Why We Prefer Panniers Over Trailers

Raising the subject of panniers versus trailers for bike touring is a bit like talking politics and religion at the dinner table.

Every cyclist seems to have an opinion. Stories will be told about superiority on both sides. And that’s even without getting into the discussion of trailers with one wheel or two and waterproof or non-waterproof panniers.

We’ll stick our necks on the line and declare our bias for old-fashioned panniers. Waterproof Ortlieb panniers, since you asked. You may feel differently and you’re welcome to share your thoughts, but here’s the reasoning behind our love of panniers.

A trailer can certainly be convenient at times (see more on the advantages of trailers and different types) but for us personally, on a long tour a trailer seems like too much potential hassle. Every time we consider it, we end up thinking like this…

  • The wheels on the trailer are just another place where we might get a flat tire or a broken spoke.
  • The trailer as a whole is a bulky package that’s difficult to lug up steep sets of stairs when we take a hotel room.
  • We don’t even want to imagine how to get it on a plane, although we acknowledge that some trailers pack down flatter than others.
  • With panniers, it’s easy to lighten your load for shorter trips. You can take just 1 bag to the supermarket, but you can’t take half a trailer.

Perhaps most importantly, we already tend to carry too much. A trailer gives the potential to pack A LOT of gear. Probably more than we need to be tempted into carrying on most rides.

Riding past rich, green Frysian fieldsWe’re not the only ones to favour panniers. Recently, while writing our Bike Touring Basics ebook, we asked several cyclists to tell us about their experiences with trailers. We thought we’d get lots of replies from trailer lovers, eager to share their passion. Instead, we found people who tried trailers but still preferred panniers for future tours.

Hard To Manoeuvre
“The inconveniences were mainly concerned with manoeuvrability,” said Jon Tringham, who attempted a world bike tour on a Brompton folding bike.

“A trailer adds about a metre to the overall length of the vehicle. This made parking in a town more difficult. The length also became a problem when having to push the bike, for example up a hill or through a field to a good free-camping spot, as the trailer was usually in the way of one leg or the other.”

Jon also found the two wheels of his trailer a challenge, because he then had to seek out a wider smooth path on the road, without potholes, for the trailer to follow.

“Since my tour with a trailer, I have done a shorter tour down the Rhine cycle path with panniers. I experienced none of the problems I had with the trailer, and did not discover any additional problems. For me, I would not choose to tour with a trailer again if I can avoid it.”

Doug Nienhuis is another bike tourist who echoed Jon’s thoughts on trailers.

“The combined length of the bicycle and trailer was an inconvenience, even in Canada with all its open space. It can be a challenge finding a parking spot for a loaded touring bike outside a convenience store or coffee shop. Add to that another five or six feet of length for the trailer, and it can be an impossible challenge!”

Doug also points out that the way a trailer takes weight off the back wheel, while generally good for minimising strain on the bike, can be bad in certain extreme terrains.

“In Ethiopia, with its very steep mountain roads and loose gravel and rock, it was a disadvantage. With no weight on the rear wheel, I had no traction, and my rear wheel just spun around and couldn’t get a grip. I found I needed the weight of the pannier bags over the rear wheel to give me traction. The children also grabbed the trailer a lot to hold me back, and because the trailer was so long, I couldn’t do anything about it. That wasn’t as big a problem with just pannier bags.”

Cycle trailer tables“There are advantages to a trailer, but they are outweighed by all the disadvantages. Where my trailer really shined was when I used it in Canada in my day-to-day life to make trips to the grocery store and things like that. You probably wouldn’t put four pannier bags on the bike to go to the grocery store and get a weeks’ worth of groceries. But the trailer is ideal for that. For a bike tour, though, I’d say that pannier bags have the upper hand.”

What do you think?
We don’t want to sound too negative about trailers. We know there are people out there who  love them. And we also know that when we see a set-up like the one in the picture, of a trailer being used as a table, we think that’s pretty neat (thanks Sue for sending the photo). But overall, we won’t be giving up our panniers any time soon.

What about you? Vote in our poll for your favourite way of carrying things on a bike tour. And leave a comment to tell us why you love your trailer so much, or why you agree with us and will be sticking to panniers for your next tour.

{democracy:6}

Comments

  1. marija
    22nd June 2010 at 6:44 am #

    Hey there,

    I am happy user of classic (Ortlieb) panniers and (Tubus) racks… Simple, robust. Beside it I tried to be light when it comes to things I need with me.

    Happy rides…

  2. Raditya
    22nd June 2010 at 10:18 am #

    Hey..
    I decided to add hanger-like item on my bag pack. When I feel sweaty in my back, I can hang my bag on the bicycle rack, so it looks like a pannier. Simple, and it can have two functions, as a pannier, or as a bag pack.
    Next destination?!

