azza_333

Is there something out that what is a single 700c wheel, that can have a pannier on each side, and be towed behind like a trailer, I have seen photos before of something like that but didn't pay much attention to it at the time. If it is real could it use a spare rear wheel off a bike so if the rear wheel on the bike does go, it would give me a spare?

Redhatter

I think there's one called the "Extra Wheel" trailer… not sure what size wheels it comes in though.

Bike trailers - Extrawheel.com

azza_333

it says it will take what ever my front wheel is. does a rear wheel fit on a front fork?

Redhatter

I don't think so. I suspect the rear wheel has a wider axle to accommodate the sprocket cassette. I'm happy to be corrected though.

fietsbob

Quote:

. does a rear wheel fit on a front fork?

ONLY A fat bike.. Surly Pugsly - Moonlander type..

front wheels are 10cm wide, rears 13.5cm.

though for a particularly adventurous tour into the Australian outback they made a wide axle extrawheel Trailer version for his trip, on a Pugsly.

A Polish-NewZealander https://www.wildworks.co.nz/csr/home.php

what your spare front contributes is a 3rd rim to rebuild a damaged rear wheel rim.. then the buggered rim may be adequate on the trailer..

pbekkerh

The Extrawheel can be ordered for different size wheels and there is one for 700c.

I preferred to order the right size but without the wheel, which I supplied myself, as theirs is rather too heavy, to my taste.

Rowan

My feeling is that you are really overthinking this thing about your bike's wheels to the point of paranoia.

So far, how many kilometres have you done commuting on your bike since you've had the wheels that are on it now?

And what happens if one of your bike's wheels gives up and you pirate the one from the trailer? Where are you going to tote the stuff on the trailer? And do remember that if you are travelling, the trailer will add extra weight to your luggage which means you may exceed your allowances on some international and local flights. You will still need panniers to go on the Extra-Wheel anyway.

The three wheels also won't be interchangeable. As has been pointed out, the rear wheel dropout width is quite a lot more than the front. Tip[ of the day: Start looking more seriously at your bike and how it is put together, and see what the components are on there, and even start looking up on the Park Tools website for maintaining it.

Second-placed tip of the day: If you have any doubts about the wheels on your bike, invest the money you would spend on a trailer on upgrading the wheels.

Tourist in MSN

If you really are concerned about your rear wheel failing, maybe you need a new rear wheel. Maybe you should just have a robust rear wheel built that would alleviate your concerns. Where are you going that you have such concerns about a wheel failure?

azza_333

So far I've done about 2,500km since the start of the year, of unloaded cycling.

azza_333

I would love to ride from Russia to Mongolia to China to Vietnam or Kazakstan then on to Europe if the wife lets me have my way, and if I have enough confidence in my 700c touring bike wheels.

rekmeyata

Since you posted this I read a bunch of websites about the Extrawheel and found it to be quite interesting.

The extra wheel thing is that if you were to bend a front wheel on your bike you could move the trailer wheel to the front, straighten out the bent front wheel the best you can and install it on the trailer, a trailer won't mind a wobbly wheel as much as the bike would mind a wobbly front wheel. And since you use the same wheel as your bike you don't need to carry a spare tire for your bike and a different sized tire for your trailer like you would have to with the BOB. Also this trailer turns better than a BOB but won't carry as much, but the BOB trailer weighs quite a bit more which could make it more of ordeal to climb steep ascents with. According to the long haulers they have both front and rear panniers plus panniers on the Extrawheel giving them more storage carrying capacity, but some like the idea of not putting on front panniers because the bike handles better without front panniers. You can also get the trailer without a wheel if you want to use a higher quality wheel or a different size wheel then what they offer. I like the idea of going with lighter front panniers, and since I have a 27" wheeled touring bike I can use a spare front 27" wheel that I have on that trailer.

Needless to say I was very impressed reading about this trailer and booked marked the site for when I get ready to do my cross country tour. Thanks Redhatter for sharing that site, I've never heard of that trailer before.

azza_333

What is the most bombproof spokes/rims/hubs(dics brakes) that you can get in 29er/700c?

79pmooney

azza-333, seriously consider contacting Extrawheel and asking if they will make you a rear wheel version. Tell them the trip you are planning. They might be happy to do this for the exposure. I fully agree about the rear wheel being more problem likely than the front. A Phil Wood, strong rim, high quality build and big tired front will survive a lot. A highly dished rear with a freewheel mechanism less so. (And it might even be possible to swap axles so the trailer rear could be used as a front and vice versa. You might try Phil Wood on that one.)

If you go this route, post back here.

Ben

rekmeyata

You can get a lot of information on the internet about all your questions. For example what I found out that if you're going into undeveloped countries and spending time on unpaved roads the 26" size wheel and tires are the most commonly found and the strongest; see: Touring Bike FAQ #2: 26-inch or 700C Wheel Size? | Tom Allen?s Bike Trip

There are several manufactures of very strong rims like the Mavic A-719, or Velocity Dyad. Also contact Peter White he can recommend and build you a wheel that will be bombproof...word of warning about Peter, he has a different personality than most folk, you do not tell him what your thoughts are about a wheel build should be, you tell him what kind of bike the wheels are going on, what you'll be using the wheels for, how much weight will you be carrying including your own weight and luggage, the road and or lack thereof conditions they'll be used on, and type of countries they'll be used in, and anything else he might ask you and let him make a recommendation...he will be 100% right though! His prices are very reasonable considering how well he builds his wheels, I have a set and love them, see: Custom Wheel Building Read this site real well because he doesn't like people to call and be worried about the weight of the wheel, and other little hints are given about what he likes and doesn't like throughout the site, but you won't even be remotely close to being disappointed with whatever he builds you.

