Open Source Bamboo Bike Trailer from Carry Freedom

Open Source Bamboo Bike Trailer from Carry Freedom

These British guys make cute bike trailers and I’d thought we’d covered them before but alas No. they do a snappy little fold up trailer perfect for folding bike enthusiasts. But what we’d like to mention as way of introduction to Carry Freedom is their open source bamboo trailer design. Story goes that one their commercial trailers was left in a Himalayan village for a few weeks while its western owner went off jaunting for a few weeks. The villagers loved it but struggled to replicate the design to have something useful for their own needs. Aaron Wieler, a teacher in class on Appropriate Technology Design at Hampshire College joined the party and eventually they arrived at this simple design that be reckon can be crafted with simple tools from locally sourced materials be they titanium (!) or bamboo. Apparently it requires no welding or pipe bending to make but once constructed according to the freely available plans will tow a load up to 250 kg (550 lbs). The design uses a centrally braced hub to tension the frame and is conceived around two salvaged bicycle wheels. To their great credit Carry Freedom also list an array of other DIY bike trailers in case theirs doesn’t suit. This is what Design for the Other 90%, (or as it used to be called: design for the real world), is all about. ::Carry Freedom. via Used HQ.