in message <[email hidden]>, Mark
(') said:I've found this thread extremely useful. I'm doing a Big
Ride later on in the year & was beginning to ponder the
subject of how to carry my stuff.
I'd never considered a trailer, but did so after someone
mentioned it in another thread. There are some Bob Yaks on
the Orbit site, I note. I was seriously considered getting
one, until I realised that it possibly won't be viable
because my Big Ride involves a train journey to get to the
starting point, and I think that there may be issues with
transporting the trailer as well as the bike on the train
(unless it can be carried as hand luggage when not in use,
which I'm not sure is feasible).
In my experience (and it was twenty-odd years ago I was
doing this regularly) bike + trailer on the train is a lot
easier than bike + a lot of heavy panniers on the train. I
never had a guard object to the trailer, which is, after
all, not much different to a wheeled suitcase.
If you have a bike (which is an awkward thing to lift
anyway) burdened down with panniers it becomes an
exceedingly awkward thing. I recall often getting my bike
and trailer off a train, hitched up and ready to go while
other cyclists were still struggling to get their heavily
loaded bikes through the door.
In those days I was (as I'm sure everyone here knows by now)
using a bike hod. For fast touring it's probably not the
best trailer but it is exceedingly easy to manouvre off the
bike, being to all intents and purposes a large shopping
trolley. So it was extremely easy to get it on and off the
train. <URL:http://www.bikehod.com/bike-hod/index.html>
Quoted message said:My question is: what do people use for front & rear
panniers? I see Ortleib have some specific front ones at
25l. Do people use ones like this with smaller capacities
on the front and larger ones on the back? Can you get
smaller ones than 25l for the front?
If you're going for panniers be sure to get a 'low-rider'
type front rack - one which puts the centre of gravity of
the panniers behind and/or below projected axis of the
steering head - otherwise you can get some _very_ odd
steering effects. But, having use both, I stick to my
opinion that a trailer is much better.
--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke)
jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗ There's nae Gods, an
there's precious few heroes but there's plenty on the dole
in th Land o th Leal; And it's time now, tae sweep the
future clear o th lies o a past that we know wis never real.
