Tandem Cycling - Which bike trailer (gear) to go for?

Planning on a five month tandem tour (moderate pace) with full camping gear through Holland, France, Germany in April 2006 (bicycle paths not off road). Decided we need to pull a tandem.
Advice please on which trailer to go for: Bob Yak (or Ibex); Wilderbeast; others?
Really looking for functionality issues - have a reasonably flexible budget.
Our experience is nil.
Many thanks

A one-wheeler would be preferable for hauling stuff; unless you get a *folding* 2-wheeler (Burley makes a nice cargo trailer with additional top rack).
Brush up on your language skills a bit; yes, most Euros speak English, however, it's nice to say a few key words like 'please', thank you', etc.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Planning on a five month tandem tour (moderate pace) with full camping gear through Holland, France, Germany in April 2006 (bicycle paths not off road). Decided we need to pull a tandem.
Advice please on which trailer to go for: Bob Yak (or Ibex); Wilderbeast; others?
Really looking for functionality issues - have a reasonably flexible budget.
Our experience is nil.
Many thanks
Shameless plug for a Dutch product: the two-wheeled Cyclone by Radical Design (http://www.radicaldesign.nl/en/products/trailers/cyclone.html)

http://www.radicaldesign.nl/images/cyclone/cyclone.jpg

Personally we use a (one-wheeled) Bob Yak, but two-wheelers do have their own advantages, according to tandem cycling buddies of ours. They claim it has less influence on the steering of the bike and it's nice and stable when parking and packing/unpacking. They don't experience any serious problems with the width of this trailer.

BTW: when you know the exact dates of your tour, feel free to contact us at info@tandemclub.nl. We ride at every last Sunday of the month, somewhere in the Netherlands. Also consider visiting the International Tandem Rally in Belgium (May 27 - June 3, 2006). More info on http://www.tandem-club.org.uk/_2006-05.htm

Hey Marten H is that you?
Will be in touch shortly.
Thanks for tip on the alternative trailer (cost competitive?).
Regards Pierre

Thanks Rudy and Kay, I'll check out the Burley. Pel

Hey Marten H is that you?
Will be in touch shortly.
Thanks for tip on the alternative trailer (cost competitive?).
Regards Pierre
Yep, I'm Marten H allright ;) Obviously we met before somewhere in cyberspace, but where .... ?
For comparison: the Cyclone is € 409 at a Dutch shop that sells the Ibex for € 435 and the Yak for € 299.

These may be worth a look. Tandem freinds of our use one and have traveled all over NZ and the Continent with it. They love it, theirs has brakes which is an asset on those long descents.
http://www.cycletote.com/ for the trailer and http://penwarden.co.nz/index.html for thier web site that tel you how they like the trailer.
Hope this helps.
Chhers Brian & Sue

Thanks Brian and Sue. Great site. Will look into it. Pierre

I'd say get a Yak. 7000 miles in 6 months round Europe behind our tandem last year and it behaved perfectly. No maintenance issues and no effect on the handling either (even at 50mph+ down the Alps). It is a bit tricky to park the rig in towns though!

I'd say get a Yak. 7000 miles in 6 months round Europe behind our tandem last year and it behaved perfectly. No maintenance issues and no effect on the handling either (even at 50mph+ down the Alps). It is a bit tricky to park the rig in towns though!

How did you get around the parking bit? Would a two legged (inverted V) bike stand (ESGE?) do the trick? What did you do for locking up during day and night. I'm sure you have a pile of other tips for a long European tour too. Thanks Bananaman. Pierre

To park it we just had to find a long piece of wall to lean it on. A bike that heavy can't be picked up easily (we had front and rear panniers too) so I had to get used to reversing the thing into position. If you could lock the front wheel straight (like with a toe strap round the downtube) then I guess a two legged stand would hold it upright.

To lock it we just had a small thick cable as I find D-locks too heavy to tour with. We carried all our valuables in a removable handlebar bag and took that with us and just left the rest to trust and insurance. We didn't have any trouble at all which may be more good luck than anything else. We we're camping and had the pans stacked up on the trailer overnight so if anyone tried anything with the bike we'd hear it. Apart from some wild dogs in the Sierra Nevada the bike was untouched.

Europe is a fantastic place to tour and doing it on an unusual bike setup like yours is a great way to get chatting to people. What route are you planning?

To park it we just had to find a long piece of wall to lean it on. A bike that heavy can't be picked up easily (we had front and rear panniers too) so I had to get used to reversing the thing into position. If you could lock the front wheel straight (like with a toe strap round the downtube) then I guess a two legged stand would hold it upright.

To lock it we just had a small thick cable as I find D-locks too heavy to tour with. We carried all our valuables in a removable handlebar bag and took that with us and just left the rest to trust and insurance. We didn't have any trouble at all which may be more good luck than anything else. We we're camping and had the pans stacked up on the trailer overnight so if anyone tried anything with the bike we'd hear it. Apart from some wild dogs in the Sierra Nevada the bike was untouched.

