Towing system

foxer3640

Myself and the wife have signed up for the nire valley drop next weekend. we both want to do the full distance but she's a bit worried that all the climbing will be too much. I remember seeing a lad towing his other half up a climb in Wales a few years ago. Has anyone here ever done this or how could I rig it up (if its possible)? Thanks.

Enduro

It's easy enough to rig up, and very very effective in practice.

I've used two different types of home made systems. The key element in both cases is bungy cord.

(1) buy an extendable dog lead. Double zip tie it to your seatpost under the saddle. On the lead end add a loop of thin stretchy bungy cord (can be bought in the likes of Great Outdoors to any length you want... they'll cut it from a reel). It should be as long as possible, but short enough so that when its on the bike it won't snag the back wheel. To use it, the tower reaches behind and grabs it and passes the loop to the towee. The towee can just let go at any time and it should be pulled back in quickly enough that it doesn't snag the wheel.

(2) Get about two meters or so of thin bungy cord. Thread it into a plastic tube of about 2 feet in lenght. Tie one end of the cord tightly onto your seat tube/frame, and make a loop on the other end. I zip-tie the plastic tube to a mudguard for stability. You should then have a loop that is behind the back wheel of your bike that the towee can just ride up and grab.

Remeber... Bungy is key for its elasticity. Use something more rigid and that'll probably be someone's drivetrain disintegrating. Also, the towee should simply hold the loop in their hand whilst cycling normally. Attaching it to a bike will almost certainly cause a crash. Both cyclist should pedal with normal effort.

foxer3640

Thanks Enduro that's exactly the enfo I was looking for.

Enduro

One thing I should add is that the second system is more resiliant in the long term. I've been re-using the same system for at least 5 years! I've found that the dog lead part of the first system eventually fails in some way. However the first system is more compact and possibly a little easier to make. In use, I much prefer the second system once it us set up correctly (from bothing towing and being towed perspective, especially if there is a lot of on-and-off the system).

Lumen

I've used a simple bungee cord for when my son runs out of steam on flattish cycles and I can't be bothered to go slowly/listen to the whining.

I hold one end, dangle it out sideways, he grabs the other, and off we go.

The only risk is getting the dangly end caught in my rear spokes, but life without risk would be dull. :pac:

Obviously towing 60kg or whatever of wife up a hill is a bit different to towing 25kg of midget on the flat, so you may need a thicker bungee.

CramCycle

I would just drop her and take the KOM

foxer3640

Thanks guys