trekker pete

I like the idea of electric assist, but, I also like the idea of riding under my own power on a nice light bike. Rather than dedicate a bike to electric power, how about an e trailer that, in addition to greatly increasing your cargo capacity, serves to push you up hills or help drop that pesky roadie.

Seems like it might be a good idea, especially for commuters or utility bikers.

The only potential problem I can think of would be possible handlnig issues. Would a trailer with a hitch point close to the rear wheel axle cause handling problems? I couls see how it might cause issues in turns.

I suspect this has already been done and seem to remember maybe reading about it quite a while ago, but, a quick search didn't bring anything up.

Such a trailer could also be rigged to carry passenger(s).

morph999 

Yep, people have done it before. Might check endless-sphere.com forum.

xtrajack

I remember seeing a post about it here on bikeforums. I mentioned that I thought the idea was/is in the same category as trucks w/automatic transmissions, not necessarily a bad thing, just not for me.

morph999 

It's nice for people who want to ride electric one day and regular bike the next. What they do is bolt on some kind of L-shaped attachment that has a wheel and hub motor on it and it. I dont' know where you get the attachment at or if the guy made it.

FatBaldMen

Theres a homeless guy around neighborhood that built a gas one w/ a a single wheel that gets him & all the junk he collects movin pretty good..the only complaint hes got is that if the wheel gets bouncing its sometimes hard to get back undercontrol...dunno if this helps...Ill take a pic next time I see him & post it here. its not really a "Trailer" more of a single golf cart wheel w/ a platform for an engine above it & an arm for attatching to his bike.

Mabman

Do you mean something like this? I also like my bike too much to motorize it and add racks in any way shape or form to be able to carry loads easily. I made this up using a BOB Ibex trailer and a Golden Motors Magic Pie motor that I run at 48v/1000w which gets it up to 20 mph on the flat with a tail wind under motor with some active pedaling in high enough gear to sync with it. The orange ammo box holds the 12ah LiFePo4 battery and charger nicely and the deals only cooler filled in the rest of the deck nicely. I live where it rains though so I need to make up some kind of a condom to keep the cooler dry but the battery box is watertight.

I did 70 miles with it today against some pretty fierce headwinds at times. I went to visit a friend that lives 35 miles away, recharged while visiting but only took less than 2 hrs to replace the 7ah I used to get over there. But I did draft him on a long headwind stretch as he was on a gas bike and had more speed but he tapered back to 18 mph and held it there and it for sure saved on battery as I used 9ah on the way home but there was more headwind and hill climbing going that way also.

rodar y rodar

Ah, I remember seeing that on the mtbr commuter subforum.
I have a few questions about it. You`re using the standard BOB skewer and fork? If so, is the electrical part easilly moveable between different bikes, so for example, I could hook it up to my touring bike one day for a grocery run, then quickly swap it over to our tandem for a spin with my wife the next day? Also, do you think the suspension on the Ibex is necessary for relatively smooth surfaces? I occasionally pull a Yak and have no problems, but I can see that pushing might be a different story.

gerald_g 

DIY people may enjoy reading about the cyclebully e-trailer.

https://atomiczombie.com/main.aspx?click=plans

CowtownPeddler

The problem with that design is a matter of which direction the driving foirce is applied, all a function ot the trailer anchor point. In this case, forward force is not applied equally to both sides of the rear axle. Trailers that anchor at the side of the bike (I hear) are the worst for "throwing you around."

For stability, look at the BOB YAK or IBIS trailer, since they anchor at each side of the rear axel. I wouldn't say either is better, but word is that the YAK might be better and less bouncy, hence better traction and less "jerky."

Mabman

You`re using the standard BOB skewer and fork?

Yes, the larger fork though for use with 29" wheels. The problem with the retro fit was in the rear fork. Because the scooter rear tire is a couple of sizes bigger than a standard one I have to run the axle pretty far back in the dropouts. They are nutted with aggressive nuts but I still safety wire the axle to the brazeon on the end of the fork so it won't spit out under load. Which did happen once, but not again.

If so, is the electrical part easilly moveable between different bikes

The only control I have on my bars related to the engine is a plastic thumb throttle with a button on it. I have a couple of connectors at the rear dropout that hook to the trailer and can do the whole operation under a minute, even if the trailer is loaded. At this time I only have the one bike set up but for another the easiest way until a decent clam shell throttle becomes available is to have one of the cheap plastic ones just mounted on there. Really doesn't get in the way of operating the bike and weighs very little. Wireless would be the way to go but that is the next level. There will be an ap for that.

