Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sam Schild on January 9, 2010 at 11:24am

That trailer is really nice. Especially if you're going to be touring someplace very remote. Because, in case of the absolute WORST case scenario, you have an extra wheel trailing behind your bike.

have you seen this one?:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-M_Wave-M-Wave-Bicycle-Luggage-Tr...

like a BOB, but foldable.

I too have been thinking about trailers lately. One thing I do like about the idea of a two wheeled trailer is easy transportation of firewood and other large items--don't even have to drop the rest of your gear off before loading up with wood. But, that's about the only positive of two wheeled trailers I've heard.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on January 9, 2010 at 12:34pm

Thanks - how do I fold and bag the thing up to get on the train/bus or even airplane?

Sam Schild said:

That trailer is really nice. Especially if you're going to be touring someplace very remote. Because, in case of the absolute WORST case scenario, you have an extra wheel trailing behind your bike.

have you seen this one?:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-M_Wave-M-Wave-Bicycle-Luggage-Tr...

like a BOB, but foldable.

I too have been thinking about trailers lately. One thing I do like about the idea of a two wheeled trailer is easy transportation of firewood and other large items--don't even have to drop the rest of your gear off before loading up with wood. But, that's about the only positive of two wheeled trailers I've heard.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on January 9, 2010 at 3:18pm

Matt, I'd recommend reading this blog entry posted by a guy who took a BOB IBEX on the Munda Biddi Trail in Western Australia, which is off-road through the bush except for relatively short stretches of pavement.

He has some commentary during and after this trip on the handling, etc of trailer. Here is his index for the entire trip.

He also was leaning towards the Extra Wheel, but it wouldn't have been available in time for the trip as you'll read.

Hope that helps you make the best decision for your needs.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on January 9, 2010 at 6:39pm

Thanks for the shout out. 'preciate it.

Out of curiousity, and maybe I missed it, but why is the need for a single wheel trailer in particular? Is it in particular the portability of it?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on January 9, 2010 at 7:05pm

Portability and affordability. Bike Friday's two wheel setup costs $400+. That's a whopping sum for something to carry luggage. I've been reading very good things about single wheel trailers in that some are highly manueverable (especially the "extrawheel") and they naturally have less rolling resistance. They can also carry around 75 pounds worth of gear, which is more than all the gear I would carry on a long tour.

So this would not be a utility trailer but a touring cargo trailer. And wow - storing it would require I have enough space to hang up a wheel. Only question is where is the luggage bag for the wheel and trailer? I'd keep that in a front pannier if I knew where to buy it.

Maybe a wheel bag is the solution... Then I'd just have to find a place to stuff the trailer frame.

It occurs to me I have an extra front fork that might be adapted to this purpose.

Lee Diamond said:

Thanks for the shout out. 'preciate it.

Out of curiousity, and maybe I missed it, but why is the need for a single wheel trailer in particular? Is it in particular the portability of it?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jackie on January 10, 2010 at 5:34am

I for sure want that Extrawheel - Voyager Expert. ... I don't need anything as intense as that, but it sure looks amazing, and seems like it would motivate me to ride across the country with that thing! Good luck with your decision making!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Duppie on January 10, 2010 at 8:25am

We do have a Bob Yak 28 trailer with wate43rproof bag) and have done multi-day loaded touring with the trailer tied behind our tandem (supplemented by low-rider panniers upfront). It carried our tent, sleepingbags, pads, etc., but no cooking gear (we're not that hardcore). It was a pretty good ride. We went up to 40mph downhill with and it still tracked straight at that speed. YOu have to remember to park in the proper spot, since bike and trailer can be hard to move backwards.

After research I found that Amazon had the lowest price, mainly because it is no-tax and free shipping.

One thing I didn't like as much is the QR-lever. It is hard to tighten it enough so that the wheel won't come out of alignment. I have noticed this behavior on our tandem as well on regular bikes, on the occassions that I used the trailer to carry stuff.

When not in use, it hangs from the ceiling in our basement and it takes up about the same amount of space as a bike would.

We looked into the BikeFriday trailer. I think the nice part of it is that suitcases are part of it. So you can stow your bike in the suitcase (assuming you have an foldable or S&S coupled bike. Our tandem is). You can prevent the airline charges for bike travel ($80 and up each way) and when you get to the destination you can re-assemble your bike and load your gear into the cases and carry them on top of your trailer.
Downside is the price, and the fact that you need some sort of foldable/packable bike

I've read stories about the extrawheel and it sounds interesting, but I've never seen one in real-life, nor do I know anybody that has one.

Can I ask why you're looking for a trailer as compared to racks/panniers?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Glenn on January 10, 2010 at 8:58am

Bob Trailers

:-)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sam Schild on January 10, 2010 at 12:39pm

Matt M. said:

Thanks - how do I fold and bag the thing up to get on the train/bus or even airplane?

A wheel bag would be a good starting place for carrying the folded trailer. I haven't seen one of those in real life, so I can't attest to how small it is folded. There are videos and pictures on the internet, though.

What kind of touring do you expect to be doing? I think the BOB or a BOB-like trailer is the best all around as far as single wheeled touring trailers go. The Extrawheel seems a bit excessive to me. And, it's more expensive than the BOB, yeah?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bikefreeek on January 10, 2010 at 1:14pm

The BOB Coz trailer was pretty cool in that the load container was a rubbermade action packer that you could disassemble the trailer and put it into. It wouldn't fit too much other than that, but you could probably stuff it full of your clothes and other soft maluable things if you needed too.

I found it best not to take a trailer touring if possible. When my partner and I did New Zealand un-supported we were able to fit everything into two sets of panniers each and then our tent and sleeeping bags on top of our racks. This was very low hassle when we chose to get on busses and trains. I ran into a few other bike tourists who were doing it with a BOB and when getting on trains and busses it was much more of involved and awkward.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on January 10, 2010 at 3:17pm

Good point about the Bike Friday trailer, H3.... Now that I know how Extrawheel built their contraption I find myself going off on a tangent wandering around the hardware store....

However I got the idea to put two forks together steering tube to steering tube. A pin through the steering tubes would fasten them together and provide the side to side pivot. A steel plate attached to some of the Extracycle bolts from their website would then be secured to the fork end of the part attaching to the bike. Some sort of pivoting bearing arrangement would be secured to the plates in order to accomodate ups and downs.

Wow - to copy someone's invention can be cheap....

• ▶ Reply