A classic racks-and-packs approach to touring

Racks and Packs

When it comes to carrying gear, our choices once were racks and packs or, well, or nothing. Until a half-dozen years ago, almost all long-distance tourers used racks and packs (except for credit-card riders, those well-heeled cyclists who pack no more than an energy bar, some tools, a bike poncho, and a credit card either in a backpack or a handlebar bag as a choice, and who find an empty room each night on the road). Doubling the number of both — two bags each on front and rear racks — and reducing the size and weight of the handlebar bag (or getting rid of it altogether on mountain bikes) improved the stability of loaded bikes immensely. All seemed set in stone as skilled rack-and-pack builders honed their craft.

BOB Trailers

And then along came the BOB trailer. Actually, it's B.O.B. for "Beast of Burden," but most folks by now have dropped the periods in mind and print. The BOB is a wonderfully engineered, single-wheeled, twelve-pound powder-coated cro-mo haul-along that hooks to the rear axle and tracks perfectly behind the bike. It has a carry-weight capacity of 70 pounds and, as of 2000 (when an even stronger frame was developed), comes with an absolutely waterproof brightly colored bag to hold your gear. There's also a flag at the rear that not only looks neat as it flaps its way down the trail, it also lets motorists know that you extend that far back.

While the BOB was designed with both on- and off-road touring in mind, it quickly found a favored home in dirt. One reason for this is the narrow profile presented by a bike with a BOB behind; nothing is wider than your handlebars. Stuffed panniers, by comparison, increase your width, sometimes making for a tricky passage on overgrown single-track and through narrow rock and tree defiles.

Another reason that trailers found a home in dirt is because the suspension-bike crowd hadn't been able to find a rack that would work on their oddly configured frames. Special racks are still required if one is going to haul gear into the outback on a bike with rear suspension, but they are available. (One option is a company called Old Man Mountain — 888-4-DWN-HILL or check their Web site.) Nevertheless, some suspension riders find abhorrent the idea of fitting even water bottles to their frames. Preferring to lug their liquid sustenance and other necessaries in hydration-system backpacks on one-day rides, on longer rides they naturally opt to haul the heavier loads behind the bike instead of on it. The bike closer to what they're used to and the trailer is quickly unhitched once camp is pitched. After that, one can ride freely.

Move on to Parking and Handling

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