Supercharger2 - Trailer Towing Options

[peterh_nz]

I'm interested in the possibilities of towing a trailer with my Supercharger2 which has a Rohloff E14 hub. Use envisaged would be on sealed surfaces within the city.

The frame geometry specifications for the bike state "Trailer Compatibility: Two wheel/single attachment point - Ja" and "Trailer Compatibility: Single wheel/single attachment point - Ja". So one can conclude that the bike is designed to tow a trailer.

However, it seems to me that the E14 shift activator box attached to the left side of the rear axle may prevent a trailer hitch being attached. Is this the case?

Does anyone have any experience with trailers and the above, or similar, setup?

Thanks

Peter

 

[dblhelix]

Rohloff Is unlikely to warranty an E14 shifter unit that has collided with a tow bar. I saw a post on their Instagram account to this effect. Riese&Mueller sells an adapter kit to prevent the interference:

Riese & Muller Adapter for Trailer Hitch

Riese & Muller Adapter for Trailer Hitch

propelbikes.com

it worked fine on my bike. I picked the right size bolt to replace a sliding dropout bolt + allow for the hitch. I assume you can order this through your dealer or, less ideally, fashion a solution after a visit to the hardware store.

One annoyance: the new bolt requires a Torx45. I hate bringing that along on longer tours.

 

[peterh_nz]

Rohloff Is unlikely to warranty an E14 shifter unit that has collided with a tow bar. I saw a post on their Instagram account to this effect. Riese&Mueller sells an adapter kit to prevent the interference:

Riese & Muller Adapter for Trailer Hitch

Riese & Muller Adapter for Trailer Hitch

propelbikes.com

it worked fine on my bike. I picked the right size bolt to replace a sliding dropout bolt + allow for the hitch. I assume you can order this through your dealer or, less ideally, fashion a solution after a visit to the hardware store.

One annoyance: the new bolt requires a Torx45. I hate bringing that along on longer tours.

Thanks. That's useful information. Just to confirm, does your bike have the E14 or the manual shifter? Also, what type of trailer did you use?

Subsequent to my original post, and considering Burley trailers, I found on the Burley site that their latest standard "Steel Hitch" for their trailers (eg the Nomad and Flatbed models) is offset slightly to the rear and not to the left like the original "Standard Forged Hitch". This would make the problem worse compared to the original hitch and simply wouldn't fit because of the E14 shifter location.

So possibly a right side hitch? A simpler solution and there's plenty of room there. The hitch would need to be a mirror image of the left side hitch ..... or use dblhelix's RM solution.

Cheers

 

[DiggyGun]

You can get trailers that fit to the seat post.

 

[dblhelix]

Thanks. That's useful information. Just to confirm, does your bike have the E14 or the manual shifter? Also, what type of trailer did you use?

Subsequent to my original post, and considering Burley trailers, I found on the Burley site that their latest standard "Steel Hitch" for their trailers (eg the Nomad and Flatbed models) is offset slightly to the rear and not to the left like the original "Standard Forged Hitch". This would make the problem worse compared to the original hitch and simply wouldn't fit because of the E14 shifter location.

So possibly a right side hitch? A simpler solution and there's plenty of room there. The hitch would need to be a mirror image of the left side hitch ..... or use dblhelix's RM solution.

Cheers

I can confirm that the hitchpost that comes with the Nomad (purchased 6/21) will work with the R&M adapter w/o interfering with the E14 shifter (which is what I have). This was using a Nevo, which should be similar to your setup as they are both hardtails.

I see seatpost recommendations — I believe this is unsupported by R&M. The single-wheel trailers are not supported for Control Technology (suspension) or step models like the Nevo.

 

[peterh_nz]

Thanks for your replies.

DiggyGun
An interesting option. Currently I prefer the axle towing point. But I'm open to being convinced otherwise.

dblhelix
That's encouraging confirmation. Some further questions:

- In case there are different versions, what is the RM part number of the adapter you used?

- Which type of hitch (see attachments) came with your trailer?

- Does the rear left view of my SC2 shown in the photograph look similar to that of your Nevo?

The photograph of your bike and trailer piqued my interest. Is that a solar panel. If so, do you use it for charging the bike's battery?

Cheers

 

[dblhelix]

sure,

hitch type: Burley Steel Hitch (first picture, black)

R&M part nr: VBK0017

i have a friend with a 2021 SC2 who has attached the hitch adapter/hitch w/o issue and has taken a few trial runs with his trailer. I can take pictures of mine this weekend if you’d like.

Yes, that’s a 110W panel in the pic from this past summer. I have e-biked across the US twice: 2019 along the old Lincoln Hwy and this past summer along the planned Great American Rail Trail, more or less. I had the panel from beginning to end — it drew 80W-90W peak summer which was cut in half as fall approached. I charged spare, out-of-warranty PowerPacks in the trailer while riding or charged a smaller battery for my personal use.

 

[peterh_nz]

sure,

hitch type: Burley Steel Hitch (first picture, black)

R&M part nr: VBK0017

i have a friend with a 2021 SC2 who has attached the hitch adapter/hitch w/o issue and has taken a few trial runs with his trailer. I can take pictures of mine this weekend if you’d like.

Yes, that’s a 110W panel in the pic from this past summer. I have e-biked across the US twice: 2019 along the old Lincoln Hwy and this past summer along the planned Great American Rail Trail, more or less. I had the panel from beginning to end — it drew 80W-90W peak summer which was cut in half as fall approached. I charged spare, out-of-warranty PowerPacks in the trailer while riding or charged a smaller battery for my personal use.

Thank you. Your responses are appreciated and give me the information I need to make a decision.

Your friend's SC2 ... does it have a Rohloff E14? With the information you've given, a photo of your Nevo axle configuration would probably be less informative but an interesting comparison nevertheless (if convenient).

Have you documented your trans US trips anywhere?

 

[peterh_nz]

As an update of the above, I recently took delivery of the Burley Nomad trailer and received the RM hitch adapter.

With the hitch attached to the front slider bolt the whole mechanism Is well clear of the E14 changer. Installation of the adapter was straight forward.

I'm pleased with the setup and have already used it for the primary purpose I intended.

 

[sammcneill]

Nice one Peter! Get some trips in before winter hits Christchurch