I bought a second hand bob trailer to check out the whole "trailer" thing. To date, its been a fantastic acquisition. I've used it many times behind my Anthem X and my tandem. With loads up to about 10kg, it tows OK behind the Anthem. Anything over that (especially where the load means the centre of gravity is higher) and you begin to notice the trailer flexing the rear end. On the tandem, being a hard tail and heavy, you can barely notice the weight of the trailer even with a good 20kg of stuff in it.
The trailer is super-handy for around town use and works remarkably well on single track. It tracks really nicely behind the bike and the attachment mechanism means that you can still bunny hop or lift the rear of the bike up and over obstacles. The yoke attachment to bearings on the special quick release is far superior to other systems such as seatpost attachment or via a single single arm that clamps on the chainstay. The trailer is quick to attach and quick to remove.
I don't think I'd ever take it cycle touring. Its big drawback is that the trailer weighs around 7kg empty. When I go cycle touring my total load is less than 10kg and I already try to strap as much of this to the bike as I can. Taking the bob trailer would effectively mean adding about another 6.5kg in weight to get around 5kg off my back. The trailer would make sense if you're touring in relatively flat country and needed to take lots of weight (more than you could comfortably carry strapped to the bike and on your back).
If buying new, the best prices I've been able to find online has been Bob trailers on Amazon
If you wanted to build your own Bob trailer, IBEX parts are available:
- trailer fork - www.biketrailershop.com/bob-ibex-trailer-fork-p-1237.html ;
- BOB Trailer Quick Release - www.biketrailershop.com/bob-trailer-quick-release-p-1249.html
With these parts, construction of a 26" wheel bob trailer should not prove too difficult.
Bike Trailer Bike Trailer?
Amazingly, you can fit two 26" FS bikes in the Bob trailer. They fit quite well, with one either side and wheels in between.
Thru-axles issues
The Bob trailer installs using a replacement 9mm quick release skewer. If your bike has a 135mm x 12mm or 142mm x 12mm thru-axle then the stock Bob skewer will not work. In that case, you may be able to use a Robert Axle to adapt the bobbins from the Bob trailer QR to a replacement 12mm axle.