New Shuttle Trailer design

[unitec]

Been out of action for a while now due to injury and as many others do in this situation I have channelled my enthusiasm for mountain biking into other MTB related stuff. (sad really)
My particular obsession is shuttling & shuttle trailers.
I have a number of designs for shuttle trailers on the drawing board (well actually AutoCAD) and couldn’t resist the temptation to build 2 of them. These designs are a little more complicated than the average clunker and as such I have had to use video instead of stills to show them properly. (still missed out on some bits)

In case the video doesn’t show clearly the main features of these designs are:-

1. One touch locking system capable of securing up to 9 bikes with a single lever.
2. Side cut-outs enable the rider to walk into the trailer to place his bike on the trailer without the need to climb up on or any major lifting
3. No shuttle damage ever. As the only part of the bike touching anything is the tyres.
4. Pull out rear section that expands trailer from 4 bike capacity to 9 bikes.
5. Fold-up or telescopic draw bar to reduce size of trailer for ease of storage. (grass is growing back in my yard already)
6. Single draw bar to enable tighter turning/manoeuvrability.
7. Wheel clamping system is lockable to enable the trailer to be left unattended for short periods of time reducing the chance of theft. (missing from the video)

Thinking that there maybe a real commercial potential in these designs I had gone to the trouble of applying for patents however after spending a considerable time manufacturing these two it would seem that the labour content alone may put them out of range for the average punter. Another consideration is that so many riders seem to be happy spending their weekends pushing their bikes up hill and are reluctant to even put in for petrol to shuttle let alone buy a shuttle trailer.
With this in mind what I need some rotoburn help on is:-
a) Am I flogging a dead horse with this?
b) If not, what are the most important features required in a shuttle trailer? (and what feature could I get rid of to save money)
Any who….. please follow the link & check out the video of them in action & let me know what you think.
Thanks
http://www.vimeo.com/8628469

Any comments would be appreciated.
Cheers

 

[J@se]

First off let me say those trailers are frigging awesome! You have pretty much thought of everything.

I think a dual use trailer such as the second one is the go, as obviously if you're spending the cash on a trailer its nice to be able to use it for other things as well as shuttling. So my vote goes with the Stealth Freerider.
Another thing on the first one, I think its cool with the fold up draw bar, but I think if it was detachable as well it would be a plus, as a trailer that small would be good to put in the corner of a garage, though folding it vertically may give some clearance issues with the roof.

Shuttle trailers are a very niche product, the drama is, is your design that much better that a normal box trailer with a dodgied up rack that people would spend their money on it? Personally I'd buy one for the right price, but with the ability to carry 9 bikes the problem arises as to where you put all the riders? (Tarago maybe ).

Again, those trailers are very impressive. But what kind of $$ are we talking about?

P.S. The music in the video was good too.

 

[ademb]

mate that is very very impressive. Especially with the ability to turn it back into a regular trailer too! Whats the suspension on the trailer? Leaf suspension? Mainly just wondering how it would go travelling up firetrails etc etc

I think the only thing that is holding it back is that mountain biking isn't the largest sport in australia, but I think the idea is quite clever and personally I'd think it would be worthwhile seeing if you could possibly patent it.

What was the buildtime/hours in the first production model? Obviously if it went into production then it would get faster and faster.

 

[jp4294]

That is so sick!!! I love it how it can turn into a normal box trailer aswel. Also, that one leaver locking mechanism thing is genius! Got a rough idea on how much one would cost?

 

[RCDH]

First off, I like your ideas a lot. The whole design looks fantastic with a good finish on it as well. Did you do all the welding on your own??

I agree with a few comments that were made above, especially that it is a niche market. Yours does offer something that others have not in the past. Versatility. The fact that you can carry bikes, but turn it into a tralier that you can use to shift stuff as well is something all together new, apart from the dodged up jobs that has been mentioned.

Perfect for doing some sunday afternoon runs with a few mates but also has the ability to go on a road trip with 8 other mates is very cool. Lets face it, if you've got the ability to carry 9 bikes, the method of carrying 9 riders will make itself apparent. Where there is a will, there is a way. There's also something called a troopy...

I like the concept very much, and if I had the room in my single garage unit to put one of these bad boys, I'd be asking a different question all together. I think you're on to a winner for sure. I might look at making a 4 bike specific one for the people that have no intention of carrying more than that, but other than that.

I'd definitely look at getting some local contractor help for some bulk fabrication and you do all the fiddly stuff, that's where the hours are and therefore cost is. But you probably know that already.

I'm interested to see where you next take this.

Good luck!

