Electric bike and trailer (for two dogs)

[cruiser]

We have two dogs (combined weight approx 55 Kg), one of which is incapacitated by a leg disorder. My question is, does anyone have any recommendions for and/or experience of particular electric bicycles and trailers which may be best suited for towing both dogs? I realise that there's a big trade-off here in terms of battery life, but I am prepared to put in some effort, at least! Our part of northern Germany is not too hilly.

Thanks in advance for any help!
cruiser

 

[JohnInStockie]

Heres some trailers especially for dogs, but you would need to get a bike separately too

Dog Trailers

I think Flecc is one of the best to advise on trailers and weight / effect on battery life given his vast experience of them.

Or maybe you could try using a Nano conversion on something like this??

Triobike

John

 

[flecc]

This is a very tall order, not just on the weight but on size as well to take two large dogs.

The best of the bicycle goods trailer companies is Roland, coincidentally a German company where you are, and only their Jumbo model might cope. I don't have the German site, but here's the UK one.

Obviously you need a powerful e-bike for that weight and drag, but most of those have their motors geared for speed rather than power. One of the best motors for this application is the German Heinzmann which are available as complete Estelle bicycles. Again the site I have is the UK one. Heinzmann make a high torque motor which is best for towing, and you may be able to specify that motor option.

Another approach if that trailer isn't big enough is to home contruct bodywork on a commercial trailer base, something I had to do to make a big enough trailer for my purposes, all of which you see here, together with some details of the construction.

Other bikes which are suitable are those with the Panasonic motor system since that one's motor drives through the gears, enabling good hill climbing and towing. The Lafree illustrated on my trailers page uses that system. However, this system demands you put in 50% of the effort in normal mode or 43% in high power mode. Kalhoff e-bikes made in Germany by Derby Cycles gmbh are a good example of those, and the best for towing will be the Tasman or Agattu C models. Not the Agattu F model though, which uses an unsuitable system for your purpose.
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[cruiser]

John, thanks very much for your helpful reply!

fleccc.... what can I say? Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my query so comprehensibly!

Yes, as you say, it's going to be a tall order towing two dogs efficiently with a Pedelec. However I should mention that Cara (the healthy dog) will, mostly, be trotting alongside my wife (who will be riding her conventional bike). We have an excellent network of cycle paths here along the Flensburger Förde in Germany and our intention is that only Emma (the one with the injury) will need to be permanently in the trailer.

The Heinzmann powered bikes look great - the Estelle Elegance is particularly appealing with its full front and rear suspension. But, it's so expensive!; too expensive for me, unfortunately.

A Kalkoff, on the other hand, is a possibility although also quite expensive. I test rode an Agattu some months ago in Flensburg and was very impressed after my short ride, although I'm not sure if the bike I rode was a 'C' or an 'F' model. I don't know what the difference is in these two systems but I'm glad you bring to my attention that the 'C' would be best suited to our towing needs. Incidentally, the bike shown in the link you provided to the Kalkoff site is a Pro Connect 'S'. Is this similar to the Tasman model you mention?

I should also mention that, as someone who is fast approaching 60, comfort is very important to me!

Thanks again flecc!

cruiser (Mike)

 

[essexman]

John, thanks very much for your helpful reply!

fleccc.... what can I say? Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my query so comprehensibly!

Yes, as you say, it's going to be a tall order towing two dogs efficiently with a Pedelec. However I should mention that Cara (the healthy dog) will, mostly, be trotting alongside my wife (who will be riding her conventional bike). We have an excellent network of cycle paths here along the Flensburger Förde in Germany and our intention is that only Emma (the one with the injury) will need to be permanently in the trailer.

The Heinzmann powered bikes look great - the Estelle Elegance is particularly appealing with its full front and rear suspension. But, it's so expensive!; too expensive for me, unfortunately.

A Kalkoff, on the other hand, is a possibility although also quite expensive. I test rode an Agattu some months ago in Flensburg and was very impressed after my short ride, although I'm not sure if the bike I rode was a 'C' or an 'F' model. I don't know what the difference is in these two systems but I'm glad you bring to my attention that the 'C' would be best suited to our towing needs. Incidentally, the bike shown in the link you provided to the Kalkoff site is a Pro Connect 'S'. Is this similar to the Tasman model you mention?

I should also mention that, as someone who is fast approaching 60, comfort is very important to me!

Thanks again flecc!

cruiser (Mike)

Hi,

The Tasman model is the real comfort bike. The agattu C is their classic agattu which is also a very comfortable bike. The proconnect is a lightweight commuter and is definetly not a comfort bike. I think the agattu F is the same as the C but it has a throttle option, which can aide acceleration and help with moving the bike when you are not on it.

A bit of feedback re using trailers. I use a trailer occasionally for shopping. On the bike its fine, the hard part is when you get off the bike and your trying to maneauver it into a parking space or round an obstacle. Add a heavy dog to this and your problems are multiplied. Your looking at loads of ~90+kg. I'd reccommend that whatever bike you get , make sure it has a throttle that can be used to assist in pushing the bike. I think the agattu F would work well here. Flecc will confirm.

 

[flecc]

It's as essexman says, except that the Agattu F does not use the Panasonic drive through the gears system but a Panasonic front hub motor instead. Since this is medium powered and not able to gain gear advantage, it's not suitable for your heavy load.

To keep the budget down the Agattu C would be preferable to the Tasman which is a deluxe version of it with hydraulic brakes etc, the comfort the same. At 73 I can appreciate the need for comfort!

On that Kalkhoff webpage, if you click on each model at the left you'll see it instead of the Pro Connect S, the latter being a very high speed and expensive bike that is in a different class needing insurance etc, also not suitable for your needs. Passing the mouse pointer over each model's photo shows an enlarged detail of the area.

If you are considering partly constructing a trailer to cut the costs, it's sometimes possible to buy suitable child trailers from bicycle discounters. These mostly have a wide track alloy chassis on which it's easy to mount a suitable box after removing the child cabin. German supermarket Lidl have at times offered one of these child trailers at the very low price of £69 in the UK, so that's worth you investigating. Obviously you'll need to make sure the chassis of any of these is robust enough for the load, a steel one generally being better.
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[cruiser]

essexman and flecc... thank you both very much for the invaluable info.

Just one more question before I make my decision regarding the bike - how do you think a Wisper 905 would fare in the towing stakes?

 

[flecc]

essexman and flecc... thank you both very much for the invaluable info.

Just one more question before I make my decision regarding the bike - how do you think a Wisper 905 would fare in the towing stakes?

The 905 is a fine bike and the motor power is on the high side. However, the motor is internally geared slightly towards speed, derestricted being about 18 mph. That therefore takes a bit of pulling power off the bottom end/lower speed. Owners generally say it's a moderately good hill climber but not special in that department, and for pulling a load you need a good climber. On gentle slopes it could be less work for you than the Panasonic system Agattu C, and definitely less work on the flat. When a slope got a bit steeper with a very heavy towing load the Agattu would be much better through the ability to change the drive down to a suitable low gear for the motor as well as yourself.

I was bearing in mind availability in Germany as well when recommending what I did.

I don't know if you have any pedalling speed (cadence) preference, but it's worth noting that the Panasonic system only gives full power up to 40 pedal rpm. From then on it slopes off gradually up to the 65 rpm cutoff. I'd recommend you try one of these Panasonic powered bike before buying if you like high pedal spin speeds. That said, it's best to try any e-bike before buying.
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