BOB Ibex Bicycle Trailer: An In Depth Review
Nov
“Do you prefer panniers or a trailer when traveling by bike?”
That’s a question I’ve been asked time and time again over the past few years. Unfortunately, because my previous experiences with long distance bicycle touring have all involved the use of panniers, I’ve been more than a bit bias when answering this question in the past.
But then, not too long ago, I got my hands on a BOB Ibex bicycle trailer and put it to the test. For the past month-and-a-half I’ve been cycling every single day, pulling this incredible piece of equipment behind me on my bike. I’ve ridden with trailers for a single day or two in the past, but this has been my first experience pulling a trailer for such an extended period of time.
The following are my thoughts and impressions of the BOB Ibex bicycle trailer:
The trailer featured in this article is the BOB Ibex Plus
(The “Plus” indicates that the trailer comes with the dry SAK)
Assembly:
When my BOB Ibex bicycle trailer first arrived via FedEx, I picked it up and carried it into my living room. “Wow, this thing is heavy,” I thought to myself. I proceeded to cut open the box and remove the trailer from its packaging. “Hmm, it’s really well made,” I continued.
At first glance I was impressed by the power and strength of the trailer. The BOB Ibex weighs about 20 pounds (9 kg) and features a single rear suspension wheel designed to take on the roughest road/trail conditions. Inside the trailer sits a bright yellow, waterproof dry SAK, used to store your goods and gear while the trailer is in motion. “Impressive” I thought to myself.
As I worked to assemble the trailer, two small tasks had to be accomplished. The first of which was to attach the trailer fork to the pivot tube using the 6mm pivot bolt and lock nut. “Hmm, this bolt doesn’t look very strong,” I remember thinking. “I hope the nut doesn’t come loose while I’m riding.” (It never did.)
Then I encountered my first little bug. In order to install the pivot bolt, you need two 10mm wrenches. Now, luckily I was at home and happened to have access to two wrenches of that size, but when I’m out on the road and traveling by bike, I don’t want to be carrying two of anything. If that bolt were to come loose and needed tightening, I would have to be carrying two 10mm wrenches with me… and when weight is a concern (as it always is when traveling by bike), two of anything is less than ideal.
Once the fork had been attached, I went to work on connecting the rear wheel and shock axle to the main body of the trailer. You do so by inserting the pivot axle’s left brushing through the left side of the shock tower opening and then aligning the right brushing with the right shock tower opening (It sounds complicated, but it was really quite easy). Once that’s in place, you insert the pivot bolt and tighten it down with a washer and nut. Here again you need two 10mm wrenches.
Once the bottom portion of the axle is attached to the shock tower, you need to attach the upper portion of the suspension system to the tower. This is done with a short axle bolt and Allen screw combination. Here, you are required to use two 4mm Allen wrenches to tighten the bolt into place. Once again, the need to have two Allen wrenches of the same size is of some concern to me as a traveling cyclist. That extra Allen wrench is just one more thing I would have to pack and carry around with me.
After that’s done, the trailer is pretty much assembled. Add the wheel reflectors, stick in the flag, drop the dry SAK into place… and you’re all set to go! Total set up time: About 15 minutes. Now all you have to do is attach the trailer to your bike.
In order to attach the trailer to your bicycle, you need to replace the rear quick release on your bike with the special BOB quick release provided with the purchase of your trailer.
This special quick release is wider than the standard quick release on your bicycle because it contains bobbins on which the trailer hooks will ultimately attach and lock into place.
Once the BOB quick release is in position simply lift the fork of the trailer and align the slots of the bobbins with the slots in the fork hooks. Then (and this is important), insert the locking pins into the hole on the front edge of the hook, rotate the pin upward, and lock the pin into place using the button head post located on the back side of the hook. The pin should lock into place, thereby ensuring that the trailer is indeed attached to your bicycle. Without these pins in place, your trailer could detach from your bicycle and cause a severe accident! The BOB manual insists that you “inspect pins for proper installation every time you ride.”
Once that’s complete, you’re ready to hit the street!
