Originally Posted by krispistoferson
A BOB trailer doesn't have that much more cargo capacity than panniers do. Some of you talk as if we ride around with Conestoga wagons! I'd say a BOB doesn't have a substantially different amount of cubic inches to fill than a bike with front and rear panniers.
I don't agree with you on capacity. The BOB dry sack alone holds 5600 cu in of cargo. For comparison, Nashbar's largest rear panniers hold 2310 cu in per pair and the fronts 1056 cu in per pair. That adds up to 3366 cu in total. That's 40% less cargo than the BOB. However, you can strap a bunch more stuff on top of the dry sack, if necessary. Of course, to be fair, you can strap stuff on top of a rear rack and panniers, but the BOB dry sack does make for a larger platform for additional cargo than a rear rack and panniers.
However, in my thinking, a bigger cargo capacity is usually not a virtue. Stuff taken tends to fill all available volume, even if it's really not necessary. If you have small bags, you will find you can do with less and will have a lighter bike and easier time hauling it all up the hills and be able to go further or easier than a riding some heavy pig of a bike. Some people literally do ride around like a Conestoga wagon.