There aren’t many genuine innovations in cycling. Look hard enough and you usually find that a similar machine wowed the audience at the 1897 Cycling Expo, or was widely patented in Uruguay in 1953.The principle behind the Bike-Hod may or may not have popped up before, but it remains more or less in a class of it’s own today. Most bicycle trailers, whether of one- or two-wheel construction, might be termed horizontal load carriers, whereas the Hod has a vertical bag, like a shopping trolley for bikes.

The history of the Bike-Hod is a little convoluted, but worth a brief resume.The design first saw light of day back in 1980 as a collaborative venture between industrial designer Derek Hendon and interior designer Stuart Morris. According to Stuart, Hendon went on to, ‘make lots of dosh, while I’m still selling Bike-Hods.’ That’s true enough, but Stuart also runs the innovative cycling emporium Two plus Two from premises in Lewes in East Sussex (the company is now divorced from Zwei plus Zwei of Switzerland, but that’s another story).

The cheap and practical Bike-Hod did well in the 1980s, thanks in part to Stuart’s knack for publicity, which included a mail-delivering ‘train’ of Hods.That one made the BBC national news.You’d think all would be well, but things began to go wrong in the 1990s, first when the business was sold to the frame builder Michael Tonkin, a good engineer (he still makes Hod frames today), but a less skillful publicist.Within a few years, the Bike-Hod had almost faded away, and Stuart took the business back

…a strange mixture of gawky practicality and elegant design…

Hard Knock number two came when Stuart teamed up with Zwei plus Zwei and manufacture was licensed to a German shopping trolley manufacturer called Andersons.This seemed a smart move at the time, but resulted in the elimination of the Hod’s elegant towing shaft, which meant adding a brace, which prevented the trailer folding. Big problem.

Meanwhile Stuart continued to produce his own superior version for the home market, and now makes ‘em all once again.Today, there are a number of options, ranging from a solid tyred basic version at £199, to a Deluxe job with spoked wheels and pneumatic tyres for £225 or £235, according to the bag spec.There’s also a timeless wicker basket-equipped Hod for the county set, but patience! We’ll come to that. Our test trailer is a Deluxe model with cheaper Carradura bag at £225.

What is it?

The Bike-Hod is a strange mixture of gawky practicality and elegant design.The frame is deceptively simple, but thought through with great care, so as to put the load in a stable position between the wheels, yet occupy as small a space as possible. At the bicycle end, the hitch consists of a small exhaust clamp (owners of early Minis may recognise this), welded to a short tube.The flexible part is a piece of automotive heater hose, fixed firmly to the trailer shaft, but able to pop on and off the exhaust bracket thing, secured by a quick-release pin.Three clamps are available: 28mm to fit most conventional seat posts, 32mm for the Brompton, and 36mm to clamp around frame tubes – particularly useful for the Moulton APB and other bikes with easily gouged alloy seat posts. Crude, or a masterstroke of design? There’s something very English about finding a solution amongstsuch humblecomponents.

The Japanese would spend long hours hammering away at their Computer Aided Design packages, then build something much too complex, the Americans would prefer a delightfully tactile but rather expensive light alloy casting, and the Chinese would produce an overweight monstrosity.The Englishman, on the other hand, makes a trip to the motor factors and it’s all sorted.

The trick is to load the heavy items at the bottom… and the light ones at the top…

Two minor disadvantages: you will curse the Hod hitch if you’re fussy about scratches and dents on your seat pillar (the clamp is easily over-tightened), and small or arthritic hands may find the hose difficult to connect. A little petroleum jelly helps with a new example, and the device ‘runs-in’ fairly quickly, but you’ll be cursing for a couple of weeks.

Apart from the hitch, there are few moving parts to worry about.The small 121/2″ tyres fitted to the Deluxe models are a bit tricky to inflate with the more cumbersome sort of pump, but they roll reasonably well – better than the ‘solid’ Greentyres fitted to cheaper versions anyway. In either case, maintenance should be minimal.

The Carradice bag is made from black waxed cotton, with orange or green Carradura fabric as slightly cheaper options. All of these materials can be considered rainproof (but not necessarily stormproof). As well as the main 60 litre bag, there are two large sidepockets, one above each wheel.

