Almost Could've Died

[TopHatFox]

As the title of this post makes clear, I almost could've died an hour ago.

I went to do my grocery shopping after spending the day restoring a vintage bike at a local Amherst resident's house. After an hour or two of analytical shopping, I loaded about 20-30 pounds of groceries into a trailer-specific waterproof bag and strapped the bag to my ONE-WHEELED bicycle trailer. Immediately after getting on the bike, I started to notice that the bike was wobbling--no big deal I thought, I just need to adjust to the new weight of the trailer.

Then I went downhill. 15 mph, loaded trailer, bike wobbling more and more severely, cars passing me at 20-30 mph. After 10 seconds, I completely spun out to a stop in the middle of a one-car's-width road. The cars behind me braked--and I didn't get run over.

But man am I completely and utterly disgusted with whoever designed this piece of @#%$ trailer! Not only does it not clear most derailleurs (mine included), but when I put in a spacer in the skewer hitch for the trailer to clear the derailleur, the loaded-trailer has even more leverage to bend my derailleur hanger and bicycle stays--again!

I can't believe I spent $120 on this sack of @#$% trailer. I overpaid $100 for it off of Craigslist and paid another $20 to unbend the derailleur hanger it bent.

Long story short, I'm happy that I didn't die, that my bike's stays/derailleur didn't bend again too badly, and that I have the chance to fix my mistake on buying and using this trailer. I am also frustrated, angry, and looking for a new trailer.

---------------------------------------------------

Lesson--and I usually do this--always do research before buying something, even if you need it ASAP (i.e. buy a trailer, quickly, because you don't have groceries and need them soon).

Also, avoid one-wheeled bicycle trailers. (Or at least this one: http://westernmass.craigslist.org/bik/4646649956.html. The person that sold me it is selling another one for $145 instead of $100, even though I've since found out that they're worth $70 on eBay. Hm.)

[DutchGirl]

I'm glad you lived. And damn...

[JL13]

What was the cause of the vibration/wipeout? Was it the trailer fishtailing?

[TopHatFox]

What was the cause of the vibration/wipeout? Was it the trailer fishtailing?

Yeah, the loaded, one-wheeled, unevenly-hitched trailer started to wobble/swing from side side to side more & more aggressively, until I no longer had control of the bike. The only lasting damage seems to be a bent rear skewer (the one the trailer came with). Thankfully I still have the original skewer my bike had when I bought it. (:

[Gilberto de Piento]

Glad you were able to ride it out. Speed wobble! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_wobble

A friend of mine had one of those trailers and sold it right away. I've been looking for one of the two wheeled kid trailers to haul cargo in but haven't found one on craigslist at the right price yet.

[rubic]

After much deliberation, I've ordered the Bushwhacker Omaha - Bicycle Grocery Pannier Cycling Rack Basket Bike Rear Bags:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B4Z ... UTF8&psc=1

I know they won't carry as much as a trailer, but the panniers appear to be stable and will probably hold as much as I need for routine shopping. Any opinions?

[TopHatFox]

Hm, they don't appear waterproof. And if you load up one more than another, you'll swing.

Also, even with a two wheeled trailer I often end up loading the trailer to the top + bungee cords, and sometimes a rear bicycle pannier or two. (I shop for a month's groceries at once).

I think your choice in panniers could be useful for lightweight, fair weather trips, though.

[WillS]

Have you considered just using a backpack? I've had a similar problem with pannier bags; I once hauled about that same amount in pannier bags over the rear wheel. They ride pretty far back, and when I would turn or stand to accelerate, the bike would wobble all over the place. I thought panniers would be a nice improvement - no more sweaty back in summer, but it just wasn't worth wobbling through scary traffic.

I've had as much as 75lbs in my backpack. That was just an experiment, probably not safe, but 30lbs is reasonable and 15-20lbs is easy. The weight is just so much easier to control that way. Also, look at the total weight. 30lbs payload in a 2lbs backpack is way more efficient than the same load in a bag and trailer, whatever it might weigh. And the space. And maintenance...

[jacob]

If you only have panniers in the back and load them up to a significant fraction of your own bodyweight you're changing the center of mass of the bike. Most likely you'll have very little pressure left on the front wheel resulting in wobble. This is especially bad with a short framed racing bike. Generally, a bike should be balanced side to side and front to back. This means panniers in the front too.

Consider that 40lbs about 1.5 feet behind you is like hanging your body behind the saddle in terms of center of mass ... not surprisingly, that would be harder to steer. Especially when standing up or going uphill.

The backpack solves the issue of move the COM back where it should be.