May, 2005

I was pleased to see the review of  your trailer in the Adventure Cyclist
magazine!  Good article and report.  My last use was on a tough 150 mile/2
day loop ride from Tres Piedras, NM.  The route was to Antonito, Colo, with
a camping rest at mile 58, then up and over Cumbras Pass to Chama, another
tough pass, then back to Tres Piedras.  I did this last September just
before moving back to Hawaii for 9 months, for my high altitude fix.  It was a
great ride with gorgeous scenery, and the trailer was again a delight, with
easy set up, loading and unloading, and no drag, jerk, or twist.  Almost as
if nothing was attached!

I'll be returning to Taos in several weeks, and look forward to a Northwest
tour in early summer, and New England/Quebec in the Fall, using the Quik-Pak
for follow-on support.          Rob Knudson

 
The Quik-Pak Trailer, as seen in Recumbent Cyclist News, by Chet Rideout  chetride@msn.com 

I've been bike touring for years, and I have looked at a variety of ways to attach my camping gear to my bicycle. I've used handlebar packs (back in my wedgie days), rear panniers and rack trunks, and front panniers with low rider racks. I have also used two wheel trailers (three different ones), and the B.O.B. one wheel trailer. My hauling attempts have even included towing an 80 pound canoe, with a two wheeled canoe caddy mounted amidships, to a lake 10 miles away. During my tours, totaling more than 5,000 miles, I discovered the following: 1) Less is better. Every ounce and every pound should be essential stuff. (I seem to forget this on almost every tour, however, and usually have to mail stuff home). 2) Too much weight can be hard on your bike. If you have heavy panniers, especially on a LWB recumbent like I ride, you find that the rear wheel takes a beating. This can lead to broken spokes, or even axle problems. 3) Front panniers really affect your steering. My wife and I have had a number of minor accidents with low riders that may have been influenced by this loss of control. 4) Trailers reduce rear wheel load. They are super for touring because of this, and also the bike handling is much better than it is with front and rear panniers. 5) The B.O.B. adds about 40% of the trailer plus load weight to the rear wheel. This adds slightly to the load on your rear wheel, and has some effect on handling, especially with SWB recumbents. Also, parking or backing up the B.O.B. can be a problem. 6) A two wheel trailer adds the least weight to the rear wheel. When I use one my bike behaves as if it is unloaded, both when I ride it or park it, and backing the rig up is a cinch. Although I own a B.O.B. trailer, I was interested in trying a two wheel trailer again. The two wheel trailer I had was too heavy (over 30 pounds), so I started looking. I found information about the Burley Nomad, but I had a few reservations about it. Their hitch is rather cumbersome (I have one on my two wheel trailer), and it often squeaks with each pedal stroke. On a long tour, those repetitive noises can drive you bonkers! Burley advertises a recumbent hitch for the Nomad which might be better, but I haven't seen it. Also, the top fabric on the Nomad is rather thin, and it is equipped with 16 inch wheels which don't appear to be of the best quality. I'm a great fan of 20" wheels - they roll very well on irregular pavement, whereas 16" wheels (the wheel on the BOB is also a 16 inch wheel) can really bounce in potholes. Also, some of the Nomad trailers I've seen have plastic wheels. A friend mentioned the new Quik-Pak  Trailer, so I got on their website (www.quik-pak.com) to take a look. I wrote to Ray Quick, developer of the trailer, but I found he was on a bike tour. Eventually the connection was made, and decided to purchase one. I was delighted to be able to get a custom built trailer, and Ray was very helpful. He also used some of my suggestions to make my trailer better still. The Quik-Pak uses the X-Ray aluminum frame. It results in a trailer that is amazingly strong for its weight. The trailer can be disassembled and folded for shipping or for airplane travel. I haven't done this yet, but it would probably take about 20 minutes at each end of your flight. This is a lightweight trailer, weighing as little as thirteen pounds complete.   My trailer weighs 16 pounds, which is the same weight as the B.O.B. with its Yak-Sak. For comparison I weighed my front and rear panniers with the low rider rack, and they weighed 7 pounds, so the trailer really weighs 9 pounds more than panniers when you are touring, not 16....The cargo hold is usually black material (you can pick a color here, if you wish), but a variety of colors are available for the cover. I chose red, but many possibilities exist. I took the Quik-Pak  on three tours this summer, and it was fantastic. On the longest of the tours we rode 440 hard Colorado miles in 12 days, crossing seven passes. These included Independence Pass (12,095 feet) and Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park (12,183 feet). The Quik-Pak pulled very well, and it didn't change my handling at all while cycling. With the B.O.B. I was used to a little sway in the turns, but the Quik-Pak doesn't affect my handling at all, even during 35 mph downhills. In coast down tests with a Rans Stratus pulling the B.O.B., my LWB Vision with the Quik-Pak was slightly slower. However, I replaced the tires that came with the trailer (45 pound 20x1.5 tires) with 20x1.35 Primo tires (old front tires from my Vision) inflated to 80 pounds. Now I found that there was essentially no difference. I believe that changing those tires reduced both wind resistance and rolling resistance of the trailer. The Quik-Pak handles well empty, full (I've hauled as much as 60 pounds), slow (climbing passes), on fast descents, and on gravel. With a 55 pound load (71 pounds total trailer weight) the tongue weight is only eight pounds, which adds very little weight to your bike. The hitch is easy to use. A bracket is held in place by the rear skewer, and the trailer attaches to it in seconds with a quick release. Ray has used Nylon in the hitch area, so there are no noises at all from the trailer. The wheels are of excellent quality. They are radially spoked, and the spokes are longer on the inside of the wheel. This results in the tires being a little farther from the fabric of the trailer, reducing the possibility of a rub. Ray has also included some handy extras to the Quik-Pak Trailer. There is a map compartment in the cover, a secret compartment for valuables, a reflective strip on the back of the cover, and elastic bungees on the top to hold a jacket or towel that needs drying. If you are looking for a great touring trailer, the Quik-Pak is an excellent choice. It is a classy trailer that tows like a dream. It loads quickly (hence the name), hitches on in seconds, is totally waterproof, and does not affect the handling of your bicycle in any way. Add to this Ray's attention to quality and responsiveness, and you can't go wrong. Remember, however, that hauling less weight is still the best plan on your bike tour. I doubt you'll even miss all those "totally essential" items you left behind!

