bob trailer or panniers?

[heathergerstmar]

I am taking a cycling trip form Vancouver to San Diego this summer.
I just bought a Cannondale R500 road bike yesterday. I decided agaisnt a touring bike because I want to do triathalons when I get back, and so thought it would be wiser to spend the money on a bike I will get more use of in the future. Are panniers maybe too heavy for the road bike, should one use a bob trailer instead? ANy suggestions???

[sarahlou]

hello again,
we have used both panniers and bob, seperately and together. My husband always trails the bob and he really like it. Does your bike already have braze-ons for racks? If not, you may want to consider the bob. If it does, panniers are pretty easy to deal with. You could always have somewone weld braze-ons to your frame, but then your paint job gets a bit messed up. Bobs can hold a good amount of gear. If you do go with panniers, you might try to reduce your load so that you only use rear ones as having weight on the front can make for tricky steering at times.

[KnottedYet]

It doesn't look like you can put a rack and panniers front or rear on that bike, so you might be stuck with a B.O.B. as your only option (if the clamp will fit around the shaped stays). With the geometry of that bike, you might have better handling with a B.O.B. than with loaded panniers anyway.

Can aluminum be brazed?

The seatpost attached racks can hold about 15-20 pounds, and you don't need anything but a seatpost for that. They'll also act like a fender if you add a rat-tail, which will help since you'll probably want fenders on your long ride.

There are some nice "razor" fenders for bike without braze-ons or eyelets. MimiTabby has some, and they work pretty well here in Seattle!

[Grog]

I have seen that bike with a rack before, so it can be done I'm sure.

[KnottedYet]

Do you know what rack it was?

My bike doesn't have eyelets or brazeons either, and I don't have enough seatpost for the seatpost racks.

If there's a good rack that will sit on the stays like those razor fenders, I'd love to know about it!

('course, with my big honkin' bar bag I don't need a rack much now... but still :p )

I'm going by this picture of her bike http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/02/cusa/model-2RR5T.html which makes it look as nekkid as my bike in the eyelet and braze-on department... (my poor Flossie, nekkid as a jaybird!)

[Grog]

I wondered about the same thing as you but then I saw a pic online of a R500 with a rear rack that was definitely not just a seatpost rack. Wasn't a closeup though so I can't see how it was done.

[roguedog]

If you're considering a BOB then you might also look at the Xtracycle. Thought these were pretty cool and seemed less cumbersome.

Don't know don't have one but it seems to part of the bike more than a trailer..

http://xtracycle.com/sub.php

[sarahlou]

I have an xtracycle and it is super-duper. But it is on my commuting bike not on my road bike. Whilst I think that they can fit most bikes, they seem to work much better with the Surly Karate Monkey (which is what the DH and I both have). Xtracycles are great, but in the price range on $500. They are great for load carrying capacity (up to 200 lbs.) and even have attachments that allow you to cycle along with large items like surfboards, or your spare bike.

As for my brazeon idea...the DH says that you could probably find someone to weld them on (a local framebuilder?) but that panniers wouldn't work so well with the geometry of a road bike. He suggests getting the Topeak rack from REI which uses the rear hub scewer to attach to instead of brazeons. This would definately be the cheaper option than the xtracycle.

The DH says that the BOB is the least intrusive option and would be a nicer ride than carrying weight on the bike. But he adds whilst they are rated to 70lbs., "pack light".

[singletrackmind]

Another vote for the BOB....though the stock skewer does not work with my Raleigh R700....you may have to order another size skewer. The waterproof bag is a plus and ditto on the weight, when you get up towards their max handling gets a little silly, but otherwise it's pretty unnoticeable. My favorite thing about the BOB is the wide berth cars were suddenly giving me. After months of bike commuting without the BOB it was a real treat to suddenly be given room. I think it's the flag. :)

[KnottedYet]

He suggests getting the Topeak rack from REI which uses the rear hub scewer to attach to instead of brazeons. This would definately be the cheaper option than the xtracycle.


I looked at both REI and Topeak websites, and couldn't find a hub skewer rack. Can you post a link? I'd be very interested in one!

[sarahlou]

Hopefully this will get you to the page...

http://www.rei.com/product/735847

It is the Topeak explorer tubular rack with disc mounts.

[KnottedYet]

bummer. I don't have disc brakes and I don't have braze-ons for the two metal bits that attach the leading edge of the rack to the bike.

Thanks for the link, though!

[ridebikeme]

Sounds like a great trip!! As for your R500, there are many differences between a road bike a touring bike. The wheel length is shorter on a road bike, obviously a longer wheelbase makes the bike handle much easier when loaded. Also, the bottom bracket is lower to the ground on a touring bike, so that also adds to the stability of the bike when loaded. The crank/cassette are also geared much lower on a touring bike, and some of that can be changed rather easily on your road bike.I have heard pros and cons with both panniers and trailers... so it's a toss up. There is a rear rack that you could buy that would attach to your rear wheel via the skewer.. it's made my Old Man Mtn... very nice racks and great customer service. They are a bit more expensive than some others, but worth every penny!

Have a great trip!

[KnottedYet]

Here they are!

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/rear_rack_page.htm

And some of them don't require the braze-ons for the leading edge thingy (that attach to the seat stays)

[heathergerstmar]

Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions. I was definitely leanign towards the bob trailer, but just heard a horror story of someone's bob overtaking their road bike on a hill on the pacific coast highway...broke their frame in three places!!

I don't leave until the end of June, so I still have lots of time to decide. I like the idea of being able to do panniers if I can, just for ease of flying back with less gear.

Thanks again!!!

[heathergerstmar]

That rear rack from Old man mountian looks great!! How does one determine carrying capacity on certain areas (ie.rear) of their bike? I e-mailed Cannondale, but have not heard back. I plan to pack light, so, if I can get away with a rear rack, that may be the cheapest option. Again, I appreciate all of the help.

[kathpooka]

hey, my boyfriend and i are doing the vancouver to tijuana trip in late june too! do you have an exact date your starting yet? we'll be starting the 28th or 29th of june. we'll probably average about 50-55 miles per day. are you camping?
i did a cross country tour fall '05 and i used Ortlieb paniers, the bike packer plus. My BF used a trailer and this time he's switching to paniers. we both really love them.
have fun on your trip, maybe i'll see you riding down the coast!