In 2019 I sold our old Alumacraft canoe to get two kayaks instead. It was sort of sad to see that old friend go. But it was purchased by a woman who worked for the Three Rivers Park District. I knew it was going to get way more use from her, so that made me happy.
In my shed I still had my canoe trailer for my bike, what should I do with that? An email to Wike revealed all I needed to carry a kayak with it instead was a different width crossbar. I made some measurements and ordered a new crossbar so I could keep the trailer for the ‘yak. Here’s how I tow my new Perception Joyride kayak:
This kayak uses perception solo mounts for ram accessories like fishing rod holders. They’re two large screw-in ball mounts. There’s an interesting side-effect of using these mounts – the ball serves as a rigging point for the Wike trailer straps.
The best rigging setup I found is illustrated below. The wike towing tee has a strap that would normally hook up to a canoe seat, but instead I run it around the solo mounts (shown in red). Then the straps from the cart go over and in front of the solo mounts, securing the tee strap in place (shown in green).
One of the most important pieces of this setup is a third strap that is not provided by Wike, from their site:
A third line (you must provide) from the bow ties to the post of the ‘T’ to keep the front of the canoe kayak from tilting up or down.
I used a small bungee to go around the beefy perception handle at the front and secure the Wike tee to the front of the boat. It seems to be at the perfect angle where the back of the boat doesn’t touch the ground, and the tee is at an angle where it doesn’t interfere with my bike rack.
Death wobble ☠️
One issue I have yet to solve is a fish-tail that seems to happen when I’m going very slowly uphill. It seems the cadence of my pedaling while standing, and perhaps the sway of the bike combined with the short length of the boat create a feedback loop. What happens is the nose of the kayak starts to turn left and right. Then the feedback begins and it starts turning more and more, as my pedaling seems to amplify the effect 😲
Death wobble is a misnomer – nobody died. It only happens when I’m going up a hill at 4-5MPH. I only describe it as death wobble because the sensation can be a bit unnerving.
The solution might be to stay seated as long as possible and adjust my cadence. Maybe I could load the kayak to put a little more weight on one end? If you have any ideas, comment below and I’ll try ’em.
Bicycle tire tubes are the most prolific piece of trash that is generated by the bicycling industry. Luckily it’s nowhere near the poundage of old car tire waste out there. Still because it’s the thing most often replaced on a bike, people have found several clever ways to use punctured tubes instead of putting them in the landfill.
I like to keep one in my bike trunk bag for carrying things. I use the tube as a shoulder belt to strap things to my back. I’ve used them to carry a shovel, a pole saw, and most recently: snowshoes.
I used one in January to go snowshoeing at my local nature center:
Elapsed Time
Moving Time
Distance
Average Speed
Max Speed
Elevation Gain
Calories Burned
00:57:56
hours
00:13:30
hours
0.43
mi.
31:07
min/mile
12:46
min/mile
27.23
ft.
29
kcal
Went to Innsbruck Nature Center… Honestly didn't need snowshoes – the trail was already hard-packed from hikers. Was good to venture off of the trail however.
Tested out my SCX24 RC Crawler 😎
Rigging With Bike Tubes
Fastening one end of any object is simple, go around the object(s) and loop the tube back through itself to to create a cow hitch.
You can only create a cow hitch on one end. On the other end I use a cheap carabiner (that I also keep in my trunk bag) as a link to fasten it similarly.
Then I sling it over my shoulder and head on my way. I keep a couple different sized punctured bike tubes in the garage. You’ll find that some are too loose and others are too tight, depending on what you’re trying to carry. Experiment with sizes and then put the most versatile one in your trunk bag for ad-hoc trips.
My only complaint about this trunk bag is the Made in China tag. Not because of the country of origin, but because of its placement. From day one of owning this bag, it was perfectly in the way of the zipper. You can see that mine has been “run over” by the zipper a number of times.
Despite the stupid tag, this thing has several useful compartments. Mesh zippered pockets on the sides where I keep sunscreen, lip balm, zip ties, and rain covers for shoes.
There’s a mesh pocket and elastic cords on the top for anything you want to have quick access to – or if you want to strap something down that is bigger than the bag.
Inside it’s one big compartment, but on the lid there’s another pocket inside. I keep a set of repair tools with a patch kit, and a couple maps of the local trail system.
It securely locks into place with the trademark Topeak QuickTrack system, so I never worry about it flying off.
Case Study: RC Trunk
I write about radio control (RC) related stuff over at MeatballRacing.com and recently I found a YouTube channel called Berm Peak that also shares my enthusiasm for both bicycles and RC.
In this video he reviews a different Topeak trunk bag that has fold-out panniers.
He put in a 1:24-scale crawler, which is a perfect fit for these bags. Similarly, I put in my Jeep, the controller, some sunglasses and headed to the local nature center to do some crawling.
Elapsed Time
Moving Time
Distance
Average Speed
Max Speed
Elevation Gain
Calories Burned
01:13:37
hours
00:10:20
hours
1.04
mi.
6.04
mph
8.72
mph
61.35
ft.
118
kcal
Put the studded tires on and rode to a trail nearby for some snowshoeing
When when I got there, I switched to snowshoes for a hike.
Elapsed Time
Moving Time
Distance
Average Speed
Max Speed
Elevation Gain
Calories Burned
00:57:56
hours
00:13:30
hours
0.43
mi.