On The Road:
I was impressed as how easy the BOB Ibex was to set up and attach to my bike. I was even more impressed by the quality of the trailer and happy to see that attaching and detaching the trailer from the bicycle was a fairly easy task. Now I had to hit the streets and see how the trailer handled.
My first mile with the Ibex in tow was quite surprising. I expected there to be some odd sensations as my body and my bicycle adjusted to the use of the lagging trailer. But to my surprise, the handling of my bike was not much different than the handling of the bike when the trailer was not attached. I barely noticed it was there!
Reading other online reviews of the BOB trailers, I had been warned that because the trailer only had one wheel, there might be some rocking back and forth as the weight of the trailer shifted from side to side. But it became quickly apparent to me that the people writing these reviews didn’t know that they were talking about! I doubt they had ever even used the trailer for themselves. I’m guessing their reviews were based more on hypotheses than on actual experience. There was no shifting of weight from side to side. There were no times when the trailer caused me to lose my balance. Instead, the trailer followed in a straight line behind my bike, perfectly balanced the whole time through.
As I became more comfortable with the trailer I stepped it up a notch. To test the trailer’s rear suspension, I hopped a six-inch curb. No problem. The trailer followed the bike and leapt up onto the concrete sidewalk without a glitch.
Then I hit the trails. There’s a narrow, rocky, single-track trail not far from my home and it was my next testing ground for the Ibex. As I pedaled off-road and traversed a mile or two on this winding rocky path, I was instantly impressed by the trailer’s suspension. On steep uphills I could tell I was pulling something behind me, but the resistance wasn’t nearly as strong as I imagined it would be. Instead of bouncing over rocks like a bull in the rodeo, the trailer flowed more like a skier through thick powder, bouncing and gliding over the obstacles it came into contact with. The trailer’s rear suspension did an exceptional job at absorbing the blows of steep drops and big rocks. On flat twisting trails, the bike performed as though the trailer weren’t even there. On sharp curves, I was able to navigate quite normally on most occasions, but did have to put my feet down on a couple especially sharp hooks in the trail.
Back out on the paved streets, I went for speed. The BOB owner’s manual warns that you shouldn’t exceed 25 miles per hour (40 kph), so I wanted to push the trailer to its limit and see what happened. On a steep downhill on the other side of town, I exceeded 30 miles an hour and the trailer followed obediently. There was no wobble or loss of control, but after a few seconds I slowed down and resumed a normal rate of speed. I thought to myself, “It’s good to know that you can travel more than 25 mph with the trailer in tow, but honestly, I wouldn’t want to do it for an extended length of time. And frankly, I don’t think I would exceed that speed very many times on a bike tour anyway.”
Returning home a few minutes later, I added more weight to the trailer. The owner’s manual warns that the trailer is designed to carry no more than 70 pounds (32 kilograms), so I weighed out the trailer to exactly that… and hit the road again!
It took a bit more muscle to get rolling this time, but once I was in the saddle and out on the street, I almost forgot how much weight I was carrying. Again, over rough terrain and rocks, the trailer performed quite well. Smooth and quiet. But then I hit a long uphill road. Instantly I felt the trailer pulling me backwards. I was able to reach the top of the hill, but the weight of the trailer had been working against me the entire time. As I reached the top of the hill I tried to think back to what it felt like to climb step hills with a full set of panniers. “A hill of this size would be a struggle no matter what,” I thought. “When you are carrying that much weight, whether it’s in a set of panniers or in a trailer, it’s going to be a struggle. But for steep hills such as this, I think panniers are the clear winner.”
Overall, the handling of the BOB Ibex while on the bike is the best I have ever seen in a bicycle trailer. Having ridden with numerous two wheel trailers in the past, I now see the benefits of BOB’s single wheel design. It’s smooth, less resistant than two wheel trailers, and is the only type of trailer that is going to be able to withstand heavy use on narrow single-track trails.
Off The Bike:
On the way back home I stopped by the local bike shop to get their impressions of the trailer I had in tow. As I pulled up in front of the shop, I hopped the curb and looked for a place to park my rig.
Now usually, when visiting the local bike shop, I simply lean my bike up against a small blank wall outside the shop doors. But with a trailer adding an additional 4.5 feet (140 cm) to the length of my bike, there was nowhere to park!
