Three wheels on my wagon...

I've been boring on on this group for years about how I used to use a
trailer - a Bike Hod - to carry all my gear on two week research
fieldwork trips, and how in my opinion a trailer is the right solution
for load carrying by bike.

And for years I've been dithering about buying a new trailer. Thing
is, I really wanted a Weber Monoporter but I couldn't cost-justify
it. So I dithered. Last weekend I visited the co-op in Edinburgh,
really only intending to buy a pair of wheelbags, and they had one of
their own-brand trailers on display. OK, it's cheap. But it's robustly
made and not naff, and it's not desperately heavy. The co-op
apparently like to do a pre-delivery inspection on a trailer just as
if it were a bike, and I wasn't in Edinburgh for long (and really
didn't want to pull the thing a hundred miles home); so I ordered it,
and this afternoon it arrived.

This evening I loaded it up with a representative camping load (tent,
sleeping mat, sleeping bag, stove, eating gear, a bag of clothes) and
took it out for a twelve mile run over the 200 metre contour.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

So: initial thoughts

You do notice it on the bike - there's no question that it's there.
But it followed docilely at up to 50km/h on well surfaced descents,
including bends, and pulled very easily on the flat - I don't think it
affected my speed on the flat at all. the first time I got out of the
saddle on a climb I didn't like the feeling at all and sat down
immediately. It felt decidedly odd. But as I went on I quickly got
comfortable getting out of the saddle. It definitely doesn't like you
swinging the bike around much - there's a definite pendulum effect,
and it's a bit disconcerting - but if you keep the bike steady you can
get out of the saddle without problems. You do feel the weight on
climbs, but I managed some very sharp climbs without difficulty, so I
don't think I'd ever need to walk up hills. Long steep climbs are
going to be slow, but the extra weight seems to make the bike steadier
at low speed.

It does not like uneven surfaces at speed, and I think at least at
first I'd be very cautious on off-road descents.

The latch mechanism which holds the trailer to its custom skewer is
simple and positive and I didn't feel any anxiety about it becoming
unhooked accidentally. The connection felt remarkably secure.

Reviews of the trailer comment that the bag has only sewn, not welded,
seams and thus won't be waterproof. The co-op appear to have taken
that criticism on board and fixed it. I haven't had the bag out in the
rain yet, but the seams all appear to be welded and it looks
watertight. It's obviously not Ortleib quality, but it's well enough
made in a cheap'n'cheerful way.

The wheel is clearly not great quality, and having a knobbly tyre on
it seems to me to make no sense at all (I've ordered a Marathon to
replace it); but nevertheless it rolled well and as I've said I didn't
feel it slowed me any on the flat - it was easy to hit 32km/h on the
flat, and to cruise at 27km/h.

Although the trailer packs flat for delivery, it isn't really a
folding trailer. It takes a fair bit of disassembly to collapse it,
and you wouldn't want to do it often. I'm not sure i believe the claim
that you can pack it into its own bag, and even if you can you would
not want to. This being so, the quick release bolts used to hold the
top frame and the mudguard seem unnecessary.

Without the bag, there's nothing to hold stuff in the trailer - it
would be better with lightweight netting all round between the top
frame an the floor.

The magic skewer to which the trailer attaches replaces the existing
skewer in your rear hub (a bit bizarre replacing my titanium Campag
skewer with this rather large and clunky thing. However, with the
vertical drop-outs on my cross bike, the knob on the end of the skewer
fouls on the derailleur when trying to get the rear wheel out, and I
think it's going to need to be completely removed each time the wheel
is removed - not exactly quick release!

The only thing about it which I would fault on quality is the vertical
spindle on which the linkage pivots. This is secured by a single wing-
nut with no locknut. If it came undone, the nut would inevitably get
lost and then the spindle would work its way out, causing the linkage
to fail. At least a locknut is required there, and actually I'd prefer
to replace it with a crown nut and split pin.

Simon Brooke wrote:
I've been boring on on this group for years

Indeed, and with no sign of stopping.

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:59:40 -0700 (PDT), Simon Brooke
wrote:

I've been boring on on this group for years about how I used to use a
trailer - a Bike Hod - to carry all my gear on two week research
fieldwork trips, and how in my opinion a trailer is the right solution
for load carrying by bike.

And for years I've been dithering about buying a new trailer. Thing
is, I really wanted a Weber Monoporter but I couldn't cost-justify
it. So I dithered. Last weekend I visited the co-op in Edinburgh,
really only intending to buy a pair of wheelbags, and they had one of
their own-brand trailers on display. OK, it's cheap. But it's robustly
made and not naff, and it's not desperately heavy. The co-op
apparently like to do a pre-delivery inspection on a trailer just as
if it were a bike, and I wasn't in Edinburgh for long (and really
didn't want to pull the thing a hundred miles home); so I ordered it,
and this afternoon it arrived.

