Crust Clydesdale Forks and Rivs

[maxcr]

Hi Bunch,

I'm having some crazy thoughts ... thinking of outfitting my Sam or my Atlantis with a Clydesale Fork to carry my 45 pound dog.

Two question to the group: 1) Will the Clydesdale fork work with either the Sam or the Atlantis? 2) Am I crazy to try to carry a 45 pound dog on a bike?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Max

[Jason Fuller]

I've always thought the Clydesdale fork would be awesome on a Clem L actually.  The 1" version is still threadless but it comes with a headset iirc so you'd just need a new stem, and it'll work on either for sure - it's a heavy tank of a fork, so I would suggest between the two it goes on the Atlantis. I had one for a few months, I carried 45 lbs in it and the steering was very heavy but it's certainly doable.  A trailer would probably be the more typical option for a dog that size, but then again, I find trailers tend to feel harder to pedal pound-for-pound, I think because of the small accelerations with each pedal stroke being actively pulled against by the trailer's independent inertia. 

So all that said, I'd say go for it!  A big rubbermaid type bin would probably be great, or heck, even going with a literal dog crate. If it doesn't work out you can easily recoup your cost on the fork because it'll sell in a heartbeat. 

[J Imler]

Hi Max, I have a Clydesdale fork and a 10lb dog. It's perfect. 45lbs would necessitate an electric assist in my opinion if you want to go for distance. Otherwise, around the block a couple of times is likely. 

[lucky...@gmail.com]

I *really* want a Clydesdale fork. I had a bike in mind to put it on, but now that they’re right in front of me, I can’t decide which to buy. I can only afford one. My current bike has a 1” steerer (Klunker bike). But it’s an expensive enough purchase that maybe it makes more sense to get the 1 1/8” for more applications, and get a different bike…

I wouldn’t put it on my Atlantis personally because I think it would be too heavy. 

On Apr 16, 2022, at 21:58, J Imler <imle...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Max, I have a Clydesdale fork and a 10lb dog. It's perfect. 45lbs would necessitate an electric assist in my opinion if you want to go for distance. Otherwise, around the block a couple of times is likely. 

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[Joe Mullins]

Here’s how I carry my 65 lb dog. Burley dog trailer! 

Joe

On Apr 17, 2022, at 7:27 AM, lucky...@gmail.com wrote:



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[Ray Varella]

Burley makes a dog trailer!

That’s great. 

What is the weight limit?

Ray

[Joe Mullins]

Looking at the construction I’d say it should safely hold well over 65 lbs although my pup is about reaching the max size that can comfortably fit in there. I’d say it’s designed for medium sized dogs and a full size Labrador is about as big as you’d want to ride in there. 

Joe

On Apr 17, 2022, at 9:53 AM, Ray Varella <rayvar...@gmail.com> wrote:

Burley makes a dog trailer!

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[Drw]

I have a Riv Rosco Mtn Mixte with a clydesdale fork. The combo is really awesome and I highly recommend the fork. That said, steering is very diminished above 40ish lbs. This might be less of an issue on the 1 1/8 versions, but it's pretty hard to maneuver with that kind of weight up front. 

 

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Hi Max, 

I have been having similar thoughts lately, and I spend my time imagining the things I could carry with a Clydesdale fork (or trying to imagine something I couldn't carry) (Also, if I need to think of things to carry, do I really need the fork? It almost feels like trying to justify owning a pickup truck to work at the mall.)

As my dog gets older, I would really enjoy the ability to take him along on some new adventures. He weighs about 40 pounds, which sounds reasonable, but I would be nervous about his weight shifting if he gets wormy. I guess getting the fork onto a bike and getting my dog onto the fork are two different issues with very different solutions. 

Here is a visual proof from an Instagram post (@short.man.syndrome, currently), with a medium-large Aussie in a Clydesdale-supported bucket. Doggy seems happy, so I think it could certainly work.

Good luck!

Lukas

[lconley]

Still working on it, maximizing tire sizes with fenders and frame mounted lock are not playing well together. I did get blue brake and shift housing to match decal lettering. Have the massive Wald paperboy basket. The front cantilever will be controlled by a ratcheting shifter for use as a parking brake:

Laing

[maxcr]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts, figuring out a way to bike with my dog is something I’ve been thinking about for some time but there is no easy answer for a bigger dog! 

Jason, I agree that the Atlantis is a better candidate not just because of the weight but because of the brakes: canti vs side pull. My fear is that the steering would be too heavy with the 45 pounds up front.

J, Ray, I already tried the burley trailer, but the heat wasn’t great for my fluffy pup and to be honest, he kept trying to jump off. He did it once and that was the end of that experiment for me.

