Having lived in Japan and being Brompton owners, I enjoyed this video on a lot of levels, but I actually laughed out loud at Mr. Ducky and your experience with a Japanese bidet toilet. Thanks for the laugh and the cool build. We use travoy trailers and have a standard airline box for our Bromptons which I'm hoping to hack into a trailer someday with an old travoy trailer's wheels.
Was really interested in this after seeing your post on Reddit. This was more involved of a build than I could’ve imagined. But your reasons were doing so, and various engineering steps you took, are all too amazing. Blessings to you on the move & reuniting 🙇🏽♂️
Thanks! It did end up being a bit complex (for a rectangular box), but it should last pretty much forever and every part is modular, so I can swap out anything that does eventually wear out. Plus, I taught myself to TIG weld aluminum, which is a great life skill!
Pretty fascinating build... I've had good luck getting my Brompton into overheads, but I tend to seek airlines that are more friendly to that. But you are 1000% right that you're more at the mercy of individual staff interpreting the airline rules than anything else!
I strongly considered trying my luck, but I couldn't get a direct flight, so even if Alaska Air's famously congenial policies had let me take my bike as a carry-on, I could've found myself in a city quite remote from home with no time to change plans and a completely different airline's cabin crew telling me the bike wasn't coming aboard. Hard to think of a worse situation to set yourself up for.
Welcome to Japan. Great project. I was looking to build something similar up for my recumbent but sadly lack any of the tools needed in my small space here. Nice Brompton.
What would the benefits be of a longer tow bar, or of hitching to the axle instead of the rack, in your estimation? Bike trailers that hitch to the rear axle either have to be asymmetrical or have a hinged "wishbone" hitch. The wishbone wouldn't be at all suitable here, but the asymmetrical tongue wouldn't be much better. For most bicycles, the hub makes sense as an attachment point because bicycle wheels are quite tall, so it's difficult to keep the trailer's center of mass low while going over the rear wheel. In spite of this, some trailers--like those made by Aevon, the Burly Travoy, and a few others--spend a lot of mass and complexity going over the rear wheel to provide extra maneuverability. Since the Brompton's rear wheel is so short, hitching the trailer above it is quite easy. This gives a better pivot range in either direction than a hub hitch for tight manuvering. Why would one need a longer tongue? On trailers for automobiles, tongues are long because a short tongue wouldn't allow a tight enough turning radius before your rear bumper ran into the leading edge of the trailer. On most bike trailers, tongues are long because they have to stretch all the way up to the hub on a very wide wheel. On the brompton, though, the radius of the wheel is only 8 inches and I don't even have to go that far since I'm hitching to the rack instead of the hub. I don't have to worry about turn radius, since the back of a bicycle isn't wide like the back of a car; I can jackknife over past 90 degrees with no issue. The only real benefit to a longer tongue in this instance is that I've read it's preferable to have your hitch point ahead of, rather than behind, your rear contact patch...but automobile trailers and the aforementioned wishbone-yoke trailers like the Bob Yak pivot behind the entire wheel, let alone the contact patch, with little issue. On top of all this, having the tongue as short as possible makes the whole unit lighter, more compact, and puts less torque on tongue, making everything more durable. I think a lot of the tradeoffs with other trailers are based on the desire to be interoperable with whatever bike the consumer already owns, and because tall bike wheels present unique challenges. Since this trailer is designed specifically for one and only one bicycle with very short wheels, none of those compromises are necessary. Think of it more as like the kingpin and 5th wheel on a Semi, rather than a conventional hitch.
Awesome build, really clever design, and yeah tig welding is hard but it looks like you have mastered it :) Your in Japan now? wow! that's quite a different place to live, but after seeing that clip of you on the jet with all your gadgets** I can't help but think you'll fit in just fine, good luck on the new shores ;) **what do customs think when they see all that!???
Thanks! I have absolutely NOT mastered, TIG, but I've made good progress. And I am in Japan for the timebeing. Customs was most baffled by the computer and violin; I think the trailer just looking like a big box was to my advantage. But they kept staring at my computer and asking what my job was; I think they assumed it was some piece of highly specialized equipment, rather than just a funny-looking PC. And the silvery carbon-fiber tube my violin was in raised eyebrows. They kept asking if it was a mandolin, for some reason. In any case, COVID stuff took WAY more time than luggage inspection.
@@TheRamblingShepherd well, maybe you've not mastered it but you look a lot better at it than me ;) I can see they would think that about the PC, it looks like something out of a movie LOL
The frame's actually titanium, and the ungulates are goats! I miss them quite desperately. The trailer's holding up well! There are signs of strain on the main handle, but nothing approaching a failure yet. As for the Juki, it gets the job done, no question, but I think a servo motor is a necessary upgrade. I'm just not a good enough tailor to handle the "red line it and drop the clutch" control system it's got going on, at least not at the speed it runs at. Still, you're not gonna be punching through twin-wall polycarbonate with some $40 plastic drivetrain piece of junk.
