Hey everyone. Andrew here. I had just started biking April 14th or so. Been commuting to work, 10 miles one way. Loving it, getting about 3-4 days a week right now. Hoping to bump it to 5 real soon.

I am also planning my first tour in mid June. Nothing fancy. I'll be going from my house in Fayetteville, NC to my brothers in Winston-Salem. About 127 miles. I figured this would be best as if I get in trouble half way through I can call my brother and he could come get me in about an hour.

I have been thinking about doing a trailer for my tour. Mine is a budget issue. I am a school teacher. I am working on going bike all the time. So I have been thinking about what to get and the Burley Flatbed trailer is looking very tempting. I am thinking this because I could get an ActionPacker tote to put all my stuff in. Then when I'm not touring I could use it for shopping and larger stuff. Kinda an all purpose trailer.

Would it be feasible to use this trailer for a tour? I have a Giant Cypress ST.

Any thought would be appreciated. Remember, tight budget and would like to be able to use what I buy for multiple things.

A trailer is going to add a significant amount of weight and drag, and you don't really need that much cargo space for that short a trip. Racks and panniers will work better, and will handle a fair amount of your shopping as well.

That said, trailers can be handy for larger errands. The Burley looks nice, but if you're on a tight budget I'd watch the local classifieds for a used child trailer. With a bit of patience, you should be able to find something for under $50 (although your chances would be better in the fall). You can either use it as-is (if you're mostly hauling things like groceries), or strip it down and bolt a sheet of plywood to the frame to make it a flatbed. You can find a number of examples over in the utility forum.

I'd suggest the Nomad. It's a little more narrow and the sides and top can come off making it more or less a flatbed trailer. If you are going to try and go car free the Nomad would serve both goals very well. The nomad isn't much wider than your shoulders so you don't have to think about where it is. When riding on roads with narrow shoulders it's nice not having to move into traffic anymore than you have to.

As for extra weight and drag... it's about 14 ish pounds. Panniers and rack are going to be at least 5-8lbs.

Burley products are very well made and durable. While I love my trailer for shopping and hauling larger stuff it's not my first choice for touring. But, it would be my first choice if I could only have one option and was living car free.

The added drag is real but it's not horrible. Living car free almost requires a trailer if you don't want to be calling friends all the time to help you haul stuff that doesn't fit in a set of panniers.

Go Burley Nomad. My 2 cents.

I found a child's trailer someone had out in the trash.
It works fine for grocery's.
Plus found the RubberMaid tote

I have a Bob trailer. I used it on tour once. It worked fine, though it did add more weight and drag than racks and panniers, plus I had to carry an extra tube, and I had to change my pump head from Presta to Schrader every time I pumped my tires (I usually pump up at least every three days on tour.) I started calling it "the anchor" in my mind as I pulled it up the North Cascades Highway.

However, since that tour I've bought a new tourer with new racks and panniers, and hitched my Bob to my old, rigid mountain bike, and I use the rig as my "shopping bike". I can get 4 bags full of groceries on it.

If your touring rig is going to lead to a shopping/commuting rig, a trailer is a good option. You can tour with one just fine, and have it for shopping/commuting afterwards. You won't have to spend money on two different setups.

I like the Bob because of the single wheel that tracks behind the bike's wheels. You don't have to worry about avoiding obstacles wiith the two extra wheels sticking out. Is that a legitimate hassle? I don't really know, because I've never had a two-wheel trailer, so take that concern with a grain of salt. On the other hand, a two-wheel trailer takes all of the trailer weight on its own wheels, lessening the chance that the weight of the trailer will contribute to breaking spoke on the bike's rear wheel. The Bob takes a lot of the weight of the load, but still adds some to the bike's rear wheel. There's also the issue of low-speed handling with the Bob, and the torque it can put on the frame's rear triangle. I didn't find it to be a big deal, but occasionally it's a hassle when the trailer starts to twist things.

My 2 cents (from a fellow teacher.)

Thanks for some of the input guys. I have been doing a lot of reading. I'm not to worried about a pound here and pound there. I'm not looking to break any speed records while touring. I really enjoy camping and would be perfectly happy with only doing 30-50 miles a day and spending time camping. If that means I can't go as many miles on my vacations then oh well. That is why I was thinking trailer, it will hold my camping gear and then be able to use it for everyday around the house when not touring.

I like the idea of the kid trailer as you can get them pretty cheap if you can find them. Used to see them all the time for sale, now I want one and can't find one. I was thinking the Burley flat bed and tote for all around stuff. Was just wondering about that set up for touring. I can't imagine it being to much wind drag, certainly not more than the kid trailer with all the canvas on it.

My tour to my brothers house is going to be a test run. 127 miles one way, spend some time at his house, then ride back. On my way to his house I'm going to be staying in a motel. On my way back I'll be camping. (My camping gear is at his house). I am then planning to do the Greenbriar River Trail in WV this September.