In the Texas Pirate's intro he said:
Howdy Y'all, I'm The Texas Pirate!, and I am From Brownsville, Texas. I work as a Pirate/deckhand/cook out on South Padre Island, Texas. I ride a 26" NEXT Dual-Suspension Mountain bike, not yet motorized, key word, yet. I am trying to build a camping trailer to make a cross country trek by bicycle.
I've seen Loco's trailer hitch, that will work on a GEBE, and I'm positive a belt drive system will cross the country.
Any and all work to that rear wheel can be transferred to a heavier duty bike than the NEXT, if that ever comes into play. I was using the stock $12 tires, am buying a Kevlar ($30) for the rear, getting ready for an Autumn run.
Yes you can build your own friction system (I couldn't, thatsafact, I'm a mechanical novice).
But a GEBE could get you 200-300 miles per day, and sometimes a Pirate is in a hurry, chasing booty and all that.
btw: your sailing weight is an important part of the equation, because the "camping" part is 40-50 pounds of deadweight you have to be able to store and pull uphills.
That is where MB.com can save you time/trouble and money, make sure you have enough engine to do the job.
For any novice, there are enough folks on board now to get somebody pretty much MB.com certified on the first pull of the starter rope, one excellent rant and one ongoing vent are the limit, from henceforth it would be great to guide somebody from start to "break in" run and have them smiling.
We could cooperatively get anybody up and running without problems, once they've read the posts, understand that the bike in the garage is probably only the beginning, and the **** sport is so addicting, upgrades in the bike are pretty much inevitable.
That enjoyment intensifies with zero broken/bent spokes, and zero flat tires.