After seeing your build of the trailer, it got me wondering about my own design. I have had the same idea but initially was for a recumbent trike. Since I don't think there is any reasonable way to provide protection for the trike & keep the weight of the finished package under the 55 lb. weight limit for the airlines, I am now going to see if this can be done with a Tern folding bike. What was your finished weight of the trailer? Thanks.
It's 7.4kg/16.3lbs, including wheels. Around the time I made this video, many airlines evidently altered their policies to make traveling with bikes easier, even if they're "oversized", which is great! I'm currently following the project of a friend who's building a lightweight, folding two-wheel recumbent with the intent of making it possible to fly with. He's not publishing the process (yet) but it's pretty neat. He also built a flight case for his Maxarya Ray 2X using the same "Polygal" twin-wall polycarbonate that I used for this project.
@@TheRamblingShepherd If you are in the States look for a product at sign & plastic shops called Ultra Foam. It is a 2 sided plastic sheet with a foam inner core & appears to be more dent resistant than the fluted plastic. It is also very light & nicer to work with.
@@daytriker Interesting stuff. The "lite" version is about 37% lighter by area than the panels I'm currently using...though it's also almost exactly 37% thinner, so volumetrically it's almost exactly the same density. On the one hand, this would save about 1.7lbs on the overall weight and get you about a 1/4" reduction on every dimension, which is cool...on the other hand, it's hard to say how the strength compares to the thicker material I used. It's worth noting that the material I used was "polygal" twin wall polycarbonate, which is a LOT stronger and stiffer than standard yard sign type corrugated plastic, which I believe is polyethylene? You can easily stand on this stuff without crushing or denting it. One nice thing about the trailer is that all of the panels can be removed and replaced if I ever want to--maybe I'll check out some of that ultra foam next time I'm stateside.
@@TheRamblingShepherd I just checked the Ultraboard website & the product most suitable is called Ultraboard Plus. It is available in 1/4" thickness increments up to 3" thick. From the samples I received, 1/2" thick would be more than adequate strength. Unfortunately, trying to receive a few sheets in Canada & I might as well have been on the moon.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Having lived in Japan and being Brompton owners, I enjoyed this video on a lot of levels, but I actually laughed out loud at Mr. Ducky and your experience with a Japanese bidet toilet. Thanks for the laugh and the cool build. We use travoy trailers and have a standard airline box for our Bromptons which I'm hoping to hack into a trailer someday with an old travoy trailer's wheels.
I love that Mr Duckie got the personal protection accessories 🥰
Of course! Can't cut corners with safety!
When you hear that criticism in your head, tell it it is a liar. You did a great job throughout.
Was really interested in this after seeing your post on Reddit. This was more involved of a build than I could’ve imagined. But your reasons were doing so, and various engineering steps you took, are all too amazing. Blessings to you on the move & reuniting 🙇🏽♂️
Thanks! It did end up being a bit complex (for a rectangular box), but it should last pretty much forever and every part is modular, so I can swap out anything that does eventually wear out. Plus, I taught myself to TIG weld aluminum, which is a great life skill!
Pretty fascinating build... I've had good luck getting my Brompton into overheads, but I tend to seek airlines that are more friendly to that. But you are 1000% right that you're more at the mercy of individual staff interpreting the airline rules than anything else!
I strongly considered trying my luck, but I couldn't get a direct flight, so even if Alaska Air's famously congenial policies had let me take my bike as a carry-on, I could've found myself in a city quite remote from home with no time to change plans and a completely different airline's cabin crew telling me the bike wasn't coming aboard. Hard to think of a worse situation to set yourself up for.
@@TheRamblingShepherd No doubt. Your solution avoided that quite well!
Welcome to Japan. Great project. I was looking to build something similar up for my recumbent but sadly lack any of the tools needed in my small space here. Nice Brompton.
Really excellent video! Well done on all of this.
Incredible. Love it from start to finish
Nice job, but trailer tow bar too short, and the best hitching point is the rear wheel axle nut.
Suitable off-the-shelf tow hitches are available.
What would the benefits be of a longer tow bar, or of hitching to the axle instead of the rack, in your estimation?
Bike trailers that hitch to the rear axle either have to be asymmetrical or have a hinged "wishbone" hitch. The wishbone wouldn't be at all suitable here, but the asymmetrical tongue wouldn't be much better. For most bicycles, the hub makes sense as an attachment point because bicycle wheels are quite tall, so it's difficult to keep the trailer's center of mass low while going over the rear wheel. In spite of this, some trailers--like those made by Aevon, the Burly Travoy, and a few others--spend a lot of mass and complexity going over the rear wheel to provide extra maneuverability.
Since the Brompton's rear wheel is so short, hitching the trailer above it is quite easy. This gives a better pivot range in either direction than a hub hitch for tight manuvering.
Why would one need a longer tongue? On trailers for automobiles, tongues are long because a short tongue wouldn't allow a tight enough turning radius before your rear bumper ran into the leading edge of the trailer. On most bike trailers, tongues are long because they have to stretch all the way up to the hub on a very wide wheel. On the brompton, though, the radius of the wheel is only 8 inches and I don't even have to go that far since I'm hitching to the rack instead of the hub. I don't have to worry about turn radius, since the back of a bicycle isn't wide like the back of a car; I can jackknife over past 90 degrees with no issue.