Hi Ray,

UPS delivered the trailer yesterday afternoon.  It looks like
everything survived the trip in very good condition.  I assembled it
(correctly I think) and it looks great! 

Before I use it, I'm going to partially disassemble it again to check
my work and reassemble it again (this time with Loctite).  I  like to
do things that way - - so that whatever I learn will sink in a little
deeper.
I was really impressed with how weightless it feels.  Though I haven't
hitched it to the trike yet, I was hand-wheeling it across the lawn to
put it in the bike shed and I turned around a couple of times to make
sure that I hadn't dropped something or somehow left something behind.
The trailer is just so light - - I had to assure myself that it was all
there.  And that was rolling on boggy sod with un-inflated tires.

It's a really nice piece of work.  Thanks, Ray.

For a lot of people, it's not easy to buy something like this without
seeing it or touching it first.  They are much more likely to seek a
well-known brand, or take whatever the local store sells.

I hope more people will give Quik-Pak a try. It's a really good
product and I wish you great success with it.   Besides, if I try hard
enough, I might wear this one out someday -- so just to make sure I can
get another one if I need to -- in the meantime  I'm going to encourage
anybody  who wants a good trailer to buy yours ;-)

Best Wishes,

Tom
> >
> > 
"BentJay" <JSingerFam@aol.com> wrote in message news:<afdd421d.0411230839.634ef1d0@posting.google.com>...

> Having used both plus a nice set of Arkels panniers I'd have to

say...it depends.  I sold the BOB because I believe it puts undue

> torque on the frame and is a bear to manipulate at a standstill.  My

> Quik-Pak trailer is really terrific, especially if you've got a lot

> to carry.  We'll use it this coming summer on NYS Bike Route 17 as my

> son, daughter and I ride it for a self-contained 650 mile fortnight.

> Unlike the BOB which puts 50% of the weight on the frame, the

> Quik-Pak is more like 70/30%, trailer/frame. The Arkels were perfect

> for my solo tour last summer, especially since I had to "hitch" across

> a non-pedestrian bridge between Detroit and Windsor. Hmm, what will I

> take on a transam in 2006?

>

> BentJay

From: "Harry Hegarty" To: Subject: Update on the new frame design! Date: Monday, August 30, 2004 5:54 PM Hi Ray, Sorry this took so long, my trip kept being postponed. I had about 50# of gear and pulled it about 500 miles. I have done some short commuter runs with it as well but most of those were very light loads. I found that the new frame is much more stable. It seemed to me that it pulled easier and I felt its presence much less. I'm sure they go hand-in-hand. Since it was not back there hopping around the energy loss factor was no doubt much less!   I liked the new camber setting too. It seems to be the happy point between heavy or light loads.... I want to pass along the kudos I seem to get everyday I have the trailer out! I get compliments about what a cool trailer it is from bicyclist as well as non bike riders! I have to say I am so thankful I chose the Quick-Pak over a one wheeled when I see the folks out there struggling to get a start or mostly the issue of handling when you are off the bike. The other real great thing is this is the Pacific Northwest and the rain wants to stay out of the closed bag. Having the frame exterior of the bag is darn close to a watertight plan! You can always use me as a reference when ever you like! I will let you know if anything else comes up Keep me posted with any new ideas or upgrades. I love to try the new stuff! Thank you for adding positively to the bike touring world! Best wishes, Harry Hegarty

Dear Ray,

We just finished cycling in Austria using our brand new trailer (Quik-Pak IV), and it worked as promised.  We toted 75 pounds of gear without incident.  It rode very smoothly, with the quick release attachment very easy to engage and remove.  I even remembered how to pack it up for the trip home.  The trailer made our trip a memorable experience..  Don Gurry 

We got our trailer today and already tried it out. It is going to be great. It is so steady that you do not know you are towing anything. We have a BOB but will likely never use it again. Thanks a lot for shipping it so promptly.   Sincerely,  Ernest and Jane de Vos

"Out of all the trailers I have used and seen, your trailer has the best construction...you have the best wheels and hubs...alloy rims with good hubs for lower rolling resistance."

Mike Bentley     Mike's Mega Bicycle Links