31:07
min/mile
12:46
min/mile
27.23
ft.
29
kcal
Went to Innsbruck Nature Center… Honestly didn't need snowshoes – the trail was already hard-packed from hikers. Was good to venture off of the trail however.
Tested out my SCX24 RC Crawler 😎
I can’t fit the showshoes in the trunk bag, but I have a carrying solution for those I’ll share later.
I hiked to a good spot and played in the snow.
The trunk bag is indeed super versatile – I feel like every year I come up with another useful way to use it.
Looking at it made me think that a similar, but more useful application of vertical bike rack storage, would be for fishing rods. Moore Lake is just down the hill from where I live, and it’s stocked with Bluegills and Bass 🎣
I made this fishing rod holder that attaches to my bike rack for less than $20, mostly from scraps I had in the garage. It holds four rods, but you could adjust it for as many as you’d like, as long as your bike rack setup will accommodate them.
I chose 1-1/4″ PVC because all of our rod handles will fit into that size pipe – you should test fit your thickest fishing rod before you buy.
I attached a PVC coupling to the pipe and then cut the pipe (with the coupling attached) using a hacksaw to 9 inches. This was both the size of my scrap wood and the size of the longest rod handle. You should go longer if your handles are longer than 9 inches.
To make a permanent connection, I used PVC primer and cement to bond the couplers to the pipes.
The couplers are there to serve as stops for the tubing straps – so they don’t fall through them.
To fasten the tube straps to the board I used #10 x 1/2″ sheet metal screws. I pre-drilled holes in the wood with a 1/8″ drill bit, then used a screwdriver on the screws.
I designed 3D printed hangers because I couldn’t find any readily available hooks that I liked at the hardware store. I like Topeak racks because of how their bag systems attach. I designed the hangars to conform to the Topeak’s 10mm rod construction – which I believe is a standard size for many bike racks.
To fasten the hangers to the board, I used #10 x 3/4″ sheet metal screws.
Backing and Hangars
The board I used was some leftover 1/2″ plywood. Mine was 9″ wide so I went with that – luckily that’s how long our rod handles are. You can cut the width to however many rods you want to hold. For my 4 rod holders it wound up being 15″x9″.
To make sure everything lines up well on the back, I used my Thule panniers as an example. The metal plate that sticks to the magnet is approximately 9″x4″ – so I cut a piece of sheet metal that size. You can use a hacksaw to (slowly) cut it. I used a cutting wheel to make quick work.
I also used the Thule pannier as a reference to gauge the placement of the metal backing position relative to the hangers so they’d be generally in the right place. It will ensure the steel plate is the right place so it will line up with the rack magnet without having to move it around on the rack.
I used 3/4″ screws to fasten the hangers, and 1/2″ screws to hold the steel plate. I pre-drilled the steel with a 3/16″ drill bit, and the wood with a 1/8″ one.
There’s no provisions on this rack for bait and tackle, but you can use the opposite side of the rack for a pannier, or just put your bait and tackle in a backpack.
When I’m fishing while paddling, I keep a very small tackle box on the boat with me, and that is also perfect for local fishing by bike.
Usability tips
Riding around with 6-foot fishing poles is like riding around with a whip antenna – it’s real tall. Just beware of any low tunnels or doorways, tree branches, etc.
Also, you’re not going to be able to put a leg over the back like you normally would. A pole (and hooks) will prevent you from doing that. Be mindful while you’re getting on and off.
I (perhaps stupidly) tried out the purple worm seen in my tackle box above – set up as a Texas Rig. I felt some serious bites, but I didn’t land anything. In the end I’m lucky because I didn’t bring a net if I actually had caught a tenacious bass.
While I didn’t bring one, you could certainly put a net in one of the holders. This is more of a catch-and-release type of rig, and I wasn’t planning on any big bites my first time out, just a couple of sunfish 🐟
Milk crates were surely one of the first accessories ever strapped to a bicycle. It’s the simplest way to add significant carrying capacity to any bike. One of the first things I did when I got my bike was add a rack and a milk crate – but I wasn’t quite smart about it.
I wanted the crate to be removable, so rather than securing it with zip ties, I recycled some old tire tubes and inter-wove them with the rack and the holes in the crate. It seemed pretty solid, so I thought I’d make a trip to the liquor store. The problem with the tubes is they’re made of rubber, so they stretch. They stretch a little too much for a beer-laden milk crate.
When I got out of the saddle, rocking the bike ever so slightly was enough to stretch the tubes, and send my beers flying. I burst some Surly’s halfway home. Lesson learned. Continue reading →
Topeak TrolleyTote
After I purchased the Babyseat to tote Jules around, I found that Topeak also makes a milk crate sized basket called the TrollyTote that works with the same rack as the Babyseat.
At $50, the TrolleyTote is the most expensive milk crate you’ll ever buy. It’s worth it for me because it is easily removable and super-secure when on the rack.
Extra Features
The TrollyTote can fold up which I guess is a feature, but I find it to be more of an annoyance, as the clips that hold it “unfolded” don’t fasten very tightly. But no beer has been spilled over that issue. The retractable handle and wheels are handy, but honestly I could do without them, especially if omitting these “Extra Features” would lower the cost.
I’ve used the crate for numerous grocery and beer runs and haven’t spilled a drop (or broken an egg) since my first misfortune with my poorly rigged crate.
