BOB Yak Plus Trailer

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

I was looking into adding front panniers when I decided to go with the Yak because I wanted to be able to take weight off my bike frame and still be able to haul a lot of cargo. With the Yak, I can put all my heavy stuff in the trailer and carry lighter stuff in two rear panniers. I even have room to stow my 3/4 size guitar. I only have two complaints. One, I'd like to have a kick-stand on the trailer to help stablize things, and two, the pins that secure the Yak to the rear of the bike are hard to insert and remove. I've already ripped one of the pins off it's rubber "keeper" when trying to remove it.

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

if you're going on a tour, this and a bicycle and your imagination is all you need.

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

I won't comment on the utility or functionality of the trailer, as I just picked it up a few days ago. Not expecting any problems there anyway. Here's my issue: The wheel build quality out of the box on my trailer was very poor. Definitely not worthy of an item which is intended to be used world-wide by long distance tourers who need absolute reliability. Looking over the wheel prior to installation I noticed it would barely spin. The spokes seemed to have poor/uneven tension also. I decided to adjust the wheel bearings first, thinking they would be the loose ball type and all that would be necessary was a little tweaking of the jam nuts to relax the preload. Wrong. The bearings are non-adjustable sealed cartridge units of poor quality. Luckily, I had on hand some decent used one removed from an old mountain bike wheel set that were exact replacements. I easily popped out the junk ones and pressed in the new. What a difference! Spinning smooth and long now. On to the spokes. It was very difficult to pop the tire off the rim. Changing a flat on tour with this thing will be a pain. Use soapy water to lube the bead. Once the tire was off, I discovered brass shavings imbedded in the tube and rim strip. What the...!!! Pulled the strip off, and all the spoke nipple slots were buggered like they'd been attacked with a dull drill. Blasted machine-built wheel! This was the source of the brass shavings. Once the mess was cleaned up, I went about tensioning the spokes. Though the wheel was reasonably true, the spoke tensions were all over the place, and all of them too low. One of the nipples was buggered so badly it could not be tightened and needed to be replaced. After a few hours of tinkering, the wheel was finally what it should have been from the begining. I realize not everyone has the tools or bike mechanic skills to do these repairs themselves, so I would strongly recommend they have a reliable bike shop (REI!!)check the wheel of their new BoB before trusting it on a long tour.

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

I've had my bob trailer for about ten years and have used it for everything from grocery shopping to week long camping trips to toting the kids around when they were little, and it has never let me down. The fact that it has only one wheel helps to reduce added drag that othe trailers have. I've only had trouble when traveling downhill at high rates of speed with the thing loaded down substantially, started getting rear wheel wobbles but was able to come out ok by just reducing my speed. They recommend you don't load it past 80lbs which is a good rule of thumb.

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

Tested this out on RAGBRAI in Iowa to haul camping gear for multiple days. It heald everything I need and tracked well. Hardly realized it was there after a while. Got a bit squirely when getting out of the seat but otherwise stable. Worked really well attached to my cyclo cross with disc brakes.

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

I bought the Yak Plus at the last minute after considering all kinds of other options (backpacks, panniers, racks, bungees, etc.) for hauling camping gear on a 200-mile trek on the C&O canal trail in MD. It turned out to be a life saver. I was able to carry 60 pounds of gear with relative ease and comfort compared to some of my traveling companions who struggled with various other contraptions and configurations. The low center of gravity and 2-point connection to the bike make the trailer easy to attach and control with minimal effort and practice. Once rolling, the trailer tracks nicely and requires almost no conscious effort or energy to balance, unlike some other trailer configurations that attach high on the seat post. One of my traveling companions struggled constantaly to balance the load of a seat post mounted trailer with cargo mounted high. As other reviewers have noted, the Yak does fishtail a bit when descending at speeds above 30 MPH, but not uncontrollably. It is probably prudent to exercise the brakes to avoid the risks of free falling on downhills anyway. The lack of a shock absorber did not seem to be an issue. With liberal and creative use of bungees and Rubbermaid tubs, one of my cohorts tailering an identical Yak was able to haul twice as much volume as I did. I found the included Dry Sak to be somewhat awkward to close and lacking in capacity. If the bag were a few inches deeper, it could be closed more easily and completely sealed. No matter how efficiently I tried to pack my limited essential gear, I was never able to close the bag completely, subjecting my gear to trail dust, mud and rain. One nice feature is the relative ease with which the trailer and its cargo can be disconnected to free up the bike from its load. That enabled me to stash and lock up the trailer before venturing into high traffic and congestion at the end of our trek in D.C., where trailering a long, heavy load would have been precarious and unwieldy. Overall, the Yak performed well and met my needs. I would heartily recommend it for long haul excursions on open roads and trails. For regular high traffic city use and gnarly switchbacks, one may want to consider other options.