  3. Kaitlyn
    22nd June 2010 at 6:40 pm #

    I’ve been planning a world tour with my husband on a home-buit, dual-wheel drive, tandem recumbent (try saying that fast!)… the issue we are facing is that the only mount point for anything larger then a handlebar bag is behind the rear seat over the rear wheel. We are leaning toward a single wheel trailer because as it stands we would be limited to a single set of rear panniers for two people (baring a massive redesign of the bike).

    Because the bike is already going to be crazy long, the extra few feet of the trailer will be a smaller % of the total length compared to a single person bike.

    This is FAR from an average case, but I’m hoping that the trailer will do the job. Either way, it will require lots of testing to get thing right before we take off.

    • Kallie Spidahl
      15th November 2012 at 11:03 am #

      Greetings! My husband and I are touring on a tandem with a bob yak trailer. It’s worked beautifully for us! For us, there was really no other option aside from taking a trailer, it was mostly choosing which one! The Bob yak has been a trooper and has put up with a lot of abuse. It follows us beautifully going down hills at 55-60km+ (although it’s not rated that high). Yes, it is definitely more convenient to have single bikes, but we’ve been able to make this work. While we aspire to tour lighter, you can only downsize so much when you’re primarily wild camping and doing all of your own cooking like we are.
      Just noticed this comment was rather old, hope you’re on the trip and having a good time! I’d love to see a picture of your rig- we hope to try touring on recumbents someday!

  4. James
    22nd June 2010 at 8:08 pm #

    I’m a pannier person all the way. Panniers seem the more simple solution to me. And I’ve heard stories of people jack-knifing trailers on downhill descents.

    • Kaitlyn
      22nd June 2010 at 8:31 pm #

      jack-knifing is caused by improper load balance and over-breaking. Maintaining a stable, safe speed and keeping the center of mass directly behind the hitch will go a LONG way to preventing this occurrence. Keeping the weight forward will also help.

      The further out of balance the trailer is, and the harder the breaking, the more likely it will begin to slip. If it does start to slide around, releaseing the brakes on the bike will cause it to go back into line… slamming harder on the brakes is the exact wrong thing to do.

      • Peter Sognorini
        30th January 2011 at 9:41 am #

        If you go into very rugged terrain, with descents of 15-20% on gravel tracks the trailer will jack-knife, despite the best packing and braking technique. A friend of mine faced this in the Australian Alps. He tried tying a large branch to the trailer as a drag-brake, but the branch overtook the trailer! lol

  5. Thomas Nylen
    24th June 2010 at 12:05 am #

    Having used both on a few 3+ week trips, I have a few comments about the benefits and drawbacks of both.

    For me the biggest benefit of using a trailer (and drawback for panniers) is that easily attaches to any bicycle, which eliminates the need for racks. I have done tours where I used a “racing” bike, which are not really made to have racks (ie carbon frame). With a trailer it is very easy to unhook it and go for a nice day ride with the extra weight of gear and racks. Also, the trailer wheels are very strong, more than my regular riding wheels. I have used my Burley trailer wheels on a make shift ice radar sled on a very rough blue ice surface in Antarctica. The wheels survived the 3+ weeks bouncing around the surface. The Burley trailer also easily folds down into a fairly flat pile. Finally, with the large capacity I can sometimes carry the weight (summer only) for two, which is great when there is a big difference in speed between me and the other rider. Bit of an equalizer.

    The biggest two drawbacks of the trailer is the added rolling resistance and the added length and width. Though going fast is not a big concern for me, I rather not have to exert more energy than necessary. I discovered how much slower the trailer on my recent trip to Spain. I was trying to keep up to no avail with some bicyclist who past me going downhill. I could not even come close to staying up with him. I figured with panniers, the additional weight should have propelled me down the hill faster, but with the drag from the two additional wheels the speed was 4-5 kph less. The additional length and width is a bit of a pain as well. Trying to park my bike with a trailer is sometimes challenging, and often takes a bit of maneuvering to keep the bike from tipping over. The additional width of the trailer was a bit of a bother in Spain because the white line dividing the road and the shoulder, which was often just wide enough, had rumble strips. Also, in the middle of the shoulder was a reflector, which when combined with the rumbles and the trailer require much more concentration than I rather give to the road. With panniers, it would not have been a problem.

    So overall, I would still use a trailer for shorter distance/duration trips, when I want to use a non-touring bike and do more day rides without the weight. For longer tours, panniers are still the way to go.

