Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Bicycle Baskets for the Dogs



I am looking to put a bicycle basket on the back of the bike for the dogs, and I am casting about for ideas.

Most of the commercial carriers are ugly and flimsy-looking Sherpa Bag type things, while a plastic crate is pretty ugly in terms of aesthetics, and would seem to offer too little protection for the dog in the advent of an accident.

Another problem is that most bike baskets for dogs look like they are designed to carry teacup dogs.  Is it possible to carry a Jack Russell or two?

The wicker job below looks pretty great, but also very specific.  Where am I going to get one of those!  How about on Amazon?  And more here.



And then buried in an on-line forum for moped riders
, I found a picture of the rig below with the following notion:  Basket from Target and portal made from a recessed lighting fixture.  It looks like bolt-through fasteners were added for the shock cords on the lid.  I think I could do this, and it would be very cool and safe.




It occurs to me, however, that it should be possible to put two dogs on a bike, with one dog each loaded into side panniers, and with each dog facing forward.  A woven pannier like this would be awesome, but I am thinking a regular cloth-sided pannier, with a hard bottom, and a head slot for each dog on top,might be more practical as these would mount easily on my existing Blackburn rack and would keep the weight low too.  Suggestions?

More research:  I found this Dutch site which is really very good.  The maker of these wicker bike baskets is a marvelous, talented, and artful craftsman by the name of David Hembrow. Check out his work, and say Thank You that this kind of stuff still exists somewhere in this everything-made-in-China-from-plastic world.  Yes!  Full standing ovation
.
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6 comments:

Kerry Cowman said...

How about modifying a couple of trapping pack baskets? They are affordable and durable.

Karen said...

you can try the Buddy Rider. Looks like it fits terrier sized dogs

http://blog.blanketid.com/2012/06/buddy-rider/

Seahorse said...

I saw some recently on fab.com, and I think they might have been by the Nantucket Basket Company. This one is a nice size, and the dogs couldn't jump out. Believe it or not, Wal-Mart has it online:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Nantucket-Bicycle-Basket-Co.-Somerset-Collection-Pet-Basket-Green/15394646?findingMethod=Recommendation:wm:RecentlyViewedItems

Seahorse

Rick said...

I'd go with an enclosed basket of some sort, sturdy enough to remain intact in the event of an accident. As for an open carrier, I haven't seen an adequate full-body harness on the market that I would trust. I have a few ideas on that subject, but you'd need to finance my patent searches and applications before I go into detail. (just kidding!)

PBurns said...

Donald McCaig writes in:

Dear Basketeers,

From time to time someone drives past the farm with dogs in their pickup and my sheep guarding dogs rush to the road to drive the interlopers away. So far, they've succeeded. Rarely, a spandex clad Bicyclist appears and increases speed considerably when two hundred-pound dogs spur him on..

Dogs in a basket are the cherries atop the sundae. When Iasked my guard dogs about it they said: "Me!!!""Me!!!"

Donald

PBurns said...

I am thinking an enclosed tranport of some kind with a pop hole for air and maybe a whole head. It would have to be tight though. The port hole may be the way I go...

P