Trailer vs Panniers

Since I started talking to some people about my project, somebody mentioned it would be much better to take a trailer with me rather than panniers. Since then I started asking some others over the Internet and people that I have met about how good/bad is to ride with a trailer compared to panniers. So far, panniers are winning by a huge distance!

So far, what I have discover about this:

The trailer:

The initial suggestion about a trailer was given based on the geography of the places I will bicycle through, I'm not going to bicycle only through the Austral Road, but also I will cross The Andes and will start bicycling north towards Brazil. I will get into the Brazilian jungle and then reach the Atlantic to continue north and get into more jungle and mountain areas. The people that suggested the use of the trailer said it would be much easier to carry all the weight in a trailer like the bobyak in the picture plus if I want to take a bike ride without load it would be much easier to just leave the trailer somewhere safe and bike without load.

I think what they say about the weight and the commodities of having a trailer like this one is pretty accurate. You can load around 40 kilos in the trailer with no problems and your bike would only carry the weight of your own body.

From http://blog.adventurecycling.org

Another reason they suggested the trailer was the amount of load you can carry on them and the damage the spokes of the bike receive. To be honest, this wouldn't work with me, I would damage the spokes of my bike anyways, and the more load I can put somewhere the more I would carry at the end. I have to say though, it looks really comfy to have all the load in the back of the bike.


I don't own a trailer and I think I will give it a try anyways. Tom, a friend of mine who own a brick bicycles shop near my place has one of this and he said they were really good in the city when carrying heavy load from place to place so I may loan his and use it with some load to check mobility and the feeling of having a trailer behind my bike.

What I've been reading so far though don't seem to be the best reviews. Among the things I've read about these trailers are the speed limit you have (around 40 kms/h) and how uncomfortable they are when you pass the speed limit. Me, liking the speed you get while going down a hill, I would push the bike for more speed, which would increase the possibility of an accident!.

Another con I read is how you have to organize everything in one single place. What if you need a tool that is under all the stuff you have already packed?. You end up unpacking and packing everything just for that tool you need.

Another big disadvantage and I think the most important from my point of view is the extra wheel you are carrying around. If for some reason I have to use another mean of transport, like for example, somebody offers me a ride to a really awesome island which only way of getting there is by a Cessna plane (Isla Mocha for example). In this situation the extra wheel would certainly count. Or if for some reason I have to take a train or bus somewhere, then the extra wheel would also count.

Panniers:

Ortlieb Panniers

On the other hand we have panniers, I have experience with them and I've reading about some good ones to bicycle tour with. The ortlieb ones seem the way to go and the most used one. Mainly for endurance and because they are water proof.

You can pack things in a different order and unpack only the pannier you specifically need. I thought for example having a pannier with my electronic devices and clothes, another one with camping gear, another with food and so on.

Most of bicycle tourers choose panniers for some reason. Initially I thought about the price, yeah, a trailer must be way expensive than buying panniers, but to my surprise, the price of 4 panniers both front and rear equal the price of a one wheel trailer. Or at least they equal the price I would have to pay here in Chile for the local made trailer.

From my experiences the weight of the panniers help the balance in the bike, when you balance the load to each side equally you don't even feel you are carrying panniers. From what I experienced they also help you control better the bike while going down a hill.

From: http://www.angusadventures.com/

I once rode up in the mountains from an altitude of 800 meters over sea level to 2500 meters over sea level. A gravel road up into the Andes mountains that was around 150 kms long. It took me 2 days to reach my destination mainly for the difference in altitude. The panniers did help with stability and although I was pedaling slow as hell it didn't feel that uncomfortable. On the way back, they helped with stabilization and I could reach 50 kms/h with no problems at all.

They are not that hard to dismantle from the bike and I could easily get into a bus, train or plane with no much effort.

Panniers or Trailer?

So far I haven't decided yet, but my thoughts are going to the ortlieb panniers that I could get for the same price of the trailer. Mainly based on what people have told me, comments I've read on the Internet and my personal experiences with panniers. I still feel like I have to give it a try to the trailer Tío Tom has at his workshop. Probably I'll do it during a day tour to the mountains or maybe during a weekend to the beach. I'll finally decide what to buy after the trailer experience.

In the meantime, I'm checking prices for those ortlieb panniers that are looking at me from the distance.