  6. Dan Martin
    24th June 2010 at 11:47 am #

    I used rear panniers and trailer for both my last two trips (www.londontocapetown.co.uk and http://www.koreatocapetown.co.uk) and have come to the conclusion that if you’re on roads then panniers win hands down but if you’re off road and especially on sand then using a trailer is much better.

    I’m massively against front panniers in any situation as no matter what you say-they affect the steering. If you’re off road and hit sand then it’s great to be able to hold the feather light front wheel steady, power through with the middle wheel and have all you kit weight in a straight line behind you.

    Rear panniers for the road, trailer for the rough stuff.

  7. Paul
    24th June 2010 at 11:57 am #

    When I bought my Thorn Nomad from SJS cycles, Andy Blance gave me the advice that having a fully loaded trailer at the back of the bike when coasting downhill on slightly less than perfect roads is a seriously bad and dangerous idea, and that the extra wheel adds drag when travelling uphill. I took his advice and stuck with Ortlieb panniers.

    • Thomas Nylen
      24th June 2010 at 10:45 pm #

      I have never had a bad experience descending with my Burley trailer, even on some pretty awful paved and dirt roads. Hardly notice the trailer behind me when descending, other than the extra weight when breaking. As Kaitlyn said above, how you pack the trailer is important for stability. I also found that true with 4 panniers.

      • Graeme Willgress
        5th November 2010 at 1:13 pm #

        I’ve never had any bad effects from my Carry Freedom City trailer. It keeps the load as low as the axle and you really don’t know it’s there. Yes you feel it uphill, but this is more because you don’t notice it at all until you go uphill when you suddenly notice the amount of kit you’re carrying.

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  8. Jon Tringham
    27th June 2010 at 11:21 am #

    Thanks for the mention!

    I have another short story to tell about trailers vs panniers. My younger brother recently did Lands End to John O’Groats, about 1000 miles, and took a Bob trailer to prevent loading his lightweight road bike too much. Half way through he’d had enough of the trailer and continued with a large Carradice saddle bag instead.

    So another convert from trailers to panniers!

  9. Dave Cushwa
    3rd July 2010 at 11:37 pm #

    I use panniers when I can, but my BOB trailer allows me to put aside fears of rear wheel failure as I am 250 lbs. Another plus is when I am touring with my petite wife (who is not a strong rider), I can throw her stuff in the trailer as well. This also helps to equalize our speeds somewhat.
    I have about 6K miles on my BOB and I have never experienced any jackknife-type indications or failure of the way-strong 16″ wheel. It is another wheel subject to flats, though. The only trouble I ever had was when I lost a coupling pin (I now carry spares) and I had to rig up some wire and duct tape to get to a hardware store.
    The BOB beats panniers any day of the week for shopping at Costco and bringing home a 48-pack of toilet paper! 🙂

  10. Tom Allen
    4th July 2010 at 3:21 pm #

    Sounds like the full spectrum of trailer solutions isn’t being considered here. I use a mountain-bike with an Extrawheel Voyager trailer and rear panniers on a Tubus rack, with more weight on the trailer where possible. This is my preferred setup, but there’s no single solution for everyone here. This is why it works for me:

    I much prefer to ride off-road (Sudan, Ethiopia, Mongolia) and I am with Dan in that I’d never use front panniers. I need manoeuvrability and the ability to twitch the handlebars rather than having to basically bulldoze my way through rocks/gravel/sand/mud.

    Not only that but having the rear panniers reserved for lighter bits and bobs and the main luggage on the trailer makes for a much more balanced ride, rather than a rear-heavy one that’s prone to back-end mechanical problems (broken spokes, bearings, frames). The trailer weighs in at about 15kg, the rear wheel takes my bodyweight plus a few kg of food.

    Manoeuvrability is a non-issue with the Extrawheel; I barely notice the difference, whilst loading up the rear rack makes for a huge impact. Off-road it’s a godsend as far as I’m concerned.

    Packing it for transport is another non-issue – I’ve got two complete bikes plus racks AND two Extrawheel trailers packed into a single bike box (minus the wheels). BOB trailers – that’s a different kettle of fish. It’s also possible to take one pannier off the Extrawheel, so you do in fact have half a trailer.

    For road touring, in an ideal world I’d get a road touring bike with front and rear panniers. I think it’s a completely different set of requirements, and for that reason it’s very difficult to have a meaningful debate about the intrinsic value of panniers as compared to trailers.

    This debate will go on, I am sure!

