To trailer, or not to trailer, that is the question...

GezThulbourn

Hi folks.
Planning an end to end trip in a couple of years time and wondered if anybody had any advice on the best way to carry kit on the bike. A mate of mine and I did an off-road bivouacing triup coast to coast a while back with rear panniers (rained non-stop ), but I hated having that much load over the rear axle (didn't help being off road I guess).
We aren't planning to go offroad from end to end (well, not intentionally) but would be carrying a reasonable amount of kit (bivouacing again) and would be using mountain bikes.
I've been pondering a trailer, but don't like the thought that they tie you to the roads. I did see a review of a 'single legged/wheeled' trailer: looked a good alternative with off-road capability. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Gez

geoff_ss

WE once cycle-camped across Holland to Germany at Easter time to visit my brother who was in the RAF. We used the tandem and, to keep weight off the tandem wheels, used a Bike-Hod. It worked very well despite the dreadful weather at times. We always rode solo for serious cycle-camping in the mountains we preferred, but the tandem and trailer worked on the flat roads. I certainly wouldn't want to tow in hilly country.

If you're just carrying camping stuff for yourself then by being very strict and careful and keeping the weight down I think a trailer is more a liability than a help. I haven't tried a single wheel trailer and they may be better. We've done some minor rough stuff in the Pyrenees with camping gear, but nothing too serious. We rode up a Land Rover type track from Llavorsi in Spain through Tor into Andorra for one of the best rides of my life.

Geoff