The Star has a cool article about a new bike trailer that can hold two cases of beer, but can also collapse and fold up to fit on a bikes rear rack when not in use:
- "Anyone who has tried to carry a case of beer on their shoulder while biking knows," says Lindsey Kettel, a recent graduate from McMaster University's mechanical engineering and management program.
Her solution? The Crosstown – a collapsible bike trailer she invented with fellow student Cory Minkhorst that fits two cases of beer snugly.
"It's for objects like that – things that are really large or really heavy, that don't fit in a set of panniers or on a rear rack," says Kettel, a 23-year-old Toronto resident.
Like most bike trailers, the two-wheeled Crosstown trailer hooks onto the axle of the bike's back wheel with an aluminum arm.
But, unlike other trailers, it can fold up and tuck on top of a back bicycle rack when it's empty, meaning two things for most commuting cyclists – one, you can still squeeze between that minivan and the parked cabs on Queen St. and, two, it won't flip on you.
"It's brilliant. I want one," said dedicated cyclist Anthony Humphreys, after watching the three-minute video Kettel and Minkhorst posted on YouTube. Humphreys has two bike trailers in which he lugs most of the family groceries. They're bulky, making them a pain to store, he says. When they are empty, they bounce around behind his bike, making them not only cumbersome but dangerous.