Best of all are the two delightful wicker basket options which Stuart claims, ‘…are made to order by journeymen basketmakers sitting cross-legged by a salt-water lagoon in Sussex.’ Somehow we’re not surprised that the baskets are produced by a group of elves in the Home Counties, but that’s Bike-Hod mythology for you. Unfortunately, they don’t work for a ham & cheese ploughman’s these days, so expect to part with £90 or £100 extra for the wicker option. For an upmarket delivery business or style-conscious picnicker, the wicker basket will no doubt be worth every penny.

On the Road

Bike-Hods have a rather undeserved reputation for instability, but if packed and used with care, they’re perfectly safe.The trick (a sensible rule for any trailer) is to load heavy items at the bottom and lighter ones at the top.

With trailers, we tend to refer to wheel track versus seat height as a measure of stability. In other words, the higher the load relative to the distance between the wheels, the more likely that the trailer will topple over on a corner.With a heavy load on the floor, a Bike-Hod has a track to height ratio of almost 7:1, which is well into the stable zone. On the other hand, put a few heavy objects near the top, and the ratio can approach 1:1, which is asking for problems.

Instability is accentuated by the Hod’s rather upright stance, which tends to exaggerate bicycle movements, resulting in a certain twitchiness, particularly at speed on a bumpy road.This effect can be reduced by mounting the hitch as low as possible on the bicycle, which tends to lean the Hod forward.

In practice, we never managed to lift a wheel, but the Bike-Hod can give some strange feedback to the bicycle when fully loaded, so it makes sense to proceed with caution, especially on bumpy or icy roads.

With the bag removed, this effete  picnic accessory transforms into a serious load carrier. Our personal record is 43kg of conti-board shelving, measuring 38cm x 183cm (15″ x 6′).We got that lot on the train too.The weight limit is 50kg (110lb).

Folding

Not very sophisticated this feature, but then it doesn’t need to be. Ready for the road, the Hod occupies an enormous 119cm tall by 96cm long, by 64cm wide, but by loosening one 5mm Allen screw, the tow hitch can be folded round and down, reducing the package size by two-thirds, to 91cm by 42cm x 64cm. At 245 litres, that’s pretty small, but more importantly, it no longer shouts ‘bicycle’ and can thus be taken just about anywhere.To all intents and purposes, once the tow hitch is folded down, the Bike-Hod becomes a slightly-larger-than-life shopping trolley. And even the most jobsworthy rail guard won’t bat an eyelid at a shopping trolley, so trains are easy, as are buses, provided they’re not too busy. It’s all an optical illusion, of course, because the Hod is actually quite a substantial trailer.

On the Deluxe model, the wheels can be detached by releasing two pins, producing a thinner 26cm package (150 litres).This is easily accomplished, although getting the pins back in can be a fiddly and curse-invoking operation.To get the full benefit, you’ll also need to remove the mudguards, a slightly less fiddly 5mm Allen-key job, reducing the width to 50.5cm and 119 litres. Fully folded, the Hod – which now looks like one of those ludicrously chunky backpacks favoured by young Australian tourists – would pose few problems on public transport.Transport is made easier by the Hod’s lightweight construction – our typical example weighed a relatively trifling 5.6kg, or a shade over 12lb.

Once at the shops, the ‘folded’ Hod trundles along like a shopping trolley, without causing too much inconvenience. A quick fiddle with the Allen key, stuff the heater hose back in and you’re cycling home in a trice. Two Plus Two is also testing a ‘Walk-Hod’ attachment – an S-shaped shaft that fits in place of the tow-bar and puts a rubber handgrip at a comfortable height. Price? About £25.

With the tow-arm folded back the Hod could be a large shopping trolley. Note the quick-release wheels

Conclusion

You can’t resist warming to the Bike-Hod. It’s quirky and quixotic, but a simple design that really works. It’s become something of a favourite with Brompton owners, because the machines work rather well together, especially where there’s a need to hoik the assemblage onto a train or into a car boot. A Hod is also ideal for the old trick of carrying a second Brompton to pick up wheel-less friends. And the 60 litre bag will swallow quite a big shop. All good practical stuff.

Specification

Bike-Hod Carryall Deluxe (c/w Carradura bag & 28mm hitch) £225
Weight 5.6kg (12lb)
TyresCheng Shin 121/2″ x 21/4″
Track 61cm
Folded volume 119 – 245 ltr
Spare hitch(28, 32 or 36mm)£14
Extra Carradura bag £69
Wicker basket £90 or £100
ManufacturerBike Hod Trailers tel 01273 480479 mail info@twoplustwo.uk.com web www.twoplustwo.uk.com