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mountainm

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 12, 2011
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Selby
www.mikemountain.co.uk
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Ahem... All you need is a Yorkshire terrier, a headscarf and a blue rinse and the outfit is complete.
 
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Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,209
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SE Wales
The chinese had a peculiar one wheeled cart described in this article. I recommend anyone to poke around the site too. Lots of other interesting ideas.
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/the-chinese-wheelbarrow.html

If I ever get to the stage where I can't carry what I need, this would definitely be the way I'd go; there are some interesting modern takes on it, but not as many as I'd expected. For example:

http://www.notechmagazine.com/2016/03/chinese-wheelbarrow-meet-the-honey-badger-wheel.html
 

mrcharly

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 25, 2011
3,257
44
North Yorkshire, UK
That article on the chinese wheelbarrow was written by someone who has never done a serious amount of grifting
On the European wheelbarrow the wheel was (and is) invariably placed at the furthest forward end of the barrow, so that the weight of the burden is equally distributed between the wheel and the man pushing it.
What a load of twaddle. When you load up a european wheelbarrow, you put the heavy load over the wheel; the 'man' doesn't take half the load. Any labourer knows this. The art of loading is getting it just right, so if you are going down ramps, the barrow doesn't flip forward, taking you with it!

The only time it is evenly distributed is when it is something really sloppy like concrete (barrowing that is back-breaking and the guys who do it are built like fork-lifts).
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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What a funny, great thread this is!

In addi5ion, mrcharlie, I would say the Chinese de#ugn has some serious short omings, like the difficulty of adding a bucket, and carrying bulky goods whilst keeping the size of the wheelbarrow to a managable size.
If the Chinese w. barrow was so fantastic, how come most goods were carried bodily by the Chinese?
That article on the chinese wheelbarrow was written by someone who has never done a serious amount of grifting

What a load of twaddle. When you load up a european wheelbarrow, you put the heavy load over the wheel; the 'man' doesn't take half the load. Any labourer knows this. The art of loading is getting it just right, so if you are going down ramps, the barrow doesn't flip forward, taking you with it!

The only time it is evenly distributed is when it is something really sloppy like concrete (barrowing that is back-breaking and the guys who do it are built like fork-lifts).
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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The thought of meeting somebody with pulling a wheeled contraption in the wild cracks me up.
The thought of meeting somebody trying to push one is even funnier.

The sole reason the wheel was invented late was because it is simply not practical without a decent track or road.

Travois anybody? The mode of transporting heavy gear since prehistory.
It works. A wheel (or more than one) does not.

Edit: unless it is on a product made by Landrover and a few more.
 
Jul 30, 2012
3,570
224
westmidlands
What a funny, great thread this is!

In addi5ion, mrcharlie, I would say the Chinese de#ugn has some serious short omings, like the difficulty of adding a bucket, and carrying bulky goods whilst keeping the size of the wheelbarrow to a managable size.
If the Chinese w. barrow was so fantastic, how come most goods were carried bodily by the Chinese?

Because of all the walls?
 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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Some of the walls surrounding northern parts of today's China have a wide walkway (road?) on top.

To take a laden wheelbarrow on a track - wheel would sink in. Better to carry.
I do not think China had that many wide hard roads criss-crossing the country. Hence no 4 wheeled carriages.

We adopt our tech to the need. They had no need to develop a multi wheeled wagon. What they used was enough.
 
Jul 30, 2012
3,570
224
westmidlands
China had roads, very big ones, I've seen on the TV part of the silk road about the same width as the dual carridgeways. As for the wheel, who really used the wheel anyway up until the invention of tarmac. Stage coaches where the few uses I can think of, but we built canals (3 mph) and then rail roads to get around the slowness of canals to get round having to transport things by road, I think the wheel was only ever used locally at a large scale, every one else either rode or marched?
 

GGTBod

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Mar 28, 2014
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Ahem... All you need is a Yorkshire terrier, a headscarf and a blue rinse and the outfit is complete.

here's my all terrain version of one of those on my last trip loading up with my drybag rucksack, whole thing folds flat and wheels come off if needed :D

IMG_20170908_063112.jpg
 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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China had roads, very big ones, I've seen on the TV part of the silk road about the same width as the dual carridgeways. As for the wheel, who really used the wheel anyway up until the invention of tarmac. Stage coaches where the few uses I can think of, but we built canals (3 mph) and then rail roads to get around the slowness of canals to get round having to transport things by road, I think the wheel was only ever used locally at a large scale, every one else either rode or marched?

Main roads yes, but not between the miriad villages. They carried. Still done as late as the Vietnam war.

In Europe most people simply walked. Wagons of different sizes were used for transport. Poor prople could have a cart for a goat or a donkey, richer farmers wagons that needed 2 horses. Plus bullocks. Slow but strong.

Riding a horse - rich people, as a riding horse were useless in agriculture. Different breeds, different training.

My grand mothers family had a large farm. Still remember the defunct wagons and other stuff.
Wagons from a single horse two wheeler to a 4 horse timber wagon.
All gone and destroyed now, including the farm.

Roads before tarred road surface?
Oh yes, everywhere. The larger roads had a top later of small stones. People ( usually poor people living closeby) were employed and responsible to keep a certain stretch in good conditions year round. One lane, with wider meeting areas niw and then.

Smaller roads were usually sand covered. Villages shared the upkeep.

Remember that the Romans built roads that were of a very high quality. Stone paved most of them.

I read that the reason for the very long lived Roman Empires survival was depending on the road system.

Fast transport of goods, people, information and soldiers

People developed what suited them and their surroundings best!
 
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Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,494
2,906
W.Sussex
I’ve just inherited a Motocaddy electric golf cart with an 18 hole battery. Means I can get to my riverbank site with food and beer for a long weekend. I’ve found it increasingly hard on my knackered hip joints the last couple of years.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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The solution for you, Nice, is :
Ditch the heavy beer, take a bottle of Malt instead!
If you hips are as knackered as mine knees, my condolences. Pour the malt into a well rinsed PET coke bottle. Lighter!

( I find the idea of those OAP trollies ridiculous to be frank.
What is next, a modified Zimmer frame? IV stand with larger wheels?
Do not want to modify?
Rollator!
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/millercimages/product-images/1000-1000/Rollator-R6-Blue.jpg
Come on, guys!:). )
 
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