Originally Posted by Nick The Beard

Thanks for all the great replies!

Here's some background info. The idea for the trek comes from our unsuccessful attempt at thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail last year. My pup and I managed to hike about 1150 of the 2184 before the combination of a tickborne disease and stress of hiking 20+ miles/day with 3-10lbs on his back for months got to him and I realized it wouldn't be healthy for him to keep hiking. I was kinda happy he quit because I wasn't going to let myself even though I really wanted to.

So now the plan is to recover and train so that sometime around March 2015 I can ride from my front door in Tampa, FL north towards Waynesboro, VA, mirroring the AT as much as possible so I could re-visit certain sections for day hikes, probably along the Blue Ridge Parkway for stretches. Once I get to Waynesboro, VA I'll pack up the bike and canoe along the Shennandoah River north towards Harpers Ferry, WV to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's headquarters where we'll start hiking north towards Katahdin, ME. This time around I'll be carrying Bruce's food and we'll be aiming to hike 13 miles per day during cooler weather so I'm hoping Bruce will make it to Maine with me, but even if he doesn't I'll know he had a pretty sweet adven



We sell Burley at the shop I work at and they look great, but I'm pretty into the idea of Cycletote for a few reasons.

1) The automatic brakes- The reviews I've read are all positive and they're Sturmey Archer so I have faith that they'll work the way they're supposed to. I imagine that having 100+lbs pushing at the back of my bike on downhills would make controlling the bike a PITA.
2) Full size wheels- Less spares to carry if one size fits all. Bigger wheels roll over obstacles better.
3) Roll cage design- I can stack gear on top of the trailer leaving more room for Bruce to get cozy.



35-45 is including 15lbs of food, 4 lbs of water, and an additional 10lbs of dog food which I was under the impression most weren't counting when giving their loaded weights. Realistically I see myself cutting 15-20lbs from that number since I wont be 5 days between town stops.

I've contacted an owner who uses the small size with her 120lb dog who says the dog is very comfy even with some stuff back there. I plan on strapping most of my gear to the top of the trailer unless he wants to use it as a pillow.

Changing the gearing has always been on the mind. I ride a fixed gear bike in FL so I know nothing but gears and only a little about pushing.

The great thing about the auto brake system is that it will soak up a bunch of that load. Check out the details, its pretty sweet.

Bruce is a total adventure dog. He hasn't tried cycling but he's walked from 1125 between GA-PA and NY-CT plus hundreds more in FL and has spent days out paddling on the river and does great hanging out nice and calm in the back of my canoe.



That's the main concern I have but having seen a couple videos of the trailer in action and seeing how the ball joint works I'm thinking it might not be so bad.




Again, I was thinking of going with the large until I saw that someone was successfully using it with a 120lb dog.

Expensive but well ingenious. From what I've read the brakes only activate when the trailer is pushing against the bike so in theory I wouldn't have to worry about drag. Has anyone here used one?



Nah, the whole idea is that he gets to take it easy as payback for being such a good pup.



That's what I heard too. No idea on accidental separation but but I guess I just have to double check that I have everything hooked up properly before moving on.



The Salsa's have very diff geometry than what I know I'm comfortable with. I wish I had a chance to try one out to see how I liked it. The Trek Cronus is a cross bike, that's the only reason I'm thinking it could handle a little more.

I plan on getting several bikes down the road, but right now my priority is on finding a bike for this next adventure. I have no problem swapping out parts from time to time to have it suit my needs as they change.



I know it sounds like a lot of money for a little bit of improvement, but weight is rarely dropped in huge chunks. If there's one thing I learned carrying my 40lb pack for 1175 miles its that if you can lose an ounce, you should... but yeah $1000 is a lot of money for 3%.

I think you're missing the appeal of the automatic brakes. They will take a lot of the load stress of the bike since the trailer will stop itself when the bike stops. Cycletote lists the weight limit as 100lbs but I know of dog owners using it with their 120lb behemoth. Also I'm pretty sure my load will be a little lighter than stated in my first post since the weights I gave included 5 days of food for my dog and I and I don't expect to need anywhere near that much.

I guess I'm just spending too much time at the shop I'm at. Too many roadies on their 14lb bikes trying to talk me into getting the same.

Bruce isn't staying home. He clearly loves getting out and I'd feel bad leaving him at home. This adventure is just as much for him as it is for me.