trailer or panniers on a camping tour

[Tigerbiten]

One advantage of the recumbent trike is the trike is the same width as the trailer so it harder to get it wrong.

Plus all five wheels are the same size.
So on tour I carry my spare tyres on the trailer and swop them onto the trike as needed.
It's amazing how far you can go on a tyre with 3/4 of the kevlar belt showing when your putting very little stress/strain on it.

[mrjemm]

May be of interest, seen a BOB on ebay at mo (maybe loads, I've not looked)- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290832250385? ... 1423.l2649

Bob trailer. No bids yet, starting at £35. Is that good? I know they're popular on CGOAB and various blogs. Tempting, but not really for me. Maybe someone here. And no, I've nothing to do with the advertisers, just a stumble-upon.

Cheers.

[graymee]

I've toured with 2 panniers, 4 panniers and a trailer. It's got silly recently carrying camping kit for me and Mrs Graymee. Trailer is my preferred option.



I don't travel light.

It's an Edinburgh Bicycle Coop own brand BoB trailer.

[easyroller]

So I guess all this trailer talk also begs the question ....... one wheeled or two?

[graymee]

One. See above.

[Vorpal]

See also
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=65020
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=49532

[Mick F]

So I guess all this trailer talk also begs the question ....... one wheeled or two?

Two of course!
http://carryfreedom.com/downloads/Trailer%20Science.pdf

[fretsaw]

ive jacknifed on a one in four hill;the trailer ploughed into the bike;trailer was heavily loaded;breaking too hard did for me,but careering down the hill was one other alternative option. it appears he weight will always the drawback with trailers,and control of the complete outfit,especially that trailer lunging round the back.i use a burley luggage trailer with a link to the chain tube,and not to a skewer;perhaps a skewer connection would improve the handling.?

[Brucey]

with any one part of the trailer outfit not on the centreline (in this case the tow hitch at least) when things get sketchy there will be an increased tendency for the outfit to jacknife.

There are two things that might help (but not completely solve the problem); 1) a central towhitch, 2) a self-actuating trailer brake.

Self-actuating brakes, especially on lightweight (bicycle) trailers are potentially problematic in that any changes in acceleration (even ones caused by variations in smoothness of pedalling, or going over bumps, for example) might cause the brake to come on when you don't want it to, if the action isn't suitably damped.

cheers

[willem jongman]

We have a nice two wheeled trailer - a predecessor to the current Radical Cyclone. We used it when we were family camping and I was riding a Thorn Childback tandem. It was the only way we could carry enough luggage (40 kg on the trailer). It handled beautifully behind the big tandem, even on Alpine descents. Two wheel trailers are particularly good for this as they have a higher load capacity, and do not make the bike's frame work quite so hard (they keep themselves upright). So they are better for tandems and road bikes (avoid the very light ones). One wheel trailers are for slightly lighter loads and rougher terrain as they follow the bike better, but with heavier stresses on the frame. When the younger of our children could ride his own bike, we sold the tandem. We still have the trailer because it is nice to have with a road bike: you can ride to somewhere, pitch your tent for a few days, and then do some exhilarating day rides on the road bike. Beyond that, for real loaded tours I much prefer my proper touring bike with just two rear panniers. Two panniers are not only cheaper than a good trailer and a waterproof bag, but also considerably lighter. My trailer plus bag weighs 7 kg, and a set of heavy panniers is about 2 kg. My touring bike weighs 15 kg, so a road bike used with a trailer would need to no more than 10 kg to be as light as my outfit. I do not think there will be many sub 10 kg road bikes that will handle the rigors of touring with a trailer. The audax style bikes that I have used with my trailer are both around 12 kg. I would not want to do this with modern ultralight carbon wonders with fancy wheel sets.
Willem

[niggle]

What about a sidecar? (Says the former MZ rider)

[DaveP]

Sidecars....
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=66229&hilit=sidecar

[foxyrider]

I would not want to do this with modern ultralight carbon wonders with fancy wheel sets.
Willem

Why not? You could put more traditional wheels in if you are worried about the wheels.

I'm currently debating using an 8.6kg carbon sportive bike for a camping trip in Switzerland. I've already worked out how to fit a rack and i can't see any reason a 'pannier' trailer couldn't be used with it. Unusually for me it will be almost entirely tarmac so handling rather than ability to take the load is of more concern!

Given that I already tour / camp with a sub 10kg rig without any particular issues i can't foresee any problems (maybe some more durable tyres!)

[Brucey]

I would not want to do this with modern ultralight carbon wonders with fancy wheel sets.
Willem

Why not?

there are plenty of reasons.

Another question might be 'why would you want to?' in the first place.

cheers

[willem jongman]

First, I my experience even a two wheeled trailer puts quite a lateral load on the rear triangle. Ultralight frame will have difficulty coping, both in terms of stiffness and in terms of reliability. Carbon frames are very precisely engineered for expected loads, and this is outside the design envelope for many of such frames. An older heavier steel frame will be far more suitable.
Willem