Hiking, biking or doing any sort of outdoor exploration with heavy baggage in tow isn’t the smartest thing. Hauling all of that on your back like a beast of burden is even worse. The Monowalker, a versatile three-in-one trailer, should help make your life easier.
Made up of a lightweight wooden platform (35.4 x 18.9 inches) that can be outfitted with multiple handlebars and up to two wheels, you can use the rig in any one of three ways: a lowrider bike trailer, a hand-pulled cart (hiking trailer) or a potentially very heavy backpack. The official site exaggerates a bit much claiming that with one of these, a “journey around the world can be made easily.” As far as I can tell, the last time hauling anything was construed easy was back in the 19th century when people were still giants (I swear, it’s true), but I digress.
Designed by Kai Fuchs, the Monowalker starts out life as a two-wheeled, horizontal trailer, complete with an aluminum drawbar that attaches to your bicycle. It weighs 13.2 lbs and can take on payloads of up to 100lbs. Take out the side-mounted wheels and put one along the bottom frame, then pair it with wooden handles, to turn it into a reverse wheelbarrow for hauling the luggage on foot. Lastly, you can take off all the wheels and bars, turning it into a single-framed backpack. Switching from one setup to another reportedly takes around five minutes each.
Basically, it’s a bike trailer that you can detach and still use, such as for hauling your rig into a camping ground where bikes aren’t allowed or when checking your stuff in at the airport. There’s no pricing or ordering details yet, but the full designs are already on the site and it seems ready for production.
[Monowalker via Bicycle Design]