As more people abandon their cars in favor of two wheeled bliss the demand for augmented alternative-transport grows. The electronically assisted Brouhaha Bike Trailer augments your cycling by doing the grunt work for you. It generates the precise power required to propel whatever cargo you care to pile onto it. You can now ditch the car and still head to Home Depot…or the big game. Pull through the break for more…
Practically living out of his garage, Brian Bartel of Cheesehead-Country Wisconsin has been putting his engineering skills to use in the creation of Rollout Trailers‘, “Zero Towing Force (ZTF) Trailers” (i.e., self-propelled bike-cargo trailers).
Bartel explains how the system achieves its Zero Towing Force: “Rollout Trailers use a PID closed-loop control system to monitor the process variable (in this case towing force) and make constant corrections using an on-board electric motor for driving.” Rollout is only just out of prototype phase, so time will be required to see if production trailers can truly deliver. But it sure sounds good.
Where Bartel has gained he has also preserved — preserved the essence of cycling. The Brouhaha is not a cycling augmentation that attempts to approximate an automobile. As Bartel states, this is not about free rides. While the Brouhaha propels its cargo, it does not propel its cyclist. Genuine cyclists rejoice — there is still a reason to pedal!
One way to look at it: the Brouhaha is not attempting to convert non-cyclists into abandoning their cars. Rather, the Brouhaha is encouraging cyclists to continue riding even when the do-to list includes heavy grocery getting or kid hauling. Bartel even claims one can haul home a month’s worth of groceries for a family of four. Or you can haul 3/4 of your family of four. For one true believer in Bartel’s project, and for a certain contribution via the Kickstarter page, this one-of-a-kind, first-edition rocket kid carrier can be yours in addition to your own Brouhaha.
At a practical level, Rollout Trailers can be applauded for using framing that is compatible with Thule and Yakima car rack systems. Note the incorporation of a Thule kayak mount three photos above. One might also guess that multiple bikes could be mounted and hauled via a single bike outfitted with the Brouhaha. Oh wait…Rollout already did it. Now that’s brilliant! Check out Rollout’s crowdfunding campaign here.
