their shoulder while riding.
I've also seen people riding one handed, guiding another bike with their other hand on smooth pavement anyway.

I've seen people carrying a bike on their shoulder while riding.
I've also seen people riding one handed, guiding another bike with their other hand on smooth pavement anyway.

I see teenagers in my neighborhood riding with extra bikes like this quite often. One time the bike in tow was my next door neighbors. I followed the kid to see where he was going with it, and then called the police. They found about 50 stolen bikes. Only theives ride like this. If you really need to get a friend's bike to the shop, you need another friend to drive you in a CAR.

So no one knows of a trailer that was made for this?

Walking is nice, but I don't always have time to walk over an hour to get back home. Bike-on-shoulder or driving one-handed with a bike to my side never felt too secure in an urban area with cars around.

Two tricks.

1. I have attached my daughter's bike (20" wheel) on the side of the rear rack, using nylon straps. It's fairly steady and I have ridden up to 40 km that way. Obviously she is not sitting on her bike during that time; she rides on the tandem.
I have not tried it with a 70c-wheel bike; I think it's possible to make it work.

2. Since you have a Nomad trailer, you could build an adaptor.
- Make a solid froor with a metal rod or a plywood sheet.
- Attach to it a bracket sold to install bikes in the trunk of a pick-up truck (Yakima or Profile Design has one for about $20).
- Install the front end (sans wheel) of the bike into the bracket; lean the front wheel against the bike and tie. The rear wheel of the bike will travel on the ground.

3. Remove both wheels; place them in your trailer. Attach the bike horizontally on top of the trailer.

I've actually been designing a backpack for carrying a bicycle on your back with a retention system for easier riding. Has anyone made something similar?

Maybe you could take the front wheel off the bike being transported, bungee it to the frame, and then somehow attach the empty fork to the back of the bike you will be riding so you can tow it like a trailer.

Thanks Michel and Stregone. Good tips.

I think detaching the front wheel and bungee-ing the bike to my rack could work quite easily... I will try that soon and see how it goes.

Only theives ride like this.

Uh, no.

I've bought two bikes from a guy that is as honest as could be here, and both times the bike was rode home like that. Once he pulled it to my brother's house, where we made the mods neccessary to turn it into a fix, the other time my brother pulled my old bike while I rode the new one. He ended up wrecking because of it...

More likely is that a thief would be on foot until they steal the bike, then ride it.

It's called ghost riding, and a lot of carless bikers do it.