However, as the steering axis is further forward, they cut corners and catch in brush – an issue on tight and winding trails, and city furniture too – so you’ll need to take this into account when you ride. They also have a much tighter turning circle, which is useful for day to day use. Trailers that hitch to the seatpost impact the handling of your bike less than those that mount to dropouts. Some are hitched to your bike’s dropouts with a proprietary axle, whilst others attach to the seatpost. They tuck away out of headwinds and have minimal rolling resistance. Single-Wheel Trailersīelieve it or not, single-wheel trailers have been around since the 1950s! Their slim profile makes them inherently better suited to both narrow trails and wiggling through traffic. Higher end child trailers feature some form of suspension, which is recommended for off-road touring. If you intend to ride with the front flap rolled up, full-length mudguards on your bike will help keep dust at bay. For hot climates, it’s worth looking out for models with mesh side panels in addition to windows. In terms of usability, the width of the doorway to your home is a good data point to consider. Child trailers come in different widths – wider is more stable – so check the trailer spec and making sure it works for you. On buses, planes, and trains, they can often be folded down and transported for free, without counting as part of your luggage. Many two-wheel child trailers double up strollers (pushchairs), which can be really useful for exploring towns and any off-the-bike activities.
Most higher-end models offer adaptor accessories to work with internal hubs and different dropouts, but it can take some research to figure out what works with what – the Robert Axle Project is a great place to head if your bike has thru-axles. If you’re towing a baby or infant, we recommend packing heavy gear as low as possible to help improve stability. However, they can be prone to flipping over if one of the two wheels catches an errant rock or you hop a curb. They can typically carry high payloads and they handle especially well at slow speeds. This means that beyond the effort of hauling the weight itself, they have minimal impact on the handling of your bike, no matter how much load you carry. Two-wheel trailers are rotationally decoupled. Unless you own a dedicated cargo bike, we think almost everyone who rides a bike would find value in having one in their stable.Ī few reasons why bikepacking with a trailer can be a great idea: In fact, there’s little to beat the adaptability of trailers and their power to turn an everyday bike into so much more… and back again, in the minute it takes to unhitch them.
Even to bring along our pets.Īnd because life isn’t just about bikepacking (sadly), here’s the best bit: trailers offer a practical, space-efficient way of facilitating a car-lite lifestyle back at home, helping make our cities more relaxing and liveable places. To ferry our children on family adventures. They can be used to carry ski equipment or kayaks. Simply put, trailers are fantastic tools for transforming our existing bikes into something completely new, transcending what we thought we can do with them. After all, a light and lively bike is invariably more fun to ride than one laden with the kitchen sink and more, especially on off-road routes and those with more challenging trails. We’ve waxed lyrical about the benefits of paring down possessions to the bare necessities so we can tackle rugged mountain passes without busting a gut. We know one of the core tenets of bikepacking is minimalism. This Gear Index was originally published in January 2021 and was updated in July 2022.
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