Duragrouch

I towed an original B.O.B. behind a long wheelbase recumbent on a tour on mostly flat land. It was mostly stable, but on high speed descents, I had to keep a firm hand on the steering and make very gentle corrections, as large steering inputs could cause a dangerous sway. I believe this is because the pivot point on a B.O.B. is behind the rear wheel, in the same way that auto trailers will induce sway, whereas a fifth wheel trailer (pivot at towing vehicle axle center), does not sway. Same for bike trailers with a hitch near the rear axle center. Also, the load on a B.O.B. is all well forward of the trailer tire, so that weight is oscillating counter direction to bike steering. When I got back from the tour, I tried out the B.O.B. with same payload hooked up to my Cannondale racer, which had the stiffest frame Bicycling magazine had ever tested, and it was even worse, even at low speeds it felt unstable, might have been due to the much shorter wheelbase, but also perhaps because a conventional bike I can rock from side to side when I accelerate from a start, whereas on the LWB 'bent, that never happens, the bike is always "flat", no rocking. I have to think that most people's experiences are better, as the trailers sold fine. I haven't used my B.O.B. since that couple-week tour many years ago. Also because a bike so equipped is impossible to negotiate stairs, and ridiculously so when towed by a LWB recumbent. Would be different if I had a garage to just roll the whole rig into. Even an elevator would not solve that problem. I'm strictly a panniers guy now.