The only real benefit to a longer tongue in this instance is that I've read it's preferable to have your hitch point ahead of, rather than behind, your rear contact patch...but automobile trailers and the aforementioned wishbone-yoke trailers like the Bob Yak pivot behind the entire wheel, let alone the contact patch, with little issue.
On top of all this, having the tongue as short as possible makes the whole unit lighter, more compact, and puts less torque on tongue, making everything more durable.
I think a lot of the tradeoffs with other trailers are based on the desire to be interoperable with whatever bike the consumer already owns, and because tall bike wheels present unique challenges. Since this trailer is designed specifically for one and only one bicycle with very short wheels, none of those compromises are necessary.
Think of it more as like the kingpin and 5th wheel on a Semi, rather than a conventional hitch.
Awesome build, really clever design, and yeah tig welding is hard but it looks like you have mastered it :)
Your in Japan now? wow! that's quite a different place to live, but after seeing that clip of you on the jet with all your gadgets** I can't help but think you'll fit in just fine, good luck on the new shores ;)
**what do customs think when they see all that!???
Thanks! I have absolutely NOT mastered, TIG, but I've made good progress. And I am in Japan for the timebeing. Customs was most baffled by the computer and violin; I think the trailer just looking like a big box was to my advantage. But they kept staring at my computer and asking what my job was; I think they assumed it was some piece of highly specialized equipment, rather than just a funny-looking PC. And the silvery carbon-fiber tube my violin was in raised eyebrows. They kept asking if it was a mandolin, for some reason. In any case, COVID stuff took WAY more time than luggage inspection.
@@TheRamblingShepherd well, maybe you've not mastered it but you look a lot better at it than me ;) I can see they would think that about the PC, it looks like something out of a movie LOL
Now much did that cost?
Very cool. You could make a small business out of making these trailers
I'd have to get a lot faster and better at welding to put these in a reasonable price range, but maybe someday.
***** 5 stars for the nickel frame, rubber ducky & sheep friends + Juki! Would buy two! How's the trailer holding up on heavy loads?
The frame's actually titanium, and the ungulates are goats! I miss them quite desperately.
The trailer's holding up well! There are signs of strain on the main handle, but nothing approaching a failure yet.
As for the Juki, it gets the job done, no question, but I think a servo motor is a necessary upgrade. I'm just not a good enough tailor to handle the "red line it and drop the clutch" control system it's got going on, at least not at the speed it runs at. Still, you're not gonna be punching through twin-wall polycarbonate with some $40 plastic drivetrain piece of junk.
After seeing your build of the trailer, it got me wondering about my own design. I have had the same idea but initially was for a recumbent trike. Since I don't think there is any reasonable way to provide protection for the trike & keep the weight of the finished package under the 55 lb. weight limit for the airlines, I am now going to see if this can be done with a Tern folding bike. What was your finished weight of the trailer? Thanks.
It's 7.4kg/16.3lbs, including wheels.
Around the time I made this video, many airlines evidently altered their policies to make traveling with bikes easier, even if they're "oversized", which is great!
I'm currently following the project of a friend who's building a lightweight, folding two-wheel recumbent with the intent of making it possible to fly with. He's not publishing the process (yet) but it's pretty neat. He also built a flight case for his Maxarya Ray 2X using the same "Polygal" twin-wall polycarbonate that I used for this project.
@@TheRamblingShepherd If you are in the States look for a product at sign & plastic shops called Ultra Foam. It is a 2 sided plastic sheet with a foam inner core & appears to be more dent resistant than the fluted plastic. It is also very light & nicer to work with.
@@daytriker Interesting stuff. The "lite" version is about 37% lighter by area than the panels I'm currently using...though it's also almost exactly 37% thinner, so volumetrically it's almost exactly the same density.
On the one hand, this would save about 1.7lbs on the overall weight and get you about a 1/4" reduction on every dimension, which is cool...on the other hand, it's hard to say how the strength compares to the thicker material I used.
It's worth noting that the material I used was "polygal" twin wall polycarbonate, which is a LOT stronger and stiffer than standard yard sign type corrugated plastic, which I believe is polyethylene?
You can easily stand on this stuff without crushing or denting it.
One nice thing about the trailer is that all of the panels can be removed and replaced if I ever want to--maybe I'll check out some of that ultra foam next time I'm stateside.
@@TheRamblingShepherd I just checked the Ultraboard website & the product most suitable is called Ultraboard Plus. It is available in 1/4" thickness increments up to 3" thick. From the samples I received, 1/2" thick would be more than adequate strength. Unfortunately, trying to receive a few sheets in Canada & I might as well have been on the moon.
The duckie is super cute where did u get it from ?
My local bike shop sells them, but they're available at tons of places online.
Hi, where is that rear rack from?
It's from Vostok, a company which, I gather, no longer exists.
can you make me one? Actually I need two.... I'm serious.
Pᵣₒmₒˢᵐ 🙋