Fullcount

Any opinions or long term experience with anyone hooking up a Maya or Bob Style trailer to a bike with aluminum chainstays? Has the trailer caused any wear issues with the dropouts or chainstays? I have a Trek Domane, which is considered an endurance style bike. Looking to beef up the tires to 32's (currently have 25's on them) and possibly using the Maya Trailer on short SO24 trips. May even consider a few week long trips if it works out okay. My concern is the side to side action when making turns or hitting a pot hole would cause undue stress to the fork connection point and eventually wear this area to point of stress crack. I appreciate your input.

seeker333

I had a BoB Yak and it did not cause any damage to my bikes (Al, Ti and Fe frames). I never used my Yak with my CF bike, but I doubt this would have had different results. Bob has sold thousands of these trailers over the past 20+ years, and I've don't recall reading any reports of bicycle damage, although I imagine someone somewhere managed to accomplish this unlikely feat. I do recall a couple reports of loaded BoB trailer apparently causing rider to lose control and crash.

You may find your Domane will not accept 32mm tires - many modern road bikes are limited to ~28mm.

indyfabz

I rode across the country with a dozen people. Two rode aluminum frames with B.O.B. Yak's. The Yak has a yoke that pivots when you turn, at it attaches to the bike via two points, not one.

fietsbob

Appears to use both ends of the rear hub axle, so what the frame material is,
is irrelevant.. lean the bike, a 1 wheel trailer leans too..

maya trailer






...

saddlesores

some trailers attach to the chainstays with a clamping device. the bob does not.

bob comes with a replacement skewer with connector bearing thingies on the ends. the bob yoke fits over the end thingies, held in place with cotter pins. the "fork" sitting on the two bearings allows the trailer to move up/down. side/side movement is behind the bike, at the connection betwixt the yoke and trailer body.

alternate version is bob nutz for use with solid axles.

Fullcount

3speed

Fullcount

saddlesores

where will you be riding? your "endurance road bike" is set up with a low of 28-GI. pulling a heavy trailer won't be particularly pleasant in hills.

Fullcount

It is actually more like 29.9 GI, so even worse.

Most of my travels are in the coastal plains of Virginia and NC, so flat. Unfortunate for me, there is little opportunity for hill training. Last week I was in the western part of the state and had a 1900 foot gain over 27 miles on my Trek 520 with a partial load....and I was dead meat. The 520 has a 17 GI granny gear, but I could not spin fast enough to keep the bike upright. The Domane is a much lighter bike and I use it on some 200K and 100K rando rides. Just thought a lighter bike w/ this trailer might be a feasible option. Not so sure. Main issue is the engine (me) is not conditioned on the hills and could use to drop a few pounds. So to answer your comment, I am well aware of the trailer effect on hills and because of the GI so high, there will be no spinning, but rather riding out of the saddle to get up any hills.

Sounds like another trip to the western part of the state to see if that is even feasible.

saddlesores

good luck with that. i've dragged heavily-laden bike-n-bob's up many mountains, but always had that wonderful 16-17" gear, so never ever considered standing on the pedals. i imagine that would whip the trailer all over the road. unstable and not a realistic method to climb a 25-30km long hill.

not "spinning" if by that you mean furiously pedaling at 100+ rpm. just drop to 55 rpm and ride slowly over the course of a few hours.

according to my online calculator, 26*1.95 with 22*34 [16.8"] combo at 55rpm = 2.76 mph. you can do a track stand, right?

seeker333

Trailers do make it easier to push the bike up a hill, as rear pannier gets in the way when pushing a bike.

Any chance you've weighed your Maya trailer? Is it made of steel or aluminum (magnet test)? Maya looks like Al but the website indicates steel construction. I notice the Amazon listing indicates shipping weight as 20.1 lbs. BoB Yak is all steel and weighs 13.5 lbs naked, and 18 lbs with the YakSak bag.

Fullcount

The Maya comes with some handles to make a wheel barrow when not using it as a touring trailer. I took those off as I would never use them. I also took off the rear fender. Naked, with fork and trailer, comes in at 11 lbs / 11 ounces. Did not weight the bag as I have it full now and did not want to unpack.

seeker333

Thanks for the info - should be useful to those looking for a trailer. It sounds like it is indeed steel construction.

blowboat

Fullcount, I was wondering if you have had a chance to take the trailer out for a short tour yet?

I live in the southeastern part of NC and am hoping to get into bike touring. Finances won't allow me just to go purchase a bike for touring so I'm trying to figure out what my best options are. I have recently posted a question about what might be a good versatile/all around bike (mistakingly named the thread something about the perfect bike). I don't want to give up ability to do my training/normal rides as this will still be the vast majority of my riding. This morning I was thinking again about the possibility of getting a trailer that I could use with my normal road bike. As it is getting old I could probably upgrade/replace all of my components and get a trailer for about the same or less than purchasing a new bike.

So, I was interested in what your experience has been with the trailer....

