Just an update:
I got in touch with the shop and the mixup has been sorted. For an additional small price in order to cover the shops cost price of the ibex, they have allowed me to keep the Ibex and not get a Yak. a huge thanks to the Cloughjordan Cycle Co-op, Tipperary. cloughjordancyclecoop.comindex.phpOpen ↗
it appears it has worked out for the best. The spring helps absorb the massive road craters we have here in Dublin, and im sure the roadsides in australia wont be glassy smooth either.
I havent loaded the trailer up that much yet, only had 2 test runs so far with a light load. from what i see though it looks like its good for road use, though it does tend to bounce about a little. when it lands off-centre and off the tracking of the 2 bike wheels, there is a slight wobble for a split second while it hops back in line. its a little disconcerting at high speed, but once you stick to the 40km/hr limit its grand!
Straightline speed is fine, its easy to forget its there behind you. there is no need to turn around and check though, i can simply glance at the inquisitive looks i get from all sorts of passer-by! I find that motorists seem to give me far more room than usual which is a big plus.
Steering is not bad, a little sluggish but you adapt very quickly. One thing to be careful of is avoiding bumps at the last second. Before, i would avoid as many potholes as
possible as long as its safe to do so, even if it was at the last second. now i have 3 wheels to avoid, so even if the bike wheels clear it, sometimes the trailer does not and it hops out as described above. nothing major, again controllable once doing 40km/hr or less.
The DrySak is great, absolutely huge and looks to be very waterproof.
So first impressions are very very good, i feel very comfortable using it and it bodes well for the future. I might buy a new tyre for it though, something with a tread more suited for roads. Hopefully it will be a good choice for my tour in Australia, i am trying to avoid having panniers at all. 😎
