Trailer vs Panniers

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Tangled Metal
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Trailer vs Panniers

Post by Tangled Metal »

I'm curious to know, is it easier to tow kit in a trailer or on the bike? Imagine same load fixed on the bike in panniers, rack bag, bar bag, etc. Or the same load in a trailer being towed behind. Which is going to tire you out quicker?

Reason for asking is I was towing a child trailer at the weekend and it was hard work. I'm new to touring but have carried a bit of a a load on my bike and it seemed easier. By load I'm talking 13kg of child on a seat plus panniers full of family outdoor kit and picnic, which was a similar amount carried in the trailer.

We have the idea of family touring holiday with child trailer and a cargo trailer from the same company so we could swap trailers. The idea is it takes the load off the bikes (mtb and roady gravel bike).

So have you tried both options? Which was easier if you have tried both?
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DaveP
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by DaveP »

I suspect that there isn't going to be a definite answer to your question. Obviously the weight of the trailer will be added to your load, and you'll get additional rolling and air resistance. You will have to work a bit harder to get it all up a hill. However, although doing more work, I find it less tiring than having the same kit in panniers, simply because the unloaded bike gives me a better ride quality.
I would suggest having a few more rides with the trailer before reaching a decision. Don't fall into the trailer trap though! You know what I mean -Taking extra stuff "because I can" :lol:
Trying to retain enough fitness to grow old disgracefully... That hasn't changed!
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Cunobelin
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by Cunobelin »

I am a much fitter rider than my wife, ans as her knees became worse, this became more so.

The use of a trailer and panniers enabled us to tour

She carried personal stuff in a couple of small panniers and I carried the rest on the trailer
pwa
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by pwa »

It has to be better to avoid the considerable extra weight of a trailer unless you really need it.
lisap
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by lisap »

There are pros and cons to each but in general I find the trailer produces more drag because of the extra wheel although it flows behind the bike well and I like how the bike responds.

On the other hand panniers are easier to get on and off the bike in a hurry leaving you a more versatile machine. They change the way the bike handles though and I find a fully laden bike cumbersome on hills.

After much trying out of both my normal touring mode is now a combination of both, Bob trailer behind with 2 small ortleib front panniers.
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syklist
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by syklist »

Tangled Metal wrote:Reason for asking is I was towing a child trailer at the weekend and it was hard work. I'm new to touring but have carried a bit of a a load on my bike and it seemed easier. By load I'm talking 13kg of child on a seat plus panniers full of family outdoor kit and picnic, which was a similar amount carried in the trailer.

We have the idea of family touring holiday with child trailer and a cargo trailer from the same company so we could swap trailers. The idea is it takes the load off the bikes (mtb and roady gravel bike).

It could be the trailer and/or it could be the trailer hitch that is the problem. If the flexible bit of the trailer hitch is a spring with an elastomer down the middle then it will cost you lots of extra energy pulling the trailer. The trailer will bounce/tug on the hitch all the time especially when climbing or pushing on. We did two cycle camping tours with this kind of hitch and replaced the hitchs (both bikes and trailers) with Weber couplings. Very much easier to pull the trailer now.

We've now replaced the 18kg child trailer with a 13kg child trailer. Junior is now 15kg and the new trailer (with Weber coupling) is even less work than the old one was (even after fitting the Weber coupling). We prefer Junior in a trailer as it makes the bike more stable.

Weber couplings cost a lot but you can get them to fit virtually any trailer and any bike.

One other thing to check is tyres on the child trailer. We used 55mm wide Big Apples on the old trailer pumped up to just enough to keep the outer tubes on the wheels. This worked well on gravel tracks and rough tarmac. Pump the tyres up too hard with a small child and the trailer will bounce and jarr the child and take more energy to pull.
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Tangled Metal
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by Tangled Metal »

I've only towed a child trailer (for about 19 months now on and more often off). Having not ridden much for about 2 or 3 months and only a week into a new bike I really struggled up a very steep hill near me towing the child trailer (Burley D-lite 2 child trailer). I had one 13kg child in and a whole plethora of coats for child and both parents, lunch in lots of plastic boxes, bike locks, toys, etc. etc. etc. Riding up that hill on a bike without a granny gear was not much fun. I was even thinking of changing the cassette to have a lower gearing option.

The idea we had was either each of us with panniers and we towed the child trailer with some stuff in as well as the child on a tour or we got a cargo trailer (would have to be burley for the same hitch) and we loaded that. So one person takes the child, the other takes more of a load. The idea is to even out the load according to fitness and strength. Up until last weekend I would have said I was a stronger rider. I am but not when towing the load uphill without the low range gears. My partner is very unsympathetic in that she says I will just have to get fitter or it will make me fitter doing this. Now growing up on top of a steep hill with 1 in 4 or 5 slopes to get anywhere I got used to grinding it out up steep hills. I just wondered if we ditched the trailer and carried kid and kit on the bikes whether that would feel easier? I guess handling would not be fun at all. Especially for me with the lad being so high up, largest size of bike they do means a very high centre of gravity.

