Ridire123

I'm hoping you all can give me some advice on the best approach for my situation. I am working on eliminating my car as much as possible in my life -- I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but the benefits of choosing the bike over the car are just too great to pass up.

I currently only own road bikes, a 2009 Bianchi Vigorelli and a 2002 Giant OCR1. I am primarily concerned with how I will be doing shopping runs by bike, primarily groceries. The store is about 8 miles away, with a mix of MUP (trailer width a concern? the MUP is only 8ft wide) and relatively busy roads (with drivers that do not see a lot of cyclists). I will be shopping only for myself, for a week at a time. I was leaning towards a trailer, as I'm not sure I would be able to pack a week's worth of groceries into panniers. I will be cooking with primarily fresh foods, so as little canned or boxed product as possible, and little to no soda or bottled water. The Vigorelli does have rear rack mounts, so if panniers could carry this much food, it is a possibility. My only concern then would be the wheelset, which is currently Mavic Ksyrium Elites (I weigh about 200 myself, plus however much the groceries would weigh). The Vigorelli also only has a double up front, so some of the hills around my area (Omaha, NE) may be a bit difficult.

I guess I am just looking for advice from you folks that have experience on what the best option for my situation -- trailer or panniers. If neither of these bikes is realistic for utility use, I may consider purchasing another, but I would prefer not to spend the money!

I appreciate any help!
-Rid

Sirrus Rider

I'd go with a used kiddie trailer. The alternative would be a new bike that is more cargo friendly a Big Dummy, Yuba Mundo, or Kona Ute. One advantage of the trailer is the "Oh Sheet" effect it evokes in cagers as they think you're hauling small children..

BossCat

Groceries... Panniers V's Trailer ?

My vote would have to be Trailer. Less weight on the bike. IMPO I think that any extra weight on the bike makes it unsteady/wobbley, were as with a trailer you'd be able to carry more stuff plus have better controle of the bike.

It all boils down to what your planning to haul weight wise. Panniers are fine for smallish loads but should you wish to carry - potatoes - tinned goods, the heavier items in your shopping, thats when packing the panniers is an art as you have to balance out the bike.

There's a good few members (I think) that prefer panniers to trailers. I suggest that you look through the threads - TRAILER / BIKE MOVE-HAUL / UTILITY RIDES-TRIPS and see what loads members have been hauling. This may give you a rough idea as to what would better suit your needs.

Regards
Tom

Metzinger

I'm not fond of leaving nice bikes locked up.
Nor of doing mundane things on equipment intended for speed.
I'd try to find a junker MTB, hybrid, or city bike onto which you can fit a rear rack.
Then drop your grocery bags into newscarrier type panniers. Like these 65 liter monsters:

If you need extra volume, toss your lettuce, and other light stuff into a backpack.
They stay attached to the bike, so low theft probability. The utility bike is always ready to go.
No stress and strain on the bikes you actually care about. Faster than riding with a trailer.

Ridire123

Thanks for the input so far, appreciate it.

I suppose it is worth mentioning that I do have a Trek mountain bike from a couple years ago sitting around -- I haven't ridden it that much, but I believe it's a Trek 3700 from 2008. It has a suspension fork, but perhaps there is a rigid fork out there I could pick up and slap on it.

Metzinger

Perfect. All you need is a rear rack and bags and you're done.
There's no real need to swap out the fork. If you want more speed, change the tires to skinnier slicks.

Arcanum

If you have an extra bike sitting around, an Xtracycle FreeRadical conversion kit might be a viable option for you. It won't be as rock-solid as a purpose-built cargo bike, but it will give you quite a bit more carrying capacity than panniers on an ordinary rack. In particular, it will let you carry larger boxes and containers than won't easily fit on a regular rack.

Just pay attention to the tire width on your bike. IIRC, you have to run 35mm or narrower to use a FreeRadical kit.

barturtle

Perfect! About the cheapest way to haul massive amounts of stuff is a pair of Wald Baskets on the back. The 535 model is massive and gives enough area across the top to strap down TP and other bulky items.

Cyclaholic

My first choice in your situation would be a single wheel trailer, second a two-wheel 'kiddie' trailer.
Advantage of a trailer over rack & panniers is that you can tow it with whatever bike is not currently dismantled for service or waiting for a part..... and it's just way cool to do grocery shopping with a trailer.

squirtdad

I will throw this out..... maybe we in general need to rethink the stock up on groceries once a week approach and think about smaller runs (integrated with commute perhaps) more often. This could avoid the need for a trailer.

It won't work for everyone (as an example teenagers, like locusts, can eat a whole trailer of food faster than you think possbel), but the idea for more funs, fresher food, more local food seems to fit in really well with using a bike for utility.

You noted that you are cooking fresh so this seem to fit.

You can pack a pretty good size load with a rack, with folding baskest (fit in 2 of the big reusable grocery sacks, on on each side, and a bungee or three for holding stuff on thhe rack.

Standalone 

I use a used kiddie trailer. $10 @ Goodwill. Never any worries about having enough space. Having a very large messenger bag has really make a difference in the utility of any bike that I'm on. It has enough space for those pick-something-up-for-me-honey trips and also beer+wine on Fridays. The big trailer is there for the bigger trips.

Ridire123

I can certainly see your argument and agree that it would be great to make more frequent trips to the store. Unfortunately, my commute to/from work is about 12 miles and the only option relatively close to the commute is WalMart. I would personally prefer not to shop there. Perhaps I'll reexamine my commute and see if there is anything else I could make work.

I honestly had not even considered the freeradical conversion before, I'll have to take a look at the details and see how that would work out for me.

