Importing Extrawheel trailer - need Australian Feedback

[buffdownunder]

Hi everybody,

We recently supported a cycling adventure to Indonesia and came across the Extrawheel trailer (extrawheel.com). Had a look around and realized that everybody is put off by the high shipping costs from Europe. Talked to the manufacturer and found a way to solve this. Only drawback is that I have to bring a years worth of sales into the country so I would greatly appreciate some community support.

Rim sizes and quality: We would ship without wheels and source the wheels locally from Velocity in Brisbane. As the trailer uses a stock standard front wheel the question is if a standard aluminium rim is sufficient or if a more solid but heavier steel rim does the job in the Australian country. I just ride on sealed roads around the Sunshine Coast so no experience in the country.

Tyre size: I assume that the standard used here is 27-28" so I would order the mud guard for this size. If anybody knows a significant sized group that needs smaller mudguards I would appreciate a hint.

Panniers: I have the option to order Panniers from Extrawheel but I have not seen the quality yet. Does anybody have experience with them here in Australia? Does it make sense to get them in? I have panniers already and I assume that every other touring cyclist in Oz has them also. Therefore my conclusion is that there is no real need for them.

Any feedback about using the trailer in Australia is greatly appreciated as it helps me make up my mind if I take the risk or not.

In regards to pricing, distribution, ...: I plan to price the trailer as it is priced in Europe but I need to wait for Australian Customs before I can fix something. As soon as they are available I will create Google Ads on this forum with the link to the relevant site.

[Kalgrm]

Hi Edward,

This is very close to being a commercial post and as such, may be shifted out of the public view while the moderators discuss with the owner of this forum whether or not the thread stays or goes. (You could get around this possibility by placing those ads now and supporting the forum's upkeep costs ahead of time ...)

However, in the meantime, you won't find any group using 27" or 28" tyres - they went out with the arc. 700c and 26" tyres are the two most common tyre sizes now (700c = road tourers and 26" = MTB riders).

Cheers,
Graeme

[buffdownunder]

Hi Graeme,

I don't think that this is a commercial post because I am not offering anything for sale. I don't even know yet if I will bring it in. This is why I can't make Google ads for now. Nothing to sell - Nothing to advertise.

Your comment on the tyre sizes proofs that it was good for me to ask the public for feedback. I bought my last bike 8 years ago and never changed anything on it. My MTB is 26" so I totally missed the change to 700c.

In regards to supporting the forum with Google ads: As distributor for Buff® I have Google ads running for cycling on the Australian Content Network since 2006. I don't know how to check how many of these were clicked on this forum but I am happy to do so if this makes the owner happy.

[hartleymartin]

You can fit a smaller wheel in a larger frame, but not the other way around. 700C is about the same size as 27" and I think I might be one of the few people still riding around on 28" wheels in Australia.

[gclark8]

If he is buying wheels from Velocity then he must be a bike shop, therefore, commercial!

[buffdownunder]

Hi gclark8,

I am a distributor so definitely in the cycling industry and I believe that I should outline this in any public posting. I believe that there is a big difference between abusing a forum for zero cost advertising or for starting a healthy discussion about a particular product and its expectations.

I checked the 28" issue and realized why I missed the 700c train. I started biking in Europe whilst working in Germany. I bought my touring bike there and in Germany you refer to the 700c as 28". 26" for MTB and 28" for road and touring. I never bought a wheel for this bike in Oz because I started distributing Buff® and reduced my riding (too much on the road).

This explains why Extrawheel has a mudguard for the size 26" and one for the size 27-28".

[AUbicycles]

Hi, decided to answer directly in this forum for the benefit of all.
Thank you highlighting this Greame and for your feedback buffdownunder.

Our essential aim regarding commercial threads to to eliminate spam and unsolicited (and blatent sales) posts however this is not intended as a limitation for people in the industry to participate. Participation from a broad group fosters knowledge transfer. In this case, the post asks for feedback on viability of importing / developing this product. In addition, buffdownunder has also shared information in another non-related thread.

Hope that this is of interest for all - yes, if there are questions and concerns, let me or a mod know.

[hartleymartin]

The Extrawheel isn't exactly a complicated thing. I'd look at manufacturing one locally.

[buffdownunder]

Hi Martin,

The trouble with manufacturing is that it always sounds easier than it is (I am an engineer by trade that built power plants all over the world in my life before Buff®). In the case of the Extrawheel the linkage looks simple but you really need to know what you are doing or the product comes back (instead of the customer). I didn't find any negative comment about it on the web so I bought 5 trailers over their website and will give 2 to people that are soon leaving for a 2000 km trip in Australia. I hope to be able to analyse the wear on the trailer after that trip in order to determine how durable it is. This is also why I posted: I don't want to engage in anything that doesn't live up to it's promise and Australia is unique in its climate and roads. What works in Europe doesn't necessary do the job here. We have so much fine dust floating around in the country. Europe doesn't have that at all.

Also Australia has a structural problem with manufacturing compared to Europe and the US. It follows the exact same principle as I outlined in my postings on why everything retailed is so much more expensive than in the US or UK. Because of our small population something simple like steel costs so much more than somewhere else. Like Switzerland or Norway everything we manufacture needs to either be exceptional (and high priced) or unique (Australiana). That's why our economy mainly rests on resources or knowledge and everything else is small, local trade business.

[il padrone]

I hope to be able to analyse the wear on the trailer after that trip in order to determine how durable it is. This is also why I posted: I don't want to engage in anything that doesn't live up to it's promise and Australia is unique in its climate and roads. What works in Europe doesn't necessary do the job here. We have so much fine dust floating around in the country. Europe doesn't have that at all.

This guy cycled the length of the Canning Stock Route in outback WA (1600 kms of sand, dust, rocks and corrugations) with an Extrawheel and seemed to be quite happy with it's durability.

[hartleymartin]

26" x 4" tyres!

[il padrone]

Yup ! Surly Pugsley.

Quite a beast that lives up to its name. He had to get the Extrawheel specially made in that width.

[buffdownunder]

This guy cycled the length of the Canning Stock Route in outback WA (1600 kms of sand, dust, rocks and corrugations) with an Extrawheel and seemed to be quite happy with it's durability.

This is exactly what I was looking for Il Padrone. Thanks. I'll get in touch with him and see if he can tell me something about the wear. The pictures in the Gallery look amazing. Untouched territory. I wonder how the MSR water filter did the job.

[Lonebiker]

And this guy just completede 10 deserts in aus with the extraweel


http://adventuruss.com/

[buffdownunder]

Russ is in Alice at the moment and still on his way according to the tracker. He's basically a neighbor for us and should know quite a few people I know. Still amazes me how the internet brings people together.

[buffdownunder]

The Extrawheel isn't exactly a complicated thing. I'd look at manufacturing one locally.

Hi Martin,

I received the Extrawheel trailer for Phillips Brisbane to Sydney ride yesterday evening and had the first chance to assembly it and study it in great detail.

The trailer itself is a simple design. Nicely manufactured but still something every local welder can put together. The fork is what I doubt that anybody can "simply" copy. It looks pretty flimsy at first sight and what I wasn't aware of is that it takes its rigidity out of being loaded like a spring. It's tension that achieves stability without weight. It probably also acts as a "suspension". This type of design involves special materials and lots of fine tuning to achieve performance and longuevity. This is nothing you just build. It intrigues me as a mechanical engineer so much that I'll give them a call today to find out more.

I'll keep you updated.