Europe is a fantastic place to tour and doing it on an unusual bike setup like yours is a great way to get chatting to people. What route are you planning?
This is what our bike looks like when we're cycle camping. Parking indeed requires a long stretch of wall :) The basket on the rear rack is for our dachshund Guus (Dutch for August):

http://www.xs4all.nl/~mmhoff/images/IMG_2450_Medium.JPG

We also just use a simple cable lock and take the valuables in removable handlebar bags. In our 23-odd years of cycling camping (mostly in France and Germany) we have never had anything stolen.

"our experience is nil..." I'd suggest you do some short tune-ups before embarking on a 5 month journey. I'm certain you'll learn something worth knowing in advance. Have fun!

"our experience is nil..." I'd suggest you do some short tune-ups before embarking on a 5 month journey. I'm certain you'll learn something worth knowing in advance. Have fun!

Good point Elrey given ten minutes on a tandem in a car park todate. We are in Western Australia and plan on picking up a C'Dale MT in LA en route to Europe. So tune-ups on the actual bike not on also wary of having a go on a less than perfectly set up rental here as my wife has neck and shoulder problems which will require ideal posture. We will just have to take it easy in Europe initially. Thanks anyway. Pierre

Great pic Marten and thanks for info. We were planning on rear panniers (no dog) but no front or should we lighten up in the rear and use the front option? Sterkte. Pierre.

Great pic Marten and thanks for info. We were planning on rear panniers (no dog) but no front or should we lighten up in the rear and use the front option? Sterkte. Pierre.
My idea: put light 'big' bags in the front and keep the rear light. OTOH: you'll have to improvise to mount a lowrider on Cannondale's Fatty front fork (no eyelets whatsoever) so perhaps putting bags in the back will turn out the best option. A Cordo lowrider rack (sold in Dutch stores) will fit the C'dale fork, however.
It looks like this:

http://www.cordo.nl/cordo/data/corprodukt/suspension_superdr._100x100.jpg

The only drawback of this particular rack is that taking out the front wheel requires taking out the quick release entirely.

To park it we just had to find a long piece of wall to lean it on. A bike that heavy can't be picked up easily (we had front and rear panniers too) so I had to get used to reversing the thing into position. If you could lock the front wheel straight (like with a toe strap round the downtube) then I guess a two legged stand would hold it upright.

To lock it we just had a small thick cable as I find D-locks too heavy to tour with. We carried all our valuables in a removable handlebar bag and took that with us and just left the rest to trust and insurance. We didn't have any trouble at all which may be more good luck than anything else. We we're camping and had the pans stacked up on the trailer overnight so if anyone tried anything with the bike we'd hear it. Apart from some wild dogs in the Sierra Nevada the bike was untouched.

Europe is a fantastic place to tour and doing it on an unusual bike setup like yours is a great way to get chatting to people. What route are you planning?

Route is dependant on my wife's situation, if good intend basing it on the France and Germany by Bike books and P Benjaminse for Holland/Begium/Luxemborg. Any tips? thanks Pierre

There's some very good river routes in Germany. The Rhine is quite industrial in parts (north of Cologne) but lovely in others. The Main is a fantastic ride - good traffic free paths all the way, well signed and nice and quiet through hillside vineyards.

If you're feeling fit then the Massif Central and the Alps in France offer some of the best cycling I've ever done but be prepared for some BIG climbs (generally not too steep though).

Switzerland is also a great place to ride with lots of nice level bike paths in the valleys linked by some hard, but rewarding, passes.

Holland is a great place to cycle as it's flat and cyclists are very well catered for but personally I wouldn't want to spend much more than a week touring there as it's pretty but not exactly stunning (apologies to any Dutch reading this!).
The list could go on for ages... what sort of mileage are you planning?

I think one of the nicest things about touring is exploring without really knowing where you're going - my advice therefore is to ignore my advice and just see where you end up.

How many bags of groceries does that Yak hold? I'm looking into trailers myself.

There's some very good river routes in Germany. The Rhine is quite industrial in parts (north of Cologne) but lovely in others. The Main is a fantastic ride - good traffic free paths all the way, well signed and nice and quiet through hillside vineyards.

If you're feeling fit then the Massif Central and the Alps in France offer some of the best cycling I've ever done but be prepared for some BIG climbs (generally not too steep though).

Switzerland is also a great place to ride with lots of nice level bike paths in the valleys linked by some hard, but rewarding, passes.

Holland is a great place to cycle as it's flat and cyclists are very well catered for but personally I wouldn't want to spend much more than a week touring there as it's pretty but not exactly stunning (apologies to any Dutch reading this!).
The list could go on for ages... what sort of mileage are you planning?

I think one of the nicest things about touring is exploring without really knowing where you're going - my advice therefore is to ignore my advice and just see where you end up.

Looks like it will be much along lines of your last para. Thanks for additional tips Bananaman.

How many bags of groceries does that Yak hold? I'm looking into trailers myself.

Probably a bit more than a large shopping trolley. 96 litres in the dry sack and a heap on top. Check it out at www.bobgear.com