The BOB owner’s manual suggests a parking position, in which you angle the trailer and handlebars at 90 degrees to the bike, but when I did this, the bike and trailer took up the entire sidewalk and those passing by on foot were annoyed when they had to step out into the street in order to get past.
I finally found a wall about 60 feet away that was long enough to lean the entire bike and trailer up against. There was nothing to lock the bike or trailer to, so I ran inside the bike shop as quickly as possible and then returned to the rig a few seconds later.
“Hmm…” I thought to myself. “Parking this thing could really be a problem.”
When traveling with panniers, the length of your bike is never really an issue. In fact, that’s one of the major benefits of traveling with panniers. It’s easy to park just about anywhere! But here I was, trying to park this one-wheeled trailer for the first time and I was really having some problems.
“What do you do if there is no wall, fence, or picnic table nearby onto which you can lean your bike?”
If space is a major consideration (as it was in this case where my bike in the recommended parking position took up the entire sidewalk), you can always detach the trailer from the bicycle – thus solving the parking/space issue, but it’s one more thing to do and one more task to take you away from the enjoyment of your ride.
After 45 days of using the Ibex, parking and packing the trailer has become a bit easier. I’ve learned what kind of angle the bike needs to rest at and what type of conditions there need to be in order for me to detach the trailer from the bike if necessary. In the end, the parking of the BOB bicycle trailer is just one of those things you have to practice and get better at as time progresses.
If I Were To Change Anything About The BOB Ibex:
– I would get rid of the need for two 10mm wrenches and two 4mm Allen wrenches when assembling the trailer. As a traveling cyclist, I’d prefer to use only a single Allen wrench for any repair I might need to make to my equipment.
– I would also make it easier to park the bike when there is no wall, fence, or picnic table in the area. This is where the one wheel design hurts the overall performance of the trailer. Two wheel trailers stand up on their own, but without something to lean the trailer against (or an open space large enough to support the bike and trailer in its “parking position,” there are some small problems.) I’m not exactly sure how to correct this situation, but when traveling by bicycle, packing and unpacking your bike is a constant part of your day. If getting in and out of your gear is a nuisance, your whole day becomes aggravating and the likelihood of you completing your tour drastically decreases.
– Finally, I would like to see the dry SAK available in other colors. I understand that the bright yellow color is designed for the safety of the rider when riding in traffic, but for someone like myself who would use the trailer off-road more than on it, I’d prefer to see a dry sack available in black, green, or gray (a color more suited for stealth camping and life outside the neon yellow stereotype associated with most hardcore bicyclists).
Final Thoughts:
Over the past 45 days I’ve been using my BOB Ibex bicycle trailer while riding to work, running errands, picking up groceries, traversing the local single tracks and everything in between. Overall, I’m terribly impressed by the quality and design of the trailer. It’s built tough, has an excellent design for on road and off-road riding, and is by far the best bicycle trailer I have ever used. With its single wheel design, rigid construction, and suspension system designed for the roughest of road conditions, the BOB Ibex is the ideal touring trailer.
Click here to get a BOB trailer for your next bicycle adventure >>>
Photos By: Jayman
Great review Darren. I’ve used a BOB before as well and I agree with you for the most part. However, I think sharp turns on the BOB are more difficult than you make them out to be. Most turning is fine, but on sharp switchbacks towing a trailer isn’t fun.
Great review. I’ve been using the BOB Yak (non-suspended) for road touring for 5 years and would swear by it. Just remember don’t carry more just ’cause you can. While the Yak isn’t really for off-road trail – all the pros and cons you mentioned apply – especially the parking. My buddy and I spent an entire cross-Canada tour trying to find a better way.
I haven’t found the perfect answer, but use a pretty good one – attach a kickstand to the yoke of the BOB – A good one can be found at:
https://thebiketrailershop.com – see “BOB accessories” (I have no $$ association with the site or store, just bought stuff from them)
There is also now an interesting double-kickstand option for bikes, too. Yeah, you won’t look cool, but it’s nice to not have to find a place to lean or lay the bike down.
