CYCLE TRAILERS

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
CTC Camper
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CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by CTC Camper »

I am thinking of buying a cycle trailer for cargo.

What is best a one wheel or two wheels trailer.

I need it for cycle camping and touring.

I know nothing about trailers but i been looking at a Revolution Cargo Load Trailer (one wheel).

Or can you recommend one. Any help would be most welcome.
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Tigerbiten
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by Tigerbiten »

I pull a large Carry Freedom trailer on my Trice Q.
I've a large Core Storage chest from B&Q on it which gives me ~100 liters space for the weekly shopping.
Apart from useing a lower gear uphill when loaded and a slight rattle from hitch when its empty, I don't notice it.

Luck ........... :D
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Mick F
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by Mick F »

Firstly, read this:
http://www.carryfreedom.com/info.html
and this:
http://www.carryfreedom.com/downloads/T ... cience.pdf
and this too:
http://www.carryfreedom.com/downloads/General%20FAQ.pdf

I have a Carry Freedom Y Frame Small with an Alu box on it. Shopping? Easy! Touring? Easy!

I used to use panniers, and I hated the way my bike felt heavy and cumbersome. Now I have a trailer, my bike feels just like it does normally. Yes, it takes hauling up a hill, and it takes some braking to slow down, but these things would be the same with any weight no matter how it was carried.
Mick F. Cornwall
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fausto copy
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by fausto copy »

Mick, further to my question on another posting in Bikes & Bits, Technical: Trailers and road bikes
a fellow forum user who lives in the same county as me has offered to lend me his Carry freedom trailer for a couple of weeks.
He's gone on hols for the time being, so I looked at the websites you recommend above.
My one question, which I can't see covered is: what type of hitch does thetrailer have and where does it connect to?

Thanks,
Fausto.
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Mick F
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by Mick F »

The hitch bit is hidden in the CF website. You're not the first to ask.

Here's the link:
http://www.carryfreedom.com/hitch.html

It's down the bottom of the page marked "Products".

The hook thingy fits on the LH rear wheel axle nut or under the QR. I keep mine on permanently.

The towing arm has the universal joint on it, and the business end just slots on and is held in place by a pin with a securing clip to hold it in place.
Mick F. Cornwall
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fausto copy
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by fausto copy »

Thanks again.
Looks like an impressive piece of kit.
Must admit the small trailer looks positively tiny with its 16" wheels.
I would have expected you to have had a large with 20" wheels, especially given your penchant for towing concrete blocks around :)
AndyB
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by AndyB »

Mick F wrote:The hitch bit is hidden in the CF website. You're not the first to ask.

Here's the link:
http://www.carryfreedom.com/hitch.html

It's down the bottom of the page marked "Products".

The hook thingy fits on the LH rear wheel axle nut or under the QR. I keep mine on permanently.

The towing arm has the universal joint on it, and the business end just slots on and is held in place by a pin with a securing clip to hold it in place.

I have a 'prototype' new version of the hitch, which, in my opinion, is much improved. The bit that attaches to the bike is a bit larger - an L-shaped plate that fits on the skewer as the old one. At the end of the L a bar points up. On the trailer, there is a simple teardrop of elastomer, the thin end of which bolts into the trailer arm. The round end has a hole in the middle - this fits over the bar on the hitch, and a pin through a small hole in the top of the bar secures it. Much simpler, much quieter, and lighter too.
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fausto copy
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by fausto copy »

So Andy, could you please explain how you came to be testing the prototype version.
Are you a current customer that are trialling it for Carry Freedom or is it being offered with new purchases.
I see from their website that there have been some issues with noise and it looks like this could be a solution for that.
Could it also be down to cost though?
I'm keen to try out the one offered as a loan to me as mentioned above and from Mick's postings and others I have read, I am already leaning towards a two-wheel version rather than the Bob Yak or EB version.
Thanks,
F.C.
AndyB
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by AndyB »

fausto copy wrote:So Andy, could you please explain how you came to be testing the prototype version.
Are you a current customer that are trialling it for Carry Freedom or is it being offered with new purchases.
I see from their website that there have been some issues with noise and it looks like this could be a solution for that.
Could it also be down to cost though?
I'm keen to try out the one offered as a loan to me as mentioned above and from Mick's postings and others I have read, I am already leaning towards a two-wheel version rather than the Bob Yak or EB version.
Thanks,
F.C.

I emailed them a while ago to ask a couple of questions (I have owned the Y-Frame small for a couple of years), and in the conversation that followed, Nick just asked if I'd like to try out a new hitch he'd been developing. He told me a little about it, and I bought one. It may well cut costs (I don't know), but it's much better. The only downside (and it's a minor one) is that the part of the hitch that remains on the bike is a bit less discreet than the old one. The noise never really bothered me, except it made it slightly harder to hear my lad in the child seat behind me. I just think the new design is altogether better - much simple, and simple is good! (Something I really appreciated after seeing how a Bob Yak attaches recently).

I'm afraid I don't know if it will be standard in the future or offered as an option (or indeed not at all, but I doubt that).
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Mick F
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by Mick F »

The noise issue can be a problem, especially with a light or zero load.

The noise can be reduced by having the swivel bolt in the UJ as tight as you can get it with it still able to swivel. I'm going to modify mine.

The hinge part on the tow arm is pivoted around a nut and bolt, but there are spacers in there too so that you can tighten the bolt very tight, but it still hinges freely. That is what the UJ swivel needs, a spacer of JUST the right thickness to work as a bearing so you can tighten fully.

If I get nowhere with this, I'll go for a new unit, as mine is quite worn now anyway.

Another issue is why not make it all out of stainless? My clips and hook pin are chromed steel and have worn through the chrome and look decidedly cheap and nasty now. The stainless idea can be taken forward to the bolts that hold the load-bed down, and also the wheel axles too.

I emailed CF a year or two ago about the load-bed bolts and the axles, and they said that they will do this for the next generation of Y Frames. I dunno whether this has come through yet, either way, I've used SS to hold down my box, and I make sure that the axles are VERY well greased, as I had one seize so it wouldn't remove itself some time back.

Notwithstanding my comments, they hardly detract from a near-perfect load carrying method. The thing runs easily and faithfully behind, will carry a surprisingly heavy load, and the bike still feels like a bike. The tyres are Schwalbe puncture-proof, the bearings are excellent and the way it all tows behind is wonderful. One of the best purchases I've made in my whole cycling life!
Mick F. Cornwall
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Tigerbiten
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by Tigerbiten »

I made a 2" diam hard rubber washer for the swivel joint on my trailer, then tightened it till it just swiveled.
It's killed the noise from that joint, but I'm just going to see how well it wears.

But the new hitch sounds interesting.

Luck ............ :D
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Mick F
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by Mick F »

Mmmmm ....

A tap washer - I have one in the workshop - it gives me an idea .....
Mick F. Cornwall
climo
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by climo »

I have the new hitch on my city trailer. It's a vast improvement over the last one. Bombproof construction and you can lay the bike on the side which was a difficult thing to do with the previous hitch without the risk of bending it.
Nick at Carry Freedom is a great person to deal with.
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Mick F
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

Post by Mick F »

climo wrote:Nick at Carry Freedom is a great person to deal with.


Agree on that.
Mick F. Cornwall
yakdiver
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Re: CYCLE TRAILERS

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