What trailer for a Brompton?

Charles said:

I am looking for a trailer; any recommendations, please?

Depends on what you want it for.

For general load-haulage and adaptability I'm a big fan of Carry
Freedom's Y-frame trailers. But the load bed is simply a flat piece of
plywood with no lip round the edge, which puts some people off.

I assume a Brompton will take one. They're fairly universal.

R

--
I think [cycling] has done more to emancipate women than anything else
in the world. [...] I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by
on a wheel... the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.
-- Susan B. Anthony

Quoted message said:

I am looking for a trailer; any recommendations, please?

I use a Vitelli which has a Weber hitch which fits the Brommie fine.
http://www.velotree.co.uk/deliveryduty.html
The trailer's long connecting bar allows the Brommie to go into its
stand-up parking mode easily. I suspect most trailers would permit that.

I'm *very* pleased with it.

John B

"Roger Burton West" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Charles said:

I am looking for a trailer; any recommendations, please?

Depends on what you want it for.

For general load-haulage and adaptability I'm a big fan of Carry
Freedom's Y-frame trailers. But the load bed is simply a flat piece of
plywood with no lip round the edge, which puts some people off.

I assume a Brompton will take one. They're fairly universal.

R

--
I think [cycling] has done more to emancipate women than anything else
in the world. [...] I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by
on a wheel... the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.
-- Susan B. Anthony

I have cycled with the Carry Freedom Y frame this year and specifically down
through France in July under load. I confess that I do not like it!
I rattled my way through France with the whole load of the trailer dependant
on a simple locking nut and bolt which is the pivot of the "universal joint"
in the trailer hitch. This locking nut simply didn't lock and another
identical nut & bolt holding the swivel tow bar arm suffered in the same
ay -- the two most essential parts of the trailer hitch and I had to check
both these at every halt to ensue the trailer didn't disappear ( as it did in
week 2 after my purchase of it). The turning circle is very limited when
turning right and I, being a leftie, always mount and dismount and push my
bike from the right side and so always tend to turn right when pushing my bike
and am forever having the towbar hit my rear wheel!
Oh and the trailer is supplied with 3 hitching brackets -- 1 one the rear
wheel QR and 2 spare -- I bent 2 of these, in my travels, beyond use. The
strain on this very simple bracket with the trailer under full load was too
much and even with the QR skewer clamp impossibly tight the bracket still
rotated on the axle of the skewer every day.
The 2 rear reflectors are "mounted" ( loosely screwed) and positioned so as
to be always in danger of being damaged when the trailer is on end ( like for
storage and at the end of a days travelling). I think it is an expensive piece
of fairly basic ( tatty?) engineering
Give me my Bob Yak single wheel trailer any day ( I sold it because I was told
that the Trice Q didn't like it and then didn't buy the Trice!)-- you know
exactly where the trailer wheel is going ( i.e. in the same track as your
rear wheel) and the hitch is totally secure ( being attached on both sides of
the rear wheel hub) and noiseless. And they are virtually the same price on
the road ( including waterproof bag) -- about £5 difference.

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

Trevor A Panther wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Give me my Bob Yak single wheel trailer any day

Though it's generally felt to be the case that while single wheels do
some things better than doubles, also the case that doubles often work
better than singles in other deployments.
Specifically, speed and/or rough seems to favour single wheels, while
local utility work is often better served by doubles. Very
specifically, they're much easier to load and unload because they don't
tend to fall over!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

On Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:50:09 +0100 someone who may be
[email hidden] wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

I am looking for a trailer; any recommendations, please?

As has been said, it depends what you want it for.

If you want something for pottering round your local area at medium
speed then there is a lot to be said for the Bike Hod
http://www.bikehod.com/ which can carry an amazing variety of things
without sticking out too much. For example allotment tools can be
put on it vertically.

Heavy loads too high up may cause stability problems. For heavy
loads a trailer with a low flat bed is better.

