New York City is often analogized as a “concrete jungle.” For me that might be very fitting, as I often find myself hunting makers, But unlike a machete-wielding jungle-clearing Amazonian, my approach usually involves asking questions such as “What does this do?” and “How’d you make that?” So earlier this week, I was out for a lunchtime stroll when I spotted this guy Tucker on his bike. I immediately saw that something was unique about his rig, so I shouted, “Hey! Pull over!” He did, and we had a chat about his bike (New Yorkers are accustomed to starting polite conversation by first yelling at each other).
You can see he’s modified a Twinner II 16″ baby stroller frame into a bike trolley, allowing him to transport heavy equipment (in this case, restaurant-grade shelving, and bike wheels) around town. In fact, when I saw him here he was just about to begin an eight mile journey to Red Hook from Long Island City, proof that he had confidence in his contraption and in fact makes these journeys around town quite often.
But what I really love is how he held the trolley to his bike frame (see below). He used a U-lock and some pieces of wood screwed together which are fixed to the baby stroller. The curve of the U-lock swivels around his bike’s seatpost, giving the cart enough flexibility to make wide turns while still providing the strength of an actual tow hitch. I’m certain there are better, more- sophisticated ways to do this, but this is clearly one of those “make it work with what you have” scenarios. The trolley fits well in the bike lane, and clearly provides Tucker with the solution he needs to maneuver through this jungle of a town.
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