    • Jason
      10th September 2010 at 8:33 am #

      I agree with you and I’ve just purchased an Extrawheel trailer but have no experience with panniers or trailers (other than a child trailer that I tow my daughter around in), I just bought the extrawheel trailer but I haven’t decided which panniers to get for it yet. Sound like you have a lot of experience so I’m wondering if you could tell me which panniers you would recommend I get for the Extrawheel? I intend to use it with my mountain bike on trails like the Colorado trail, White Rim and Kokopelli for starters. It’s the newer model that doesn’t have nets but instead requires panniers. Extrawheel makes there own Panniers but I wasn’t sure of the quality of them since they haven’t been making them very long.

      Thanks,
      Jason

      • Tom Allen
        10th September 2010 at 8:49 am #

        Extrawheel’s panniers are actually made by Crosso who are a specialist luggage maker from Poland. I use the Expert panniers and have found them to be pretty tough, but I don’t think they are the best panniers in the world – seems Ortlieb are hard to beat, though they are expensive. The plus points of the Expert panniers is that they’re made of cordura which is waterproof and resistant to damage, you can get a lot of kit in them, and you can simplify them considerably by removing the lids and back pockets (which I consider unnecessary). They’re inexpensive and they fit the trailer perfectly, since Extrawheel designed the Voyager to match Crosso’s attachment system which I’ve found to be reliable.

        Instead of getting them direct from Extrawheel you could get the Twist panniers direct from Crosso, which are the same as the Expert ones but without the lids/pockets. For fitting other brands of pannier I’d contact Extrawheel to check.

      • Graeme Willgress
        5th November 2010 at 1:20 pm #

        Hi Tom
        I only recently learned of the ‘Extrawheel Voyager Expert’I love the idea and it looks really sound. I like to know more about your experiences with it, particularly how it handles side winds and the like.
        My two wheeled Carry Freedom City trailer is great, but is limited, with small wheels etc to trails and fire roads. With my heart ‘off the beaten track’, ( old fashioned mountain biker) I’m seriously considering one of these as well as the city. I reckon it could save me from panniers or compliment a rear only set up. I’d love to hear more. 🙂

  11. Dwight
    16th July 2010 at 7:52 pm #

    I’m pretty happy with my Bike Friday. When travelling by plane or train, I put the bike into the hardshell suitcase and my camping gear goes into a duffel bag. I use small panniers as a carry-on. I assemble the bike at my destination, convert the suitcase into a trailer, and dump the duffel bag contents into the trailer.

    There are some down-sides. The trailer is heavy and the wheels are small. It’s a good system if you plan to use public transportation, but I prefer to use panniers when I can.

  12. Graeme Willgress
    26th October 2010 at 11:46 pm #

    I’m trailer biased, having used both. I wrote about my Carry Fredom City trailer a couple of weeks ago. I’d counter that my trailer is easier to manage away from the bike you can choose to unclip the bag and sling it over a shoulder and completely flat pack the frame in 30 secs or use it as a travel suitcase utilising the castor wheels to take it through doors, ace.
    Yes you need another tube, but I got fed up with clipping and unclipping panniers, broken catches etc. I also prefer the wiehgt distribution and no stress on the rear wheel. I wouldnt use it for a real rough, gravel road adventure, though I would use a Y frame instead.
    At 4.5 Kgs it isnt heavy (weigh 4 ortlieb panniers/ racks etc and I think it’s better in cross winds.
    Yep, totally biassed 🙂

  13. Kevin Shannon
    28th October 2010 at 7:08 pm #

    I agree with Tom on this one. I’ve been using the Extrawheel for the past few months without a problem. Initially i noticed there was a little drag on steep uphills but your legs soon become accustomed. On downhills, i’ve only had my trailer jack-knife once and this was due to an error on my part – uneven weight distribution.

  14. Peter Sognorini
    30th January 2011 at 9:34 am #

    I’ve used both the BO trailer and the Extrawheel. I do prefer panniers by default for the better traction and ease of handling. On my recent 9 week tour to outback Australia I took the Extrawheel to give exra carrying capacity for the times when we would need to carry up to 20L of water and food for 7-9 days. This trailer is brilliant, barely noticeable when I’m riding and has a very short tow length. It is ~ 3kgs compared to the BOB’s 7kgs and the big 26″ wheel means no need to carry a different tube size.

    While it was a great outfit, I still just use the four panniers for normal touring. The BOB by the way doesn’t replace your panniers – it only carries 3 panniers worth of gear in the bag.

