panniers verses trailers



Insight Driver

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Jun 26, 2003
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My wife and I are relatively new bicycling enthusiasts and we are thinking about doing some touring. We have road bikes. I have been looking at bicycle trailers because my reasoning is that I could pull a trailer with my Giant OCR2 more easily than I could mount panniers on that compact frame. I also think the tongue weight of a two-wheel trailer would add less strain to the frame than the extra weight of fully-loaded panniers.

I've looked throug the touring thread and saw no mention of bicycle trailers at all. I am interested in all feedback possible on this topic.
 
Originally posted by Insight Driver
My wife and I are relatively new bicycling enthusiasts and we are thinking about doing some touring. We have road bikes. I have been looking at bicycle trailers because my reasoning is that I could pull a trailer with my Giant OCR2 more easily than I could mount panniers on that compact frame. I also think the tongue weight of a two-wheel trailer would add less strain to the frame than the extra weight of fully-loaded panniers.

I've looked throug the touring thread and saw no mention of bicycle trailers at all. I am interested in all feedback possible on this topic.

Trailers have their place. However, you will not find many on long distance, self supported tours.
I am not trying to discourage you from a trailer. Their are some fine ones out there. They have some advantages over racks and panniers. You already found one; not place to attach racks.
They are also easier/faster to pack. They can carry things that are quite large/odd shaped for around town shopping. They can be quickly and easily detached.
Now for a few negatives:
They are heavier,
They are less aerodynamic,
They put you load in "harms way" when dealing with wet weather conditions
 
Now for a few negatives:
They are heavier,
They are less aerodynamic,
They put you load in "harms way" when dealing with wet weather conditions

They are also awkard if you are flying or catching the train somewhere to start your tour.
 
Thanks for the feedback. As far as aerodynamics are concerned, is it that much of an issue? I understand that a bike with front and rear panniers undergoes a lot of pushing around in sidewinds. Is a trailer much worse in that regard? I also think that in touring, I would more likely be riding at a speed where I could keep up the pace all day. That would be slower than I would normally cruise on a 20 mile ride, per say.

At current time I do not anticipate taking a flight or train. We are considering going to places within reasonable driving distance to start.

I am also aware that I could find clamp on types of racks and panniers. I do not know if I would have an interference problem with a compact frame, though.

Being that I see advantages and disadvantages to both systems, any more feedback is most helpful on this topic.
 
Originally posted by Insight Driver
Thanks for the feedback. As far as aerodynamics are concerned, is it that much of an issue? I understand that a bike with front and rear panniers undergoes a lot of pushing around in sidewinds. Is a trailer much worse in that regard? I also think that in touring, I would more likely be riding at a speed where I could keep up the pace all day. That would be slower than I would normally cruise on a 20 mile ride, per say.

At current time I do not anticipate taking a flight or train. We are considering going to places within reasonable driving distance to start.

I am also aware that I could find clamp on types of racks and panniers. I do not know if I would have an interference problem with a compact frame, though.

Being that I see advantages and disadvantages to both systems, any more feedback is most helpful on this topic.

I would'nt try panniers on your frame.
You will need to use a trailer and do whatever you can with it.
If/when you decide on another bicyle with touring in mind, you can then get one set-up to accept, racks, fenders, wider tires, etc.
There are many that use existing road bicycles for short touring applications and have a lot of fun.
When you hook up the trailer you will be in a different mode.
Try it and enjoy it. A trailer just makes for a very different ride feeling.
 
Having used some of the best panniers ever designed (Robert Beckman, Ortlieb, and Carradice), and having used a variety of different trailers, I very much prefer trailers, especially those that have two wheels.

--Panniers make most bicycles handle quite poorly. Trailers, especially if they mount hear the rear axle, tend not to have much effect on bike handling.

--It is truly a pain to forever be packing and unpacking four separate panniers. Trailers packing/unpacking is much faster and easier--you'll save hours every week.

--You can carry large bulky items much more easily with a trailer than with panniers--you can also carry more weight.

--Believe it or not, the best trailers cost less than the best-designed panniers. Four Beckman panniers and matched racks is more than US$1,000. The best trailers are only 25-50 percent of that cost.
 
