Burley Coho XC with aluminum performance road bike?
 

I've been scratching my head trying to figure out how to get into cycle touring this year, given I don't have a "touring" bike (Trek 520, Salsa Marrakesh, etc.). I currently have an old Specialized road bike. I'm not in a position to shell out $1800+ for a new bike this year. I've checked Craigslist ads to see if anyone is getting rid of any older touring bikes in my state but the few who are want a pretty penny for them--even though in some cases they are 5-10 year old bikes. If I had the money they are asking for, I'd just wait a little longer and buy a brand new touring bike. So that leaves me with two choices: forget about doing any overnight (camp-out style) bike touring this year, or see if I can make my aluminum-frame road bike work with a bike trailer. I realize that a performance road bike is not going to have ideal gearing for longer tours with significant hills, etc. but I am only looking at doing a couple of overnight/2-3 day trips with mild to moderate climbs. Oh, and before anyone asks if I can attach stuff to my road bike, there are no places on the frame to attach pannier frames. It's a bare-bones, entry level road bike from somewhere around 2006.
Edited to add: I received an REI gift card from work which would enable me to buy the Burley Coho XC trailer without spending any of my own money.

Thanks for taking the time to read. I look forward to any advice you may have for me.

That's a nice looking trailer. It should work fine. I read some mixed reviews about the trailer on REIs website, but REI has an excellent return policy so if you do have any problems it should be easy enough to return it.

With the trailer, you should have plenty of space for your gear and you will likely be able to use the trailer on any other bikes you might get in the future.

You might also consider using bikepacking bags. You won't have the added weight of the trailer, but you won't be able to bring near as much gear. Before considering bikepacking bags, realize you'd want a decent amount of space between your seat and your rear tire. With drop bars, you'd want a narrower handlebar bag.

Taking a learn as you go attitude should get you out and having fun. Start with a short trip, or even do a day ride with all your gear. Learn and adapt from there.

I would go with bikepacking bags over a trailer. That trailer weighs 22lbs. You'll be dragging that huge burden before you even put anything inside it.

Another possible choice: a used hybrid. Hybrids generally cost much less than drop-bar touring bikes, despite being basically touring bikes with flat bars (which is a configuration that is very popular among European touring riders). I recently bought a 20-year-old Cannondale hybrid (rigid fork, 21-speed) for 200 dollars, and I see comparable mid-range hybrids for less than that on Craigslist all the time. All I did to set the bike up for touring was install racks, a set of clamp-on aero bars, and a pair of mudguards. I wouldn't hesitate to tour cross-country with this bike.

You could buy a used kiddy trailer off craigslist for a tenth of what you'd pay for the Coho. Use it as-is or strip it down and bolt on a plastic tote or whatever. Pull it with any bike you want.

I agree, but some folks do like one wheeled trailers. It seems pretty crazy to use a 22 pound one to me, but I know folks who like similar trailers. I'd suggest the OP figure out how much they need to carry. Then worry about how to carry it. Keep it light and use bikepacking style bags is certainly one possibility. Also there is aleways a way to mount a rack. Some of the Axiom Streamliners do not require lower bosses. The upper mount points can be at the brake bridge or the seat post collar. Someone makes adapters for the lower mount to use regular racks (Tubus?).

You can also always manage to get some gear on the front as well if need be. Like the back there are ways. Either a rack or some other option (bar roll, handlebar bag, ...)

Then there are lighter trailers. Still heavy, but quite a bit lighter. Burley Nomad?

A Carradice seat bag could be another option.

For me a 22 pound trailer would not be in the running.

Using bike packing bags could cause stability problems on a road bike. I would see if someone can loan you some and experiment with your load. I have an old Bob one wheeled cart. I have pulled it stuffed with over 100lbs of groceries behind my Tandem. I could load around 60lbs behind my Trek 520. Much more weight than that and the front end became unstable. I hooked the Bob to my road bike and at around 30lbs the front end became unstable. REI sells the Burly Nomad also. It only weighs 14.8lbs.

Check out the TopPeak Tetra Rack: Amazon link
Recommended max weight is only 26 lbs though: https://www.topeak.com/global/en/pro...6-TETRARACK-M2

Also the Thule Tour Rack with a similar weight limit: Amazon Link.

Check eBay or Craigslist for a used BOB, or consider the Chinese $139 knockoffs.
13 pounds for single wheel, tracks behind your tires, no wider than your shoulders. No worries about one wheel off the pavement or riding between posts.

Add a waterproof stuff sack. Weight won't be that much greater than racks and panniers, and no worries about heel strike on a road bike with short chainstays.

More trouble getting into elevators in hotels or boxing for flights.

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Due to the short wheelbase of road bikes, handlebar bags and one wheeled trailers can create a front end instability problem. The Burly Nomad is lighter and can carry more weight if needed. If the OP really wants to use a one wheeled trailer. I suggest borrowing one to see how it handles with the road bike.

I would go with some bikepacking bags personally. My first tour was on my carbon aero road bike with a 12 litre saddle bag and a 5 litre handlebar bag through the hills of Devon and Cornwall over 4 days. I think I added about 7kgs of weight to the bike. I had an absolute blast on the trip, even though my gearing wasn't anything resembling appropriate for the terrain. I noticed no difference in the handling of the bike, just the added weight (even if not much by touring standards) on the hills. I now use a carbon gravel bike with a full set of bikepacking bags, but much more appropriate gearing.

Thanks for the responses, folks!

I hadn't factored in how much the Coho weighs. So I ended up coming across a BoB Yak trailer with drysack included for $100 on Craigslist. It's in good shape (frame has some scratches and minor dings, but nothing that should affect performance). I'm going to try it out with my old road bike to see how it works.

1. grease the bearings. the bob wheels have cheaper cost-point wheels. the seals aren't that great. be aware the bob wheel hub is much lower than your bike wheels, will go underwater and lose grease and later lock up.

2. stop by the hardware store and pick up a couple spare cotter pins used to secure the fork to the hub mounts.

3. a bit of pvc pipe ziptied to the underside of the front may keep the trailer stable when unmounted, keeping the fork ends out of the dirt. if you wanna get more complicateder, i've seen youtube videos to diy a foldout stand.

4. i found more joy loading heavier stuff (5 gallons water) towards the rear of the trailer.

5. the tires wear out faster than your bike tires. don't forget to carry a spare if on a longer tour.

Yep. Keep an eye on those trailer wheel bearings and repack more frequently than you would your bike wheels. Boat trailer grease is pretty good stuff. It is long lasting and works well for wet places. I actually like it for my bikes too, but it may be a good choice for bearings that are expected to get dunked. It is cheap in the 1 pound can. It may not be the very lowest friction, but it holds up very well and may be about the lowest maintenance stuff to use.

We tow a BOB behind our tandem and it has worked great. It comes with a heavy yellow dry-bag - for our latest tour we used two Sea to Summit duffle bags which each weigh 3 ounces. That saved 3 pounds.
Word of caution - One one trip my wife briefly towed the BOB behind her single and on a descent in Vermont it started fishtailing, something that never happens behind the tandem - the tandem is too long and our combined weight is too much for the trailer to push the bike around. Way back I towed our kids in a Burley behind a single mountain bike down Cadillac Mountain at Acadia and had no problem. I don't know that there is a way to prevent a single wheel trailer from doing that as the trailer does not have brakes.