For faster recreational rides there is a lot to be said for single
wheel trailers, provided they can be connected to the bike. However,
trailers do have the disadvantage of encouraging people to bring too
much on such rides.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Trevor A Panther wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Give me my Bob Yak single wheel trailer any day

Though it's generally felt to be the case that while single wheels do some
things better than doubles, also the case that doubles often work better
than singles in other deployments.
Specifically, speed and/or rough seems to favour single wheels, while local
utility work is often better served by doubles. Very specifically, they're
much easier to load and unload because they don't tend to fall over!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

The tendency of the bike to "fall over" seems to be about the same with either
kind of trailer - in that it is totally a matter of whether the bike is
secured properly. Obviously the two wheeled trailer still sits on its wheels
but if the bike falls over there is a tremendous stress put on the hitching
bracket. I have a good prop stand this year but still had to ensure the bike
was securely positioned with during the hitching and unhitching process. And
indeed both my damaged hitching brackets were caused by a simple slow tipple
of the bike in different circumstances.

Additionally the Carry Freedom hitch means that the load of the trailer is all
carried on one side of the bike ( and it happens to be also the side on which
I carry my pannier for easy access to spares,tools and wet weather gear -- I
only have one pannier -- the right hand one was pinched nearly 2 years ago
and I don't need 2 panniers now).

I suppose the Y frame is marginally more flexible in an urban setting and it
certainly makes enough rattling noise to let people know that you're coming!
But there are a number of routes that I use when shopping where I would have
to unhitch the Y frame to get through gates and bollards where last year I
just motored on with the Yak occasionally lifting the rear wheel over a man
made obstacle. Last year the yak went out with my bike on every trip this year
the Y frame only gets hitched on a couple of times a week at most for a
specific shopping route -- all on road.

Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

Trevor A Panther said:

The tendency of the bike to "fall over" seems to be about the same with
either kind of trailer

I was more thinking of the trailer by itself. Give the bike a simple
prop-stand and it's out of the equation with a two-wheeler, but a mono
will exert force on the bike and potentially knock it over.

Quoted message said:

But there are a number of routes that I use when shopping
where I would have to unhitch the Y frame to get through gates and
bollards where last year I just motored on with the Yak occasionally
lifting the rear wheel over a man made obstacle.

Certainly something to consider!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

Specifically, speed and/or rough seems to favour single wheels, while
local utility work is often better served by doubles. Very
specifically, they're much easier to load and unload because they don't
tend to fall over!

We don't have that problem with our Bob trailer on our loaded tandems.
Its all held up by a prop stand of the type that mounts by the rear axle
of the bike. With that down we load the panniers onto the bike and load
and unload the trailer without anything falling over. If you have a
stand mounted by the bottom bracket though its a different matter IME.

Tony

Trevor A Panther said:

I have cycled with the Carry Freedom Y frame this year and specifically down
through France in July under load. I confess that I do not like it!

Fair enough. It may be that you've had a duff one, or that I've been
unusually lucky with my two - I've hauled them twenty miles at a time
round London, including up and down Highgate Hill, with no difficulties.
Nothing's ever threatened to come loose at me, I haven't had any towbar
strikes, and I still have hitching brackets to spare.

R

--
But to say that the race is the metaphor for the life is to miss the
point. The race is everything. It obliterates whatever isn't racing.
Life is the metaphor for the race.
-- Donald Antrim

Quoting Roger Burton West <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Trevor A Panther said:

I have cycled with the Carry Freedom Y frame this year and specifically down
through France in July under load. I confess that I do not like it!

Fair enough. It may be that you've had a duff one, or that I've been
unusually lucky with my two - I've hauled them twenty miles at a time
round London, including up and down Highgate Hill, with no difficulties.
Nothing's ever threatened to come loose at me, I haven't had any towbar
strikes, and I still have hitching brackets to spare.