I see a lot of people use trailers -- I'll keep my eye out for a used one, that would definitely save money. I still am concerned about the width of the MUP on the way to the store, though, when using a trailer. Something I'll have to think about.

Thanks again for all the input. I see I have a lot more options than I thought.

xtrajack

I love my Xtracycle--- I couldn't imagine being car-free or car-lite without it. I ain't saying you can't do car free without one, it just makes it so much easier.

terraskye

Where are those panniers from?? They look interesting to me for grocery shopping

LeeG

I bet you'll eventually do both, fix up the Trek with good old WALD carriers, replace the front fork with a solid fork and lowriders, it'll make for a much more stable ride with low weight on the front end, and stay on the lookout for a used trailer that'll be towed by the Trek. I've got a Kona Ute for short distance heavy loads but it's not an enjoyable ride. At first I thought of suggesting a basic three speed Workmans bicycle. A friend uses the coaster version for hauling four gallons of water in the baskets and the front one for a couple grocery bags. He's had his for 30yrs and leaves it outside locked up. He's also a bit of a beast so the bike fits.

Ryan McEachern

Trailer or panniers.. I bet you will end up with both if you stick car-free for long. +1 on using the MTB either way. You are going to need that low gearing for going car-free no matter what.


***EDIT*** sorry LeeG basically said that already I see.

wahoonc

Those are Fastrider bags from the Netherlands. But I cannot seem to find that model on their current website.

I use the big Basil Karavan II bags and they are plenty for me at 41 liters a pair. Clever Cycles in Portland, OR keeps a decent selection of panniers in stock. They have quite a bit that is not on their website.

For the OP, lots of good suggestions, it may take some trying to figure out which method works best for you. I have used trailers, baskets, bags and backpacks over the years as my needs and wants have changed. The trailer was when I had a couple of children to feed. Panniers and baskets have always been my preferred method.

Aaron

Esteban32696

I love the Wald twin rear baskets , too. Old fashioned == YES ! But, I look for something that gets the job done. Twin rears & large front basket & you can haul a lot. Wald makes foldable rears that look better when not hauling. OR just remove.

tsl

This sounds like my diet and shopping habits.

I've been using Nashbar's grocery panniers for four years now. Typically I do five grocery runs a month. It's those times when spuds, onions, oranges and apples are all on sale at the same time that I always need a second run in that week. There are other times too, depending on what's on sale.

I also use my trunk bag when I shop and carry bungees so the bag with the bread doesn't flop off the top of the grocery panniers.

I use the stores hand baskets rather than their grocery carts. This helps me buy only what I can haul. I can haul a hand basket and a handful, where the handful is generally two loaves of bread.

rtciv

I generally agree with people saying to set up both systems, since you'll use them sooner or later. A cheap trailer from somewhere, and some panniers or baskets for when you don't need it. Personally I only use my trailer when I have to - I find panniers much more agreeable, up to a point. Judge what weight and volume of shopping you will be carrying and then decide whether it is even viable to use panniers.

Using your old MTB would be a good idea, too. If I had more than one working bike I'd definitely use a different one for my trailer pulling than for other times.

Arcanum

My shopping habits are close to the opposite of tsl's. I do serious shopping trips roughly every two weeks, generally when I get my paycheck. These trips usually take a few hours, and result in my Yuba Mundo being pretty heavily loaded volume-wise. (I should point out I have a cat, so some of that is cat food and cat litter.) I may also pick up a couple odds and ends in between, but that's not a routine thing. I buy a mixture of fresh, frozen, boxed, etc. foods.


I like that I don't have to worry much about what I am able to carry home now that I have the longtail. When I was shopping with just a rack and panniers I was always ending up trying to figure out what I can actually carry, especially when I bought stuff for the cat. Plus, with the Mundo I can actually do meaningful shopping at a place like Sam's Club, Costco, or BJ's, which can save a good chunk of money in the long term. Oh yeah, and beer. It's much easier to carry both groceries and beer with a dedicated cargo hauler.

Ridire123

I appreciate everyone's info so far! It's been super helpful.

I think the best approach for me at the moment is to fix up the mountain bike for hauling. I'm thinking swap out the suspension fork for a Surly 1x1, stick some fenders on it (Planet Bike Cascadia ATB?), some Schwalbe Big Apple 26x2.15's, and a Wald 535 on the back. LeeG, you mentioned lowriders on the front... Any recommendations for a rack/panniers that would work with this setup?

Perhaps a dedicated longtail or a trailer will be in my future, but it doesn't sound like I can go wrong with this setup. It will at least help me get my feet wet with the utility trips and, even if I end up with a more dedicated approach, it will be nice to have for the shorter/smaller trips.

Metzinger

Wahoonc is right, they're Dutch. Here's the link. Not likely too useful to you unless you change your holiday plans from Portland to Amsterdam.
You can ease your way into this cheaply. Start by getting a sturdy rear rack, some bigass rear panniers, and see how well you can haul things. I'd leave the front end alone until you know you need to change something. Front racks/panniers can worsen steering performance.

wahoonc

@ terraskye,

If you have your heart set on a set of the those monster Fastriders contact WorkCycles Amsterdam they are listed as a dealer and are happy to ship to the US. I have sourced a few hubs and brakes from them. I usually deal with Richard via email.

Aaron

miamimike

Metzinger/Wahoon---Thanks for the Links on those Bags. Those 65 Liter Monsters are just what I am looking for to hang on mu Torker Cargo-T. I went to the website in the Link but don't see these bags or the Prices. Here's a similiar Set(60 liter capacity--both sides @30L) at around $30/pr. Questionably, the quality may not be the same.

https://www.abikestore.com/bicycle-bags.htm