Recreational & Family - Can the hitch be clamped on the chain-stay?

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PatrickGSR94
07-13-12, 12:37 PM
I just acquired a second-hand In-Step Quick-n-EZ bike trailer. The "hitch" is a metal bracket that fits over the QR skewer rod, with a tab that aligns the bracket with the dropout. Now I'm sure I won't have an issue whenever I can afford a car bike rack, but right now I have to remove both bike wheels to get it into the back of my car, and when the rear wheel is off, that hitch bracket is just flopping around on the axle. Getting the rear wheel back in and having to get that plate aligned with the dropout again is a real PITA since the hitch and plate are two separate pieces.

I'm wondering if there would be some way to attach that hitch bracket to the chain stay just ahead of the dropout so I wouldn't have to deal with it when removing the wheel. I wish I could just weld the plate and bracket together as it would at least be a lot easier to deal with that way.

Page 6 shows installing the plate and hitch bracket on the QR skewer: https://www.instep.net/productInstepPDFFiles/168pdf-1pdf

And this is the hitch bracket with safety pin:
https://www.instep.net/productImagesBikes/82large-1.jpg

chaadster
07-16-12, 07:53 PM
I'm not familiar with one specifically for InStep, but you could certainly modify the mount-- and improve, I'd guess-- to work with an existing stay mount from someone like Chariot.

Most quality mounts seem to use a rubber-like tongue that's bolted into the trailer arm, and then are either pinned to the mount (e.g. Burley) or use a snap in ball end retained by a narrow collar (e.g. Chariot).

I haven't actually seen an InStep setup in the flesh, but it looks like you may be able to separate the arm from the spring, and at the other end end of the spring, separate the round tube that pins into the axle mount. If you could then place the new, flexible tongue into the tube, and then bolt those two pieces through the trailer arm, you'd be in business.

Again, I don't know if it would work that easily, but it's probably the best approach. You may be able to bolt the round tongue right into the square arm, but I was a little worried that the less-than-snug interface might allow to much wiggling and sawing that could wear at the tongue to rapidly.

Anyway take a look via Google for chainstay trailer mounts, and I'm sure there's a solution waiting. Let's us know how it goes!