A small brown dog wearing a blue harness with a lifted paw clipped to a pvc pipe attached to a black bike

Dog Bike Joring Prototype

This project began as a personal attempt to design a bike joring tow system for dogs, after noticing that most commercially available options were either limited in design or priced around $200. I prototyped a modular hitch system using 3D-printed components combined with off-the-shelf tubing, iterating through multiple versions to test fit, angle, and usability. While the prototypes were functional for controlled testing, the brittleness of the printed material made it clear that this design was not yet suitable for real-world use, especially under dynamic loads generated by dogs of different sizes and movement patterns.

measuring

a skinny wooden dowel angled through a bike tow hitch part

get creative to with a dowel and protractor

a top down view of 2 ptototypes one blue flexible pipe and one standard PVC pipe

differnent prototypes

side views of 2 prototypes, one blue smaller harsh angled 3D printed piece, and one larger white piece with more obtuse angles

chanigng angle

top down view of the first flexible pipe attached to the bike rear wheel tow hitch

first design flex tube

side view of the first flexible pipe prototype on the rear wheel, pipe is parallel to the ground

flat design

second pvc prototype attached to the bike's rear wheel. angle upwards relative to the ground

angled upwards with hair dryer

top down view of the pvc pipe prototype with a wider angle away from the bike's frame than the first prototype

second design pvc tube

top down view of a small brown dog wearing a blue harness with a lifted paw clipped to a pvc pipe attached to a black bike

smaller dog

A medium black and white dog wearing a pink harness with a lifted paw clipped to a pvc pipe attached to a black bike

medium dog (scared of bike)

More than producing a finished product, this project highlighted how difficult true universal design can be. Designing for safety and usability required considering material selection, print orientation, geometry, manufacturing tolerances, ease of assembly, adjustability, and the needs of multiple users—both human and animal. Small decisions, such as pin diameter or bend angle, had cascading effects on performance and durability. This project reinforced that good engineering is not just about making something work once, but about understanding context, limitations, and responsibility. It also strengthened my interest in iterative prototyping and thoughtful design processes that balance creativity with safety and real-world constraints.

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