Gareth
Guru
- Location
- Norwich, Norfolk, UK
I now have my Bike trailer out of storage. It has not been used in four years, and is in a bit of a state, so I have started to service, repair, and refurbish it ready for my trip. At sometime a pigeon had crapped on it, fetching off some of the paint, it had started to rust in places, and the tyres that I fitted when I built it 1999 were really not suited to the task.
I had originally used a pair of bright red 16 X1.75 knobbly tyres for the trailer, envisioning slip and off-road grip requirements, and because they were on 50% sale at Halfords. The Knobbly tread just increased friction and rolling resistance making it a chore to tow the trailer. The Bright red tyres also clashed with the dark Midnight blue and gold of the trailer (I am such a tart). The first job that I have done to the trailer is to change the tyres, I now have a set of Schwalbe City Jet slick 16 X 1.9 tyres on it. I did a quick 6 miles with the empty trailer behind my commuter bike around Norwich the other evening, and it was a Joy to tow, easily bumping up and down the kerbs on the cycle paths. Last night, I cycled over to Asda 2 miles away to do my weekly shopping, it was my big monthly shop which included a lot of frozen food, taters, veg, canned produce, washing powder, softener and a 12lbs case of honey (more Mead making to come) load amounting to a total of around 25 kg's. My 3 Thermos cool bags fitted the cargo area perfectly, It towed easily and did not snake under braking, it bounced up and down the kerbs without disturbing the load, and looks a whole lot better now it has the standard black tyres on it.
This will be a complete refurbishment, requiring a total strip down, bearings regreasing, rebuilding, rubbing down and repainting. I have plenty of Hammerite Midnight blue paint in the cupboard, and will only need a small tin of hammerite gold paint, to complete the refurbishment. A small tin of paint at less than £10 is not going to break my bank account.
So far this is is not going to plan: The original steel mudguards that I made were hot spray galvanised, and there is some corrosion, especially where it is most visible, caused by bird droppings. The plan was to clean the surface with gun wash paint thinners and repaint with Gold Hammered effect Hammerite paint. But the new Gold Hammerite paint won't stick to the galvanise, this means that I will require the proper Hammerite primer-under coat @ £9.99 per 500 ml tin.
All is not lost though, as the trailer's main frame was made from gold coloured zinc passate coated hydraulic pipes, and the original coat(9 years old) of midnight blue smooth Hammerite paint is peeling badly. Most of this peeling is probably due to the Hammerite being applied directly onto the galvanised steel frame. With a 500 ml tin I will have more than enough primer to do all of the metal surfaces of the trailer (and some).
Here are a few photos of my bike trailer, before I refurbish it.
Looking down on it with the draw bar resting in the storage position on the cargo deck. To give you some idea of scale; wheels 16 inches in diameter. Cargo deck 30 inches long X 18 inches wide (Overall width to outside of wheels 26 inches), the wheels have been set at about 2 inches to the rear of the the centre line, to impose a load upon the drawbar and towing bicycle to prevent the trailer from nodding up and down around the wheel centre. Overall unladen weight is 22lbs.(10 kgs) I have successfully hauled almost 75 kgs over 5 miles on it, but the average payload that I haul is around 15-20 kgs. It was great to use during family cycling outings, carrying all the extra waterproofs, picnics and all the other stuff essential to a family day out that my townie wife and two children required. In her dotage one of my Lurcher bitches used to ride home on the trailer, after thoroughly knackering herself out on such trips. Jumping off and then back on again investigating interesting smells etc.
A side view of it. Note; when I originally designed and built the trailer, I chose "an over the Wheel" type drawbar that connects to a tow point on the bike's seat post. Most commercially available bike trailers have an off-set drawbar that connects to a tow point on the bike's rear wheel axle. As I use my trailer off road as much as on road, this high tow point seemed a very sensible idea to me.
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Two, 1 litre bottle holders fixed to the drawbars swan neck ... ... ... It's thirsty work hauling a bike trailer.
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A close up of the towing point. It's the end from the gas strut found on Agricultural telescopic handler bonnets. You will have a smaller version on the tailgate or hatchback of your car. It works in exactly the same way as a standard car 50mm towing ball.
