Surly Trailer
 

http://surlybikes.com/blog/2386/

That's like the Cadillac of trailers, with almost everything you could ask for from a trailer, other than of course xtracycle compatibility.

But ye gods! The price tag!

I know, I know, if I want a trailer first I need to learn to weld and then I need to spend 300 hours constructing one...

that trailer is expensive for just a basic bare bones trailer.

I suppose if I lived completely car free in a city that was truly bike friendly I'd go for one. That is without a doubt the Bugatti Vyron of bike trailers. My problem with it is the expense. In a city with crime if someone knew what they were looking at it would be gone in 60 seconds. :eek:

that trailer doesn't have anything on the hpm one. and they're the same price. i've carried 800 lbs on mine. surly couldn't touch that.

Surly trailer has nothing on the Bikes at work trailers.
http://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/

bikes at work trailers have nothing on hpm's trailer.

it's neat, but for that kind of money you're really close to a haulin colin trailer, and he will build it however you want within reason. i'm kinda curious why they decided to use such little wheels.

i like how the bikes at work one can be shortened or lengthened.

http://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/features.html

Waaaaaay too expensive. But I like the Troll frame! That would make an awesome commuter/touring bike!

+1 The Troll rocks.

It isn't Big Dummy compatible. Oh well - there goes the semi-trailer truck of the bike world!

That's not accurate...the trailer isn't going to be released until next spring and they don't have a BD kit ready to rock yet, but they are working on kits so you can use this trailer with as many bikes as possible so I would expect by the time next spring rolls around a BD kit will be available.

They need to make improvements and lower the price.

If they do it, I'll take a look at it then.

300 hours?! If you know how to weld you should be able to knock a trailer together in under an hour once you get all the pieces cut.

I have long admired and desired the Bikes At Work trailer, I liked the idea that it could be adjusted for length. The 300 pound capacity didn't hurt anything, either.
I am not familiar with the trailer --hpm-- mentioned in post 4 above, however, it sounds shiny, not having to worry about the weight of the load. The weight of the load issue is my biggest concern with my Burley--it is only rated for 100 pounds.

I also like this trailer especially for touring/camping. You have shelter and you can still carry gear and supplies.

Having said that, a trailer with a 300 pound capacity, designed to play well with an Xtracycle/Big Dummy would merit some thought, when I am considering throwing some cashy money for a new trailer.

If I win the Lottery, this trailer would be on my "buy" list:

My question is....How much is that trailer from Surly going to weigh?

I mean, all that bracing, and knowing Surly and their love of steel, are we looking at a 30 or 40 lbs anchor?

Cost is another issue.

Why do most of the trailers sport a $500+ price tag? I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out "why", anyone with some insight into the bike trailer business?

V

Because they're short production run bicycles without a drivetrain? I mean, a good bike frame is $400. Add wheels, and there you go.

my two bits
 

I’ll offer my two bits on the cost issue re the Surley trailer.

Full disclosure - I make and sell trailers you can find out about them here: www.redbiketrailer.com. Clearly I make them on a much much smaller scale but the issues are the same.

I’ve been watching the Surley trailer a while since Steve Flagg (head of QBP) mentioned to me that Surley was developing one. In addition to heavy duty it was, the thing that jumped out at me was the hitch. When you decide to make a trailer you quickly encounter the wide variety of ways that seat stays and the chain stays meet at the rear dropout. You also have to decide if you want the trailer permanently attached or if you want it to come on and off quickly. I developed mine around being affordable and decided to come up with a hitch clamp that would work for MOST bikes. From the look of it, Surley made a hitch clamp that will work on ALL bikes. Once you commit to that you are in for some complicated and expensive engineering.

Their trailer is commercial duty. I designed mine with a casual cargo hailer in mind – mostly groceries and other errands. 80 lbs is plenty – once you get past that you start upgrading you bike to handle the weight and it’s not pleasant to ride. The only reason I can think of to haul that much weight around regularly is a commercial enterprise. When you engineer around that kind of target weight you’re going into more expense.

The cargo trailer market is small. Currently it’s not the first thing people think of when they contemplate using their bike for hauling stuff. The 1st option is racks and panniers. There are also all the old Burleys and such floating around on Craig’s list that you have to compete against. (I suspect that’s why they made the thing so heavy-duty – to stand out from all the used child carriers) Because of this it’s hard to apply the magic of mass production to bring the price down.

They’re trying to sell these in bike shops. The footprint of a trailer takes up more space than a bike. If a bike shop is going to give up floor space for a small market item like a trailer they’re going to want a substantial part of the price. When I briefly tried to sell my trailers even through consignment at bike shops they doubled the price. I run a business too, so I understand why it’s like that, but it makes it very hard to sell trailers at a reasonable price.

Surley may be worried about poaching they’re own sales. Would they rather sell a Big Dummy at X profit or a trailer for a smaller profit? What would they like that spread to be? That kind of thinking probably isn’t the sole driver of their thinking but it’s got to be part of it.

In any case that’s my two bits about why that particular product costs that much.

Dayworks,

Thank you for the detailed response, THAT makes sense to me on all the points you touched on. It does help clear up a lot of things for me, especially since I'm not involved in business except as a consumer.

Thanks again!

V

I've had a Burley Flatbed for years and it's still going strong. While they have increased in price since I got mine I could still pick up a new one for less than half the price of the Surly trailer. Of the three trailers that I have, the Burley Flatbed, a Burley Solo and a Wike Woody Wagon, I could replace any two with new trailers for about the same price, or less, as one Surly trailer.

And while I'm sure the Surly is a very nice trailer; 37 lbs.? For just the empty trailer? :eek:
http://www.surlybikes.com/frames/surly_trailer/
Surly recommends a bike with gears to tow this trailer. I suggest a motorcycle.

Or one of those stinky Chinese bolt-on motors..:rolleyes:

By the way, if you order a Bikes at Work trailer for a big dummy or Xtra, have them extend the hitch length a bit if you are ever going to use wideloaders. The wide loaders are rubbed every time I turn sharp and have worn off the cloth on the wide loaders.

I have a bikes at work trailer at home and at work and thought it was the cats meow until my LBS got a Surly trailer in the other day. These things out do anything I have seen. Fully intend on trying to find a way to adapt the Surly wheels to my at-works. That alone will be a quantum leap. I cannot justify a third trailer at this time, besides the dummy can and does regularly handle 50Kg of groceries/supplies. If I was trailerless and in the market I would go Surly, the hitch mechanism is fantastic, frame sturdy and lots of potential. Yes it is expensive but then so is gasoline.

What do they smell like? Lithium Ion Phosphate? You're right, except for the "stinky" part.
I pull my Surly Ted trailer with a Chinese BBSHD mid-drive motor, and it's ideal.