Road bike + carriage??

[Robocop]

In a recent thread many here helped me to choose a nice road bike and the help was very appreciated. I have learned to ride pretty well however I have a new problem.....

My g/f has this cute older pitbull that is the sweetest dog and she has really grown on me. Here lately our 50 mile rides usually take an entire day and between driving to the trail,riding the trail, and driving back her little dog is left alone all day. We bought a carriage from Nashbar designed to pull a child behind and tried to fit it to our bikes so we could bring along her little dog. Well it first did not fit the carbon chain stays(the clamp was too small and kept sliding off) and 2nd the shop advised against using the carriage. They said with the weight of the carriage (20 lbs) and her dog (47 lbs) this was way more than our bikes could handle safely.

They explained the carriage weight could easily throw a rider off course due to the super lite frame of the bike and that most carriages were designed to not exceed 10mph anyway. Can anyone give any suggestions as to a trailer or carriage that would work or am I simply out of luck? I hate leaving that little dog at home all day and besides I kind of like the little girl and would love for her to share a few road adventures. Yes I know towing 67 more lbs would be hard but it is worth it to me....you know I am one of those animal lover type of people...LOL

 

[mechBgon]

To start with, there are trailers specifically for dogs: example This one has a rigid floor, unlike most child trailers. I think the hitch design is better than the type that clamp around a frame tube, and no way I'd be clamping onto a Madone's carbon chainstay with a bike trailer hitch anyway. So maybe run down to your local REI and see if they have one of those to check out.

 

[Robocop]

MechBgon I somehow knew you would be able to help me with this and I very much appreciate the link. I was a little nervous about the very expensive Medone and a carriage however it seems my g/f is willing to take a chance with her new bike....she really loves her dog.

 

[mechBgon]

Well, it'll be a lot safer for the Madone's frame with that dog-specific trailer, since it puts the load on the frame's axle area (aka the "dropout"). The dropouts are forged aluminum, not carbon fiber.

Towing trailers with a road-racing bike is not exactly optimal, of course... even a road-racer with a triple crank might not be geared low enough to comfortably tow up hills or into strong headwinds. If she happens to have a hybrid or a mountain bike, she might want to press them into service as a towing bike.

 

[Jay R]

I got a trailer for my son recently. Total weight is about 20kg and though you don't notice it much on the flat, you REALLY notice it uphills and that's on tarmac. I'm just saying, don't underestimate the extra work to pull it.

 

[bitslammer]

You're going to look like your avatar pulling that load.

If the load is truly too much you might try an electric assist motor. I read an article about one but I don't remember where. I think it might have been Make Magazine, but it was similar to this: http://www.greenspeed.us/bionx_motor_bike_kit.htm

I can be used just when needed to provide boost. The lady in the article used it because she hauled groceries and such and used it mainly on hills.