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

I'm an expat living in Africa, and I use my Bob Yak a couple times each week commuting to and from work. It's a durable, versatile piece of kit that really, really helps me live a car-light lifestyle. I use it to bring home tools and mail, bags of pet food, and it's been seen hauling cases of beer from time to time. And while it's not designed for passengers, my kids love riding in it to the softball field on weekends. It pulls well behind my road bike or mountain bike, on pavement or on dirt. I haven't noticed high speed wobbles, although stopping with weight in the trailer definitely requires more brake and distance. I've overloaded it with dog food, kids, beverages, and never had a problem pulling it.

PROS: Durable, easy to attach/detach, follows nicely, keeps center of gravity low.

CONS: Parking with the trailer is tricky. Riding in a headwind feels like you're pulling an anchor behind you.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I love it. It does everything I need, it stands up to harsh weather, sand, and general abuse. I constantly find new ways to use it, and it really takes a lot of the excuses away from would-be bike commuters.

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

My only concern was that I might have some difficulty to attach it to my bike...but that was not the case. I didn't realize that BOB provided the quick release hub (rod) I needed - I thought I should have ordered it separately.I ride a 2008 Raleigh Detour, an inexpensive hybrid with 700 tires. After opening the box, I had the Yak attached to my bike in maybe 20 minutes. Piece of cake!My rear rack and panniers also went on just fine - I just wanted my rack on, even if I really won't need it. The waterproof sack is bigger than it looks online...lots of room...could probably stuff my Osprey Aether 70 fully loaded inside.I had a two-wheeled trailer a million years ago when I lived in AZ...rode from Phoenix out to Salt River often on camping trips, but it rolled over on fast turns. Don't see that being an issue with the Yak.I knew it would ride quietly beyhind me, and it does...it's got plenty of room for a lot of stuff, and I'll surely pack it out this weekend on the C&O Canal. Also riding first week of June with http://bikepacking.us/ for 5 days and 4 nights on the Great Allegheny Passageway, starting in Cumberland, MD...get your gear, and join us!

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

Use it for bike overnights and longer tours.

All your gear is BEHIND you. So if anything gets loose, it falls off, instead of into your bike spokes. Bungge straps are your friend.

PS.. I attach a rear rack over the little BOB trailer wheel, yes need to make a bar that attaches to the basket and bingo, I got a Rack. I have mini saddlebags over it for bike parts on each side, on the rack I put my tent. Yippie!!

Comments about BOB Yak Plus Trailer:

I use this trailer on a daily basis for commuting. I have the dry bag that came with it, but switched to a rubbermaid tote a couple years ago; it's easier to access, and holds more. I carry in it my lunch, laptop computer, spare clothing, rain gear, tools, pump, tubes, etc. I've used it for carrying trail tools (chainsaw and gas, McLeod, Pulaski, machete, etc.) for work/maintenance. I've used it to carry "beverages" to trail work days for after work refreshments.

This trailer rides along behind me on single track trails with a cooler load of beer like it's hardly even there. I can just about turn as tight a turn with the trailer as I can without (while keeping the rear wheel on the ground of course).

As expected, I need to take more care to allow for longer stopping distances as the load increases. Also, as the load increases, the more susceptible the whole rig becomes to rocking and swaying input by the rider, and is most noticeable when pedaling out of the saddle.

In the rare event I get a flat tire, the wheel comes off and re-installs easily.

Maintenance is minimal. So far, the only parts that seem to wear out are the plastic pivot bearings where it articulates, and the skid pad where it sits down when parked. These parts are readily available from your BOB dealer and are easy to install.

A final word to bigger riders and those carrying heavier loads. I recommend you replace your hollow QR axle with a solid one and use BOB nutz instead of the BOB Quick Release Skewer.