Cheap, light, durable...pick 2. Equipment fails, it's a fact of the touring life. Racks may fail, bags may fail, trailers may fail, bikes may fail. You deal with it or you change your zip code ;)

Some people like trailers. Some don't. Some people like panniers. Some don't. Some people will use a trailer is some situations and not others. There is no black and white here. Pick the one that works best for you. If someone asks give them your opinions but don't be a zealot about it. I give people my opinions based on my experience and, I hope, thoughtful reasons for why I don't like one system over another. If they choose something else, I'm not offended because there is no one "true" way to load a bike or, for that matter, to tour. Do what's best for you but be open to other possibilities.

For example, if I tour off road, I'd use a trailer because off-road a loaded bike is hard to handle. If I toured with a tandem, I'd probably use a trailer and/or panniers because I'd need the space. If I tour on-road, I use panniers because I don't like the handling at high speeds when using a trailer. It may not bother you but it does me. Having another wheel and more equipment to care for may not bother you, I'd rather not deal with it.

cyccommute -- I think you may have offered your best advice in that post. Both for people with questions and other posters. Offer honest opinions and information and then let people make up their own minds. There is no one true answer to most questions about bike touring, commuting etc. The best we can do is make informed personal choices about what seems to work best for us. Use the form as one more source of information in your decision making -- not as some sort of unerring oracle.

"unerring oracle"
I'm changing my avater to this!!!!! :)

How about someone start a poll on panniers vs. BOB trailers vs. Burley nomad trailers, or has this already been done. I would be interested in what the people use in this respect. Just a thought...

I went with what I instinctually wanted, after much research, and Merriweathers amazing log. I am now on Day 16 of my 28 Day tour, with the Burley Nomad. I go as fast as 35 mph with no problem, it never hits a curb...ever, I hitch it on and off easy, sure it's heavy, I'm pulling a trailer for god's sake, but hey, it's all about working out anyway!!! Now, I don't even notice. It ain't squirley, the wind doesn't seem to bother it, I love the compartments, I love how cars really go around me, it feels very steady, due to the 2 wheels and couldn't imagine using anything else. HOWEVER, I'm sure you will hear the exact same sentiments from whoever started with Panniers, or a BOB.
Good luck with your decision!!!!!!!!

I started with panniers many years ago. Then I went to a BOB trailer. I enjoyed the BOB but it was not for me. I then went to a Burley Nomad and for my purpose, the Nomad was better than the BOB. But I still haven't been able to decide on the panniers vs. the Nomad issue. There are just too many choices. But I have the same problem with bikes. I ride a recumbent and a DF and towing the Nomad is great with both.

Hey Helen, Good to hear from you out there in the wilderness. I remember your thread asking about trailers vs. panniers and am very pleased that it's working out for you.

As for your observation that cars give you a lot more room, I think that's the nature of the Burley. It's wider, VERY visible, YELLOW, and we are all conditioned to seeing trailers like that with kids in the back. I think that drivers, even aggressive drivers, are much more likely to give a bit extra room due to the 'Kid Factor' in their brain.

Hope all keeps going well, last I recall you were fighting headwinds in Kansas. (or was that Dorothy?)

Steve W.

Another positive for panniers is if you are riding with someone else you can enjoy the advantages of drafting behind each other which is mostly lost if you're pulling a trailer. Personally, I've always toured with at least one other person and I love to use drafting to ease the workload, especially on a windy day.

I started touring in the early 70's, then it was racks and panniers. Later I used a BOB briefly, there great for single track. However my Burley Nomad rules for me. I just got back today from a tour. When the sign says 'no services for the next 67 miles' I sure was glad to have my Burley. Carrying extra water, food, my heavier sleeping bag, and extra warm clothes is no problem. I'm glad I was prepared, 2-4" of snow and mr wind! The Nomad pulls and tracks beautiful. No exageration, I've had it over 50 mph easy. I have flipped it after hitting a curb on the LEFT side. Thankfully I was going slow. Warning; if your trailer rolls your going down! I think the tracking offset is designed for city riding as it is a bit much for me. Controversialy, I cut off the " safety leash" . You need good brakes when braking with a trailer. I take the Nomad off road frequently, no problem. Hope this helps, personally, all things considered and many tried, I'd rather pull a trailer.
.........mtb

Ummmmm... holy ****.


Pardon the language.



Holy ****, man.

