Building a custom yorkie bike carrier..ideas?
 

I'm planning on building a custom bike carrier for "Gir" and would love to hear any input/ideas that others have.

I've seen some of the commercial carriers that are available, but they seem to mostly be the handlebar-located type that are not compatible with road bike (i.e. curved) front handlebars. I'd like to get one that attaches to my rear rack (pic 1), but the ones I've seen are often both unsafe looking and expensive.

So far I'm getting a wire basket that attaches to my rear rack with a quick release mechanism (pic 2). It's more secure than the velcro straps normally used back there, so it doesn't shift around. Plus, the quick detachment would make it a great portable bed.

I'm going to secure him using a harness designed for car travel that distributes force from a forward impact (pic 3). It attaches in the back, but I'll also add another attachment point in the front to further restrict movement.

Some things that come to mind that I've still gotta figure out:
1. Padding. What should I use to pad the basket and how should I attach it? Could I make pockets for carrying his stuff pretty easily? It would probably need to be waterproof and would be great if it was cleanable/detachable.

2. Safety. I'm thinking that if he is pretty securely restrained in the center of a padded basket, he should be pretty safe in the case of the bike ending up horizontal on either side (most likely scenario in a slower speed wreck). Roll bars or something else worth adding?

p.s. ive also got him some doggles on the way :lol2:

sounds ambitious! Bumping this up for you :)

I went ahead with the above plan. Ended up using a carabiner and a couple of nylon bands with clip attachments at the end to make a secure point near the center of the basket.

I also used another carabiner to hold a mesh bag inside the carrier as a storage area to carry his things.

Today was the first day I've gone on a longer ride with him and he appeared to love it. A little nervous at first but after a few treats and some time spent biking along he was sticking his face out in the wind like any dog enjoying a ride would.

I started the project when he was ~2lbs as a puppy. Now he is (I think) fully grown at around 9lbs. He still fits quite comfortably (after readjusting the centering straps) and is now big enough to fit the harness I bought him.

I used a pleather cushion (the type that would sit on a bar stool) to pad the inside of the basket. It is secured in place by a nylon cord that I used to stitch the cushion in place through the bottom of the basket.

I'm quite pleased with how it ended up, because it is
1. water proof
2. can fit a yorkie from 2 to ~12 lbs (estimate - maybe higher)
3. has no commercial alternative - the only ones on the market either put the dog in the front basket (dangerous) or pull the dog in a trailer (usually enclosed-no open air; also affects bike handling).

It's very easy to make if anyone wants further details / pics on how to do this.

That is awesome. I've been thinking of doing the same thing. I luv walking with Maximus but I'd luv to take him bike riding too! :)

i wonder if you have have the basket in the front instead
just because if its in the back, you never know... you want to keep an eye on your baby

http://radzi.info/wp-content/gallery...Audrey_022.jpg

i love this pic!
i should get this printed professionally have have it framed so i can have an audrey hepburn gallery lol

He is secured with a short enough connection on his harness that he can't move more than a few inches (i.e., enough to scoot around and be comfortable). So I can check periodically by turning around to look at him, but even if I can't see him I know he is not going anywhere.

My main concern with the front basket setup is what would happen in the event the front wheel gets locked up. Even at a slow speed the basket would be the first part of the bike to make contact with the ground and would take the brunt of the impact. About the only way he could be injured in the rear, I'd imagine, is if there was enough force to flip the entire bike. If that happened, his position would be the least of our worries.

That's so awesome. Good for you for being ambitious enough to make that. Good job!:thumbup:

Look at how happy he is sitting in his basket!! You will have a lot of fun biking together!! :D