 

[mr636]

looks the goods. i guess it depends on what you want to sell it for. any ideas on $$$??

i have used box trailers in the past. we had a pallet in the trailer to slide the rear wheels into, and hung the fronts over heavily padded up H frames. it was one of the easiest setups to shuttle with in most places.... and theres the problem.

trailers require a certain amount of nouse to be able to turn around in tight shuttle areas. not everone has it.
trailers also SUCK on fire roads. they bounce all over the place, and really limit the speed at which you can shuttle.
problem one cant really be solved. is there a way you can make them sit better on the road? can you remove a leaf from the suspension to make it absorb bumps better??
storage is always a problem, but you seem to have sorted that with yours.

i think given that MOST vehicles can only carry 5, there would be a bigger market for a smaller 4-5 bike unit. make one, and ill buy it- at the right price

 

[Barnsy]

Yeah, definitely go for the stealth freerider one. I also think you should make a versatile one that works only for 4 bikes (what you can fit in the average car), that way you'll have more of a market (lets face it, 8 bikes will only be for bike clubs). That should be rather simple since you just dont put the second extending bit no? Definitely the nicest bike trailer I've ever seen!

 

[JSPhoto]

I think its freakin awesome too! Just for some input on what seems to be a running remark about making a smaller 4 bike setup, if it was as simple as suggested above (making only one arm) you could potentially think about putting something else in the rear (or front) to make the trailer a bit longer if it was still to be multi use, just off teh top of my head something like a removable tool box so you can free up space in the car for other stuff ie. people. Its a wicked idea! Deff worth persuing (sp) I think.

 

[timmy0081]

These two shuttle trailers are sooo sick! really professional aswell.

One thing i am wondering is if you could addapt this to a larger scale? If using a similar design could you make it like a double carriage carrying 18 rather then 9? I think if you head in that direction you could pitch your product to mtb clubs across australia looking for a safer, more effecient and professional looking shuttle trailer rather then some of the sketchy rigs you see at some races

just a thought but yeh, awessome work!!

 

[Jimass]

Sick trailer, but I think you can do away with all the excess stuff, like the wheel locking ect. Generally anything that you don't need to keep the cost down.

 

[flamshmizer]

Far out, very impressive work there. I think depending on what sort of price you can make these, you might have a bigger market than you think.

My mouth was gaping the whole time with the stealth freerider, so awesome

 

[Dobbo]

Your designs are really good and clever, very impressive.
Same sort of comments as above, usual shuttle takes 4, or 5 max, cost, etc.
Again, I would go for the freerider, but I have a ute, which is the other issue with MTB, many riders buy old utes for shuttle pigs.

Interested in where you go with the patent issue, as i have seen video of that locking mechanism on RB previously.
I looked into patents a bit myself, and if the design has already been shown by others, my understanding is your patent won't hold. You can patent your particular design if it is substantially different, but it doesn't take much for others to change it.

Also, a patent will not stop the local weekender from fabricating his own trailer based on your design.

Good luck, hope it goes wells for you.

 

[Sean]

You were really bored weren't you?

Fantastic, fantastic designs, don't need to add much more as the other guys have said it all for me. Good work mate!

 

[SideFX]

Your designs are really good and clever, very impressive.
Same sort of comments as above, usual shuttle takes 4, or 5 max, cost, etc.
Again, I would go for the freerider, but I have a ute, which is the other issue with MTB, many riders buy old utes for shuttle pigs.

Interested in where you go with the patent issue, as i have seen video of that locking mechanism on RB previously.
I looked into patents a bit myself, and if the design has already been shown by others, my understanding is your patent won't hold. You can patent your particular design if it is substantially different, but it doesn't take much for others to change it.

Also, a patent will not stop the local weekender from fabricating his own trailer based on your design.

Good luck, hope it goes wells for you.

Hi Dobbo , that design your talking about was his uni is a metal wizard and
all things MTB obsessed .
Great looking and functional trailers there . GET IT OUT / .

 

[chris95]

Man really like the stealth freerider design, The extra incentive is of course it can double as a normal trailer which would definitely help convince the parents to get 1. I too agree that a smaller more cheaper 4 bike design would be the go but the 9 bike design is great for people who want to travel to races ect.

 

[nick_dales]

Hey Mate looking really good. I think the most profitable option would to sell the device which locks the bikes in place that was used in the second video, I would be most likely to just buy that and mount it to my own trailer, depending on how exspensive the other trailers were as a whole of course

 

[Science]

Just thinking, Would you make availible that locking system, possibully as a 5 bike rig, for use in the back of utes?
I'm thinking 5 as it will allow it to fit between the wheel arches. A tray back ute would accomodate the 9 bike one well i think.

 

[birdman]

it was all good..... till you put the norco on it lol
nah its sweet i would buy one

 

[bogada]

Mate, they are the business! Being constructed and finished so nicely though, I can see how the price would begin to blow out (not sure how to combat this though sorry). Awesome effort!

 

[Ev]

That is sick. Definately the second one though as it gives a bit more versatility. Awesome design. I reckon it would be a definate4 goer at the right price for a lot of people.