Hi,

I'm planning a decent multi-day tour coming up (hence my training of riding 6 days in a row https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/10...long-tour.html). I was going to go the full hog and buy the panniers when I noticed I had a small trailer from my kid hauling days. So now I'm thinking, do I really need panniers?

How are panniers vs trailer with respect the typical stuff: Climbing, handling, flats? Feel free to add in any other observations.


Thanks!

I've gone back and forth on my tours. I ended up getting rid of my trailer and run with rear panniers only now. On shorter tours I've only needed one pannier but filled both half full to balance out the weight. The trailer I had made my bike squirrelly going down hills. Going up I didn't notice it. Flats I didn't notice it much either. Just extra weight that I didn't find necessary myself.

Ah good point. I never went down hill with the kids in tow (wife would have killed me). My trail has a solid metal arm which only allows left/right movement, was your trailer the same?

That's correct.

It was this one here Single Wheel Bicycle Trailer for Cargo BCT-8002 | Discount Ramps

This is like my one https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Sports-...738621&sr=1-21

Only one arm not two like yours. The wheel removes and you attach it to a coupler to the left hand side of the hub.

Two-wheel trailers like the OP's handle differently than the single-wheel style that Ty0604 has. I've sometimes used my two-wheel cargo trailer for touring but generally prefer panniers just to minimize the overall weight. My rack and panniers weigh a total of just under 5 lbs. while my trailer comes in at almost 15 lbs. Not a big deal if you're going to be carrying 40 lbs. or more, but I try to keep my load under 20 lbs. and at that point the extra weight of the trailer is significant. For heavier loads the trailer is worthwhile since the bike's handling isn't affected as much.

A few things bug me about trailers so I don't use them any more than I have to (I do have one), certainly not on tour. a) Parking the beast gets difficult at some town stops, as does getting into motel rooms. b) Most of my tours require a plane trip and the trailer would complicate that. c) As I age, I look for ways to decrease overall weight. d) Mine is a two-wheeler and I don't like the extra width on narrow roads. e) There are two more wheels and tires and a connection point to take care of.

Of course, assuming those who use them love them, there are benefits, and ease of unloading the bike for a side trip or maintenance, and getting load off the bike frame and wheels would be among them.

I mainly use mine for taking the dog on day trips and it's lots of fun. My wife likes it because it's a handicap for me and she can keep up (which is one of the reasons I don't bring it on a solo tour).

I have a BoB trailer I've taken on two tours. I didn't like it. It added unnecessary weight. Climbing the pass on the North Cascades Highway it felt like an anchor! I use it now for grocery shopping.

A kid-hauler trailer has pros and cons, in my view.

Cons - it has a wider wheelbase than your bike, which you'd have to keep in mind when approaching potholes, narrow clearances, etc. I don't know how it compares to a single-wheel trailer weight-wise, but two wheels sounds heavier than one. Anyone? Anyone?

Pros: there is a lot of room for stuff. I met a guy in a hiker-biker site north of San Francisco. He rode in with his ten-year-old son. The kid wasn't carrying anything. The dad was pulling the trailer with which he used to pull his son around. He was carrying a family-sized tent, a barbecue, and a styrofoam ice chest full of steaks, beer, and soda. He thought it was awesome! Of course, he was only traveling about 10 miles from home - just an overnighter. Still, I was awfully jealous of his barbecued steaks and ice-cold beers!

People do both, though on the OR coast the choice of panniers predominate.

A Race Bike and a Trailer may be your option ..

Extrawheel is the lightest trailer .. it uses a 3rd wheel just like the front one on your bike.

It takes 2 Panniers on it rather than on a rear rack ..





./.

Got it. Mine still only had one pivot point though. I've never used a two wheel trailer though so I can't say anything about them. As the user said below, yours would handle differently than mine.

I used the EW trailer for 500+ miles in Alaska recently, and it worked well. Going downhill was not a problem, even when I took a spill on the gravel Denali hiway. Uphill was uphill, and less luggage is better, though I have not mastered lightweight touring. I carried the heavy stuff on the trailer, the rest in bikepacking bags on handlebars, frame and seat. My bike doesn't like racks. The trailer worked fine.

I believe trailers have their uses

So I did a bit of an experiment. I did a trial run with 20 pounds at the back (trailer is about 15 pounds) and noted a few issues.

a) Handling in terms of cornering was great. I didn't even know the thing was attached.
b) Uphill you could feel the trailer but again no big deal.
c) Downhill was great as well.

d) But on the flats I noticed a springy feeling when accelerating. It turns out my trailer has a spring in the coupler and I guess it was compressing in and out as I was out of the saddle and going upto 20 mph.