My main touring bike uses just the original 40 spoke Weinmann rims/hubs/spokes that came with my 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe from the factory and they work fantastic, the Peter White wheels are on another touring bike that I rarely use but when I decide to do a cross country tour instead of the weekend tours that I do now I will be transferring the Peter White wheels to the Schwinn.

Tourist in MSN

I have no idea how many companies out there make a bike that will take a tandem wheel, but I know that Co-Motion in USA builds some solo touring bikes that use tandem wheels. I can't imagine a better way to make sure your wheels will last that that. I did a group bike tour a few years ago, one guy had one of their bikes. I recall riding behind him one day and I was thinking that his bike looked a bit odd, until I realized that it looked odd because the rear wheel was undished with a 145mm rear hub spacing. I think he had 40 spokes on that wheel. I remember asking him why he had huge rear panniers and no front panniers, he said that his frame was so solid that the bike handled just fine putting all the weight over the back wheel and that it was easier to pack the bike (S&S couplers) for shipping without packing a front rack.

Another option if you want to use a more common touring bike with 135mm spacing would be to get a wheel built up with a really robust hub, like a Phil hub and use 48 spokes on it. I would think that any rim you find out there that is drilled for 48 spokes would be a tandem rated heavy duty rim.

LeeG

The reason for a trailer is to carry more weight than your bike can carry. It's not a spare wheel since you can carry the tools and parts to replace a broken spoke and a totalled wheel means no trailer and everything on the bike. If you need extreme confidence in your rear wheel simply make sure it's built appropriately to begin with.

LeeG

What size of tire and load on the bike?

mdilthey

Think about the possible accidents you're preparing for. You need to be in an accident that fatally damages the wheel without affecting the frame.

Unrealistic:

• You're bombing a mountain path at downhill speeds, and you slam a tree hard enough to destroy a wheel without bending your fork.

• You get hit by a car from behind that perfectly crumples your wheel without bending your chainstays.

Realistic:

• You hit a bad pothole, a root, or a rock, and you untrue your wheel.

• You crash and turn your handlebars sideways, and bend the front wheel.

In my opinion, a full wheel implosion is unlikely. You just won't be traveling with enough velocity on tour to destroy a wheel. As I mentioned in the "realistic" scenarios, you can totally taco a wheel or mess up the true, and for that, a spoke wrench and some patience goes a long way.

Crashes, accidents, unforseen circumstances; these are the best stories. Get solid wheels, and have a PLAN for a potential accident, but don't set out trying to build an indestructible bike. You will end up pushing a tank up hills. If your wheels are prepared for 90% of circumstances, let your brain and your sense of adventure prepare for the rest.


My wheels are 36 spoke, double-butted spokes with brass nipples, some inexpensive Sun Ringle rims and some durable Shimano XT hubs. $400 for a set, mountain-bike durable, not too heavy, and easily replaced in case of a truly bad accident.

rekmeyata

Sun Ringle Rhyno Lite is a good rim but according to Peter White they are harder to true because they don't come out of the factory as well made as other rims, but they are cheap.

SparkyGA

Seriously I don't think you even need to worry that much about your wheels. A 4-6 month tour is nothing for a decent set of rims and rubber. I'm on 4 years on my front rim and wouldn't hesitant to get a few more years out of it (re: I have never had a rim come out of true nor break a spoke).

rekmeyata

Your are a lot more correct about the odds of that happening then a wheel breaking, but some people are a bit more cautious and want the security of knowing that if in the unlikely event something happened to a front wheel then they have an extra one instead of being stuck somewhere for a long period of time. For me I just happen to like the Extrawheel trailer for what it can do for a person touring in regards to carry most of the weight that would be on the front wheel and transferring that to the rear making the bike more stable, the fact that it has an extra wheel that could be used is just there.

mdilthey

THe more I look into the XTrawheel, the more I like it. It does make a lot of sense as a trailer, without even considering the "spare wheel" part.

There's value in having a "spare tire," too, in that you can patch/boot a torn tire and throw it on the trailer, where the load and stress is significantly less.

On top of all that, you can always abandon it if stuff REALLY hits the fan.

I think I will try and test one this summer, if I can.

79pmooney

What kind of roads are you getting 4 years on? Paved US roads? The OP said "I would love to ride from Russia to Mongolia to China to Vietnam or Kazakstan then on to Europe..." I hear that and I hear epic bad. Like an ultimate test of gear. Russia and China may have miles of good roads but I'd guess those roads are scarce in the border areas between the two countries. It would never occur to me to put Vietnam, Mongolia or Kazakstan in the same sentence with the words "good roads. Having a spare wheel in Mongolia could be a really smart idea. A Fed Ex delivery could be a mite expensive. (Just the phone call, E-mail or Web access could be a challenge.)

A very good place to be riding a steel bicycle with traditional spoked wheels, because all over this planet, there are folks who know how to repair them with what's on hand. (Read "It's All About the Bike" by Robert Penn if you want a glimpse of what can happen and what locals can do to save the situation.)

Ben

onbike 1939

That would be a good choice as I've had one and loved it.

It's so light when compared with other trailers and the new model means that you can use your own panniers. I mean really....under eight pounds...now what other trailer gives you that.

The hitch is excellent as well and very ingenious in that it is made from sprung steel and detaches in critical situations.

I'd love to buy another but my touring days are behind me....unfortunately.

nfmisso

Rims: Velocity NoBS 48H

Wheels - build them yourself or Peter White.