  15. Graeme Willgress
    30th January 2011 at 10:02 am #

    I agree about the traction issue. It’s easy to ‘spin up’ the back wheel when riding on loose, steep surfaces, or even wet roads if they’re steep enough. I’m currently using an MTB frame and the shorter stays help prevent this, as does shifting your weight back, as in MTBing.
    The jack-knife issue on loose tracks is not so easy to understand. If the back wheel is locked, the trailer will push the bike, just like a truck (tail wagging dog syndrome). Outside of that, there should not be a problem. I’ve not ridden steep down hills off road, but have ridden 30% gradients in Cornwall/Devon (up and down). My Carry Freedom trailer behaved beautifully, not withstanding its limits on single track (that I dont really ride).
    I think, if your carrying loads are high, this must increase the jacknife possibility on tracks as all the mass is behind you. If you attempt to brake quite hard on any bend, the trailer will try to go straight on!!!! It sounds like your friend tried everything he could? maybe this is the limit of that trailers usefulness? If you are carrying really high loads, maybe a trailer brake would be more useful thatn the cycles rear brake (as it is on a truck)? Answers on a postcard please, lol 🙂

  16. Dennis connor
    31st May 2011 at 5:09 am #

    Bike Friday pocket llama for my touring. Suitcase trailer no prob and like being able to fly out of dif cities if I want. Check bike and duffe. Carry on l have max legal backpack and day bag with camelback I hang from stem/bars. Use rear seat stem bag with zip/ fold down panniers but keep that light. Europe, Thailand, cambodia or Rockies all has worked great.
    Took ellsworth MB with suspension BOB from banff to Kalispell on GDMBR trail and had no probs what so ever with that. Couldn’t imagine anything else working as well.
    Also only select trains in Europe allowed bikes so was handy to have folder.

    • Kent Strumpell
      3rd April 2012 at 9:45 am #

      Agree with Dennis. For local tours I prefer panniers and my big wheel bike, but my Bike Friday system is hard to beat for packing and shipping convenience when air travel is required. This strategy does require that you use the trailer so it accompanies you to your point of departure. But not having to hassle with finding a shipping box, sketchy packing and then crossing your fingers that the bike doesn’t get damaged is comforting. Still, I might try boxing the Bike Friday and taking panniers some day, since this bike does lend itself to collapsing for shipping and trailers do have the disadvantages noted elsewhere.

  17. Georges
    11th September 2011 at 6:35 pm #

    Hi all,

    from my experience, one of the first question one should ask himself is what kind of bike he wants to take for what purpose. For Transalp, the best is just a small backpack (25 liters), that can be attached on the steer bar while not on the trails (see pictures on my blog -> Tips&Tricks).
    As soon at it start to be a long travel, the “off-road” part becomes to be tricky.
    No suspension means no comfort and no fun (no MTB). Suspension means normally “no pannier” as it would kill the suspensions (front and back).
    A trailer (Extrawheel or Bob) will have a very bad impact on the suspension system of any FULL Suspension bike (due to the side-movement of the trailer on the bearings).

    For now, the only way to avoid that issue is solved by AEVON:
    http://www.aevon-trailers.com

    Question: has any one information about large vs small wheel trailers?
    Cheers, Georges

  18. Georges
    11th September 2011 at 6:38 pm #

    P.S.: the main advantage of the Aevon is: travel to your MTB-Spot, set up your base camp and remove the trailer and then enjoy your real Mountainbike.

    • Georges
      18th April 2014 at 10:56 am #

      Just an add-on to my previous comment:
      Last year I crossed twice Germany (south-north-south) with a MTB and a trailer. http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/12/740.jpg

      Three years ago, I was in Australia with panniers: nice compact, can be lifted in to the room (power act) but main downsides are:
      – no suspension on dirt road can be harsh for body and material
      – when removing the panniers, the bike was no fun to me to ride (e.g. Single track or in town)

      I think there is just the appropriate gear for the given purpose.

      Mosts are absolutely right here. A trailer opens the door to carry more. With its up and downsides. (More food/water vs more not necessary stuff).

      I must say that the large wheeled single trailer attached at the seat post is extremely stable: even during an emergency brake at 35km/h and full loaded (35kg at least), the limit is the brake and your courage.
      Main advantage: same wheel as rear wheel of the bike, same tires, much less rolling resistance in sand/loose ground.
      And it was even possible to use it as a people transport (80kg over 5km)
      (Quite a good tire for that setup: Schwalbe smart sam, with which I’ve ridden over 5000km and it is still in good shape for at least another 2500km)

      So my two and half cents: define your purpose of the journey and then choose your ride.

