I was thinking why would anyone consider a trailer? So I did a little math. If you are going fully loaded and need 4 panniers or equivilent, 3 lb front panniees, 4 lb rear, racks 1 1/2 lb each, gets you to 10 lbs. A bob is about 13lb, not a crazy amount more, and almost 1/2 the price of good panniers and racks. But personally, I still think 1 pr. panniers 1 rack at less than 5 lbs. is better. But the the trailer might not be as crazy as I first thought.