Common sense tells me extra pair of wheels and the extra weight of the trailer means more drag and effort to ride but something makes me think that the feel of a heavily loaded bike would have an equivalency in the feel to that extra weight. Is that right?

Perhaps a single wheel trailer with child on the bike seat might work, two of these trailers to carry the load and if needed panniers on the bike not with the child.
pwa
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by pwa »

For me, child seat + trailer = cumbersome and awkward. I would prefer the child low down in the trailer and the baggage on low positioned panniers. I would include front panniers to steady the steering, as too much weight at the back makes things twitchy. A touring bike, fully loaded, should handle nicely and be easy to control. My wife (normally very careful) once kept up with me as we sped down a Swiss alpine descent at nearly 50mph with four panniers apiece, so putting some weight up front is a good idea.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by Tangled Metal »

Did you know Burley give a 15mph top speed for towing a trailer? Well that is what it said on the documentation for my D-lite trailer. That is not easy to do with the downhills near me. I checked my strava and my top speed was 24.6mph at one point. I had been trying hard to keep to a slow speed at that time. Earlier on I got to about 18mph then I remembered the speed limit and slowed. After that I was trying hard to slow down on the downhills. Not easy to guess your speed at all. Need to get a speedo quick. My last one was a cateye wireless and it stopped reading long before my bike got nicked with the sensor on it.
pwa
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by pwa »

I've never used a bike trailer, but I have a lot of experience of towing trailers behind pick-up trucks and minibuses and the thing you are trying to avoid is "snaking", where the trailer starts to weave from left to right. If you are not doing so already, using a mirror to keep an eye on the steadiness of the trailer would be wise.
theDaveB
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by theDaveB »

I use a single wheel trailer but have never tried panniers. For me it was because I am on the heavy side so didn't want to put extra weight on the bike with loaded panniers. At first it felt weird pulling the trailer but after a few hours I was constantly looking back to make sure it was still attached as I couldn't tell.

Downside for me was finding somewhere to stand the bike with trailer attached and also finding somewhere to stand the bike while attaching and detaching the trailer. Am sure a 2 wheel trailer would help greatly but for now I have purchased a folding walking stick, which wedges under seat or somewhere else on the bike and you can stand it anywhere (advice from someone on here).

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mercalia
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by mercalia »

One of the issues is how much weight on the rear wheel, not only a matter can it take it, but also tyre inflation. A heavy load might mean tyres need to be pumped up more, and ofcourse they may wear faster. Yakalike single wheel trailers share the loads weight between the rear wheel and the trailer wheel ( unlike 2 wheel trailers) the more the weight is towards the trailer wheel the less on the cycle rear wheel? So loading up a single wheel trailer is important - put the heavy bits as close to the trailer wheel as possible? Now that I am losing weight I hope to be able to get by with panniers as trailers are a real pain for trains.
Vorpal
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by Vorpal »

This topic has been discussed a few times before, though not necessarily with regard to taking children along. Mine are now too big to fit into panniers :wink:

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=65020

I have often taken both child seat and trailer for long trips with children. My children have both preferred the child seat when they were awake, but the trailer when tired or in poor weather. I think that it's nice to have both to give the child/ren some variety.

I cannot carry panniers with a child seat on our tandem, though I can just get panniers under the Hamax Sleepy on my standard bike. They can't hold much, and they are hard to get to with the child seat in place. So, most of what I carry has to go in the trailer or in the child seat. I do have a front rack for the tandem, but I have not yet fitted it.

Carrying children and luggage is hard work, however you end up doing it. But the difference between trailer and panniers is largely down to personal preference unless you need the additional capacity that you can get from a trailer.
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Shootist
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by Shootist »

For a while I used a tandem with a child seat and a trailer. The trailer was an old steel thing from way back, the coupling made from a piece of radiator hose that was clipped around a fitting on the rear carrier. It had no fore and aft movement but allowed tilting with no problem. To keep things secure (ish) I bolted an old tin cabin trunk to the trailer. It felt like it was a mile long, and when me, the wife, toddler, picnic stuff, nappies etc. were loaded up it must have weighed a ton. We took it from Derby to visit the tramways museum in Crich which is up a pig of a hill. We had to push most of the way. Coming down was a different matter, I think we could have passed sports cars if my nerve, and the brakes, had held. As it was, I damned near passed water.

For intrepid lycra types intent on a couple of hundred miles a day, no good at all, but it was great fun for a family trip out to the countryside
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PH
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Re: Trailer vs Panniers

Post by PH »

You can't argue with the physics, extra weight and drag will require extra energy to move, on the flat that might be so small as to hardly be noticeable, but I'd be surprised if you didn't notice it up any sort on incline. Against that is the feel and the possibilities a trailer opens up: Carry luggage for two, or more kit than you'd want on a bike, or use a bike that you can't or don't want to load up, there's plenty of scenarios where a trailer wins, but for me there's also plenty where a couple of panniers comes out on top. I have a Bob Yak, it doesn’t get used much, occasional time I combine camping and Audax, one tour carrying luggage for two and a bit of heavy shopping, even with so little use I'm glad I have it and anyone who considers a bike a transport would IMO benefit from owning one.
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