      Enjoy it… 😉

      Cheers

  19. Michael
    27th September 2011 at 10:14 am #

    Hi I thing the stuff you write on is great ,I would like to add another contender for your debit and its the longtail bike like the Surly Big Dummy or the xtracycle could you do a blog or some type of write up about it ? what are your thoughts on it Thanks and the best Michael

  20. Ben
    19th October 2011 at 4:26 am #

    We did a cross-country tandem tour carrying both front/rear panniers and a Burley Nomad 2 wheeled trailer. On a tandem this is a great setup for fully loaded (camping) tours as it is difficult to carry everything for 2 people otherwise. It does make for a long bike but never had too much trouble finding a parking spot. I have found that the trailer seems simpler and I have since toured on my single bike with just a trunk bag/handlebar bag and the Nomad trailer. All I need to do is attach the coupler on my rear spindle and hook up the trailer. One big advantage in my opinion is safety and visibility on the road. Cars definitely tend to give you a wider birth when you have a trailer. It also allows me to fly a flag, a slow moving vehicle symbol, and add extra lights which make me very visable. The Nomad trailer also is set to ride a couple of inches to the left of the bike, therefore sticking out just a bit more in the road making cars go around you. The trailer is very stable, doesn’t affect handling and except when climbing (as with any load on a bike) you can easily forget that it is even back there,

  21. matt
    28th November 2011 at 4:10 am #

    The only thing good I can say about panniers is they could be easier to fly with, but then again you still have to get two racks into the bike’s case and then you have 5 bags to check or whatever (some airlines don’t count snapped together as one bag). The trailer folds flat and is just another huge box like the bike, then you have your gear bag…
    Panniers require racks and a special bike strong enough for them, and almost all racks are spindly breaky things. I have never had a trailer fail other than a flat tire. of course I didn’t have to unhook anything to change the flat, just quick release etc.
    My favorite trailer is now the Burley Nomad, but the BOB yak qualifies as great if you are going lots of urban and need something skinny. Weight ? Panniers and racks weigh more than a BOB, so you’re pretty even and you just can’t easily get things in panniers like in a Nomad (like a tent which I find handy).
    Nothing better than dropping the trailer at a secluded campsite by pulling one pin, and then heading to town for whatever. I do use a rear rack and rack trunk for little stuff the bike can carry.

  22. Will
    25th January 2012 at 6:13 am #

    I have toured with both trailer and panniers.If I am staying on a paved road then panniers are easier to use, but for offroad touring, I prefer my BOB Ibex.
    If im going extremely off the grid, the Ibex allows me to carry plenty of gear,food ect without over weighing the rear wheel, damaging spokes or worse. I have never experienced a jackknifed trailer to some of the concerns above.Proper loading and riding should prevent that. Plus with a trailer, your center of gravity is lower which allows you(or me I should say) to have better preformance on technical slopes.

  23. Ellen
    7th September 2012 at 5:42 pm #

    I have used the Bike Friday trailer system and found that going up hills was harder but otherwise very stable and I have gone downhill at 28 miles per hour and it did fine. I have gone down a narrow trail with it and made it amazingly. I have the extrawheel trailer with the 2 panniers and it was much easier to climb hills and it tracked well behind me. I have only used it on paved roads. I do not like the feel of weight on the front wheel so prefer trailers if I need to haul stuff. I prefer no trailer but when you have stuff, then you deal with it. I find after the first few days you don’t really feel whatever you are pulling behind you anymore and I usually tour 4 to 6 weeks. Like most people say, there is no right or wrong way to travel. It is whatever you can handle and if you have as much stuff as I always seem to, then I have to take a trailer. It is easy to remove and store and parking isn’t really a problem. With the click stand it holds the load fine but the little kickstand I originally had on the Bike Friday didn’t work and the bike would fall over. I usually found a place to lean my bike, like a building so I managed fine. I guess the only thing I can do is lighten the load one day and just go with 2 panniers on the rear!!! The ideal world.

  24. Nate
    31st March 2013 at 5:33 pm #

    In 2011 I rode my cannondale synapse 7 from the canadian border in fort kent, maine down to key west, florida. On the trip i put in over 3000 miles using a rear above the tire rack and and extrawheel voyager. If i had to do it again i would certainly do it the same way. I was worried about having panniers on the bike, seeing as it has a carbon fork, so i ordered an extrawheel to carry my gear. food and extra water was carried on the rack behind me and i can’t say i ever had any problems with my setup. The only problem with the trailer was that i often forgot i was towing it and had to turn around and make sure it was still there. Also, the added length increased the sway when trying to use the aero-bars, so only on the widest smoothest roads was it possible. Since the weight on my trailer was static, i figured out how to pack it before leaving, and reached speeds of 48mph downhill with no serious discomfort.

    Maybe if i had a different bike i would consider using just panniers, but having put so many miles on my bike and having it be in such good condition still, I’ll stick with my current setup.