Hi Steve
It's wild to think that someone on the forum actually 'knows' me, or about me!!!!
Yep, LOVE LOVE my Burley, and my T2000. I'm giving both away when I get to Baton Rogue, as part of my charity trip, but I will most definately be replacng both, and my LBS is gonna let me have them at cost. The headwinds in KS were exhausting, but the GUSTY WINDS IN OKLAHOMA, nearly knocked me off my bike and forced me to hitch hike to the next hotel, I was quite terrified. Now, I'm a day away from Texarkana. I passed 1000 miles today. Yipee! The longest trip I'd done before this was 20!!!
Tomorrow, the wind will be at my back. The SECOND time in 16 days!!!!

www.theheartride.org

Jeeze woman! Of course we know you! You come here and ask advice and then hold out on us when you hit the road! We want details! We want stories! We want to know about the disasters and triumphs (but mostly disasters :D)! If you haven't had any, make some up! (Not that I would ever make anything up ;)) You're a writer...write!

P.S. Glad you're having a good time.

Well.....how long do you have**********??
First of all...I don't know how I would have done without this forum (sounds like I'm giving a speech at The Oscars!!). The wealth of knowledge is so vast, and the members so supportive, I couldn't have learned all of what I learned, from books, in a million years. Stumbling on this forum was the best thing that happened to me. And you, cyccommute...your answers, on all sorts of topics, never cease to amaze me, you are amazing, and as someone commented on the trailer issue, sometimes without bias or opinion, just perfectly stating the facts, in all their grandness.

I left Aspen, 3 weeks ago today. My first day, was climbing Independence Pass!! 4000' climb! That was a tough way to start, and I felt for sure that I would pay for it the next morning, but NO...I awoke feeling fabulous and excited to be finally on the road, and away from the somewhat stressful task of leaving town. The next 2 days were thru Colorado and every moment, I was sooooo aware that, I was about to travel thru KS, OK and TX, and the views would never be this good again. I WAS RIGHT!!! O, was I right!
As I left Pueblo, it was bye bye God's Country, hello Every Where Else. I took a photo in KS, I named it 'my first o my god moment'. Bleak, flat nothingness. What I did not realize at the time, is that I had the wind behind me. Because I am a novice, I didn't realize that going 20/22 mph, with little effort, meant a tailwind. I had never really ridden on the flat before, due to living in the mountains, and there is no wind, per se, due to living in a tight valley, I had yet to be introduced to The National Weather Service (another forum thank you) and didn't really know that wind could, and does, make or break you. Once that wind turned around, and blew in my face, and not up my a**, life changed for me!! After a desperate thread, I put the Weather Service as a favorite, and would log into it, as soon as I got into my hotel, each night. As a single female, and also over 40, mainly the over 40 part, I did not ever contemplate camping, and now, on day 21 would DEFINATLEY never contemplate it. I walk into my room at night, fill the tub up with hot hot water and bath oils, and soak away the day. It is without doubt, the highlight of each day, no matter how great the day has been. I slather myself with more wonderful smelly stuff, put on my bathrobe, remove the DNA laden top cover off the bed, and relax on the clean white sheets...ahhhhhhhhhh. No wind, no smelly clothes, no awful awful roadkill aromas, no 18 wheelers, just the silence and my clean clean horizontal body. What is it, that makes me smell so damn bad at the end of each day********** You'd think I'd been in my bike clothes for days, not hours. I clean them each night!!
I'm proud of my packing job, (another thank you forum, moment), I have exactly the right amount of clothes, 2 bike sets, 2 night sets (plus thin bathrobe!!). All synthetic fibers that wash easy and dry easy. I didn't bring leggings and arm thingies cos of where I was headed, plus I heat up so quickly anyway, and I brought raingear, that I have yet to need! Can ya believe it?? Not a drop! My digital camera and laptop have been a blessing. I would not do a trip without them, or my cell phone. Having those in the evenings, have made the solo trip rewarding and fun. Someone said, the hardest part of touring solo, is touring solo, and the hardest part of touring with someone, is the company!!!! Was that you Cyccommute??? O so true, but I like the solo idea, the best. I am enjoying talking to strangers, more than I normally do, and the occasions I've stayed at homes, with friends of friends, have been great, but I would not want that every night. I was disappointed not to have hooked up with forum members along the way, but I think my route was mainly to blame, for that ( I hope so, anyway).
I would be described as someone who likes, and is comfortable, with attention, but have definately had enough for this trip. I am a very strange sight, indeed, to most people I have passed, and I am not enjoying being stared at so much, stopping roomfuls of conversations, and being honked at so frequently. But, it is unavoidable, and the price you pay.
Wow, I could go on for many many more pages. I think I'd better stop. Feel free to PM me, if you have specific questions, and please read my website, and donate, if the spirit moves you
www.theheartride.org

I didn't like the rattling sounds my old school bags made on my racks, which may also be what dug holes in your cheapo racks. I am going to try wrapping the racks with tape to build out the contact point. If that wears through, I may try some fiberglass tow, soaked in epoxy, wrapped around the racks contact point.

