Does anyone have any advice for towing your buddies bike back after it breaks down. I had a rather unpleasant experience the other day and thought maybe there was an easier way to attempt this. Hopefully I'll never need to do it again but it would be nice to know how. Thanks
Towing Bikes
- Thread starter ryno_co
- Start date
- Jul 31, 2000
- 2,085
- 0
I've had many an unpleasant experience while towing bikes. I think you might find it helpful to hook up the tow strap in the very middle of the bike. Best way to do this (may involve removing plastic) is to wrap the strap around the headtube of the bike's frame. This way it's pulling straight on the bike and you can retain your steering control unlike when you hook up to the bars. Ideally the bike wouldn't break down, but since it will more than likely break on the nastiest section of trail you can find then you might have to push it. I hate pushing bikes.
Ol'89r
LIFETIME SPONSOR
- Jan 27, 2000
- 6,961
- 45
Towing
ryno.
I have towed a few bikes out of the woods and maybe I can offer a few suggestions to make it a little easier. First of all, like smb said, tow from the center of the bike. What I usually do is to wrap the tow strap around the handlebars, (in the center of the bars), about two or three times leaving about 1 1/2 feet of strap left over. Take that 1 1/2 feet of leftover strap to the grip and hold onto it while gripping the bars. That way, if you get into trouble, you can let go of the tow strap and it will unravel from the bars and pull away with out dragging you.
Also, have the bike being towed do all of the braking for both bikes. This keeps the tow strap tight at all times preventing the possibility of the strap getting tangled in the rear wheel of the bike doing the towing or the front wheel of the bike being towed.
It's a good idea to get a proper tow strap. Malcolm Smith sells one that folds up into a small package and is easily stored on the bike.
Just my $ .02
ryno.
I have towed a few bikes out of the woods and maybe I can offer a few suggestions to make it a little easier. First of all, like smb said, tow from the center of the bike. What I usually do is to wrap the tow strap around the handlebars, (in the center of the bars), about two or three times leaving about 1 1/2 feet of strap left over. Take that 1 1/2 feet of leftover strap to the grip and hold onto it while gripping the bars. That way, if you get into trouble, you can let go of the tow strap and it will unravel from the bars and pull away with out dragging you.
Also, have the bike being towed do all of the braking for both bikes. This keeps the tow strap tight at all times preventing the possibility of the strap getting tangled in the rear wheel of the bike doing the towing or the front wheel of the bike being towed.
It's a good idea to get a proper tow strap. Malcolm Smith sells one that folds up into a small package and is easily stored on the bike.
Just my $ .02
I have done this a couple of times.
We usually attach the rope to the bike by threading it through the actual handlebar and the place that the crossbar pad connects. Then I run the rope to the handgrip and wrap it around that 2-4 times. Start with 2 and keep increasing the number of wraps until it doesn't take much effort to hold it but letting go will immediately release the rope.
The back bike doing the braking for both bikes is kind of a good idea, but it doesn't work that great. When the back bike brakes it puts more stress on the tow line and it can break. In cases where the tow strap isn't close to the centerline of the bike, it will turn your handlebars.
This all assumes you have a tow strap on you. I have used a tree branch before I started carrying a rope. It worked ok. I just found a branch with a fork in it. I kept a couple inches of the one fork and a few feet of the other. The small fork was used like a hook and was hooked onto the frame of the towing bike. The person being towed held onto the other end. It wasn't the ideal setup, but it worked to get my Dad's bike home.
We usually attach the rope to the bike by threading it through the actual handlebar and the place that the crossbar pad connects. Then I run the rope to the handgrip and wrap it around that 2-4 times. Start with 2 and keep increasing the number of wraps until it doesn't take much effort to hold it but letting go will immediately release the rope.
The back bike doing the braking for both bikes is kind of a good idea, but it doesn't work that great. When the back bike brakes it puts more stress on the tow line and it can break. In cases where the tow strap isn't close to the centerline of the bike, it will turn your handlebars.
This all assumes you have a tow strap on you. I have used a tree branch before I started carrying a rope. It worked ok. I just found a branch with a fork in it. I kept a couple inches of the one fork and a few feet of the other. The small fork was used like a hook and was hooked onto the frame of the towing bike. The person being towed held onto the other end. It wasn't the ideal setup, but it worked to get my Dad's bike home.
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