Erik Sandblom wrote:
> i artikel [email protected], skrev Günther Schwarz
> på [email protected] den 06-05-01 00.25:
>
>> Erik Sandblom wrote:
>>
>>> i artikel [email protected], skrev Günther
>>> Schwarz på [email protected] den 06-04-30 21.47:
>>> Good Luck! Please tell us what you get, and what you think of it 
>>
>> I certainly will.
> Looking forwrd to it
Well, based on just a day trip with the trailer I dare to give some
comments.
Assembling and comments on single parts
The y-frame comes in a flat box that reminds me very much of packets
from IKEA. Also the assembly of parts inside the box leads to
associations to Swedish furniture. In addition to the typical Allen key
a 13mm spanner is needed. And in contrast to IKEA the instructions rely
entirely on descriptions instead of pictures. But mounting the board,
wheels and towing bar to the frame was very easy even for someone like
me who is much to lazy to read instructions. The wheels with wheelchair
hubs as well as the hitch are fully assembled.
frame: 1250g [1], alloy tubing with square and round cross sections,
anodized, inserts for wheelchair axles with quick relase.
Looks well made with nice welds.
towing bar: 600g with hitch, alloy tubing with square cross section.
The outer diameter of the bar is slightly smaller than the
inner one of the frame in which it has to inserted. This
is not a perfect fit like a seatpost in a bicycle frame
and results in rattle noise. Either a plastic insert or
choosing a larger tube and machining it to fit could cure
this. But the first possibility would be hard for a small
company as injection molded plastic parts are extremely
expensive in small quantities while the second one would
add labour costs. I will try to silence the thing by
adding tape or pieces of inner tube.
As I already mentioned the bar might be easily modified
in order to mount it such that it points upwards. This
will allow to tow the trailer by hand as a shopping
trolley replacement or such. A small handlebar could also
be added.
wheels: 2x 1200g, wheelchair hubs, single wall alloy rims, stainless
spokes, Kenda Kontact 47-406 tyres. The wheels are well
made and the large tyres allow for some suspension. They
add some weight though. Greenspeed's new Scorcher tyres
might well be the optimal choice for the trailer. Maybe
I will try them when a have a worn pair available.
load bed: 2700g, plywood with anti-slip film. Also seems to be perfectly
up to it's job and the material allows for easy adjustment
by adding holes or bolts for boxes and such. For the
weight conscious this board is obviously the first thing
to replace. Glare comes to mind. But this will be hard
to find if one needs just half a square metre.
hardware: appr. 250g, stainless and magnetic steel. While brackets and
plates are made from stainless steel, the pins and most
nuts and bolts are obviously not. Unless there are
constraints in the construction I would expect at least
the standardised nuts and bolts on quality bicycle
equipment to be non-corroding. It adds only little to the
overall costs and makes costumers happy.
Towing
As I'm not experienced with trailers I do not want to write much more
here than that the thing follows nicely and allows for reasonably tight
turns without the inner wheel taking a short cut in the gutter. I also
have to admit that I only followed the trailer most of the time as my
riding buddies where very keen on playing with it themselves. Without
load the wheels jump when hitting a pothole. But because of the large
track I expect the trailer to be hard to tip over.
The first trip did include a short 70km/h hill on smooth tarmac as well
as a steep and sandy single trail section all with a modest load of
around 10 kg - mostly ice, beer and refreshments
At least on flat roads towing someone sitting on the trailer is no
problem at all.
Storing
The wheels come off effortlessly with a push button. They might be
collapsed further by removing the push-trough axles. Even with the
towing bar in place this already gives a very flat assembly when leaning
the trailer to a wall. The big holes in the load bed make it also easy
to hang the trailer on some hook.
I'm still looking for a collapsable plastic box in the maximum format
possible (1/2 Euro skid or 80cm x 60cm). Half this size is very common
and popular for shopping at supermarkets with a car. But the bigger
size seems to be used in industrial environments only and I did not
manage yet to locate a retailer where I do not have to buy in
quantities starting from $10^3$.
Hitch
One of the most important reasons for me to chose this trailer was the
mounting system which leaves nothing on the bike but a rather
inconspicuous plate made from 3mm stainless steel. The parts on the
trailer are also made from steel and look solid and well thought of.
Attaching the trailer to the bike means putting a bolt into an U-shaped
part of the bracket. As supplied this bolt was too tight making this
difficult. After loosening the nut a quarter of turn it was easy. The
thing is secured with cotter pin (right word?) which I will try to
replace with a padlock when leaving the trailer and bike outside shops.
This will only be useful if replacing the quick release fastener on the
bike also, of course.
My biggest criticism on the trailer is that this hitch rattles quite a
bit. I was aware of this because the people at Roland did warn me. But
then they wanted to sell their own trailers with the Weber hitch.
Anyway, the only way to cure this might be to open up the plate a bit
and adding a piece of nylon tubing to the bolt. I will write a posting
in case this works.
Security:
The hitch is not secured by a strap like on most trailers for kids. If
needed this might be added easily though. Securing the trailer to the
bike relies on three 6mm bolts. If one of these fails
the trailer will be on it's own. But the system seems to be perfectly
up to it's job and does not contain any plastic or cast alloy parts
which are sometimes hard to estimate for their condition. As on many
bike parts a regular check whether everything is tight is easily done
and good practice.
Also in case the hub axle or quick release on the rear of the bike fails
the trailer might get lost. But in the case of such an event I might
well prefer to leave the trailer behind me and care about myself first
anyway.
Summary:
strengths
Very versatile and solid trailer which should last forever. Folds
quickly and thus takes very little place for storage. Large load
capacity and low weight.
weaknesses:
Annoying rattle from towing bar and hitch. Not cheap, but then who
really wants to compare the latest offers from Lidl and such to a work
of art.
[1] All weights are taken on my very inaccurate kitchen scale and
therfore are only approximate.
X'post u.r.c., d.r.f., r.b.t.
F'up2 u.r.c.
Günther
