The trailers are functional...
Posted by Jeremie on Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sunday was the day of inauguration of our trailers.
They are complete, assembled. We have bought the necessary components to attach them on the bikes and while Charlene was shopping on Sunday morning, I finished the cutting an the polishing of those plates.
At about 13:15, we started from our ahbitat with the trailers in tow...
The parking of the complex is falt and therefore, the presence of the trailers was barely noticeable, except for the subtle rattling behind each of us, that keeps leaving us wondering if a tractor is trying to pass :)
As it turns out, pulling 20kg (they weigh more or less 12kg empty) uphill, is a different feeling from standard cycling. It's... what's the word?... Heavy! :)
Riding a bike with a trailer behind has a lot of advantages and a few disadvantages. Of course, the weight falls into the disadvantage category... Not because of uphills, but because it is very difficult to stop. Applying the brakes causes the bike to stop in front of the trailer which still has momentum... Break hard and you will slide as the blue box on wheels tries to pass you.
Stopping on downhills has to be planned well in advance.
The major advantage, at least, the one I favor, is that the presence of a relatively large, relatively heavy, definitely solid and therefore potentially capable of causing major damages on any soft aluminium or fiberglass surface coming into contact with it, makes the drivers of the cars coming from behind much more aware of our presence. Cars actually slowed down behind us before overtaking at a respectable distance.
And we were very popular with the kids as we crossed Vredehoek and Salt River. This little dude asked me if he could ride on the box up to the next corner... He never mentionned that the next corner was almost a kilometre away :)
As you can see on this picture, we didn't yet put reflective tape on the back of the trailers. We didn't anticipate returning home at night. These trailers are not leaving home again without tape. The blue of the box which is clearly bright and distinguishable in the light, somehow, in the night light and car headlights, becomes a dull shade in front of the back wheel of the bicycle... Not our brightest moment!
That was our lesson for the day! "Reflective Tape on everything!" It doesn't matter if it looks bright, at night, it probably isn't!
The mounting plates on the bicycle were too soft so new, stronger ones have to be made. After that, we'll be haunting your streets with our bright (and reflctive) blue boxes!
If you see us on the road, Hoot, make noise, take pictures and tell everyone about it. Including us. When you're cycling up a hill at 9km/h in the blazing sun leaving a trail of sweat behind you, a hoot is all it takes to get you going...
They are complete, assembled. We have bought the necessary components to attach them on the bikes and while Charlene was shopping on Sunday morning, I finished the cutting an the polishing of those plates.
At about 13:15, we started from our ahbitat with the trailers in tow...
The parking of the complex is falt and therefore, the presence of the trailers was barely noticeable, except for the subtle rattling behind each of us, that keeps leaving us wondering if a tractor is trying to pass :)
As it turns out, pulling 20kg (they weigh more or less 12kg empty) uphill, is a different feeling from standard cycling. It's... what's the word?... Heavy! :)
Riding a bike with a trailer behind has a lot of advantages and a few disadvantages. Of course, the weight falls into the disadvantage category... Not because of uphills, but because it is very difficult to stop. Applying the brakes causes the bike to stop in front of the trailer which still has momentum... Break hard and you will slide as the blue box on wheels tries to pass you.
Stopping on downhills has to be planned well in advance.
The major advantage, at least, the one I favor, is that the presence of a relatively large, relatively heavy, definitely solid and therefore potentially capable of causing major damages on any soft aluminium or fiberglass surface coming into contact with it, makes the drivers of the cars coming from behind much more aware of our presence. Cars actually slowed down behind us before overtaking at a respectable distance.
And we were very popular with the kids as we crossed Vredehoek and Salt River. This little dude asked me if he could ride on the box up to the next corner... He never mentionned that the next corner was almost a kilometre away :)
As you can see on this picture, we didn't yet put reflective tape on the back of the trailers. We didn't anticipate returning home at night. These trailers are not leaving home again without tape. The blue of the box which is clearly bright and distinguishable in the light, somehow, in the night light and car headlights, becomes a dull shade in front of the back wheel of the bicycle... Not our brightest moment!
That was our lesson for the day! "Reflective Tape on everything!" It doesn't matter if it looks bright, at night, it probably isn't!
The mounting plates on the bicycle were too soft so new, stronger ones have to be made. After that, we'll be haunting your streets with our bright (and reflctive) blue boxes!
If you see us on the road, Hoot, make noise, take pictures and tell everyone about it. Including us. When you're cycling up a hill at 9km/h in the blazing sun leaving a trail of sweat behind you, a hoot is all it takes to get you going...