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I'm doing a charity adventure race type thing in a few weeks - bike/hike/kayak/bike - as part of a team of 4. Two of us are pretty good on the bikes, the other two not so (and not overly fit).
There's a couple of sections on the route which are long, draggy uphill gravel tracks. I think I've seen adventure racers towing each other on telly - is there a special tow rope for this sort of thing? Or is it likely to end in a pile of blood and bones and better off letting them struggle up?
Suggestions?
I wonder if Kayaking tow lines would do the trick? Clearly more dangerous and higher speeds on a bike but the same idea applies.
http://www.canoeandkayakstore.co.uk/815/throwlines_and_towlines.aspx
ISTR it's bungee cord, not rope. And I dont know if im inventing it, but I thought they ran it through some pvc pipe. Stops rear ending shunts
I have used a (3metre )length of 4mm terylene cord in the past to tow people.
Quite a handy thing to carry on big group rides.
I did a pairs race many years ago where some teams did this using bungee cords. Seemed to work reasonably well. Note that you don't want an inelastic rope, something stretchy will provide enough assistance and not cause too much jerkiness. I wouldn't bother with running it through pipe, just don't ride too close and save it for steady uphill sections.
However iirc the organisers eventually got round to banning it (it was a multi-day event). I think they claimed safety reasons. So be sure it's not disallowed...
(We were on a tandem, which is a far better solution of course...)
I have used an inner tube with good effect in the past. (seatpost to stem) saves an hour or so of walking if your mates drive train eggs plodes (for example).
it is certainly the real deal in terms fitness training, especially at the end of a multi-fell lakes ride - its ruinous dragging that extra rider around!.
As a serial expedition racer I can recommend cheap retractable dog lead ziptied to a seatpost.
Towee gets handed the end which has a loop, they, and this is important, hold it with their thumb and loop it round the stem. Take up is reasonably gentle as theres enough stretch and if things go wrong they can let go, you may get lightly whipped on the bum but these things happen. I found that bungee systems had too much bounce for the tower, really uncomfortable.
Thats my 2c
EDIT: Oh and trim the dog lead down to make the towee sit about 1.5 bike lengths behind your wheel. Beware when you do this you DON'T LET THE LEAD GO as it will disappear into the reel and take you a while to take it all apart. Yes, i did that a few times.
Saw a couple doing this regularly at Polaris. The guy had a long flexible pole tied to his top tube through which was threaded cord to produce a loop dangling behind him clear of his wheel, at the woman's bar height. She would just ride up to it and grab it. I think she held it in her hand, countersteering enough to stop turning effects. This meant she could let go in an instant if needed, and also grab it easily. The guy didn't even have to know she was hitching up.
You could also have a knob of some kind attached to your stem if you wanted to minimise steering effect. Or better still a hook fixed to your steerer tube.
Cheers NZC that sounds just the job. Good plan to loop round teh stem and hold for instant release, I'd wondered how you could hold the end of a tow rope and get a central pull somehow 😀
[quote=Stoner ]ISTR it's bungee cord, not rope. And I dont know if im inventing it, but I thought they ran it through some pvc pipe. Stops rear ending shunts
Exactly that. Here's an old one of mine I had lying around - plastic tube attached under the saddle with zip ties, and end of the bungee clipped around the seatpost of tower. Pipe sized so that swinging cord stays clear of wheel. 5mm bungee sized so that the towee starts coming on tow with about a wheel length between them and tower. I always used plastic pump pegs from Halfords attached at the front of the top tube to clip the bungee to - no effect on steering that way, and whilst you are attached, if you ride close enough to the towing bike it falls off.
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I can't say I ever noticed an issue with getting bounced as NZCol suggests - this system worked really well (I'm fairly sure that I towed Emma Pooley using something like that at some point 😉 )