Here's a link to a really good article at Crazy Guy on a Bike by Denise Goldburg.

In my opinion, the two greatest shortcomings of the Burley are lack of weather resistance and unavailability of fenders. The former is mitigated by the necessity of a design that enables easy dismantling for storage or packing. Merriwether packs his stuff in bags. I generally line the compartment with a common garden debris bag--fits just right and it can be used to discard garbage at tour's end. I once rode 65 miles with rain all the way and everything stayed nice and dry. The latter is a different matter. With all the rain we get here in the Pacific Northwest, the top of my Burley gets covered with mud splatterings. I wish Burley or an after-market provider would see a market here and respond accordingly.[/QUOTE]


Hey BikePDX...

Check out this guy's page on home made fenders for the burley.

www.adamk.ca/custom_bits.htm

The downsides to trailers.
1. weight. (And i ride a loaded xtra so i'm not a weight wienee)
A trailer means on or two extra wheels which add weight, plus the frame, plus the bag. A BOB comes in around 14 pounds. Sure you can carry 70 pounds but the trailer is 1/7th the weight of the total capacity.
2. Handleing. At a good downhill cruise they have a habit of wandering, braking can be a little tough, if you're on a 2 wheel trailer they can get caught in the verge (the shoulder) and they track differently, still better than high loaded panniers.
3. Drag. Less aerodynamic drag than bulky panniers but more wheels means more drag.
4. Frame stress. I don't really count this one much. Arguments about frame stress points with trailers vs xtra's still forget the key point. When you addd weight you add stress. You're as likely to bend one way or another. Still, i see BOB's on carbon rear racers and wince. Definately not built for that load and asking for a cracked frame.

Still, they have their uses. I'd love to have the lockability of a BOB Coz and use it as a picnic table in camp, the removability of a trailer. For city use though i'll stick with my Xtracycle, i never forget it, never wish i'd brought it, and never run out of room. I can still lane split and turn tighter than a trailer, handle better at speed. Wouldn't trade it.

Hey BikePDX...

Check out this guy's page on home made fenders for the burley.

www.adamk.ca/custom_bits.htm[/QUOTE]

Hey back, sth...

I checked out the site. Great idea! I will look into fashioning some fenders after following the innovative design presented there. Thanks for introducing it.

Cycling plus has a thread about a guy who was crashed by his BOB. I know it isn't a necesary outcome, but I guess one has to be careful.

Hello Peterpan1!
Just read your thread about the fella on the Cycling Plus forum who crashed with his BOB. Well, unless there's another poor fool out there, I think you're referring to ME!
I've just become a new memeber to this forum and as ever I'm looking for hints, advice, tips, good stories, etc. and came across this thread.
Yep, I fell in the Nordkap tunnel on day one of a three-month trip to Gibraltar. Spent two nights in hospital in northernmost Norway with a broken collarbone and a VERY bruised left-side of the body.
That was nearly four weeks ago. Tomorrow I pick up my new bike WITH panniers. The BOB is staying at home. One wobble was enough; I wasn't over the weight limit, nor was I going particularly fast but after only fifty km (out of a possible 7,000) I rated my chances of another spill as pretty high.
I have DRASTICALLY cut back on the stuff I was originally taking (dirty, smelly clothes is no big deal).
After an X-ray tomorrow and (hopefully) the all clear, it's back in the saddle.
I'm sure a lot of riders are more than happy with their trailers, but when I return there'll be an ad going out for a 'slightly second-hand' trailer.
Hopefully I'll get to the rock without much further ado, but it's all an adventure all the same.
More later, maybe!

Ride well,
Dayvo
Don't stop 'til you've had enough

I love my trailer, but it is for local use. Bringing home big bags of groceries or drinks. It isn't used for tours, panniers ar e more than sufficient for that.

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.

hello cradduck

my husband always bikes with his trailer. he has a "cyclone"by radical design ( a dutch company that also makes great panniers for lowriders) this is a big bag with two wheels and an alunimiun frame. there is nothing like it. some time's he forgets he has it behind his bike. super bearings.
you take the weels of and the trailer bocomes regular luggage. you can take it with you on the train or on an airplane.
the weight of your luggage is much lower to the ground in a trailer, this gives a lot more stability.
climing may take some more effort. a trailer like the b.o.b is one wheel based and moves with the motion of you bicyle, this you will have to get used to.

my husband is crazy about his trailer!

www.radicaldesign.nl (also in english)
the have good aftersales, and ship their spare parts all over the world.

monica

Monica,
Thanks for the link to this very interesting trailer!! It may see quite some use around here.
Roger

Anyone know how to convert the currency listed to US dollars?