Yet another bicycling mishap.

Buck said:

My trailer cut loose on my commute home on Monday. I was traveling down

<snip>

Quoted message said:

The safety strap did its job and kept the trailer with the bike.
Unfortunately, the hitch caught in the spokes which then carried it up
and over the hub to wedge between the rear wheel and the seat stay. The
wheel initially locked into a skid, but started rolling again after
everything bent out of shape. I was able to extricate the hitch from
the wheel, loosen the brake, reconnect the hitch, then ride slowly
home.

It's not clear from your pictures--what brand and type of trailer was
this? What type of hitch (seat post, rear triangle, etc.)? How old was
it?

My trailer is a Burley, and I note that the owner's manual recommends
keeping it below 15 mph, and replacing the hitch every three years (I
think).

Bill

__o | Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live.
_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) | -- Mark Twain

Quoted message said:

It's not clear from your pictures--what brand and type of trailer was
this? What type of hitch (seat post, rear triangle, etc.)? How old was
it?

My trailer is a Burley, and I note that the owner's manual recommends
keeping it below 15 mph, and replacing the hitch every three years (I
think).

The brand? Well ... it is a "KidActive" brand. Yup, just a cheap
knockoff of a Burley. But it works fine for light-duty hauling.

The hitch is a clamp-on hitch that attaches to the left chain stay. The
clamp mechanism is pretty clear in the photo. You just put the clamp
jaws aroud the chainstay and tighten the big black knob. The safety
strap is attached by screws to both the hitch arm and the clamp. It
loops around the chain stay and hooks back to a loop on the top of the
hitch arm. The safety strap did its job, but the clip itself was bent
in the accident.

I'm guessing that the constant vibration on the rough roads worked the
clamp loose. The pivot for the hitch is a chrome-plated spring that was
bent in the accident, but did not break.

I'll be looking at replacing the hitch arm and hitch mechanism. I want
a more positive lock on the next one.

-Buck

Buck said:

The safety strap did its job and kept the trailer with the bike.
Unfortunately, the hitch caught in the spokes which then carried it up
and over the hub to wedge between the rear wheel and the seat stay. The
wheel initially locked into a skid, but started rolling again after
everything bent out of shape. I was able to extricate the hitch from
the wheel, loosen the brake, reconnect the hitch, then ride slowly
home.

Ouch.

Quoted message said:

See the pictures at:
http://bicyclebuck.blogspot.com

Double Ouch.

Quoted message said:

Now I'm wondering whether or not I'll be able to use this frame any
longer. I have to get the rear wheel straightened out first, then I'll
see how the change in the frame affects the rear wheel alignment. It
may just be time to rebuild that old steel Schwinn that's been hanging
on the wall. Until then, the rain bike will be seeing full-time
service.

I fully sympathize, I'm riding my grocery bike this week. It's really
not that bad now that I've fiddled with it some, but it *really* needs
fenders. Today or tomorrow I'l hopefully be able to find out how much
time and money will need to be spent to fix my Cross-check's frame.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
Interfere? Of course we should interfere! Always do what you're
best at, that's what I say. -- Doctor Who

Dane Buson said:

Quoted message said:

Now I'm wondering whether or not I'll be able to use this frame any
longer. I have to get the rear wheel straightened out first, then I'll
see how the change in the frame affects the rear wheel alignment. It
may just be time to rebuild that old steel Schwinn that's been hanging
on the wall. Until then, the rain bike will be seeing full-time
service.

I fully sympathize, I'm riding my grocery bike this week. It's really
not that bad now that I've fiddled with it some, but it *really* needs
fenders. Today or tomorrow I'l hopefully be able to find out how much
time and money will need to be spent to fix my Cross-check's frame.

Thanks for the sympathy.

I spent a few hours this weekend correcting all of the problems. Well,
most of them.

