towing a bike?

[jonbott]

my daughter has decided to cycle home from school,the issue is,there`s nowhere at her school to keep a bike undercover or secure,so I was thinking of cycling to her school towing her bike,anyone know of such a thing?not a trailgator as its a specialized hotrock so no headtube to attch one to...
I can`t believe the school has nowhere safe to keep bikes

[Si]

I've you've a rack on your bike then mount a front QR that matches her front wheel on the rear of the rack (a bit of wood and some jublee clips will do the job). Take her front wheel out clamp the bike onto your rack via the spare QR, then toe strap the front wheel to the side of your rack, or to the frame of her bike if it's the right size/shape.

[Edwards]

When our son was at Junior School I welded a rectangle of box tubing that was then attached this to the LH side of the rear axle. I then supported the rear of this to the back of the rack. The front wheel was put into the frame and the top of the front wheel of the bike being towed held to the rack with one Tow Strap.
If I was doing this not I think I would just use two Toe Straps and attach the front wheel to the rack.
This method worked every day he was there, we would ride to school, then I would tow the bike home alone. I would then take his bike back at the end of the school day.
I did find I needed a strong ATB bike.

The biggest thing for me was he rode his own bike accompanied by me so learnt how to ride on the roads.
All cars gave me a lot of room as I could get the towed bike to sway around when I wanted.

[gaz]

Follow me is suitable for towing a bike up to 20" wheel. Not the most affordable solution.

I think a trailgator might have something to offer. Since it's intended to support bike and rider whilst towing, you might want to consider DIY modifications that would allow it to be used for towing just a bike. It needs to be secure but wouldn't have as much weight to cope with.

[RickH]

I've towed a bike just by strapping the front wheel to the side of a pannier rack with 3 toestraps - it worked fine with the forks free to rotate vertically round the fixed front wheel, i.e. the wheel was fixed so the axle was behind the rearmost strut of the rack.

Rick.

[[XAP]Bob]

I've strapped the fork to a rack, and the wheel to the rear rack of the bike being towed. probably not great for repeated use

[alpgirl]

We have attached a trailgator to a hotrock 12".

[Vorpal]

Isn't there a fence or signpost to lock it up to? If not at school, maybe nearby? I guess locking it to the school gates probably wouldn't be acceptable?

Do you have a trailer? I've bungied a bike to our trailer a couple of times. I expect that if I did it regularly, I could work out a system that was fairly quick.

[Brucey]

I've strapped the fork to a rack, and the wheel to the rear rack of the bike being towed. probably not great for repeated use

with a similar need, I had a flash of inspiration; I bolted an old roof-rack fitting (that takes a front fork, with a QR skewer) to my rear carrier. So like Bob's arrangement, more or less. The front wheel of the towed bike is strapped on anywhere, using a bungy.

The only wrinkle in this is that the towed bike has to be able to articulate when you go over rolling bumps etc; thus you can't tighten the QR fully, and the towed bike is only 100% secure if the fork has lawyer's lips on it.

Works pretty well though...

cheers

[sjs]

Of course it is quite easy to ride a bike and steer it with with one hand while supporting and steering another bike alongside with the the other hand. Some obvious health and safety issues though...

[[XAP]Bob]

Of course it is quite easy to ride a bike and steer it with with one hand while supporting and steering another bike alongside with the the other hand. Some obvious health and safety issues though...

Easy?

I have done it - Had to drop the second bike a couple of times though.
Came across a girl (school age) sat looking rather unwell next to her bike whilst I was on my way to work one day. Called an ambulance for her and took the bike with me to my office (which was only about a mile or so away)...

It's really not trivial, at least I don't find it so.

[sjs]

Easy?

I have done it - Had to drop the second bike a couple of times though.
Came across a girl (school age) sat looking rather unwell next to her bike whilst I was on my way to work one day. Called an ambulance for her and took the bike with me to my office (which was only about a mile or so away)...

It's really not trivial, at least I don't find it so.

OK, it's about thirty years since I tried it, so my memory of how hard it was could be faulty. But I don't remember falling off.

[[XAP]Bob]

I didn't fall off - I had to drop the second bike to make sure of that though

[jonbott]

Isn't there a fence or signpost to lock it up to? If not at school, maybe nearby? I guess locking it to the school gates probably wouldn't be acceptable?

Do you have a trailer? I've bungied a bike to our trailer a couple of times. I expect that if I did it regularly, I could work out a system that was fairly quick.

ah yes got a dog trailer I wonder if that`d work
I would`ve prefered the bike to be undercover really if I could leave it at the school,she`s not really able to ride to school,the roads are mental in the morning and it takes ages
its only about 3-4miles

[Brucey]

I recently had to move two bikes at once; I towed one using my roof rack bracket, and pushed the other at the same time.

Even though I've pushed many times before, this was, however, a step too far, even though it was only a mile; on the return journey, I shuttled them instead, making two runs.

When pushing, headset condition and handlebar width/clash potential are important. If things start getting a bit sketchy, lifting the front of the pushed bike clear of the ground can help stabilise things.

cheers