Originally Posted by
Gotte
This is what I don't quite understand. I always thought the downside of trailers was simply the resistance of the extra wheel. I can see that weight is weight, and is neither heavier nor lighter in either panniers or trailer, but the constant theme seems to be that trailers are fine until you start climbing. Why should that be, especially if resistance is actually marginal. Is it the positioning of the load behind the bike rather than on it, oe leverage, perhaps, from the weight in the trailer?
I'm confused.
I towed a BOB trailer on my cross country +, 5100 mile tour. I road along with many different types of set-ups and my conclusion is that a narrow single wheel trailer like the BOB is more aerodynamic than a bike with 4 panniers on it. So when you on flat ground it is only slightly more work than an unloaded bike, it follows in you slipstream. Then when you hit a hill that aerodynamic effect is over-ridden by the weight your pulling up hill. It seems extra hard only because of how easy it was on the flats.