I have a Carry Freedom Y. I got the large folding box with it, thus
avoiding the bare loadbed scares. I'm perfectly happy with it, haven't
bent a hitch, haven't had things come loose unexpectedly. It does rattle,
mind, and it would be nice if there was an obvious place to mount a tail
light.

I've moved a half-size dishwasher on it without trouble.

It's a nice fit with the Brompton, which you can fold all the way up
without disconnecting.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> flcl?
Today is Saturday, July - a weekend.

David Damerell said:

It's a nice fit with the Brompton, which you can fold all the way up
without disconnecting.

I would very much doubt you could do the same with a single wheel
trailer unless it had its own support stand.

John B

Roger Burton West said:

Charles said:

I am looking for a trailer; any recommendations, please?

Depends on what you want it for.

For general load-haulage and adaptability I'm a big fan of Carry
Freedom's Y-frame trailers. But the load bed is simply a flat piece of
plywood with no lip round the edge, which puts some people off.

I assume a Brompton will take one. They're fairly universal.

R

The Carry Freedom Y Frame is an excellent trailer (in my experience) and
is certainly Brompton compatible. I have the large version and use mine
mainly for weekly food shopping. I replaced the thick plywood load bed
with a large polypropylene under-bed storage box (dimensions about 55 x
75 x 16 cm). It does rattle when unloaded, but is usually silent when
loaded. I don't usually pull the trailer with my Brompton, but I have
used it to transport a Brompton - an easy task in the plastic box
mentioned above.

Bob

Quoted message said:

I am looking for a trailer; any recommendations, please?

Saw one laden with tools behind a Brompton; it was hitched to wood
blocks clamped to seat post...

I've used a Bob Yak off road with a mountain bike and when riding am
pretty sure they're unbeatable - they'll handle bridleways with ease
and are stable cornering at high speed. As someone else has said,
because they track the back wheel they're easy to control as well.
However, they're awkward to hitch and unhitch and very difficult to
manoeuvre when not attached to the bike - getting a bike and trailer
onto a train (and this was when there were more guards vans around)
was a challenge. They're also quite large to store at home as they
don't fold or break down easily.

My wife has just bought a Carry Freedom City to use in London with her
Brompton. This handles nothing like as well but:
- is a good match for a brommie as it folds itself, so can be taken
anywhere a brommie can
- can easily be pulled as a trolley off the bike (and you can
allegedly strap a brommie to the top of it while doing so.

No issues with the hitch yet.

Quoted message said:

They're also quite large to store at home as they
don't fold or break down easily.

If you want a one-wheeled foldable trailer you could try a Weber
Monoporter (http://www.weber-products.de/monoporter/ or
http://www.carryfreedom.com/downloads/Y-Frame_Review%20C+.pdf). It folds
up very easier, but it wouldn't fit to a Brompton with hub gears.

Bob

I use a Burley Nomad and the alt. hitch. All works well with no stability
problems and the B can still be "parked" as per normal with the trailer
still attached.

SW

In message <[email hidden]>

John B said:

[email hidden] wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I am looking for a trailer; any recommendations, please?

Quoted message said:

I use a Vitelli which has a Weber hitch which fits the Brommie fine.
http://www.velotree.co.uk/deliveryduty.html
The trailer's long connecting bar allows the Brommie to go into its
stand-up parking mode easily. I suspect most trailers would permit that.

Quoted message said:

I'm *very* pleased with it.

Thanks, John, -and All :-),

I should have added that the Brommie is a T6 with a rack; do you know
if that would make a difference, please?

(like the faired 'bent,...)
--
Charles
Brompton P-typeT6 in Motspur Park

Quoting <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

I should have added that the Brommie is a T6 with a rack; do you know
if that would make a difference, please?

I don't believe it would affect the Carry Freedom trailer mounting.

Mine has been of great service behind the B this weekend - to the tune of
100 litres of cider and about as much fruit juice.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> flcl?
Today is Gorgonzoladay, July - a weekend.