This evening I loaded it up with a representative camping load (tent,
sleeping mat, sleeping bag, stove, eating gear, a bag of clothes) and
took it out for a twelve mile run over the 200 metre contour.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

Is one wheel better than two?

http://www.britishschoolofcycling.com/photos/trailer2
http://www.britishschoolofcycling.com/photos/trailerbox

It seems to me that with two wheels you can organise the load so there
is minimal extra weight on the bike's rear wheel.

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:59:40 -0700 (PDT), Simon Brooke
wrote:

I've been boring on on this group for years about how I used to use a
trailer - a Bike Hod - to carry all my gear on two week research
fieldwork trips, and how in my opinion a trailer is the right solution
for load carrying by bike.

And for years I've been dithering about buying a new trailer. Thing
is, I really wanted a Weber Monoporter but I couldn't cost-justify
it. So I dithered. Last weekend I visited the co-op in Edinburgh,
really only intending to buy a pair of wheelbags, and they had one of
their own-brand trailers on display. OK, it's cheap. But it's robustly
made and not naff, and it's not desperately heavy. The co-op
apparently like to do a pre-delivery inspection on a trailer just as
if it were a bike, and I wasn't in Edinburgh for long (and really
didn't want to pull the thing a hundred miles home); so I ordered it,
and this afternoon it arrived.

This evening I loaded it up with a representative camping load (tent,
sleeping mat, sleeping bag, stove, eating gear, a bag of clothes) and
took it out for a twelve mile run over the 200 metre contour.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

So: initial thoughts

You do notice it on the bike - there's no question that it's there.
But it followed docilely at up to 50km/h on well surfaced descents,
including bends, and pulled very easily on the flat - I don't think it
affected my speed on the flat at all. the first time I got out of the
saddle on a climb I didn't like the feeling at all and sat down
immediately. It felt decidedly odd. But as I went on I quickly got
comfortable getting out of the saddle. It definitely doesn't like you
swinging the bike around much - there's a definite pendulum effect,
and it's a bit disconcerting - but if you keep the bike steady you can
get out of the saddle without problems. You do feel the weight on
climbs, but I managed some very sharp climbs without difficulty, so I
don't think I'd ever need to walk up hills. Long steep climbs are
going to be slow, but the extra weight seems to make the bike steadier
at low speed.

It does not like uneven surfaces at speed, and I think at least at
first I'd be very cautious on off-road descents.

The latch mechanism which holds the trailer to its custom skewer is
simple and positive and I didn't feel any anxiety about it becoming
unhooked accidentally. The connection felt remarkably secure.

Reviews of the trailer comment that the bag has only sewn, not welded,
seams and thus won't be waterproof. The co-op appear to have taken
that criticism on board and fixed it. I haven't had the bag out in the
rain yet, but the seams all appear to be welded and it looks
watertight. It's obviously not Ortleib quality, but it's well enough
made in a cheap'n'cheerful way.

The wheel is clearly not great quality, and having a knobbly tyre on
it seems to me to make no sense at all (I've ordered a Marathon to
replace it); but nevertheless it rolled well and as I've said I didn't
feel it slowed me any on the flat - it was easy to hit 32km/h on the
flat, and to cruise at 27km/h.

Although the trailer packs flat for delivery, it isn't really a
folding trailer. It takes a fair bit of disassembly to collapse it,
and you wouldn't want to do it often. I'm not sure i believe the claim
that you can pack it into its own bag, and even if you can you would
not want to. This being so, the quick release bolts used to hold the
top frame and the mudguard seem unnecessary.

Without the bag, there's nothing to hold stuff in the trailer - it
would be better with lightweight netting all round between the top
frame an the floor.

The magic skewer to which the trailer attaches replaces the existing
skewer in your rear hub (a bit bizarre replacing my titanium Campag
skewer with this rather large and clunky thing. However, with the
vertical drop-outs on my cross bike, the knob on the end of the skewer
fouls on the derailleur when trying to get the rear wheel out, and I
think it's going to need to be completely removed each time the wheel
is removed - not exactly quick release!

The only thing about it which I would fault on quality is the vertical
spindle on which the linkage pivots. This is secured by a single wing-
nut with no locknut. If it came undone, the nut would inevitably get
lost and then the spindle would work its way out, causing the linkage
to fail. At least a locknut is required there, and actually I'd prefer
to replace it with a crown nut and split pin.

Just what we need. As if cretinous lane-hogging slow psycholists are
not bad enough, now we have _articulated_ ones!

On 2009-07-23, Simon Brooke wrote:
I've been boring on on this group for years about how I used to use a
trailer - a Bike Hod - to carry all my gear on two week research
fieldwork trips, and how in my opinion a trailer is the right solution
for load carrying by bike.

[...]

Why do you prefer a trailer to the usual panniers?

