sfshaider Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 So I've been pursing a project and have had little to no luck. Basic idea is to build a trailer hitch for the ninebot S/miniPro to attach a bike trailer for my kid. The trailer itself is a Thule Cadence but I figure making something fairly universal may not be too difficult. The closest I have gotten is finding fenders for the scooter on Amazon (linked below) that somehow will connect to the trailer. Fenders: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MB5G6G5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Trailer: https://www.thule.com/en-us/bike-trailers/multisport-trailers/thule-cadence-_-1684635 I would be happy to pay someone to do this but can't even find someone willing to take on the project. Located in the north east. Inspiration for project Any help/guidance would be appreciated! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof_explorer Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) Hey this is an awesome project! I'd be happy to help if I can. I actually, I recently rigged a wagon to my Ninebot S via a custom frame (which itself fills a number of roles and has been a project of mine for a couple months). Here is a link to an instagram post with a short clip of me riding with it - I was able to ride it both on the segway itself, with cargo, or sit in the wagon and go by pushing/pulling on the knee bar (with cargo, actually tried riding successfully with my dad in the wagon with me!). This was just the first working iteration of the idea, so nothing fancy, but I did think about how fun/odd it might be to tow people around town with Regarding that frame/fenders on amazon, there's also the scout frame at more4motion.com which could probably be modified to fit your idea rather well. My quest to make an offroad/utility frame was actually inspired by that frame; I could see a design as simple as drilling a few holes in it and fitting the right hardware working as a decent hitch. One thing I'd want to consider on the trailer side is brakes though! Don't put much faith in the electric brakes of these little Segways, they're hardly enough to stop someone going downhill, let alone with a loaded wagon in tow. I encountered this issue with the wagon; I theorized of some sort of brake-line or something I could hold and use to trigger a mechanical brake on the wagon, though I never actually tried to build it. But you'll almost certainly need to add some kind of brakes unless you live in a totally flat area, and it doesn't look like the trailer has anything like that built in. On the other hand, I tend to over-design things, so maybe with a careful enough riding style and good hitch design, you'd be fine, its just a safety consideration that occurred to me. Anyway, it would be cool to work on something like this with you, if you're into it. I'm always into designing/engineering things, also I live on long island if that helps! (I'd rather be upstate or anywhere else, haha) Good luck! Edited July 15, 2020 by kristof_explorer insert link 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfshaider Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 Hey, Thank you for sharing. Honestly, didnt think I would get a reply this quick. Love the ingenuity with the custom rig. I'm hoping to find a custom metal works shop that could do this for me. A few considerations that I would love to get thoughts/feedback on: 1. I looked at the m4m fender. At $179, it was quite pricy for tinkering around. I found the amazon ones fairly robust for the purpose they were serving. I figured I could build off those as they are also easily removable. 2. I was looking to maintain as much stock as possible. Replacing with m4m fenders would mean I would not be able to use the go-kart kit.. 3. Good point on the brakes. For my purposes, it would be fairly flat low speed cruising so not worried abt it too much. 4. If you know a welder/metal works around you, I'd be happy to send one of the amazon fenders to you to making a custom hitch. I think this could potentially be a solution to more than one problem since a trailer could be used with child carriers, cargo trailers etc. Would be fun. Again thank you! HS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeRide Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 4 hours ago, kristof_explorer said: Hey this is an awesome project! I'd be happy to help if I can. I actually, I recently rigged a wagon to my Ninebot S via a custom frame (which itself fills a number of roles and has been a project of mine for a couple months). Here is a link to an instagram post with a short clip of me riding with it - ..... I don't see a link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfshaider Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 https://www.instagram.com/kristof_explorer/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof_explorer Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 3 hours ago, FreeRide said: I don't see a link? haha you are right I just noticed, I'll edit above but here is the exact link: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof_explorer Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 8 hours ago, sfshaider said: Hey, Thank you for sharing. Honestly, didnt think I would get a reply this quick. Love the ingenuity with the custom rig. I'm hoping to find a custom metal works shop that could do this for me. A few considerations that I would love to get thoughts/feedback on: 1. I looked at the m4m fender. At $179, it was quite pricy for tinkering around. I found the amazon ones fairly robust for the purpose they were serving. I figured I could build off those as they are also easily removable. 