Originally posted by daveornee
I would'nt try panniers on your frame.
You will need to use a trailer and do whatever you can with it.
If/when you decide on another bicyle with touring in mind, you can then get one set-up to accept, racks, fenders, wider tires, etc.
There are many that use existing road bicycles for short touring applications and have a lot of fun.
When you hook up the trailer you will be in a different mode.
Try it and enjoy it. A trailer just makes for a very different ride feeling.

Thank you for the reply. My LBS guy also thinks a trailer would make sense for me. It's been a while since anyone else has weighed in on this topic. I'm still up in the air on buying a trailer at this time.
 
I have ridden with both a BOB trailer and nice Jandd panniers.
When I rode cross the US, a friend was on a bianchi veloce (similar to a tcr or ocr or whatever)... He used a bob trailer and had absolutely no problems. You may want to invest in some fenders that would block you from getting wet during rain, your frame wont allow for full wrap around ones, but anything is better than nothing.

Aerodynamics: yea it makes a difference. Riding fully packed panniers into a headwind sucks. You can feel it as opposed to a trailer. Going down hill with well packed panniers is a lot of fun though, as is a good tailwind!
 
I too have to go with the B.O.B. trailer. The single wheel system trackes your bike perfectly even on single track trails. I've used mine with my Cannondale road bike and my FS mountain bike. I used panniers for years but didn't like the way the bike handled going down fast roads with switchbacks and stand up hammering needed a no bike swing technique. The trailer also serves me very well for trips to the store or checking out garage sales around town. There is a lot less limitation on loads compared to panniers. It feels like you can haul three times the load with less effort than panniers and when you get to where your going the trailer doubles as a hand truck.
 
I too have to go with the B.O.B. trailer. The single wheel system trackes your bike perfectly even on single track trails. I've used mine with my Cannondale road bike and my FS mountain bike. I used panniers for years but didn't like the way the bike handled going down fast roads with switchbacks and stand up hammering needed a no bike swing technique. The trailer also serves me very well for trips to the store or checking out garage sales around town. There is a lot less limitation on loads compared to panniers. It feels like you can haul three times the load with less effort than panniers and when you get to where your going the trailer doubles as a hand truck.
 
I myself am a pannier fan. I went across the US last summer with 8 other guys, all using super cheap performance epic panniers (160 for all four). They were big, and carried all the things we needed plus extra things like juggling gear. They take about a week to get used to, but after that the bike feels more stable than without, especially flying down long mountain roads. It takes a bit of muscle to do emergency manuevers however, but those manuevers are virtually impossible with a trailer from my experience.

The one guys on our trip that had a BOB got his back wheel caught in a rut on going down a long hill and ate pavement, and had to go home on the third day of the trip. So, I'm not a big fan. We used the cheapest panniers we could find and only one broke, which I fixed using a piece of chain link fence.

The only downsides were megga wind resistance, and that we broke a lot of spokes. The main culprit was our bargain bikes and crappy richey wheels, but trailers generally don't cause you to break spokes like panniers do.

BRING EXTRA SPOKES, A CHAIN WHIP, AND COG PULLER ON YOUR TRIP!

roadshowusa.org
 
I'm not sure I'll be too helpful but I'd suggest a BOB trailer. My experience is toting my son around - first in a 2 wheel trailer and then on a "Trail a Bike". The difference was amazing. The single wheel made such a difference, I'd never consider a 2 wheel trailer.

I recommend you try to find a way to test drive both and see what you like best.

Tim
 
My first post here, and my $.02:

I toured last summer, I started out with a bob. I had some handling problems with it, that got worse the more weight I had in it. It ended up trying to kill me - got into an uncontrollable wobble on a 30mph downhill, it jack-knifed, I high-sided and spent the night in the hospital. After that, my tour partner and I traded his panniers for the bob, thinking that it was the weight ratio between me & the trailer that was the problem - but it didn't handle any better for him, and he weighs 100 pounds more than me. in the end we ditched bob and got me front and rear panniers, and that was much better. the bike was more stable. Yeah, there is more windage with the panniers, esp. in a side wind, but I found it way worth it.

Also, parking with the trailier was a pain, you had to find a huge parking space.