Saw a bike once with one of these:
http://www.koga.com/uk/newsitem.asp?id=7197841

On 23 July, 21:36, Tom Crispin
wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:59:40 -0700 (PDT), Simon Brooke



wrote:
I've been boring on on this group for years about how I used to use a
trailer - a Bike Hod - to carry all my gear on two week research
fieldwork trips, and how in my opinion a trailer is the right solution
for load carrying by bike.

And for years I've been dithering about buying a new trailer. Thing
is, I really wanted a Weber Monoporter but I *couldn't cost-justify
it. So I dithered. Last weekend I visited the co-op in Edinburgh,
really only intending to buy a pair of wheelbags, and they had one of
their own-brand trailers on display. OK, it's cheap. But it's robustly
made and not naff, and it's not desperately heavy. The co-op
apparently like to do a pre-delivery inspection on a trailer just as
if it were a bike, and I wasn't in Edinburgh for long (and really
didn't want to pull the thing a hundred miles home); so I ordered it,
and this afternoon it arrived.

This evening I loaded it up with a representative camping load (tent,
sleeping mat, sleeping bag, stove, eating gear, a bag of clothes) and
took it out for a twelve mile run over the 200 metre contour.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...a7Zg?feat=dire....

Is one wheel better than two?

http://www.britishschoolofcycling.co...tos/trailerbox

It seems to me that with two wheels you can organise the load so there
is minimal extra weight on the bike's rear wheel.

I'm persuaded it is, yes. I used, as I say, to tour with a two wheel
trailer, and had a problem with the trailer overturning on high-speed
down-hill bends. That's a pretty severe problem. It seems to me likely
that a one wheel trailer will behave better in this respect, and
tonight's test run tends to confirm that view.

On 23 July, 22:36, Ben C wrote:
On 2009-07-23, Simon Brooke wrote:

I've been boring on on this group for years about how I used to use a
trailer - a Bike Hod - to carry all my gear on two week research
fieldwork trips, and how in my opinion a trailer is the right solution
for load carrying by bike.

[...]

Why do you prefer a trailer to the usual panniers?

It detaches easily and leaves the bike uncluttered. Also, it's a lot
easier to pack, and when loading the bike on and off trains it's
considerably more manageable (although this probably is not true with
a one wheel trailer!)

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:36:12 -0500, Ben C wrote:

On 2009-07-23, Simon Brooke wrote:
I've been boring on on this group for years about how I used to use a
trailer - a Bike Hod - to carry all my gear on two week research
fieldwork trips, and how in my opinion a trailer is the right solution
for load carrying by bike.

[...]

Why do you prefer a trailer to the usual panniers?



You can get a bike plus trailer round Sainsbury's when you do the
shopping - but the panniers make it just a little too wide.

--

Vote NO to the proposed group uk.rec.cycling.moderated aka uk.rec.cycling.censored

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:44:43 -0700 (PDT), Simon Brooke
wrote:

On 23 July, 21:36, Tom Crispin
wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:59:40 -0700 (PDT), Simon Brooke



wrote:
I've been boring on on this group for years about how I used to use a
trailer - a Bike Hod - to carry all my gear on two week research
fieldwork trips, and how in my opinion a trailer is the right solution
for load carrying by bike.

And for years I've been dithering about buying a new trailer. Thing
is, I really wanted a Weber Monoporter but I *couldn't cost-justify
it. So I dithered. Last weekend I visited the co-op in Edinburgh,
really only intending to buy a pair of wheelbags, and they had one of
their own-brand trailers on display. OK, it's cheap. But it's robustly
made and not naff, and it's not desperately heavy. The co-op
apparently like to do a pre-delivery inspection on a trailer just as
if it were a bike, and I wasn't in Edinburgh for long (and really
didn't want to pull the thing a hundred miles home); so I ordered it,
and this afternoon it arrived.

This evening I loaded it up with a representative camping load (tent,
sleeping mat, sleeping bag, stove, eating gear, a bag of clothes) and
took it out for a twelve mile run over the 200 metre contour.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...a7Zg?feat=dire...

Is one wheel better than two?

http://www.britishschoolofcycling.co...tos/trailerbox

It seems to me that with two wheels you can organise the load so there
is minimal extra weight on the bike's rear wheel.

I'm persuaded it is, yes. I used, as I say, to tour with a two wheel
trailer, and had a problem with the trailer overturning on high-speed
down-hill bends. That's a pretty severe problem. It seems to me likely
that a one wheel trailer will behave better in this respect, and
tonight's test run tends to confirm that view.

OK - I can understand that. A single wheeled trailer will be able to
tilt at quite an angle offsetting outward forces; a two wheeled
trailer is not designed to tilt at all, so any outward force needs to
be offset by gravity.

I had my four bicycle bicycle trailer topple over once, much to my
embarrassment and the amusement of the regulars outside the local pub.

Quoting Tom Crispin :
[Trailers]
Is one wheel better than two?

It is if you plan to go around corners quickly. It is not if you plan to
haul stupidly huge quantities of cargo over relatively short distances.
--
David Damerell Kill the tomato!
Today is First Olethros, July - a weekend.