Hey there, long time I've been here.

I recently hiked coast 2 coast in Scotland for about 200 miles with a friend. Now this silly chap has the idea that he would like to hike with some sort of cart that he can attach to himself. Only one wheel sorta like a pulka, only than on trail instead of snow. Anybody know such an odd item?

Eins

Check out the carts that you pull behind a bicycle, should work, hooking on belt, just have a quick release

I had seen such a cart advertised years ago in Backpacker magazine. I don't know what became of it. One problem in the US is that such a 'mechanized' conveyance would likely not be allowed on trails in designated Wilderness areas.

Hey, Eins! I hope you post a report on your coast-to-coast trip, and throw in comments about how your gear worked or didn't work.
As for the cart idea, it seems like it would be more bother than it's worth. I don't know the physiology involved, but maybe pulling something with a drag from your shoulders or waist at an angle would offset any value of not wearing weight on your back.

Check out the cart used by Karl during his amazing adventure here http://goliath.mail2web.com/

I saw them once - they are popular in Switzerland I think - as a matter of fact there is a swiss physician that is walking across the US right now and he has one. I saw him on the news when he passed through my area.
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804300316

Hey Kathleen,

I do want to share my c2c online somewhere, but my current live is insanely busy so I do not have time to work on it. I do however have a video on youtube here:

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=g-v-FeycH04

(more videos on my channel after this weekend btw, but non-hiking videos)

and the tracklog of the route i hiked you can find on these pages:

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=24092
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=http:%2F%2Fupload.ferguson.sohosted.com%2FTGO08.kml&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=8

Btw how do you know about my c2c? Were you there as well? Maybe on your 3rd or 4th crossing?

Coming back to the topic, thanx for the ideas so far. My friend however is looking for sth with only one wheel. I actually used to sell a 'Wheelie' made by a Dutch company called radical Design (.nl, if you wanna have a look), but this model also has two weels. My friend is basically looking for a BOB Yak, but for hiking instead of biking. I think it's silly to walk with a trailer that weighs like 10# or more, but hey if he wants to....

Eins

Eins - you're scaring me. In your opening post for this thread you said you just hiked it!
Thanks for the link to the pictures on the youtube video. I didn't realize there would be so much road walking. The skies looked overcast most of the time, too.

Hi Einstein.

The following few messages are from a thread on a different forum form 2006. I was playing with the idea of a one wheel cart that could fold up into a pack frame so you could carry it all as a pack if you had to. My weight was at 3 but I that weight to drop. The big factor was a light weight - cheap wheel. I found several light wheels but they cost a lot. The cart would have been mostly titanium and carbon fiber.

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Re: Single wheel trailer       #93013 - 01/19/06 05:13 PM

I have thought about something like this for trails where they let Mt Bikes. Some of the Colorado Trail (CT) is open to Mt Bikes. I have thought about using something like this for an unsupported/non-resupplied CT hike. If the wheel sled was made in a way that it could become a pack frame (see my Sled/Pack Thread here someplace) it could be used on a lot of trails. It would have to be light say in the 3 pound range complete.
Could be done.
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Re: Single wheel trailer       #93050 - 01/20/06 01:48 PM

That is an interesting idea but did you check the weight? It lists a weight of 4.2 Kg (9.26 pounds) plus the wheel weight of 1.1Kg (2.43 pounds). In my world of Super Ultra Light gear that (total of 11.69 pounds) is really heavy.

With a lighter pack/load weight the wheel/sled thing could be made out of very light but strong material and with a weight goal of 3 pounds or less.

Finding the right parts such as a smallish light weight wheel would be the key to the overall weight. Building the frame and the rest of the wheel/sled would be the easy part.

If I could find the right wheel I would make something like this to play with.

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Re: Single wheel trailer       #93067 - 01/20/06 06:30 PM

A local dealer could get that wheel and said it would cost about $240. He will contact Dahon on Monday and see how much that wheel weighs. When told what the idea was he said he would look for some other options. Dahon has a bike trailer called the "Carry Freedom Trailer" that has two smaller wheels that also might be worth a look at. http://www.dahon.com/b-carryfreedom.htm

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Re: Single wheel trailer
      #93225 - 01/23/06 04:06 PM

I just came back from a local bike shop. Three ways to get a light wheel/just a wheel.
1- Build from scratch with a 20" aluminum rim, hub W/Ti quick release, 32 spokes and a tire w/tube about 2.5 pounds and about $240.00.

2 - Buy a complete 20" "AreoSpoke Al / Carbon Fiber 5 spoke wheel, Hub w/Ti quick release, Tire w/tube about 2.5 pounds and about $284.00.

The tire w/tube would be the same for both wheels and $40 might be a little high and is an estimate. There are a lot of different tires to pick from. The AreoSpoke wheel would be less problems I think than one with spokes.

It the wheel was one of these or another one about like them 2.5 pounds for the wheel/tire etc might be a good weight for planning.

My 3 pound weigh (estimate for a weight goal) might need to move to under 4 pounds for the wheel/sled/pack/trailor thing.

3 - Aways a third option. Find a used 20" front wheel, tune it up and give it a new tire and tube if necessary and maybe spend $50. Save a few bucks but add a little weight and end up with a wheel that might weigh 3 or 4 pounds.

A Swiss company called Carrix makes a commercial version of this concept. :-)

http://carrix.ch.tripod.com/

Cheers,

-Mike

Edited by MikeMartin on 06/27/2008 09:04:26 MDT.

Thanks Michael. The Carrix was the one I was thinking of but could not remember the brand. Also I forgot about the review on it at BackpackGearTest.
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Packs/Pack%20Accessories/Carrix%20Trolley/Owner%20Review%20by%20Andrew%20Priest/

Franco

Some people in Spain used a similar item for the last 100km. They ended up pushing it more than pulling when on road-like surfaces. Others used a suitcase cart. I would think it is a PITA to use. One would tend to carry more gear, get stuck in the mud, etc. Personally, it seems more like a fad thing.

There was an article in National Geographic several years ago about an expedition that used them... here's a lead.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0304/feature6/

exerpt:
"In photographer Galen Rowell's final assignment, four mountaineers set out for the remote calving grounds of the endangered Tibetan antelope.

As we pull our heavy carts, we empathize with the pregnant females on their nearly 200-mile migration... "

You might be interested in the Morman Handcart Pioneers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_handcart_pioneers

Thanx everybody. Those are some good links. Especially that Carix looks good. Sure my friend will be interested in it.

Kathleen, sorry, too busy lately to remember or re-read my own post.

Eins

Hi,
Situated in Arctic Norway, I have made my own one wheel Walking Chart some 15 years ago. During the years I have tested and modified the item several times.

1. Balance is important. You should not use power on balancing the weight. My design has solved this.

2. Weight is also essential. I used an aluminium frame (welded) and a front wheel (offroad bike)

3. I modified my backback and attached the handles.

I might have plans to produce the item locally.

Edited by Berner on 07/31/2009 06:16:14 MDT.

nevermind my redundant post....

Edited by xnomanx on 07/31/2009 01:45:40 MDT.

nm

Edited by leadfoot on 07/31/2009 10:06:15 MDT.

.

Edited by annapurna on 05/02/2010 08:20:52 MDT.