  25. Chris Tu
    15th April 2014 at 11:45 am #

    Try the revolutionary DOM T2 trailer. Maybe you will think differently.
    http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/gear/category/accessories/trailer/product/review-dom-t2-touring-trailer-13-47674/

  26. Georges
    20th April 2014 at 6:58 pm #

    Chris
    the Dom T2 seems light and compact when travelling by plane/train etc.
    My guess: better not to go off-road with it.

    If you want a “revolution”, check that out:
    http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/12/738.jpg

    😉
    Cheers, Georges

    • CycleMiles
      21st April 2015 at 7:13 pm #

      We’re the UK importers of the T2 single wheel trailer.

      We first saw it at the Taipei Cycle Show in 2012 where it had won a coveted Taipei Cycle d&i (design & innovation) award. There are 1000’s of products at Taipei Cycle and it’s very difficult to win a d&i award.

      Having seen the T2 trailer, I imported one trailer to test it and see if it was in my opinion worthy of importing and offering to other cyclists. I had previously always used a combination of front and rear panniers depending on whether I was camping or hosteling.

      My test was a two week cycling holiday in the inner and outer hebrides with my girlfriend in Scotland. Caroline used rear panniers. What I couldn’t know when I planned the holiday was just how terrible the weather was going to be in May 2013. It was diabolical. Very cold, wet & windy for much of the adventure. Even the CalMac ferries stopped running one day. That’s how bad it got.

      But. The T2 was amazing. Why?
      1. It was easy to load. Much easier to get the weight distribution right. No weighing panniers.

      2. It was far far less affected by the very windy conditions compared to Caroline’s panniers. The T2’s bags contents are spread low to the ground, when compared to panniers. Caroline’s pannier caught the wind. The T2 far far less so.

      3. My bicycle was far more comfortable to ride than when using panniers. When riding on bumpy roads or off-road, the weight was behind my rear wheel, rising and falling. With panniers, the weight is right over your rear wheel and all that weight rises up your saddle (and bottom) and back down over your wheel in bumpy conditions.
      4. Because the weight is behind your rear wheel, your rear wheel has far less stress put on it.

      5. The T2 trailer handled amazingly. Coming down Goat Fell road on Arran at 55kms I was terrified that the T2 might ‘jackknife’ and come past me with disastrous results. It didn’t. It sticks to the road and the handling is fantastic. My bicycle is so much nicer to ride now than when I was loaded with panniers, front and rear. The weight is the same, but the comfort and handling of the bicycle is almost like normal. You can still hop up/down curbs if you want to and the turning circle is increased by approximately 1 meter. Not much.

      6. Whilst longer, the profile of my bicycle was narrow. This made it much easier to cycle along singletrack and paths, sometimes with quite high growth at the sides. Caroline’s panniers caught on the side undergrowth, it didn’t touch my bicycle or the T2.

      7. The T2 is beautifully made in 6061 Aluminium and 100% waterproof TPU bag. Back to the weather in Scotland. It was terrible and the T2 bag never leaked once. Absolutely no need to double bag. All the spares are available. It is made to be used, parts wear out / damaged with use and repaired.

      8. The T2 is easy and very quick to attach / detach to your bicycle. It takes seconds and all your luggage is off the bike and with the large opening of the bag, everything is much easier to find and retrieve. It’s very quick to get your luggage on/off transport e.g. trains too.

      9. You don’t need pannier racks. It can quickly fit almost any bicycle with 135mm rear hubs with quick release, Rohloff or Alfine. And you can use it with a Carbon framed lightweight bicycle if you want to.

      I could go on. I was converted. Understandably, readers will say that as the importer and reseller I’m biased and just want to make a sale. I may be biased, now, but we certainly don’t want to sell anything to anybody they don’t need. I’m an adventure cyclist and CycleMiles is here to support other adventure cyclists however they decide to travel. Cycling is a broad church.

      The T2 single wheel trailer is a great trailer and it’s light. I can’t say if it’s better than a BOB or an extra-wheel or any other trailer, but I can say it’s a great trailer for touring and adventure cycling on or off-road. Put the hitch-nuts on your bicycle and you are good to go. That’s why we now offer it for sale or hire and carry all the spares.

      If you want to know more, you can always call us 023 92 455 355.

  27. Mykel
    27th April 2014 at 9:38 am #

    Great forum here. I’m a roadie from the 80’s. In 2010 I traded in my Cannondale CAAD 5 SAECO for a 2009 Raleigh Grand Prix and a BOB. I love my BOB. Raleigh is decked out with carbon & Campagnolo wherever I can. I run a 30/39/53 and a 11-30 ten speed. 1×1 ratio … I climb 8k ft. ascents easily with 90#s on a 20# bike. I have a carbon Topeak seatpost minirack with mini bags;I load all essentials in it i.e. repair needs,fuel. BOB carries my HammockBliss hammock,a Topeak Bikamper tent,40f sleeper, spare foldables,cooking gear,MRE’s,cable locks etc. Some how it all adds up to 60-90#s. BOB wieghs 15#s, But my bike is light fast & climbs like a Pro-tour gazelle.