I intended to replace the hitch arm with a new piece of tubing, but I
couldn't get to the only hardware store in town before they closed at
noon on Saturday (one of the joys of small-town living). So, while
rummaging around in bike supplies, I found an old handlebar that was
just big enough to slide inside the hitch arm. I sawed it off to an
appropriate length, bent the original hitch arm as straight as
possible, then pounded the handlebar piece into the tube far enough to
bridge the break. A couple of holes drilled through the two tubes with
a couple of bolts and it was as good as new!

I'm still looking for a better hitch design, but I'm working with what
I have for now. I'm just making darn sure that thing is tight before
every ride!

As for the bike, It looks like the seat stay damage wasn't as bad as I
originally thought. It is definitely dented, but not bent. I spent some
quality time with a spoke wrench and the rear wheel is back on center
and mostly straight. I need some more time without the kids around
(randomly spinning the wheel for me) before I can get the last few
wobbles closer to perfect. For now, it will get me from here to there.
And back again. And maybe over to that other place....

Of course, my wife was looking it over and suggested that we needed to
start looking for a new bike! 😄

-Buck

Quoted message said:

Buck <[email hidden]> wrote:
My trailer is a Burley, and I note that the owner's manual recommends
keeping it below 15 mph, and replacing the hitch every three years (I
think).

Hmmm... we too have a Burley (solo), but I dont recall getting an owners
manual with it.

We've had it up to 38, and routinely (like twice a week) get up to 20 or
so. I inspect it every few weeks and it seems well designed, nothing's
ever come lose or cracked. The "weak" link in the hitch woudl seem to
be the rubber hose portion that allows the bike to lean, unfortunatly
most of that cannot be seen as it's inside the tube. Perhaps I should
look at replacing that at some point.

Anybody have any experience with a Burley hitch failing? Or lasting for
years and years. Ours has around 1000 miles on it in two years.

Rich

Rich said:

Hmmm... we too have a Burley (solo), but I dont recall getting an owners
manual with it.

We've had it up to 38, and routinely (like twice a week) get up to 20 or
so. I inspect it every few weeks and it seems well designed, nothing's
ever come lose or cracked. The "weak" link in the hitch woudl seem to
be the rubber hose portion that allows the bike to lean, unfortunatly
most of that cannot be seen as it's inside the tube. Perhaps I should
look at replacing that at some point.

The swivel part of the hitch on my trailer is well built. It has a
chromed spring with loops at either end for a bolt to pass through.
Running through the center of the spring is some kind of super-hard
rubber stick with holes at either end for a bolt to pass through. If
the spring breaks, the rubber stick should keep everything connect.

The failure in my case was the clamping mechanism. If you go back and
look at the web page, you can see that it is just two aluminum pieces
that articulate around a bolt with a second bolt that has a big knob
for tightening. You just put the chain stay in between the clamps and
start cranking on the knob. I'm pretty sure this worked its way loose
on the ride home.

I'm looking at options for making a more positive connection that
doesn't depend on a friction clamp. I like the idea of the Burley axle
hitch, but worry about the quick-release hitch head snapping off under
stress.

So yeah, any Burley owners out there that have experienced this sort of
failure?

-Buck

Rich said:

[email hidden] wrote:

Quoted message said:

Hmmm... we too have a Burley (solo), but I dont recall getting an owners
manual with it.

Nor did I, but I bought Burley used. I found the manual online.

Quoted message said:

Anybody have any experience with a Burley hitch failing? Or lasting for
years and years. Ours has around 1000 miles on it in two years.

The Burley web site has (or used to, at least) the story of a couple
who towed their Burley behind a tandem for somethine like 17,000 miles.
The only replacement part I can remember them saying they needed was the
top cover.
But I still think I'm going to keep an eye on my hitch as the years
pass.

Bill

__o | When gas hit $5 a gallon,
[ ]___`\(,_ | People stopped asking why,
(_) (_)/ (_) | And asked, "Where can I get one?"

Quoted message said:

Rich said:

Hmmm... we too have a Burley (solo), but I dont recall getting an owners
manual with it.

Nor did I, but I bought Burley used. I found the manual online.

I too now have a manual. Thanks to whoever pointed out there was one.

Rich