I guess that throws a wrench in the works. But after I took the trailer off, gosh did my bike feel fast!

You mean this one Bicycle Trailer - Extrawheel.com

Damn! The trailer and two panniers cost $400+ and its the same as adding two panniers to your bike right?

Yes, that is the one, made in Poland, and made pretty well, too.

Yes, it is a bit pricey, although I already had a set of panniers. They offer as an option for about $30 a small "upper rack" that mounts to the forward upper part of the frame, to which I attached 2 smaller bags containing food. And please note that the trailer does not include a wheel and tire ($50 extra). I used the front wheel from another bike. I have read a CGOAB journal that described a wobble problem with the trailer, but I didn't experience this.

My overall assessment is that the trailer fulfills a niche need, where you can't attach racks and panniers to the bike, or else you don't want to haul a BOB trailer. The Bob is great for hauling a lot of gear, which is its main problem. Secondarily, air traveling with any trailer is problematic, and I have bought a folding bike built for touring with racks and panniers, the Bike Friday Pocket Llama. The PL also runs wider tires than my carbon adventure bike, so may or may not replace it for touring. N + 1 prevails.

The best suggestion I can give you is learn to pack light. Unless you're camping and need tent, stove, etc. you should be able to get what you need for a multi week tour down to 35#s or less.

I don't know how long you plan to be out, but when I toured for weeks, I only carried changes of clothes for 4-7 days. Socks and underwear or cycling shorts are the staples. Changes for off bike, can be worn more than once because you're not wearing them all day. Then take a break at a laundromat once a week or so.

If staying at motels, you can carry fewer changes of quick drying stuff, washing nightly in the sink, and letting wind and sun dry them for you. I've ridden this way for 2 weeks or so, dropping my total packed load down to the 15# range, and keeping a credit card handy for whatever arose along the way. At the extreme, I have a friend who rode from NYC to Miami, FLA carrying not much more than he could put into his jersey pockets (actually a smallish seat bag).

Well... Panniers on the extrawheel are lower than if they'd be on your rear rack, which improves balance. And the weight distribution fore-aft is better (less stress on the rear wheel).

On the down side you add something like 3kg (trailer plus wheel, minus, maybe, the weight of your rear rack).

I've used one this past summer, but then again, I was in charge of our entire family's gear, i.e. 6 panniers. I would not use a trailer traveling solo. Would put heavy items in front panniers hung to a lowrider, and lightweight items in half-full rear panniers, if needed.

OTOH, air travel is one of the few reasons where I do use a trailer - and also with a folding Bike Friday. Both the bike and trailer frame fit nicely inside the standard suitcase to be carried on the plane as a checked bag. Carrying the suitcase on the trailer frame with all my touring gear inside lets me conveniently do a Pt. A to Pt. B trip without worrying about how to get a bike case to the other airport or where to store it until I arrive at the end of the tour.

Yes, I concede the convenience of towing the suitcase, but there is still the weight penalty vs panniers and racks. I may change my mind and order one. However, there are few roads in my area with a dedicated bike lane or paved shoulder, so the width of a two-wheel trailer is a bit intimidating.

This is a point that I didn't first get in your very good first post.

The width of two wheel trailers is often more than 2 feet some times 3 feet. I guess that could be a good or a bad thing?

Good if the motorist sees you they won't/can't buzz you.

Bad if the motorist doesn't see you then they hit your trailer which will throw you off your bike?

We go thru this topic ad infinitum, So ? mix them both .. front rack + Trailer..

climbing with more weight of luggage will always be more work.



NB; ExtraWheel Trailers use a second front wheel (like your Bike) and have a pannier rack mount.
It is the lightest Trailer.





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There is no upside to a two wheel trailer compared to panniers. Two wheels are great for all kinds of things but not touring unless weight and rolling resistance are not considerations..

Touring, you cover a lot of ground, and once every few days I come to places where I couldn't have taken my low handlebars recumbent, or a two wheel trailer, and the penalty is huge. Largely these are borders and bridges, but there are other examples.

Tow wheels can conflicts with with rumble strips. You may find yourself having to choose between riding part way in the road or having one wheel bounce on the strips on the shoulder.

if the bag in the trailer has shoulder straps, you can wear the trailer to climb stairs

hike and carry the unladen bike over landslides blocking roads, or wash outs where the road is gone.

If you add a trailer you add more weight.