Combo bike case/trailer?

[Mike Jacoubowsk]

Seems strange that nobody makes a hard-shell bike case that converts into a trailer. Could be that
it's simply not practical due to the width (a travel case being tall enough to fit a bike would,
when towed behind a bike, be quite wide since the "height" would now become its "width" for
stability reasons).

What gets me thinking about this is having to fly into Paris and take a shuttle to the hotel. Not
that it would be a fun ride from CDG to Paris, but seems like a convertible bike case would allow
you to assemble your bike and then place your luggage inside the case, and then proceed to your
destination.

Or maybe it's already out there and I just don't know about it?

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

[Ken]

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Seems strange that nobody makes a hard-shell bike case that converts into a trailer. Could be that
> it's simply not practical due to the width (a travel case being tall enough to fit a bike would,
> when towed behind a bike, be quite wide since the "height" would now become its "width" for
> stability reasons).

I know Bike Friday makes such a case, but it only fits Bike Friday's.

 

[Peter]

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
> Seems strange that nobody makes a hard-shell bike case that converts into a trailer. Could be that
> it's simply not practical due to the width (a travel case being tall enough to fit a bike would,
> when towed behind a bike, be quite wide since the "height" would now become its "width" for
> stability reasons).
>
> What gets me thinking about this is having to fly into Paris and take a shuttle to the hotel. Not
> that it would be a fun ride from CDG to Paris, but seems like a convertible bike case would allow
> you to assemble your bike and then place your luggage inside the case, and then proceed to your
> destination.

Haven't done it in Paris yet, but the first trip I took with my Bike Friday was to fly into
Heathrow, assemble the bike in the terminal, put the rest of my luggage in the now empty suitcase
which attached on top of the trailer frame, and cycle out to Oxford. Since then I've taken it on
numerous other trips for self-contained transportation to and from airports.

Of course the Friday folds into a standard suitcase whereas a hardshell for a regular bike is a bit
larger. But I'd think the same type of arrangement that Bike Friday uses for the trailer would work
for the larger cases as well with only a little added width.

 

[Robert Chung]

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Seems strange that nobody makes a hard-shell bike case that converts into
a
> trailer. Could be that it's simply not practical due to the width (a
travel
> case being tall enough to fit a bike would, when towed behind a bike, be quite wide since the
> "height" would now become its "width" for stability reasons).

It mightn't need to be that wide. It's only the axle of the wheels that needs to be wide, and that
might be narrower than the "height" of the case.

> What gets me thinking about this is having to fly into Paris and take a shuttle to the hotel. Not
> that it would be a fun ride from CDG to Paris,

It can be a fun ride from CDG to Paris, if your amusement threshold is set low enough.