Bike trailers

Sun Yeti - September 11, 2020

AdviceGear

I recently upgrade my bicycle into an ebike, and I love it. Got me thinking though. I could get over 20 miles on my bike before the battery ran out, and I had to work a bit harder; I could probably get 40+ miles away in the first day. But, I don’t have a good way to carry my stuff. 

Can anyone recommend a nice sturdy bike trailer? Ideally from your personal experience and use? I’d like something that could hold probably 250 or 300 pounds, so it could hold my bug out bag (40 lbs), my cat and her go bag (maybe 15 lbs together), some of my wife’s stuff (she could ride her own bike but it also doesn’t have cargo capacity), and still have spare capacity to carry my wife or myself if one of us became injured or incapacitated. Having some kind of mesh top with rain fly would also be good in case there’s a feline and/or human riding in there. If it could fold up to take up less  space that would be ideal as well, but it not the top priority. 

I’ve prepared pretty decently for Plan A (bug in), Plan B (bug out by car), and Plan D (bug out on foot), but I’m thinking Plan C (bug out by bike) needs some more thought and preparation, thus my question. 

7  

I bookmarked this one when the topic came up a while back on another prepper forum

https://www.burley.com/product/travoy/

I took a quick look at the specs for it and it falls pretty short of your 250lb goal, though. Same for the Yaks, which can only take 70lbs or so. Will click around and see if I can find something that might do the job

 

Yeti,

I was just starting down the road in this direction and I’m glad I saw this post.

I was originally considering something along the lines of gas- or electric- powered moped, dirt bike or motorcycle. Lane-splitting could potentially make a huge difference in negotiating traffic (or in off-road conditions). I knew I wanted something faster than being on foot (or perhaps even a standard bike) and more flexible than a vehicle.

I like the ebike option. And it achieves some pretty important things: increased speed, flexibility (use a road, shoulder, sidewalk, bike path, etc), increased range (as you mention); AND it can still be used without power.

Thanks for helping me think. I also hadn’t considered how 2-wheeled transport would affect things if one of my team got injured.

Time for me to go breathe it out and look deeper.

Thank you.

 

I did a little digging this evening, and I found this:

https://wicycle.com/products/bike-trailers/extra-large-special-trailer

It’s blisteringly expensive, but it’s a bike trailer designed to hold an adult (and the only one I’ve found). Not an adult as heavy/tall as me though, and forget about additional cargo. I’m beginning to wonder if what I want doesn’t exist because it’s not practical. Maybe even with an electric assist, I just can’t pull 250+ lbs of cargo, or perhaps it would be too unwieldy to ride (unstable?).

And that’s something I have given some though; I can ride on some pretty gnarly, potholed paved trails on my ebike, or even on a muddy dirt trail if I have to, but the bike trailer might be limited to really smooth, well maintained roads. If that’s the case, why are we bugging out on bikes instead of driving? So, perhaps this is a fool’s errand. 

 

I like the way you are thinking, but my guess is that 250+lbs for a bike trailer might be too much.  Starting would be incredibly difficult, and stopping would be extremely difficult and likely quite dangerous if you don’t have brakes installed on the trailer.

A couple things to consider.  First, try dispearsing some of the weight over your front and rear wheels (handle-bar baskets, bike bags, and such).  Dispearsing the weight will make the physics work more in your favor.  Also look into trailers and accessories designed to haul infants around.  You won’t find anything that will carry 250lbs, but you might find something that can work for you.  Finally, there are companies and individuals that make custom bikes and trailers, and that might be the direction you need to go.  There’s a company in Portland called Clever Cycles that produces great stuff, their cargo bikes might be in line with what you are looking for: https://www.clevercycles.com/bicycles/cargo-bikes/

Another approach might be looking at something like a rickshaw: you’d be on three wheels instead of two, and sacrifice a lot of manuverability, but you could definitely haul 250lbs: https://www.pedicab.com/

That all said, I think it’s great that you are looking into this.  I don’t think bikes are discussed enough in the prepper community, but I believe they’d be an invaluable asset in a SHTH scenario.  No need for gas, no worries about gnarled traffic, road blockages would be much easier to navigate, etc.  If you’re in decent shape it’s not hard to cover 50+ miles a day if it’s not too hilly.  

 

Good evening Sun Yeti,

I realize that I am late to the party. Having said that, back when I was cycling I had an Xtracycle Free Radical married to an ’08 Kona Fire Mountain and a Burley trailer.

https://www.bikesatwork.com/From my understanding of your post, I instantly thought of a Bikes at Work trailer.

I don’t remembet the prices, as I  recall   they were spendy. But, I think it checks all your boxes.

Blesdings

 

Edited to add, they have a few models that are less than the wicycle trailer

 

Very cool product! It does look a bit expensive for what it is, but cool to see it’s potential. After a SHTF scenario, many people will make DIY trailers like this and haul things around with bicycles.