Author Topic: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche  (Read 4115 times)

Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« on: 29 March, 2008, 02:56:30 pm »
Thanksgiving weekend 2007 on Observatory Hill in Charlottesville, Virginia, will someday be spoken of with the same reverence now reserved for those early days of clunkers flying down the hills of Marin County. That weekend will be remembered for one of those spontaneous bursts of brilliance that inevitably lead to a brief golden age of DIY culture, followed by a good twenty year of profitable marketing by the cycling industry.

So what is it? Nothing less than the invention of something even more niche-y and downright terrifying than tandem mountain biking--it's Mountain Trailer Biking! (Or MTTBing, for those in a hurry for the inevitable acronym.) That's right, riding rocky, slippery singletrack while towing a child on a trailer bike meant for smooth paths and quiet streets.

What you need:

1) An early-eighties mountain bike converted to commuter use, complete with rack and fenders. Do NOT remove any commuting gear. Just let that mudflap drag. Single-wall rims and only slightly-knobby 1.75" tires that are overinflated for the purpose tend to increase the excitement. 28x34 gearing is essential for getting to the top of the hill while dragging the kid.

2) A child's trailer bike. No brands mentioned--warranties are at stake here.

3) An adult to ride (1). Demonstrable lack of sense is a plus.

4) A child to ride (2). The grip of a limpet and a propensity to occasionally yell "woohoo!" (thus proving both that they are enjoying the ride, and are still on the bike) are helpful.

5) A wooded hill with piles of wet, slippery oak leaves hiding the roots and rocks of (a) narrow singletrack trails, or (b) an old dirt road eroded down to a layer of ragged, football-sized rocks.

Somehow all these elements came together at once, and a new niche was born. There's nothing quite like the excitement of yanking an already overlong, twitchy bike around downhill trail bends when you've got an extra bike length of heavy-duty steel and a 50-pound kid attached out back.

On the other hand, climbs can be unexpectedly exciting, too. Sometimes there's a sense of implausible momentum carrying you forward as you coast uphill and look for a route around some huge rock or root. At first you blame it on the sheer momentum of the vehicle. But then you realize that the copilot is...pedalling!!!

Now all we need is somebody with a video camera to post a snippet on YouTube, and we'll be off. Someday, somebody else is gonna get really rich off of this.
scottclark.photoshelter.com

agagisgroovy

  • Formely yellow-ceitidh
Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #1 on: 29 March, 2008, 03:15:19 pm »
I used to have loads of fun on an old trailer bike. I'm not sure about my Dad though. We used to go to Holston Firs and one time we went on a ride with the local MTB club down the Brampton Valley Way. They stopped to lift their shiny bikes over the puddles whilst we went straight through them. My only complaint was the mud that was spewed up by my Dad's back wheel, an empty washing up liquid bottle soon put stop to that!  ;D

When I was about 6 we took our new shiny red tandem to Scotland and attached the trailer bike with my brother on it ... we did 41.3 mph down a hill whilst fully loaded with camping gear (the road was tarmacked though).  ;D

In the days before 'cages', I used to fall asleep on the straight bars.  ;D

Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #2 on: 29 March, 2008, 05:10:15 pm »
Heh--Anders is 5, and I'd really like to move on to a tandem. But not if he's going to fall asleep back there!
scottclark.photoshelter.com

chris

  • (aka chris)
Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #3 on: 29 March, 2008, 05:28:11 pm »
Heh--Anders is 5, and I'd really like to move on to a tandem. But not if he's going to fall asleep back there!

Build a cage to stop him falling off and fit some toe clips to keep his feet in contact with the pedals. Both Lewis and Zoe used to sleep whilst we rode, they even pedalled in their sleep!


Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #4 on: 29 March, 2008, 06:45:05 pm »
That's quite a setup--he looks pretty safe in there.
scottclark.photoshelter.com

chris

  • (aka chris)
Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #5 on: 29 March, 2008, 07:21:15 pm »
We had one on the trailer bike too (appolgies if you've seen the picture before on ACF classic) -


clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #6 on: 29 March, 2008, 11:01:23 pm »
Scott, you are crazy, irresponsible and an unfit parent!  ;D

Carry on...
Getting there...

Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #7 on: 29 March, 2008, 11:19:14 pm »
want to join the club?  ;)
scottclark.photoshelter.com

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #8 on: 29 March, 2008, 11:32:42 pm »
want to join the club?  ;)

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

'fraid my kids are too big for trailerbikes now.

Can I roll them downhill in a barrel?  ;D
Getting there...

Re: Test Report: A New Cycling Niche
« Reply #9 on: 30 March, 2008, 02:51:46 am »
Hey, the Crap Parent Club is open to all kinds of  ideas.
scottclark.photoshelter.com