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A closer view of the front. You can see the peeling paint, surface corrosion and rust.
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The view of the rear of my bike trailer. As you can see by the postion of the 3 reflectors, I like to be seen clearly by other traffic and road users.
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I had originally used a pair of bright red 16 X1.75 knobbly tyres for the trailer, envisioning slip and off-road grip requirements, and because they were on 50% sale at Halfords. The Knobbly tread just increased friction and rolling resistance making it a chore to tow the trailer. The Bright red tyres also clashed with the dark Midnight blue and gold of the trailer (I am such a tart). The first job that I have done to the trailer is to change the tyres, I now have a set of Schwalbe City Jet slick 16 X 1.9 tyres on it. I did a quick 6 miles with the empty trailer behind my commuter bike around Norwich the other evening, and it was a Joy to tow, easily bumping up and down the kerbs on the cycle paths. Last night, I cycled over to Asda 2 miles away to do my weekly shopping, it was my big monthly shop which included a lot of frozen food, taters, veg, canned produce, washing powder, softener and a 12lbs case of honey (more Mead making to come) load amounting to a total of around 25 kg's. My 3 Thermos cool bags fitted the cargo area perfectly, It towed easily and did not snake under braking, it bounced up and down the kerbs without disturbing the load, and looks a whole lot better now it has the standard black tyres on it.
This will be a complete refurbishment, requiring a total strip down, bearings regreasing, rebuilding, rubbing down and repainting. I have plenty of Hammerite Midnight blue paint in the cupboard, and will only need a small tin of hammerite gold paint, to complete the refurbishment. A small tin of paint at less than £10 is not going to break my bank account.
So far this is is not going to plan: The original steel mudguards that I made were hot spray galvanised, and there is some corrosion, especially where it is most visible, caused by bird droppings. The plan was to clean the surface with gun wash paint thinners and repaint with Gold Hammered effect Hammerite paint. But the new Gold Hammerite paint won't stick to the galvanise, this means that I will require the proper Hammerite primer-under coat @ £9.99 per 500 ml tin.
All is not lost though, as the trailer's main frame was made from gold coloured zinc passate coated hydraulic pipes, and the original coat(9 years old) of midnight blue smooth Hammerite paint is peeling badly. Most of this peeling is probably due to the Hammerite being applied directly onto the galvanised steel frame. With a 500 ml tin I will have more than enough primer to do all of the metal surfaces of the trailer (and some).
Here are a few photos of my bike trailer, before I refurbish it.
Looking down on it with the draw bar resting in the storage position on the cargo deck. To give you some idea of scale; wheels 16 inches in diameter. Cargo deck 30 inches long X 18 inches wide (Overall width to outside of wheels 26 inches), the wheels have been set at about 2 inches to the rear of the the centre line, to impose a load upon the drawbar and towing bicycle to prevent the trailer from nodding up and down around the wheel centre. Overall unladen weight is 22lbs.(10 kgs) I have successfully hauled almost 75 kgs over 5 miles on it, but the average payload that I haul is around 15-20 kgs. It was great to use during family cycling outings, carrying all the extra waterproofs, picnics and all the other stuff essential to a family day out that my townie wife and two children required. In her dotage one of my Lurcher bitches used to ride home on the trailer, after thoroughly knackering herself out on such trips. Jumping off and then back on again investigating interesting smells etc.
A side view of it. Note; when I originally designed and built the trailer, I chose "an over the Wheel" type drawbar that connects to a tow point on the bike's seat post. Most commercially available bike trailers have an off-set drawbar that connects to a tow point on the bike's rear wheel axle. As I use my trailer off road as much as on road, this high tow point seemed a very sensible idea to me.
[/img]
Two, 1 litre bottle holders fixed to the drawbars swan neck ... ... ... It's thirsty work hauling a bike trailer.
A close up of the towing point. It's the end from the gas strut found on Agricultural telescopic handler bonnets. You will have a smaller version on the tailgate or hatchback of your car. It works in exactly the same way as a standard car 50mm towing ball.
A closer view of the front. You can see the peeling paint, surface corrosion and rust.
The view of the rear of my bike trailer. As you can see by the postion of the 3 reflectors, I like to be seen clearly by other traffic and road users.
Bump!! any updates?