Rancid

I've reading alot of old posts about using a trailer. My question is about the feasability of using a child trailer for touring with my road racing bike. I've seen some posts about it with mountain bikes with slicks on it, but I'm mostly curious as to how it would be attached to a road bike for weekend touring or maybe even a weeklong trip. Anything in particular that might make me want to invest in panniers and a true touring bike instead, or can I just try it like this?

Machka 

Personally, I find the idea of trailers too much hassle. But then, I usually fly (or use some other method of transportation) to get to the start of my tours, and hauling a bicycle around an airport is hassle enough without worrying about a trailer too.

jibi

Rancid

Trailers!!!
People love em or hate em.

I love em.

The thought of going on a tour with panniers again fills me with dread. A trailer is so much easier in my opinion. On flights, bang it in a box and its sorted.

If you have a kiddy trailer then its a good way of going, if you have a kid and you want to get a trailer then that's perfect for you, I can't see you putting a child in a pannier.

Most of the ones I have seen have a single arm which connects to one of the stays.
there are ones that convert

https://www.bikesandtrailers.com/children/index.html

This site has links to other trailer manufacturers at the bottom of the page

tailwinds

george

cyccommute 

A child trailer is a good way to start, especially if you already have the trailer. For a short trip, there really isn't anything wrong with them. For longer trips, it all depends on terrain and wind and what you want to put up with. It's probably the best way for you to try touring without having to sink a whole lot of money into it right now.

Somethings to consider for future inventment in a touring bike:

Touring bikes have more relaxed geometries than road racing bikes making them far more predictable and comfortable for all day riding.

Touring bikes have room for nice wide tires that make them even more comfortable.

Touring bikes are built heavier...and stronger...then a race bike for carrying loads.

Touring bikes have braze-ons for attaching racks and fenders.

A touring bike with panniers are easier to handle in airports or other transportation to a starting destination (Thank you, Machka ) Since the bike is shorter by several feet, it's also easier to handle in other situations as well.

Loaded trailers tend to push the bike around while cornering especially at high speed. Some people don't mind this but it bothers others.

Trailers can be a little harder on the frame, especially kid trailers that mount on only one stay. It's only a problem if the bike has a superlight frame, however.


If you currently have access to a kid trailer, I'd try touring with it over a couple of weekends. Ride from the Spokane region over to Clarkston and return over the Alpowa Summit (12 miles of hell) to really see how a trailer works. If you can stand to pull a trailer up that, you'll have no problems anywhere in the US! And that coming from a guy with world class climbs in his back yard!

BostonFixed

You can get child trailers cheap at walmart/target/k-mart.

MrPolak

I have an old aluminium-frame burley child trailer which I used to pull my son around since he was about 2 for 4 years. I took him on mild trails, up and down curbs, up and down gravel roads, and some loooong hills. I also like that a 2-wheel trailer does not load the rear wheel of my bike like a 1-wheel trailer would.

My plan is ripping off the now-ratty canvas, in part to help with aerodynamics, installing a lightweight aluminium floor and using it for touring. I like the idea of a trailer behind me when on a highway as motorist automatically react as if there was a child inside. I also like the ability to easily disconnect the trailer to leave it behind at a campsite.

The downsides are that 2 additional wheels, tires and hubs create more drag than a 1-wheel trailer. Then there's the issue of a different size tubes and tires (from what's on bike) which might need repair. Also, you can't make extremely tight turns, although left-hand turns are almost not affected.

The upside is stability, reduced loads on bike wheels, no need for pannier bosses on the front fork, and the freedom to tour on a non-touring-dedicated bike.

dbuzi123

I've also heard that the extra width of the trailer can create some issues too. On narrow roads you stick that much more out in the road, and also it one of the wheels tends to ride on a rumble strip if there is one. I went through this debate a while with myself when deciding. If you already have the trailer, why not give it a try on a short no risk tour?

Ultimately I choose panniers because they came out to be about the same price and allowed my bike to be all one piece and setup.

