Bicycle Trailer Guide - Bikes At Work

Are you planning to build a bike trailer or purchase one? Over the past decade, we've carried over one million pounds of materials using bicycle trailers in our delivery service, so we've learned what features are important in a good bike trailer. We've written this bicycle trailer guide to share what we've learned and offer our recommendations.

One-wheel vs. Two-wheel Bike Trailers

Bicycle trailers can have either one or two wheels:

 AdvantagesDisadvantages

One-wheel Bike Trailers

manufacturers include:
  • narrow (great for trail riding)
  • leans with bike (= less likely to roll over when rounding corners at high speed)
  • low cargo capacity (both in weight and volume)
  • must be loaded and unloaded symmetrically to keep trailer from tipping over
  • some have reported they can wobble when loaded heavily

Two-wheel Bike Trailers

a partial list of manufacturers include:
  • much greater potential cargo capacity
  • stable when loading and unloading
  • usually wider
  • can roll over when rounding a turn at speed

Our recommendation: A one-wheel bicycle trailer is best for off-road use or small loads that are too large for panniers. If you plan to ride mostly on-road and/or carry moderate to large loads, a two-wheel bike trailer is more suitable.

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