I love B.O.B … or B.A.R.B (depending on who’s asking.) He/she never complains, doesn’t need to be cleaned up after, doesn’t eat a lot and most importantly, no matter what I do with him/her or whereever I go, she/he obliges without a peep! Sure she requires some basic maintenance, but don’t they all! After years of trouble-free companionship, I dedicate these cycling tour photographs to B.O.B…I mean B.A.R.B

But at the end of the day, what are my real feelings about my trusty BOB trailer? Sure it works perfectly for trips to the grocery store or quick rides through the city to the local bike shop, but how does it stand up on a long bike tour and, more importantly for some, is it easier to tour with a trailer versus panniers?

First and foremost, almost ALL my extended bike tours have been with this trailer. I’ve done some short jaunts with panniers but I cannot compare the two on long bike tours.  So, that being said, I truly do love my trailer…most of the time.

While I managed to (somehow) escape major damage dragging it through remote sections of trail in southern Patagonia (as I made my way towards the beginning of the Carretera Austral in Chile) I encountered numerous folks with bike panniers trying to jerry-rig their broken bags/racks.  Of course, that was a pretty extreme case. On your ‘average’ bike tour (read: pavement) I still think a trailer offers certain benefits that may outweigh riding with panniers, such as:

• BOB trailers are super easy to attach/remove. Remove a couple pins and your bike is free to go
• Everything goes in one place, one bag, one trailer. This is good and bad because it is very easy to over-pack BOB. Consider BOB your porter. He’s very content hauling big loads. The waterproof duffel bag that comes with the trailer is big and we (I) tend to fill it, regardless of how long the tour is
• Hills kind of suck. There is no denying it…BOB does not like to really climb. He’ll do everything possible to slow you down. So yeah, the trailer surely adds ‘drag’ and friction. I was in pretty good shape when I embarked on my solo journey in Chile and, surprise surprise, because I over-packed, hills were, in some cases, brutal. (Granted, climbing dirt roads covered in baseball-sized rocks is never easy.)
• BOB is built tough. He can take (almost) what ever you throw at. Nothing on my trailer has broke.
• You don’t need rack attachments. The thru-axel works on just about any bike (I’ve some issues using it on my road race bike)
• Definite CON: the trailer is another piece of gear you have to deal with. If you’re traveling with your bike via bus, train, etc. this means you need to consider how you’ll pack the trailer (and the now-removed bag.) Not the case with panniers.

This isn’t to say bike trailers are better. Just about all my experiences bike touring are with B.O.B. I actually am looking forward to a future tour using panniers. Unfortunately…none of my bikes have rack attachments…

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