Dabbo

I have a Bike Friday Tandem and it comes with a very lightweight trailer to put the storing bags of the bike, it is a foldable tandem. And it doubles as trailer once you start biking, it works very well, keep the bike light and you can leave it behind if needed. I did some touring with the stuff on the bike and you have way less room and the bike gets very heavy, especially the tandem.
Ciao
Paolo

gizem310

My plan is ripping off the now-ratty canvas, in part to help with aerodynamics, installing a lightweight aluminium floor and using it for touring.

I've been wanting to do the same thing. I have an In-Step trailer, which is my 60-pound dog's convertible ride and the bottom part ripped almost immediately after I bought it. I reinforced it with duct tape which holds good enough, but eventually I'd like to rip off the canvas and install a hard bottom. Let me know how/if you do it. I'm not very handy...
I also use the trailer for grocery shopping etc. In-Step is much cheaper than others and other than a flimsy canves, it is a good trailer.

Rowan

Rancid

You might just like to take a peek at a post I've done here regarding towing a BoB trailer (specifically for a bike with a CF rear triangle). Some of the issues relating to frame flex, top speeds and parts upgrade might be useful.

To me, as I have said before, trailers bring along additional things to go wrong mechanically, which means carrying more spare parts. But they may be a solution for bikes that aren't capable of taking panniers.

The issue of straddling bitumen and gravel verges or rubble strips are significant, and a single-wheel trailer is advisable, not only for their single-track capabilities.

There also is the danger of overloading a trailer compared with small panniers. It's a personal issue, I know, but it is easy to get carried away because there are no limits to loading height on a trailer.

Plus, if you are on a tight budget as you indicate, there is the long-term cost consideration. A trailer is not something you would use for commuting, let's say, or going shopping after you have finished touring. However, panniers of whatever variety, will remain constantly useful, and therefore their value is higher in the longer term.

I also think having to think about trailers when using other means of transport is an issue. If you use a coach... or in the US, a bus such as Greyhound, I suspect you will get slugged twice, for the bike and trailer. Even just lifting your rig over a style or fence becomes an issue because of a trailer, compared with just lifting over a bike and panniers.

As to hitches, the proprietory ones apart from the BoB type seem to rely on very durable rubber attached to the left chainstay/seatstay junction. They are generally designed for two-wheel child trailers and therefore *have* to be mightily durable and strong. They also allow the three-way dimensional movement of the bike and trailer -- left/right, up/down and rotational. This is somewhat more difficult to emulate with metal. They are quite easy to attach and detach the trailer with. There is no real difference in the handling of the bike unless you have really heavy weight in the back, in which case jack-knifing can still be an issue under hard braking on a downhill. You can lie a bike down with the hitch without too much trouble -- a kickstand helps, though.

The BoB system is entirely different, and is also easy to attach and detach, although you do have to be careful not to loose the pins for either side of the axle, especially on earlier model BoBs. People who ride a BoB rig report differences in feel on the bike that they get used to quite quickly. You can park a bike upright with a BoB by deliberately jack-knifing the trailer, but this does require a bit more room than just leaning against the post or using a kickstand.

toodman

I've toured with panniers and I've toured with a two-wheeled trailer. Each mode has it's pros/cons most of which are aptly covered above. But the OP asked about the feasibility of touring with a road bike and a child trailer so I'll only comment on that.

For comparison's sake: I've pulled my kids over many miles in a Burley D'lite and Solo and except when I was slogging up a hill or pulling into a headwind, I hardly knew it was there. Any bike I towed with handled great. Attached to one set of stays with a flexible coupling, it didn't seem to stress the frame at all and it certainly was easier on the spokes than if all that weight were atop the wheel.

On my Wisconsin tour (currently the featured journal in crazyguyonabike.com (shameless plug)), my homebuilt touring trailer only used parts of a kid trailer but the concept and performance was virtually the same but for the wind resistance issue.