Joe, that’s awesome! I wish my dog would like the trailer, it wasn’t a weight issue, but more a safety one. Perhaps I can try again now that he’s getting to adulthood and calming down.

Drew, that Rosco Bubbe is dreamy, love your setup.

As for the electric assist, I had a Copenhagen wheel on the Atlantis paired with a basket rack and a huge Wald basket for a bit but didn’t like the extra weight in the back when the battery ran out (or carrying that bike down the stairs wasn’t fun) or the way the steering felt with the basket fully loaded (not with the dog). 

Thanks for sharing the dog photo Lukas, that’s exactly what I was imagining, but agree that getting the dog onto the basket is a different question. My dog is similar sized (see below)

Laing, that setup is just perfect!

There seems to be consensus that even with the Clydesdale fork, steering will suffer when loading the front of the bike - that's a non starter for me. Perhaps the answer is to get one of those Dutch bike with a front wagon built in and some electric assist. I think just like Lukas, I’m trying to justify why a Clydesdale fork would make sense in my life, when what I need is something different.

Best

Max

Early basket practice:

Failed trailer experiment:

Rollo a few months ago, he may be a bit bigger today:

[Hopalong Cassidy]

That is one fluffy puppy and I love it!

I realized I had some photo evidence of wieldy loads I have carried this year, including a 1940's sewing machine and a wine cabinet. I obtained a

stout porter rack in a trade last winter, and I have been putting it through its paces. I have seen the behavior of a bike with a large, high, front load,

and in this way, the lower platform of the Clydesdale seems beneficial, especially if the load in question is a dog. However, I also wonder how the 

Clydesdale fork feels when it is unloaded, although I can't imagine that it would be much different from the original fork, if most of the original 

dimensions are retained. I guess I will find out soon enough if my curiosity will outweigh my good reason.

An image of Rollo on a tagalong bike just popped into my head, and that would be quite a sight to behold. Maybe one day!

Cheers, 

Lukas

[Mackenzy Albright]

I personally found that the Clydesdale fork was not substantially better than a robust rack on a low trail fork. I had purchased it with the intention of groceries, wood shop materials, and eventually a puppy. My experience is that much over 40lbs it feels no less better than a on my demi-porteur on my romanceur. I hauled all sorts of silly things on it, but in general felt like it wasn't an improvement enough to justify an entire bike build around. I will eventually get a trailer. 

In terms of the puppy - (i am sad i dont have pics) but I tried training my puppy to ride in the basket. It was OK, but she's a real rubber necker when it comes to squirrels and birds. Her movements would cause quite a bit of wobble. I stopped trying at about 40lbs (shes 80 lbs now...)  out of fear for both of our safety. haha 

On the other hand I borrowed my bike to a friend with a dog for a summer she rode it everywhere. lupin is about 40-45lbs and super chill and would just lay down in the large basket and quite liked being more close to Joanna than riding in a trailer. It worked really well for her. It was single speed, fixed gear with a front V brake. No touring - but she'd do 40-50km day trips with no issues. 

[Drw]

I agree about it not being able to carry all that much more weight than a solid front rack. I think the real benefit of it is the size capacity. Because it's lower, you can put a much bigger basket or crate on it, and really stack items. We take a full beach setup on mine over the summer. boogie board, umbrella, towels, sand toys, a little cooler. It looks ridiculous, but it's super functional as long as the weight isnt that heavy. As far as the ride unloaded, i find it is pretty unnoticeable. 

[Bill Lindsay]

Just in case any cargo fork responders are COMPLETELY committed to cargo fork life, I would be interested in buying a 1" steertube cantilever brake fork for a 650B x fat front wheel.  A Rosco Bubbe Mixte fork or a Clem fork would work, among others.  Let me know if you want to finance that Cargo Fork

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Joe Bernard]

Ok wait wait wait, let's back up here. Your friend borrowed your bike for the summer and carried a 40-45 lbs. dog 40-50km at a time and it was a fixie?? That's badass. 

On Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 11:24:40 AM UTC-7 Mackenzy Albright wrote:

[Mackenzy Albright]

Yeah! Joanna is a real shredder. She put's in a lot of KM's loaded touring - sometimes pulling a trailer with her dog. Edmonton is a fairly flat city so only occasional short climbs not to mention the gearing was fairly low for comfortable spinning since the bike was meant to haul a good amount. 

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Here's a little update on our own Clydesdale fork experiment. We made a new friend who agreed to let us go for a test ride on their Clydesdale-d MB-5. My little doggy, Buddy,  sat well, but he got antsy when it was time to ride. The weight (40 lbs) felt like it would be manageable, but I might have to postpone the experiment knowing that he's uncomfortable. Maybe we could work up to a ride in a basket, but the first trial had limited succes.