Wheelbarrows

[Bmblbzzz]

That just opens up another area of contention. Presta or schrader valve? Do you opt for the wheelbarrow equivalent of a Schwalbe Marathon Plus (I expect this actually is a Schwalbe Marathon Plus!) or something easier to fit and better rolling but more puncture prone? And can I get TPU tubes for my wheelbarrow?

[rjb]

Today we typically use pneumatic tyres which soak up the bumps letting the wheel just revolve ‘effortlessly’ over the top, it’s a great improvement. Solid wheel barrows are fine enough on smooth surfaces and have the advantage of being puncture free, but I prefer pneumatic tyres - even if I do have to pump them up occasionally.

I took the solid wheel out of my barrow and replaced it with a similar sized pneumatic recycled from a child's bike. It's a vast improvement having a pneumatic tyre. And it has a schrader valve.

Here's an old thread to entertain you. viewtopic.php?t=126855

[TrevA]

I had wheelbarrow but the wheel fell off (This is a song sung by Notts County football fans at matches!).

[a.twiddler]

Today we typically use pneumatic tyres which soak up the bumps letting the wheel just revolve ‘effortlessly’ over the top, it’s a great improvement. Solid wheel barrows are fine enough on smooth surfaces and have the advantage of being puncture free, but I prefer pneumatic tyres - even if I do have to pump them up occasionally.

I took the solid wheel out of my barrow and replaced it with a similar sized pneumatic recycled from a child's bike. It's a vast improvement having a pneumatic tyre. And it has a schrader valve.

IMG_20250107_125155.jpg

Here's an old thread to entertain you. viewtopic.php?t=126855

And yet... I did the opposite after getting fed up with replacing perished tubes on a wheelbarrow that generally is unused during the winter.

[pete75]

These guys putting wheelbarrows to serious use - work on the Fortyfoot drain.

[Carlton green]

These guys putting wheelbarrows to serious use - work on the Fortyfoot drain.
472360050_3882489588745707_4394565275038479104_n.jpg

Thanks for that, I’ll try to have a further look at it later.
https://www.blacksluiceidb.gov.uk/about/history/

What strikes me as wonderful, joyful even (in concept if not necessarily in implementation), is people doing great things with simple tools.

[Bmblbzzz]

What strikes me as wonderful, joyful even (in concept if not necessarily in implementation), is people doing great things with simple tools.

You are William Morris and I claim my five guineas!

[rjb]

Has anyone here used a wheelbarrow as a bike trailer. Attached to a rear rack possibly by a strut across the handles ?

[rjb]

Should have looked on line here one I found.
Any more?

[Biospace]

Simple classic tools and their proper use are severely underrated.

The Chinese wheelbarrow was around for a very long time, including versions with sails to power their movement. I added a brake when using a conventional modern one intensively a few years ago, it made life much easier up and down a steepish ramp.

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/ ... eelbarrow/
And I see someone has re-invented it as it were, with electric assistance: https://vimeo.com/170123529

[ChrisButch]

I used to think that I knew everything there was to know about changing an inner tube....until I had to fit a new tube on the barrow. A truly chastening experience.

[rjb]

I used to think that I knew everything there was to know about changing an inner tube....until I had to fit a new tube on the barrow. A truly chastening experience.

Once you've removed and replaced a wheelbarrow inner tube those pesky Marathons will be a piece of cake.

[Manc33]

The ancient Chinese used them extensively for shifting people and goods around and had local paths built for their use.

Isn't that a rikshaw?

[Carlton green]

The ancient Chinese used them extensively for shifting people and goods around and had local paths built for their use.

Isn't that a rikshaw?

I guess that the large wheeled wheel barrow was a forerunner of the Rickshaw, the Rickshaw though isn’t Chinese and seems to have been invented in several different locations in the nineteenth century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickshaw

Today we typically use pneumatic tyres which soak up the bumps letting the wheel just revolve ‘effortlessly’ over the top, it’s a great improvement. Solid wheel barrows are fine enough on smooth surfaces and have the advantage of being puncture free, but I prefer pneumatic tyres - even if I do have to pump them up occasionally.

I took the solid wheel out of my barrow and replaced it with a similar sized pneumatic recycled from a child's bike. It's a vast improvement having a pneumatic tyre. And it has a schrader valve.

IMG_20250107_125155.jpg

Here's an old thread to entertain you. viewtopic.php?t=126855

And yet... I did the opposite after getting fed up with replacing perished tubes on a wheelbarrow that generally is unused during the winter.

I’ve been thinking about that for a day or two and have never had an inner tube perish on me.

About four decades ago I pressed a hard wheeled ‘domestic’ wheelbarrow into hard service; one of my relatives still has it - it’s a bit battered (certainly not built for the heavy use that I gave it) - and it’s likely that we’ll die before it does. If its wheel had been wider and a larger diameter then it would have rolled much better over soft ground, and it would have rolled better over obstacles too. So that hard wheeled barrow would have potentially been much more useful if it had been given relatively small changes, and when I checked what is now available those design changes have happened in the intervening years.

My conclusion, re solid versus pneumatic, is that solid can be a good choice for those that either only occasionally use a barrow or only use a barrow to move stuff over hard surfaces that are clear of steps and rubbish. With a wide hard wheel I think that they’d be fine for those uses.