2. I was looking to maintain as much stock as possible. Replacing with m4m fenders would mean I would not be able to use the go-kart kit.. 3. Good point on the brakes. For my purposes, it would be fairly flat low speed cruising so not worried abt it too much. 4. If you know a welder/metal works around you, I'd be happy to send one of the amazon fenders to you to making a custom hitch. I think this could potentially be a solution to more than one problem since a trailer could be used with child carriers, cargo trailers etc. Would be fun. Again thank you! HS Yeah, I just happened to be looking around here and saw a new post, and it seemed so coincidental so I didn't hesitate to respond. Actually, I do not know how to weld but am scheduled to learn in the fall! I'm supposed to be in a class now but the virus... Well, if you still need someone with these skills and if the class still runs, I'd be able to help you sooner or later, at least. I like the idea of a general-purpose hitch attachment and it's really easy to add things to the Ninebot S thanks to the random/unused threaded holes underneath, which is what the fenders you're looking at (and all my attachments) attach to. I understand where you're coming from on wanting to change as little as possible, especially to keep go-karting as an option (although I seem to change as much as possible =P) and I think a relatively simple solution, like a mod to the products you see on amazon, could work well without changing anything. They are very cheap for experimentation, I'm tempted to get one for that purpose or even see if I can make myself something similar to tinker with. I'm not particularly experienced with machining metal yet, but I tend to figure things out when the time comes. I'll certainly keep you posted with anything I come up with! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof_explorer Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Hey, I was working on a part for my frame today, which involves bending 1/2" steel tubing, and I realized the shape might fit your needs as well. I am including some photos (just the one metal part held up) of the design concept; basically, this piece of tubing would attach to the 4 empty holes underneath via brackets on either side (not pictured), with a mounting point in the middle of it for the hitch provided with the trailer. There would be no need to adjust or touch the fenders or anything else. If the idea is mostly smooth and easy riding, I think it would be strong enough as is, but it could also be reinforced if desired. Hopefully this message finds you, let me know if you'd like to make or have this design made for you, or just your thoughts! Thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfshaider Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 hey kristof, thank you for this. how would you account for the sway? by that I mean when accelerating the ninebot tilts forward and when stopping it titls backwards. would that not move any cargo as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof_explorer Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 13 hours ago, sfshaider said: hey kristof, thank you for this. how would you account for the sway? by that I mean when accelerating the ninebot tilts forward and when stopping it titls backwards. would that not move any cargo as well? Hmm, I'm not sure what you mean. The actual amount the scooter tilts forward/backward is very small when a rider is on (of course in 'powered-assist mode' it is much more dramatic). But even if it were significant, I'm not sure how this would affect anything you're towing. Maybe I'm missing something, if you could help clarify. A consideration I hadn't thought of, though, would be the effect of the trailer weight on the minipro when no rider is on, which would lean it back and cause the scooter to reverse, although I think you could just always have it powered off until you're ready to ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Travers Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Did you have any luck with this? I would love to attach a trailer to my Sherman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfshaider Posted May 26, 2021 Author Share Posted May 26, 2021 No luck with this. Pretty hard finding a fabricator. If we could figure out a design I think I could convince someone.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof_explorer Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 My friend and I are fabricators/welders and very interested in building mods like this. We'd love to discuss any serious work you'd like to have done, from design to production (we're gonna build one for ourselves sooner or later anyway;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfshaider Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 After almost a year of searching, the project has finally closed. I present the final product. If any one is interested in one hmu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
segwayKart Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 I'd love to buy an adapter if your still making them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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