Cheap kid trailers can be found in many thrift shops. I would recommend against a trailer that attaches to the seatpost - look for one that attaches to the rear stays. Hack the canopy low-cut for better aerodynamics if you don't intend to actually carry your progeny.

Go for it! What have you got to lose?

seeker333

thats a pretty good diy trailer toodman...

https://home.comcast.net/~eichin/wsb/...ome.html-.html

jibi

and panniers don't go wrong????
So no hangers breaking, racks breaking; so many times I have seen and heard even more, of people's racks breaking, fixed with dexion and duct tape to get them to a welder.

these have included "quality" racks too.
panniers can get ripped in narrow places.

I use my BOB trailer for the shopping, for transporting things all the time, to the dump etc.

stuff you couldn't get in a pannier.

since getting the trailer both sets of panniers are just gathering dust.

george

Rowan

I won't say never... but a lost pin is almost a dealbreaker with a BoB trailer.

seeker333

A lost pin is easily replaced by any piece of wire thats ~1/16" diameter and minimum length of 2-3 inches. A spoke would work. A big safety pin would too. Shop utility wire. Wire hanger. Stripped household electrical wire, etc.

However, the skewer which the pin secures is a bob-unique piece that would be harder to find than most bike parts. The little knobs on the end could work loose (mine won't because i reassembled it with red loctite). Or maybe a collision could damage it. A spare skewer will set you back 20-25 bucks and weighs ~3 oz.

https://www.bobtrailers.com/accessories/bobqr.php

Interesting use of bobs - see bottom of page

https://www.ravenfamily.org/andyg/roadtrain.htm

BTW the french not only invented the bicycle, and the bags/panniers, but also the bike trailer:

https://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1167882332

Michel Gagnon

The original poster was thinking about touring with a child trailer. I would not do that unless you can modify the trailer. Why? Too much frontal area: the trailer acts like a parachute in a headwind.

Compared to that, a cargo trailer like the Burley Nomad, or a child trailer where you could remove part of the canopy to make it lower (it's not possible with all trailers) offer much less wind resistance. The Nomad is also narrower (26" instead of 32.5"), so it clears tight spaces more easily.

My own experience is this:
- Lots of day tours with a 2-children bike trailer, typically towed by a single bike + Piccolo trailer cycle. I also used it (and abused it) to pick up flowers from relatives when they were redesigning their landscape. Headwinds are murder.

- One tour this Summer with a tandem + trailercycle + Burley Nomad. Because of the open roof, stuff is easier to put in and out of it than of the child trailer.

- Many tours with panniers.

- No tour with a single-wheel trailer. I don't think I would want one behind the trailercycle...

Basically I prefer panniers, except for large or heavy loads. For instance, touring solo is easier with panniers, touring with one kid is probably equal (though I did it only with panniers), but touring with two kids is definitely easier with a trailer (I've done both).

cyccommute 

Sorry, the invention of the bicycle goes to Baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn. Not French by any means


The German Baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn invented the "Laufmaschine" or "Running Machine", a type of pre-bicycle. The steerable Laufmaschine was made entirely of wood and had no pedals; a rider would push his/her feet against the ground to make the machine go forward. Sauerbronn's bicycle was first exhibited in Paris on April 6, 1818. The celerifere was another similar early bicycle precursor invented in 1790 by Frenchmen, Comte Mede de Sivrac, however, it had no steering.

The French put cranks on it so you didn't have to coast everywhere.


Some history books will state that Pierre and Ernest Michaux, the French father and son team of carriage-makers, invented the first bicycle during the 1860s. Historians now disagree and there is evidence that the bicycle is older than that. However, historians do agree that Ernest Michaux did invent the modern bicycle pedal and cranks in 1861.

jibi

Seems like a to be a bicycle then it needs steering,or the French still have the honour of inventing it.

I would go one further and say it needed mechanical propulsion so:-

'Twas a Brit, or rather a Scotsman, who invented a bicycle, these forerunners were merely push-bikes
This was down to adding the mechanical crank drive to the rear wheel,in 1839.

george