[caption id="attachment_8909" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Close but no cigar. In fact I needed something the diameter of a cigar![/caption]
Christmas night at about 9 p.m. I was running my bike and trailer rig through the alleys of Fairview hunting returnable containers. I heard a loud, sharp sound, like a starter's pistol, and something between very fine rain and snow began to fall (Inuit mist?).
Coincidence right? I recognized the sound. I even knew which of three hose clamps on the hitch arm of my bicycle trailer had just snapped under pressure. It wasn't a life or death situation -- for me, but it was a suicide mission for the hose clamps -- that was the sixth clamp to break.
My current bicycle trailer is second-hand -- I hauled it out of a dumpster. It replaced another second-hand trailer, and so on. It's aluminum tube frame was in very good shape with the exception of part of the hitch arm which physically connected the the trailer to the bicycle. There was a break in the hitch arm tube; the hitch arm was still connected to the trailer, but wasn't rigid enough -- the break point allowed it flex up and down.'
The break is the result of poor design: a big hole in the top of the tube, to accept another tube. Unfortunately the hole is at a point of maximum stress -- not enough tube to stand the strain. Crack!
It's a proven fact that there are more four-inch hose clamps in this world than bicycle trailers. So I've been using the clamps to restore the necessary rigidity to the hitch arm. It's a text book Band-aid solution. Except this boo-boo never heals.
I paused at the first, best place -- lane-side by a parking entrance a few feet away from a strong over head light (I didn't park under it because my own body would block the light).
And no... I had two- and six-inch clamps but I was all out of the four-inch variety. Darn!
I was trying a six-inch clamp to see if it would tighten enough, when a couple drove in to the underground parking entrance. The gentleman asked me if I had everything under control and offered me some almond milk. I wasn't listening any more than necessary -- my attention was on the slippery little hose clamp. I thanked him, politely, declined the kind offer and offered a Christmas greeting in return. Nice people the Almond Milks.
Anyway, the hose clamp was too long to fully tighten. I decided to try it out to see if it tightened enough. I aimed myself at a covered spot on South Granville Street at 11th Avenue where I could effect a better repair, if necessary.
[caption id="attachment_8910" align="alignnone" width="497"]
A little piece of pipe standing in for the cigar and Bob's your uncle.[/caption]
By the time I arrived at the spot on South Granville, I knew the clamp needed to be tighter. I now had lots of room, plenty of light and I was out of the weather, so I could take better care of the fix.
I took the trailer off the bike altogether, loosened the hose clamp until I could slide in a stubby length of steel pipe -- about one-inch in diameter. This allowed me to properly tighten the clamp.
Lots of steel contacting aluminum leads to galvanic corrosion of the aluminum but this would do until I bought a little four-inch hose clamp. I reattached the trailer to the bike; the connector being a very excellent old-school Burley Classic Connector.
While I was at it, I removed, reconfigured and rebalanced my load of returnable containers.
Then I binned my way to bed.
[caption id="attachment_8911" align="alignnone" width="497"]
A balanced load makes the trailer feel lighter and minimizes the strain on the frame.[/caption]
Close but no cigar. In fact I needed something the diameter of a cigar![/caption]Christmas night at about 9 p.m. I was running my bike and trailer rig through the alleys of Fairview hunting returnable containers. I heard a loud, sharp sound, like a starter's pistol, and something between very fine rain and snow began to fall (Inuit mist?).
Coincidence right? I recognized the sound. I even knew which of three hose clamps on the hitch arm of my bicycle trailer had just snapped under pressure. It wasn't a life or death situation -- for me, but it was a suicide mission for the hose clamps -- that was the sixth clamp to break.
Second-hand bike trailers can be a handful
My current bicycle trailer is second-hand -- I hauled it out of a dumpster. It replaced another second-hand trailer, and so on. It's aluminum tube frame was in very good shape with the exception of part of the hitch arm which physically connected the the trailer to the bicycle. There was a break in the hitch arm tube; the hitch arm was still connected to the trailer, but wasn't rigid enough -- the break point allowed it flex up and down.'
The break is the result of poor design: a big hole in the top of the tube, to accept another tube. Unfortunately the hole is at a point of maximum stress -- not enough tube to stand the strain. Crack!
It's a proven fact that there are more four-inch hose clamps in this world than bicycle trailers. So I've been using the clamps to restore the necessary rigidity to the hitch arm. It's a text book Band-aid solution. Except this boo-boo never heals.
I paused at the first, best place -- lane-side by a parking entrance a few feet away from a strong over head light (I didn't park under it because my own body would block the light).
And no... I had two- and six-inch clamps but I was all out of the four-inch variety. Darn!
I was trying a six-inch clamp to see if it would tighten enough, when a couple drove in to the underground parking entrance. The gentleman asked me if I had everything under control and offered me some almond milk. I wasn't listening any more than necessary -- my attention was on the slippery little hose clamp. I thanked him, politely, declined the kind offer and offered a Christmas greeting in return. Nice people the Almond Milks.
Anyway, the hose clamp was too long to fully tighten. I decided to try it out to see if it tightened enough. I aimed myself at a covered spot on South Granville Street at 11th Avenue where I could effect a better repair, if necessary.
That will do in a pinch!
[caption id="attachment_8910" align="alignnone" width="497"]
A little piece of pipe standing in for the cigar and Bob's your uncle.[/caption]By the time I arrived at the spot on South Granville, I knew the clamp needed to be tighter. I now had lots of room, plenty of light and I was out of the weather, so I could take better care of the fix.
I took the trailer off the bike altogether, loosened the hose clamp until I could slide in a stubby length of steel pipe -- about one-inch in diameter. This allowed me to properly tighten the clamp.
Lots of steel contacting aluminum leads to galvanic corrosion of the aluminum but this would do until I bought a little four-inch hose clamp. I reattached the trailer to the bike; the connector being a very excellent old-school Burley Classic Connector.
While I was at it, I removed, reconfigured and rebalanced my load of returnable containers.
Then I binned my way to bed.
[caption id="attachment_8911" align="alignnone" width="497"]
A balanced load makes the trailer feel lighter and minimizes the strain on the frame.[/caption]
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