Fullcount

Trailer did good and seeing I was on flat terrain, did not notice it was back there. From an aerodynamic standpoint, I believe I had less wind resistance than if I had front panniers on the bike. From an actual weight standpoint, I believe the Maya comes in a few pounds heavier than the front & back rack and 4 panniers. From a wind resistance the trailer does better. Not sure how this will translate if pulling up hill as I believe the experiences of other trailer owners would be sound. Pulling a loaded trailer, uphill is like dragging an anchor. I did notice cars gave me extra leeway as they see the trailer and flag as something different and they are not sure what they are ridding up on - so the safety component is good. And of course, the kickstand feature of the Maya is nice. Don't have to look for a wall or guard rail to lean your bike up against as the trailer / bike are self standing with the kickstand deployed.


Blowboat, if you are in SE Carolina, the terrain is mostly flat, so I think the Maya would be a good option. When you say your bike is older, does it have a QR skewer or a through bolt? There are two different skewers and you need to know which one you need. Most folks require the latest version of the QR. If you purchase new, you will get the through bolt and the older skewer, so make sure you order the newer version of the QR.


I am in sales and cover VA and the NE corner of NC. If you want to meet and give it a test whirl, let me know and we can arrange a meeting somewhere in NC when I am in that region.

LongKayak

I was getting ready to post a question about these single wheel trailers and decided to piggyback on here instead. I'm considering trading out my panniers for a trailer (or used in conjunction) and putting most of my equipment in a backpack. This would allow me to stop, stow the bike somewhere safe, and head off into the woods for some bipedal travel for a few days. Has anyone tried this style trailer with a Surly Disk Trucker with Avid BB7 brakes? I saw an AOSOM (low end, low cost, but to see if the concept works) and asked their customer service folks about it. They had no idea if it would work or not. (NOTE: could be at least a yellow flag on the product!) Long term I'm considering the BOB or the new Coho, but not ready to make that large an investment in the event it doesn't suit my needs.

Thanks!

blowboat

Hey Fullcount...I was gonna message you but seems I am too new to this board at this point. I am in South Eastern NC...not too far from Wilmington, near Lake Waccamaw. Any chance you are near Williamsburg?

Yea, my bike does have QR skewers...as do my MTB and my home built-ip "gravel/beater" bike.

So, maybe a dumb question, but how does pulling a loaded trailer up a hill differ than climbing with loaded panniers? Is the extra weight of the trailer what you and everyone refers to when they mention it feels like pulling an anchor?

Also, how reasonable is it to think two people could reasonably pack for a 5-7 day trip in the o e trailer? Trying to convince my wife that getting her a bike and into touring would be a good idea. Thinking since she is totally new to riding I would carry the bulk of the weight.

-PJ

Fullcount

Yep, next door to Williamsburg - in Hampton.

Far as the difference between panniers and trailer, to me is almost the same. Weight is weight and somehow you have to move it. If I weigh 210 pounds and you weigh 180 pounds, you are pushing 30 pounds less than I am up the hill. Same with panniers vs trailer. Trailer set up may be about 4 or 5 pounds heavier (in my estimation), so it has to be peddled up hill. What also comes into the mix is wind resistance. Panniers stick out on the side and create resistance, whereas a trailer does not. That is the reason for riding in a group, to break wind for the guy behind. Trailers have the wind broken by the cyclist and the bike up front, whereas the pannier being wide adds to the wind resistance. So in my opinion, the extra weight of the trailer is negated by the advantage for wind resistance between the two.

Packing on the trailer. This is the one problem with any trailer - you can bring a bunch of stuff, even for two people. Trailer or full panniers, will add effort and towards the end of the day, the guy (or gal) hauling more stuff will get tired faster. Be careful loading a trailer too full.

Since you are in the flat lands, may not be an issue, but do a few test runs with a loaded trailer. Send me an email at fullcount.tom@gmail.com and we can discuss logistics if you want to test ride a trailer.

Fullcount

LongKayak - See you are in Salisbury. Our company is based there and so I travel to your neck of the woods on a regular basis.

On your question about placing a backpack on a trailer, I am sure it can be done if you ensure straps don't get tangled in your wheels or the ground. I was looking at a Burley Travoy for that very same reason. I do a lot of backpacking and wanted to use the same gear for the trail on the road. Do a google search and you will come across a guy who backpacked and toured in New Zealand with this type of set up. Problem I see with the Travoy is the wheels may not hold up to long term use.

saddlesores

the bag that comes with the trailer is a nothing-special water-resistant canvas tote. other versions of trailers have OEM dry bags or hard-shell plastic boxes shaped to fit.



another consideration for backpack is access. the tote-bag and giant tupperware above are top-opening for easy access. anything you need from a backpack - and it will always be at the bottom....you know that - means a longer extraction procedure depending on how securely you've secured the bag and straps in the trailer.

LongKayak

I owned a Travoy at one time and it's great for commuting and running around town. I thought about getting another for this, but also had concern about the wheels. I was also concerned about its ability to track behind should I hit a stretch of gravel road. I'm thinking a single wheel would handle that much better.

Fullcount, give a shout next time you're in town. We can go out grab a coffee or beer and share notes.