disk brake tabs as trailer hitch?

[Trevyn Watson]

I am building a 1-wheeled (BOB Yak style) trailer, and I am trying to design the hitch. My bike is
fully suspended, so many conventional hitches won't fit. I have disk brake tabs, and I was
wondering if they would be strong enough to work as an attachment point for a trailer containing 50
or 100 pounds.

Thanks, Trevyn.

 

[S. Anderson]

"Trevyn Watson" <trevyn_@_dybydx_._ca_REMOVE_UNDERSCORES> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am building a 1-wheeled (BOB Yak style) trailer, and I am trying to design the hitch. My bike is
> fully suspended, so many conventional hitches won't fit. I have disk brake tabs, and I was
> wondering if they would be strong enough to work as an attachment point for a trailer containing
> 50 or 100 pounds.

I suspect the tabs will be sufficient for the direct, linear pulling load. However, laterally, I
don't know how strong they are. They're not that thick and are not gusseted usually. You'd risk
snapping them off if there were any significant side load on the tab. If you could ensure this
doesn't occur with your design (I'm thinking, what happens if the trailer flips over or gets caught
behind something...) I think you'd be OK.

Cheers,

Scott...

 

[Kyler Laird]

Trevyn Watson <trevyn_@_dybydx_._ca_REMOVE_UNDERSCORES> writes:

>I am building a 1-wheeled (BOB Yak style) trailer, and I am
>trying to design the hitch.

Have you considered just using a BOB axle?
http://www.bobtrailers.com/trailerattachments.html That
should be an easy, generic solution.

>My bike is fully suspended, so many conventional hitches
>won't fit.

I'm surprised that there are *any* manufacturers offering
only suspension-incompatible hitches. Which ones did you
encounter?

>would be strong enough to work as an attachment point for a
>trailer containing 50 or 100 pounds.

100 pounds in a single-wheel trailer? Hmmm...it sounds like
a lot but I suppose that should be possible. It gets
interesting when my 50 pound dog rides in my Yak but I
suspect your load won't be moving back and forth trying to
get a better view in the turns.

--kyler

 

[Trevyn Watson]

Kyler Laird wrote:
>
> Have you considered just using a BOB axle?
> http://www.bobtrailers.com/trailerattachments.html That
> should be an easy, generic solution.
>

That's what I am leaning towards right now. The only problem
is designing something that can attach on to this, but I
have a few ideas that should work. The reason I didn't like
this initially was because of the cost: I am in Canada, and
the axle costs USD25. On top of the exchange rate (not as
bad as it used to be) I would have to pay shipping and
possibly duty. However, I found a dealer here that sells
them for CAD28.

>
> I'm surprised that there are *any* manufacturers offering
> only suspension-incompatible hitches. Which ones did you
> encounter?
>

A friend has a Burley trailer, and the hitch doesn't really
work with my bike. Upon visiting the Burley website, I found
that they sell a hitch that will work with any bike (similar
to what BOB sells).

>
> 100 pounds in a single-wheel trailer? Hmmm...it sounds
> like a lot but I suppose that should be possible.

100 pounds was an absolute maximum estimate (and i see that
the Yak is only rated for 70). I'm going to aim for at least
50, and see what happens.

Trevyn.