Also, do you think the suspension on the Ibex is necessary for relatively smooth surfaces?

I am glad you said relative, because the variety of surfaces that you will see in a days riding varies so much around here that I feel that suspension is probably a must. You know how well a Yak starts to handle going downhill in baby heads, when they start to bounce around strange things can happen. Well just think of that smooth surface as only the connector for pot holes, storm drains and manhole covers. Because of the motor assist all weight penalties within reason are compensated for and then some. The one caveat here hinges on forthcoming trials using a larger diameter wheel with a different hitch.
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The Yak suspension is inactive while the motor is going as it is just a simple lever type suspension with a cheap shock on it. It does keep the hop to a minimum I believe but I can hear it back there banging around in the real rough stuff, but it handles well for all that.

For someone that already has the bike(s) they like and just would like to add a little zoom zoom to their lives a moto trailer makes good sense. You will be seeing more on this in the future for sure!

rodar y rodar

Thanks, MABman! Since posting here, I found the pusher subforum on motoredbikes and asked some of the same, but so far no responses. I`ve also seen the price of good batteries since then :0 In light of that awakening, I might just keep an eye out for an .025 or .035 four stroke. Actually, I`ve never pulled my trailer over babyheads, but it`s seen plenty of washboard, so I can imagine. I`ll keep the suspension idea in mind, too.

timmy2time

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timmy2time

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Here is my Push Trailer. I built it from scratch and it works awesome...very awesome. 2160WATTS !

rodar y rodar

Nice, Timmy! How does it drive? I can`t see the motor or drivetrain from the view in the picture.

timmy2time

[IMG] [/IMG]


It has TWO motors 1000watts each. It is an animal!. It lays a hole shot from a dead stop and when the tire hooks up it launches you to 23mph in about 2 seconds.

rodar y rodar

Shazam!

Mabman

That has to be the world's fastest plywood box! And whatever that thing in the first picture is looks like a nightmare I had a few weeks ago. Good stuff.

CowtownPeddler

Do you find it throws you to the right? I assume 2wd on the trailer?

CowtownPeddler

Thought I would share a quick something - I just bought a trailer to carry 100lbs (batteries and camping gear) and I followed the advice of an old friend who road the west coast from Vancouver to California. He mentioned his worst problem was the trailer mounting point - on the side of the bike. Mostly he said it was good, but up long uphills it was "jerky" and on downhills, it tended to throw the bike to one side.

I thought about that since I want to throw 40Ah cells on a trailer with about 55 lbs of camping gear - 95lbs total. I was even thinking of putting the hub motor on the railer and keeping a pretty "clean" mountain bike for short jaunts.

I had selected the BOB trailers for the mounting point, but really could not be sure it would handle the weight. Then I searched the net.

There is a company that makes trailers that can carry much more than 100lbs at this link: https://www.tonystrailers.com/ and he mounts at the seatpost, solving my issue with side mounts, as well as helping distribute the weight back to the bike where it's designed to take it.

He does add an electric assist, but with his single wheel trailer (20" rim) there is an opportunity, or his dual wheels (should I ever get a dual controller setup)... Apologies to Tony, I stole these photos... You can see what I mean....

rodar y rodar

Oh, I remember that guy. Somebody posted a link for his tent trailers a while ago (didn`t interest me), but I didn`t realize he offered so many other styles. Looks to me that his single wheelers top out at 60 lb rated capacity. I take it that isn`t the trailer you just bought?

timmy2time

NO! It does NOT throw me to the right. It feels the same as being on any E-Bike but with a lot more power. It pushes you around turns an everything with no problem.

It is one wheel drive!

timmy2time

it only has 3 pieces of plywood. The rest of it is all aluminum. Aluminum Diamond Plate floor etc.

timmy2time

The seat post mount is what will throw you to the side NOT the low side mount. This is why I didn't mount to the seat post. Its too high. If you go around a turn while braking or being push by the trailer with a motor, it will push you too the side. Not a whole lot but LOWER is BETTER. Being attached to the side doesn't matter. It is still attach to the entire frame of the bike!

timmy2time

I have 3 big car batteries on my trailer it probably weighs 100lbs. (not sure. I didn't weigh it) There is NO weight on the bike from the trailer at all. You can lift it with one finger where it attaches to the bike. All of the weight is on the trailer.

timmy2time

What does Shazam mean?