Double Bass Thinking about getting this bike trailer for my bass...

[J_Engel]

Help me think this through. Would this trailer work for a bass?

Burley Design Travoy Bike Trailer, Yellow - Really Good eBikes

It would take some customization, such as extending the "shelf" so that it would at least reach the endpin, and I think I might add a vertical arm that would hold the neck in place. Also would add some foam. Do you think I'm on to something?

2 out of 147 comments in Amazon complained of tipping. Maybe I could make the vertical somehow protect the bass in the even the whole thing tipped. OK, let me know your thoughts, thank you!

 

[Reiska]

If my memory serves there is a thread about DB`s and bike trailers somewhere here!

 

[SAlcott]

"2 out of 147 comments in Amazon complained of tipping."

There's nothing short of a hard case that will protect a bass in that situation.

 

[Don Kasper]

If my memory serves there is a thread about DB`s and bike trailers somewhere here!

Yes - in the ".....& Repair" Forum.

 

[Don Hergert]

It's actually here in Accessories, although it may really belong in "...& Repair" .

And in that thread, there's a amazing photo of an individual carrying his DB with one hand, neck first over his shoulder, as he's bicycling along... One can just imagine the possibilities!

 

[Don Kasper]

I was thinking of this post -

I too do meatball repairs. Only on instruments which would otherwise be trash. I've never had trouble removing a fingerboard though, even on a low end instrument. Although, I don't discount that this might be simply down to luck. What I want to say is Hide Glue! Hide Glue! Hide Glue! Hide Glue! I first repaired this fingerboard break in 2009. It held until a recent bike trailer accident. I easily put it back together, although not quite a cleanly as before, since part of the break was in fresh wood, and there was no budget for filling with ebony powder and CA glue. Drilling through a fingerboard just seems absolutely brutal. I can understand it if the FB is glued on with something extreme, but is there any evidence that the repairer in this case even tried to remove the fingerboard? From the video it looks like he gets off on a cowboy approach. View attachment 3378415 View attachment 3378416

 

[Don Hergert]

I was thinking of this post -

Oh my! I'd almost rather see gum tissue graft surgery.

 

[Anthony White]

I have an electric cargo bike, and trailers, and I haul kids and cargo in it daily. So I totally respect your goal. But, no, that is a terrible bike trailer for hauling your double bass. You need something six feet long, and with a chain-stay hitch, so it will be low enough, balanced, and support your bass securely.

This one on the same website looks better:
Bakcou eBikes Folding Deer Trailer - Really Good eBikes
I don’t know if they mean it’s big enough to carry a deer, but that’s the general design area you should be looking.

 

[Anthony White]

The Surly trailer is nice, well built, will support your bass.
Bill Trailer | Large Bike Trailer | Surly Bikes

 

[Matthijs]

I think the wheels are too small. It will rattle and bounce too much. I’ve seen animal and kiddie trailers converted for db. They seem to be a safer and easier to pull option.

 

[bengreen]

That high attach point worries me too. If not while riding, then for sure during loading and then climbing on and off. You'll likely find yourself wishing for an extra arm and leg to keep things right side up.

If you haven't trailered before, you don't notice them too much on level ground but even on fairly mild hills they're a workout and it can be tricky to shift gears with the extra torque you're putting on the pedals.

 

[J_Engel]

You need something six feet long, and with a chain-stay hitch, so it will be low enough, balanced, and support your bass securely.

Thank you!!! That trailer does look better! Can you clarify one thing for me. The Backcou trailer is an axle hitch trailer. You recommend a Chain Stay Hitch Trailer. Is the axle hitch close enough? Is there some sort of axle hitch to chain stay hitch adapter I should look for? Thank you.

 

[Pings Bass]

That would be a hard "no" for me. I don't own anything that I would trust in a trailer that close to the pavement and passing cars and trucks.

 

[RattleSnack]

I have no experience with this, so be gentle with me.
Double bass in a padded gigbag isn't heavy. Woudn't it be easiest and safest to haul it on your back, like a backpack?

 

[bengreen]

I have no experience with this, so be gentle with me.
Double bass in a padded gigbag isn't heavy. Woudn't it be easiest and safest to haul it on your back, like a backpack?

Depends on your bass, depends on your gigbag, depends on your back!

Mine fails on all counts. Still, a good point. Just watch out for low hanging branches and bridges!

 

[Reiska]

I have no experience with this, so be gentle with me.
Double bass in a padded gigbag isn't heavy. Woudn't it be easiest and safest to haul it on your back, like a backpack?

I know a couple of bassists who do this but I never would. Weight ain`t the problem, but with even slightest wind you have a fairly expensive and fragile sail on your back

 

[SAlcott]

I've been hauling a bass around for 50 years. It never once occurred to me to do it on a bicycle, whether on my back or on a trailer. It's ideas like this that keep luthiers in business.
Every luthier I know looks at cases with backpack straps as scroll repair guarantees. Bikes/trailers elicit eyerolls and head shaking.

 

[Paul Arkell]

There’s always plenty of people willing to discourage active bicycle use. I’ve towed MUCH more precious items than a bass (my children) behind my bike using an appropriate trailer, for tens of thousands of kilometres, and so do many people.

If I had to cart my bass, I would look at adapting a single wheel trailer like this one Bakcou eBikes Hunting Cargo Trailer - Really Good eBikes which is mounted to both sides of the dropouts. Because of the mounting, the trailer cant roll, and it more closely tracks the rear wheel path meaning it’s easier to negotiate tight spaces (cargo notwithstanding), rough roads, narrow streets etc. Dual wheel trailers are inevitably wider than the bike which means you need to take more care especially if your roads are narrow or heavily trafficked, they can roll around the hitch, particularly if the weight is elevated on the trailer.
I wouldn’t consider carrying the bass on my back using straps at all... ive cycled with hiking packs and it’s not easy on your back, or bum. I couldn’t imagine mounting / dismounting with a bass on my back.

 

[SAlcott]

This is not about "discouraging active bicycle use".

 

[james condino]

I've carried my bass on a skateboard across campus many times. With the endpin on the deck, it looks like you are windsurfing. 'Gotta own it with confidence.

I know of someone attaching a boat motor to an old ALCOA and putting it in the lake; 100s of Interlochen students have paddled them out. I've also seen one in the surf, but it looked painful when the scroll would catch.

A bicycle trailer seems fine, just not that one. There is a fellow over in one of the tool forums who carries his old 500 lb tablesaw around by bike...