Is e-Bike Trailer Living Feasible for Full-Time Adventuring?

[catalyzer]

Unless you stop for 6 hours and point the panel directly at the sun on a perfect day you won’t get anything near that kind of production. You can count on about 100 watts output from that panel on a sunny day if it’s mounted on the trailer.

Thanks @crazysccrmd it is an optimistic projection. We're going the other way now, mapping out sections that predictively need pedal assist to use power/stored energy sparingly. We're also evaluating the possibility of preserving analog bike kinematics with a 3-D printed motor shell and the e8 series mid-motor from Shimano.

Meanwhile we are training with analog bikes pulling trailers, dogs, and partial loads. Personally I LOVE analog feel over any eBike on the market today.

 

[tacollie]

If you're not using e-assist to often it should work. It's going to take some planning but you seem like a planner. I would probably leave the dogs at home. Making sure they are feed, watered, and happy would stress me out. Probably because our dog is 66lbs🤣

Pretty sure I powder coated your Caletti! John is a great guy.

 

[Photomike]

This topic has always fascinated me, and I’ve actually thought about doing something like this for years. Just not with dogs 😂

I’ve been cycling for over 54 years. When I was about 8 years old, I had someone build me a custom trailer for my bike. Later, when I had kids, I upgraded to a bike trailer designed for carrying children.

One thing I learned early on is that pulling a trailer feels like hauling an anchor up Mount Everest. Compared to using a rack and panniers, the wind resistance of even an empty trailer is significant and exhausting.

Around 20 years ago, after developing a lung condition, I purchased an electric bike. Surprisingly, I found it wasn’t as easy to ride as I’d expected. The added weight of the bike made pedalling harder. As a result, I had to rely more on the electric motor, which drained the battery faster than I anticipated.

The idea of using an electric bike with a trailer sounds great in theory, but in practice, I’m not convinced it’s the most efficient option. It could be useful in some situations, but if I were to try it, I’d likely choose a trike instead. A trike would offer extra stability and greater carrying capacity for batteries, keeping the weight distributed low and on the bike rather than in a trailer.

That said, I still believe a regular bike with a small aerodynamic trailer—or even better, a setup with a rack and panniers—is far more efficient.


This conclusion comes from years of trial and error during my cycling adventures.

 

[catalyzer]

If you're not using e-assist to often it should work. It's going to take some planning but you seem like a planner. I would probably leave the dogs at home. Making sure they are feed, watered, and happy would stress me out. Probably because our dog is 66lbs🤣

Pretty sure I powder coated your Caletti! John is a great guy.

@tacollie Thanks! It's neat that you powdered my frameset. The finish has held up for years now. And yes, John is a great guy.

We have an idea of our 2,700 mile pace with the small bumps here in the East Bay pulling the dogs/trailer without electric motors. It's doable without...except steep sections above 10 degrees slope

Here's a picture of the eBike transformation to this stage. Incoming are additional bits from SRAM and Industry Nine before we have Tim Parker do the build.

 

[catalyzer]

This topic has always fascinated me, and I’ve actually thought about doing something like this for years. Just not with dogs 😂

I’ve been cycling for over 54 years. When I was about 8 years old, I had someone build me a custom trailer for my bike. Later, when I had kids, I upgraded to a bike trailer designed for carrying children.

One thing I learned early on is that pulling a trailer feels like hauling an anchor up Mount Everest. Compared to using a rack and panniers, the wind resistance of even an empty trailer is significant and exhausting.

Around 20 years ago, after developing a lung condition, I purchased an electric bike. Surprisingly, I found it wasn’t as easy to ride as I’d expected. The added weight of the bike made pedalling harder. As a result, I had to rely more on the electric motor, which drained the battery faster than I anticipated.

The idea of using an electric bike with a trailer sounds great in theory, but in practice, I’m not convinced it’s the most efficient option. It could be useful in some situations, but if I were to try it, I’d likely choose a trike instead. A trike would offer extra stability and greater carrying capacity for batteries, keeping the weight distributed low and on the bike rather than in a trailer.

That said, I still believe a regular bike with a small aerodynamic trailer—or even better, a setup with a rack and panniers—is far more efficient.


This conclusion comes from years of trial and error during my cycling adventures.

Thanks @Photomike I agree that planning/science/3D kinematic modeling/fully active AI is only part of the equation. Actual riding to sense the feel, handling, and 'it factors' are what makes biking fun! We're doing both, aiming to use fully active Relational Edge AI to hopefully achieve an analog bike feel with bikepacking loads and a trailer. We eliminated a hub motor on the bike and/or trailer due to the push factor. We are also in discussions to work with Shimano, Fox, and Paragon Machine Works to push the limits of their products and R&D. We are hopeful

 

[catalyzer]

Current Build:
* Using off-the-shelf motors and batteries.
* Wheelset, drivetrain, and brakes are still pending.
* This will provide a good baseline for the project.
* However, anticipate this initial build will have a scooter-like ride similar to most high-end e-bikes.

Future Goals:
* Design a 3D-printed motor shell compatible [with 1-dimensional stiffness layers to preserve rider "feel"] with Shimano E801 motors (preference for Shimano components).
* Potentially integrate an internal hub drivetrain (current build will use SRAM AXS mullet).

Experience:
* Have ridden various high-end e-bikes from brands like Specialized, Trek, Riese & Müller, Stromer, etc. that all feel like scooters over analog bikes
* Riding experience is limited to approximately 30-minute rides at a time.

 

[catalyzer]

View attachment DSC_0419.JPG

Dog/Bike Camping Mini-Update

• Setup:
  • Analog Bikes
  • 1 one-wheel trailer (2 dogs + gear)
  • 1 two-wheel trailer (2 dogs + gear)
• Findings:
  • Two-wheel trailer more stable for street/trail riding.
  • Neither trailer ideal for single track.
  • Road bike not ideal for single track.
• Next Steps:
  • Complete Dean 26er and Caletti CX e-bikes for testing.
  • Experiment with weight distribution in trailers (e.g., move Echoflow batteries from the back).
  • Explore trailer suspension modifications.