THE TOURING CORNER: Trailers!?

Previously we have spoken of the influence of competition on road bike design.  Generally speaking this type of bike is not really suitable for touring.  However…

That said, some kinds of touring can work well on a race oriented bike. For quite a few years, I’ve used such a bike for a four day event.  I’ve loaded up my trailer, hooked it up behind a pretty aggressive bike, and pulled it 65 miles to a Bike MS weekend.  That combination allowed me carry enough stuff to do the weekend.  But once I got to the event, I dropped the trailer and had a nice, light, fast bike to ride in the actual two days of the event.  Once the event was over, I reloaded the trailer, hooked it up, and pulled it back home.  That worked well, but I would not want to do an extended tour with that setup.

            That last was a personal preference.  For a lot of tourists the trailer strategy works and works well. So let’s discuss for a moment the pros and cons of trailering a load.

            The first consideration is the “infrastructure cost” of a trailer.  Infrastructure is the stuff that supports what you are doing.  When we speak of “infrastructure cost,” we are not comparing purchase prices, but rather the weight and energy required by a given system.

EXAMPLE:  Two liters of water may transported in two different systems.

2 bottles and 2 cages:  weight less than one pound, attached to the bike frame

Hydration Backpack:  Weight approx 2.5 ppounds, carried on rider’s back

In this example the backpack has a higher infrastructure cost.  There may be other factors to consider, which make the backpack a good choice.

Trailers have a higher infrastructure cost.  Assume the bags are about equal in weight.  Trailers will weigh in at 20 pounds, or more.  Most racks weigh less than five pounds.  In addition, a trailer adds to the length of the vehicle and usually increases the handling effort.

I’m not arguing against the use of trailers.  Every tour is different, and every tourist has different requirements and objectives.  For instance, shorter riders require smaller bike frames.  Often this makes it difficult to mount racks on the bike, and the bike, when packed out, can be very unwieldy.  Also, trailers can have great utility outside of touring.  A grocery trip can be a lot more productive if it’s done with a trailer’s greater load volume.  The trailer can also allow a much greater range of bicycle choices.  (See my example at the beginning of this article.)

Two wheel vs. single wheel:  Two wheel trailers are more stable, but they have more drag and a wider track.  Frequently traffic considerations will result in a two wheel trailer will dropping the right hand wheel off the road, causing a tricky handling problem.  Single wheel trailers are less stable at low speeds, but they are not as wide.  In both cases parking can be a bit of a problem.  Of note, the B.O.B. Yak™ solves this in a handy way.  It’s a single wheel trailer, but it is designed so that the rig can be “jackknifed” to park, and then becomes stable.  This eliminates the need for a kickstand.

Other concerns and considerations:  How does the trailer connect to the bike?  Some use clever modifications of the rear wheel skewer, others clamp to some part of the bike frame.  There are significant pros and cons to each of these attachment strategies.