For this year’s Eurobike show, Swiss trailer specialist Leggero [A3-204] has designed its booth to look like a landing site on the moon, where hawk-eyed visitors can discover an interesting innovation that may well be the world’s first for normal bicycle trailers.
The higher the weight of a trailer, the bigger its impact on a bicycle’s handling. Especially if you have to brake hard and unexpectedly, a trailer tends to push the bicycle forward and potentially throw it off line. That’s where Leggero’s innovation comes in. The drawbar that links to the toeing bicycle’s rear axle has been modified and equipped with a set of sensors that detect if the trailer starts to push rather than being pulled.
As soon as this happens, a signal is sent to the central unit mounted to the back of trailer. The electronics in this unit tell the master cylinder to actuate the two separate disc brakes of the trailer. According to Leggero, the big advantage of this solution is that all the technology is built into the trailer. No modifications need to be done to the bicycle that pulls the trailer, and connecting it to or disconnecting it is as easy as always – no need to plug any kind of cables.
At its first showing, the overrun brake system looks quite bulky. This is why Leggero is looking for partners to further refine this system.