  28. Rest of the world
    27th April 2014 at 10:36 am #

    Would be nice to have world understable units instead of # like kg and meters… Just my two cents…

    • Rest of the world
      27th April 2014 at 10:38 am #

      and for temperature of course kelvin (scientifically correct) or at least Celsius.

    • Peter H
      22nd March 2016 at 7:56 am #

      I agree, If you must use a local measurement system like US or imperial or traditional Malay measures, please give the metric equivalent – this is a World wide web.

  29. Darryl Hansell
    18th September 2014 at 11:02 pm #

    I love my trailer,its more aero,can put anything in it,have gone 73km down a hwy in Alaska,no wobble or jack-knifing,can just put the bike at a 45 and its stays up,dont have to STRAIN holding a heavy bike up also no flats on my rear tire.In Alaska where you need to have also aa bear barrel so it holds a lot,once you get going it seems almost effortless.

  30. Steven Krusemark
    14th October 2014 at 9:55 pm #

    We ride a tandem and use a re-purposed Burley Children’s carrier trailer. We find the bike is easier to handle both while riding and pushing it around than with the bike heavily loaded with panniers. The two-wheeled trailer stands on its own and put less wear and tear on the back wheel. The large space also allows for thicker mattress pads and more room for better cooking gear. We definitely do not travel light when we tour. The larger trailer could be more difficult in wind, but the larger back and bright yellow surface is very visible to drivers. Also, many think we have children in the back and give us much much more room when they pass. We have ridden ~25K miles with panniers and now have switched and have about 1200 miles with the re-purposed kiddie trailer.

  31. Steve S.
    2nd December 2014 at 8:13 pm #

    I have used panniers but currently use a Burley Nomad trailer with the optional rack on top, but I do this for a very specific reason: I need to sleep with a CPAP machine. That used to mean that I was tied to overnights where power was available to me. I now have two Goal Zero “Nomad 13” solar panels which exactly fit the size of the rack. They charge a Goal Zero “Sherpa 100” battery, which is sufficient to run my CPAP for two nights. Together those panels (combined) are rated to charge that battery in 7.5 to 15 hours, depending on conditions. As I only need to replace 50% of the charge each day the time to accomplish that is more like 3.75 to 7.5 hours. As the trailer is behind the bike I rarely cast a shadow over the panels, and the rack can be tilted somewhat to align the panels based on the position of the sun. Long story short, this is something I can do with the trailer but not nearly as well with panniers. It isn’t for everybody, but is just what I need. In the event of there being just no sun for two days I’ll have to spend 90 minutes near an outlet, perhaps in a coffee shop, but that is not normally required. This enables me to ride places like the Great Allegheny Passage or Katy trails and camp in primitive campsites. The battery and two panels weigh around 7 pounds, and I have to take them with me when leaving the bike locked to keep them from disappearing, but that is worth it to me for the capability they provide.

  32. Curtis Larson
    14th February 2015 at 4:57 am #

    I use both regularly. It’s really all a matter of how much you’re carrying. Panniers for small light loads, one wheel trailers for bigger, heavier loads and two wheeled trailers for the really big stuff. Under 30 lbs and I’d opt for panniers. 30-50 and I’d go with a BOB. 50+ and it’s a two wheeler all the way.

  33. Donald Walter
    20th April 2015 at 2:55 pm #

    I have ridden with a trailer on foldables,and recumbents as well as panniers only. The trailer allowed more larger camping gear to be brought along on my tours that did not fit on the rear rack well, it makes the hauling of gear appear easier on flats but steep hills, negotating stairs, trains,high traffic areas and some bike paths is where they fail. In the long run after careful dilberation the use of panniers only is a better choice and made mobility easier which is important when touring in Europe and forces me to take much less gear on my tours.

  34. Karl
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    I have a SWB recumbent that can only take rear panniers and despite have really large Carradice super C bags and a rack pack I struggle to fit everything in for long tours.Carrying all the gear puts a lot of stress on my bicycle especially the headset so I have been thinking about getting a trailer to balance out the weight a bit.My plan is to get a Burley Nomad for most of my kit and carry a pair of front Super C’s for a few essentials my only problem is I do not know if it’s best to get a one or two wheeled trailer.

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