Looking for advice on trailers

Werehatrack said:

I'm considering the idea of building a cargo fetching bike with a
trailer as a means of expanding my grocery capacity via bike. In
addition to supplies for people, I often need to bring home a 25 pound
bag of cat litter and/or a large and bulky 18 pound bag of pet food,
neither of which fits in a front basket or on a rear rack very well.

A trailer whose hitch or other attachment hardware is available
separately would be particularly favored, as that would allow the same
trailer to be employed with the tandem when desired, without having to
move the hitch.

Currently under consideration are Nashbar's "kid carrier" trailer and
their single-wheel cargo trailer, and similar designs. (I don't yet
know if they offer spare hitches.)

The benefit of experience-based observations concerning these and
others would be appreciated.

My bike trailer experience is almost exclusively with our Bike
Fridays. (Or are they Bikes Friday? IANAEM*)

Bike Friday uses a standard air hose fitting fastened to the bike (see
http://tinyurl.com/5tx8us). The quick-connect fitting on the hose
allows pivoting and two-second no-tools removal. The hose flexes for
turns, bumps, etc. Separate hitches are available.

The Bike Friday trailers are manufactured by this related company:
http://www.bikerev.com/

We have many hundreds of miles on our Friday trailers. I've had only
one problem, when I scraped through a narrow space and lost a cotter
pin that held a wheel on. More secure cotter pins are available.

The trailer tracks perfectly and doesn't seem to affect bike handling
at all, except for being slower uphill. I've heard that trailers with
high hitches (like seatpost attachments) sometimes affect handling.

- Frank (*I Am Not An English Major) Krygowski

I'm considering the idea of building a cargo fetching bike with a
trailer as a means of expanding my grocery capacity via bike. In
addition to supplies for people, I often need to bring home a 25 pound
bag of cat litter and/or a large and bulky 18 pound bag of pet food,
neither of which fits in a front basket or on a rear rack very well.

A trailer whose hitch or other attachment hardware is available
separately would be particularly favored, as that would allow the same
trailer to be employed with the tandem when desired, without having to
move the hitch.

Currently under consideration are Nashbar's "kid carrier" trailer and
their single-wheel cargo trailer, and similar designs. (I don't yet
know if they offer spare hitches.)

The benefit of experience-based observations concerning these and
others would be appreciated.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Werehatrack said:

I'm considering the idea of building a cargo fetching bike with a
trailer as a means of expanding my grocery capacity via bike. In
addition to supplies for people, I often need to bring home a 25 pound
bag of cat litter and/or a large and bulky 18 pound bag of pet food,
neither of which fits in a front basket or on a rear rack very well.

A trailer whose hitch or other attachment hardware is available
separately would be particularly favored, as that would allow the same
trailer to be employed with the tandem when desired, without having to
move the hitch.

Currently under consideration are Nashbar's "kid carrier" trailer and
their single-wheel cargo trailer, and similar designs. (I don't yet
know if they offer spare hitches.)

You don't need a spare hitch with the Nashbar Kid Karrier. It clamps onto
the left chainstay with two rubber-coated half-pipe pieces.

Quoted message said:

The benefit of experience-based observations concerning these and others
would be appreciated.