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Hi,
Thinking of getting a single wheel bike trailer, so I can use it for some touring (both on and off road) and to use it for errands, doing shopping etc.
I really like the look of the B.O.B Ibex, so just wondered if anyone has that or the Yak and how do you find it? It looks like these aren't made anymore (no longer listed on the B.O.B website). What are the good points and bad, anything you would like to change on it to make it better? As I'm considering building my own trailer so useful to know what you would change.
I know they are heavier and cause more drag than using panniers or bikepacking bags, but like the idea I could swap it between different bikes and just take it off quickly when I get to camping spot and use bike without it.
Cheers for any advice.
Yes, used a BoB on several off-road tours
http://ianezzi.blogspot.com/2010/11/like-fool-to-his-folly-loch-lomond-to.html?m=1
Obvious disadvantages are that you are about a meter longer with a rear wheel which is now glued to the ground. Increased turning radius, more likely to hang up on trailside obstacles etc.
Advantages are that it's probably simpler and easier than other solutions, and it's fun!
I still hanker after another one, the extrawheel trailers look really good, bigger wheel should help them roll better
13thfloormonk, thanks for the that. Really enjoyed your blog.
I use a trailer with the tandem. Now thats a long vehicle. I don't find it makes any real difference to turning radius nor gets hung up on stuff although I will be less adventurous than 13th no doubt.
Ours is a bob. given that we take it off road including doing some fairly rough descents I am not sure the ibex is worth the extra. IMO a bike with trailer handles much better than either panniers or stuff strapped all over the bike - lower COG and one key difference is wind resistance. Panniers cause huge drag, a trailer does not. Sure if you can get your kit in a couple of small bags bikepacking style then thats fine but by the time you get to a full set of panniers or stuff strapped on your forks you are better off with a trailer. I also loathe the feel of a bike with stuff strapped to the bars. Ruins the handling
There is a weight penalty tho. Its not insignificant and that matters when climbing hills
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Consider also something like the burley coho xc trailer, it’s wheel is suspended, so your eggs don’t get smashed 😂😂
As for extra drag - insignificant. MOst drag on a bike is aero not friction and one small wheel rolling along with not much weight on it does not add any significant drag - and because they are much more aero at speed this is much better than panniers
The main thing that annoys me is the bob rattles - the fixing hooks have enough clearance that you get a rattle. We have had zero issues with ours. I did put a bigger tyre on which meant not using the stock mudguard but easy enough to bodge one on
they are still on the website
https://www.bobgear.com/accessories-bike-trailers
TJ, thanks for info.
Good to see they are still available, I'd googled them and was following links to the trailer and kept is page no longer available, also searching on there website I didn't find them, so assumed they weren't no longer available. But that is good to know. Cheers
I've got a Bob, a Chariot and Panniers.
The Bob is great for off-road stuff as it's as narrow as the bike/you and so makes narrow trails easier. But for general road/gravel, the Chariot is MUCH nicer, especially with heavy loads. With a Bob, you have to balance it and you at lights. This sounds easy, but with a lot of weight, it can get out of shape real fast. The Chariot is totally self supporting. You can also vary placement of weight in the Chariot a lot better than the Bob. The Chariot is harder work in the wind due to shape, but isn't much heavier than the Bob and rides better.
For smaller stuff, pannier or a rack pack are easily the best.
£75 ebay cheapo still going strong after many years of use (mostly shopping and dumping garden waste 🙂 ) Only fits 26" wheels, so have to keep the IO too!
[img] https://tinyurl.com/us2mvev [/img]
I've got a secondhand ebay trailer, I think it's the EBC one, cost me £25 I think plus a new tyre and some replacement bolts.
Mudguard died after getting lunched into the tyre dropping off something and it now has a rythmic buzz as the bit of tyre with no tread goes round! The back wheel is not glued to the ground, it's just not necessarily under your control, it goes wherever the trailer pushes it! A few bits have been bodged back together but it's still going fine.
Other than that, as others said, despite being low down you have very little leverage over it so if you start to fall over at a junction it will lift the bike off the ground as you try and wrestle it! It also tends to want to lift the front wheel in corners as you lean over as it's trying to twist the back wheel. It's won't (IME) make it skid, but it's not entirely neutral either.
Barely notice it's there 99% of the time, sure it's an extra 20kg of luggage on hills, but it's a bit like a heavy bike or riding a fat bike, it's not heavy to ride, you just take 25% longer up hills, just be aware you also go faster down them, and take a lot longer to stop!.
It's great for touring/camping. Just unhitch it at a campsite and you've got your normal bike back.
The Bob is probably better if you have anything other than QR axles as Robert Axle Project do just about any variation on rear axle. Although I did wonder if my QR would just poke though the hollow axle on my hardtail.
With a Bob, you have to balance it and you at lights. This sounds easy, but with a lot of weight, it can get out of shape real fast.
Thats an interesting one. Not something I have even noticed when on the bike even when using it with a solo - presumably because I am used to balancing the tandem ( the stoker keeps their feet up when stopped) which you do by keeping it upright not leaning the bike over as you would with a solo
i've had a BOB Yak for years and i don't use it enough really
the plus sides are...
you can carry A LOT of stuff, probably too much (the trailers do have a weight limit though)
there's a small adjustment you need to make to bike handling but it's mostly just like riding a bike
you can ride some quite techy off-road with them if you want
you can easily unhitch them and just use your bike as normal
once you know how you can balance the bike and the BOB without needing a wall to lean it against
they make people smile
the minus points are...
you can carry too much stuff, if you're going touring on your own you're probably taking too much stuff, on a tandem they make a lot more sense
they're heavy. even unloaded they weigh a lot
they're hard work on climbs, aside from the weight being all in one place (unlike panniers/bikepacking bags where it's spread over the bike) unless you have a perfectly smooth pedal stroke they can pull back in the pause between your downstrokes which gets tedious quickly
the odd 'front end going light' moment makes it fun, you learn to heavily weight the bars on corners
the mounting can be rattly
it depends what you want to do with it really, i've had great fun with mine doing proper mountainbike rides and enjoying singletrack whilst the rider behind me laughs their head off and keeps a respectful distance
Cheers for all the replies 👍
Yup, I've had an EBC copy for 12 or so years. Pretty robust - been round MTB trails no bother (used it to set up and take down MTB race markings).
Used it for shopping, for collecting firewood, all sorts of things.
Would post up pics but not sure how to - did a long trip the other year for SSEC 2018 in Arnhem - that was shoot, about a dozen of us got ferry to Amsterdam then booked it with trailers and bike packing gear to Arnhem, rode round then rode home.
The only thing I needed to get for that was to upgrade the arms from the old 26" originals (which are rattly, as @tjagain says) to genuine BOB ones which fit 29" wheels - they are pricey but actually very solid.
A kickstand would be handy though!
13thfloormonk, thanks for the that. Really enjoyed your blog.
Thanks, I enjoyed writing it but then lost all the log in details! Started again here
http://bigplansweecountry.blogspot.com/?m=1
but no trailer content (lost the login details for this one too, d'oh!)
I've used a Bob on a few tours Norway and Slovenia. I like the simplicity of packing, just chuck it in and go. It handles offroad very well. They are slower than paniers etc I think and is an extra tyre to go flat or and extra set of bearings to be replaced. Now have a EBC cheapo version I bought second hand, its a bit heavier but works fine. Planning to use it for shopping if we go into lock down!!