I really prefer the panniers. I heard all kinds of 'my trailer tried to kill me' stories after my crash, but none before.

Good luck!

valygrl
 
thanks valygrl for the input. It was, in my humble opinion, worth much more than $.02 to me.

You mentioned "my trailer tried to kill me," stories. I'd be very interested in hearing about any crashes due to trailers or panniers.
 
Insight Driver - the stories come in two (similar) flavors: 1) speed wobbles, where the front wheel starts to slalom back and forth (this is what happened to me) and 2) trailer tries to overtake the bike. This might be the same thing. I heard it described as the tail wagging the dog, and also as the trailer trying to steer you, instead of you steering it. Someone i talked to a couple of days ago described the speed wobble very well, I can't do it justice, but basically he said the trailer would go one way, pushing the front wheel the other way. When the rider tries to correct it, the trailer would go the other way, and the same thing would happen on the other side.

what i remember from my experience was that i got a little wobble going, and it just got bigger and bigger, the front wheel swooping farther and father in either direction... i tried to brake gently, not wanting to do anything sudden, but it didn't work. the same swooping thing happened to me earlier in that same day, but gentle braking brought it under control. i can't really analyze it any better than that - it all happened pretty fast. i just remember thinking "i'm going to crash" and then i was waking up on the side of the road. the day i crashed i had about 10 extra pounds of food & water from what i usually carried, because we had about 70 miles with no services that day.

oh yeah, for full information, i was riding a hard-tail titanium mountain bike, with a locked-out shock, carrying a fairly light handlebar bag and towing the trailer.

The bob instructions (which I read after the fact, d'oh!) say you should not load it heavier than 70 (??) pounds and not go faster than 25 mph. I think the combination of heavy load and high speed is what got me.

oh, and if you do get a bob, get some spare cotter pins and some duct tape to keep them attached... what a stupid way to attach the trailer! those pins just disappear with no provocation.

to be fair, i have also heard of and met lots of folks who really like their bob trailers, and don't feel it affects the handling. as for me.... i'm about to buy a real tour bike. racks and panniers all the way.

valygrl
 
valygrl,
Major bummer about your crash. I've been using my BOB for about five years now. I have learned to load heavier stuff on the bottom and to the rear. How it is loaded does affect handling a lot. I have carried a boxed 25" screen TV, 12 miles. My fastest speed then was 15mph and it was really touchy handling. The bike I use most with it is a Cannondale hybrid. I think the beefy aluminum frame contributes a great deal to stability with heavy loads. When I use on my old steel framed Stump Jumper, the heavy loads tend to twist the frame around quite a bit. I do use panniers with a Blackburn expidition rack. I have four different pairs that I use depending on requirements.
Larry S.
 
It should be worth mentioning in the same breath as trailor loading that panniers can be quite dangerous at speed if loaded incorrectly as well. You must be sure to keep the weight low, centered, and balanced, (left right and 60/40 back to front) or risk high speed shimmy that will cause the bike to be nearly uncontrollable. If you do encounter any of this, try holding the top tube between your knees while riding, and it will help bring it back under control.
 
I've pulled a "Quik lite" 2 wheel tailer on many trips with no problems at any speed. I normaly carry over 50 lb. with only 3 lb. on the rear axel. Can't think of any reason to switch.
 
I have only just come across this forum, so hopefully my comments are not too late. Two things that no-one has mentioned about trailers are the high rolling resistance. Adding an extra wheel or two increases the rolling resistance a lot more than adding weight to the bike (not to mention the trailer is heavy). Secondly the problems on bumpy roads. This is more an issue with two wheel trailers as you then have 3 sets of tyre tracks which need to avoid holes/bumps, though a single wheel trailer also suffers this due to the increased length. (As the bike swerves it follows its own path).

As for the discussion on paniers (I use panniers when touring). I find they greatly increase the the stability of the bike. In fact during a tour if I take them off to dash to a shop the bike feels very unstable at first. My wife almost came off her bike the first time she made this change. I have never had stability issues when riding with panniers, regardless of loading. As for using panniers, I think a lot depends on your organisation. I have a spot for everything and so know exactly were to find things. It is quick and easy to pack, I can break camp in 10 minutes if feel motivated.