Darn, messed up the link to the kickstand store should be:
https://www.biketrailershop.com
Darren, Nice review! My review of the BOB Ibex:
B.O.B. Ibex Trailer ****1/2 “Great trailer…recommended!”
BOB Ibex trailer is a piece of gear I wished I’d invested in years ago. I’d give it 4.5 stars. I pretty much read every online review and article on BOBs and bike trailers before getting my own. As I’ve only used rear rack & panniers and handlebar bag setup in the past, I was a little skeptical about how the BOB would work for me. There is some assembly, but it’s fairly fast and easy. After a short test spin with the BOB unloaded, I took it out for a 600-mile road tour (including a mile of dirt trail). My immediate reaction was that it was more “inconvenient” compared to panniers, but it definitely grew on me. The BOB Ibex is very sturdy and was highly stable hauling my 40-45 pound load, particularly in crosswinds (because of the lower profile compared to panniers.) It also takes at least half the weight off your bike, which should prevent broken spokes and bent rims. The BOB tracks the rear wheel almost perfectly, and the turning radius was tighter than I thought it would be. I tended to forget I was towing it on flat terrain and downhill. Uphill however, it’s like dragging a boat anchor. As expected, you need to anticipate breaking and sharp turns a little sooner than normal. Upon purchase, I upgraded the stock tire with a Schwalbe Big Apple, which was trouble-free—recommended! The BOB is easy to hook up and remove from the included QR skewer, although I only did so after removing the dry-sak/gear load (the recommended method.) It can be hooked up loaded, but it’s tricky and not recommended. The newer retaining pin (w/lanyard) design is so far, so good. (It never came loose, but carrying a few extras is cheap insurance.) The 5,700 cubic inch dry-sak held nearly all my gear (rest is in handlebar bag); keeping it dry riding through some really nasty rain storms. The dry-sak is quicker & easier to pack than pannier, but the downside is less organization, and your The adjustable coil-spring shock absorbed bumps and potholes, and seemed to justify the extra weight and expense over the BOB Yak trailer.
I did notice a few negatives while touring with the BOB, and the most annoying is accessing gear in the dry-sak while it’s seated in the trailer. The dry-sak’s side closure buckles are in an awkward spot situated at the bottom edge (under) the bag; you basically have to (at least partially) lift up the dry-sak up just to reach the buckles to open/close them. Also, all the webbing straps could be longer, as could be the included yellow bungee. The dry-sak is an obvious design flaw, and should have been fixed years ago. (I guess there haven’t been many complaints.) This problem could probably be easily user-remedied by rigging up some extra buckles/web straps extensions. But until then, it’s much more convenient to keep daily touring essentials out of the dry-sak, and only open it up when essential. Parking the BOB can be something of a challenge, as the trailer adds considerable length, but it’s made easier by using a kick-stand on the BOB fork, or turning your bike at a 90 degree angle to the trailer (which is easier said then done.) At 17+ pounds, the Ibex is also considerably heavier than most rack & panniers setups, and doesn’t collapse down for travel on public transportation. (The latter two negatives should be strongly considered for tours requiring international travel.)
Overall, I have to give the BOB Ibex a hearty recommendation, particularly if your bike can’t accommodate racks & panniers. It definitely isn’t perfect, but the pros outweigh the cons. I’m keeping my panniers, and may still use them for ultra-light weekend trips, or as a supplement to the trailer if I needed to carry a ton of gear or extra water. I also considered the “Extrawheel” trailer, which is fairly new on the market, and has an unusual design with its full-sized wheel & cargo netting cradling twin dry-bags. However, the BOB’s numerous positive online reviews and proven design with 15+ years on the market sold me. As someone who has done over 4,000 miles of loaded bike touring, I believe reliability and usefulness are the two most important features in a piece of gear. There’s nothing more frustrating then having gear failure on tour, especially in the middle of nowhere. I also believe a BOB (or any trailer) is definitely a “must have” for off-road touring**(i.e. the Great Divide Trail), over using panniers only. Lastly, the BOB is multi-tasking—good for local shopping jaunts!
**https://www.trek4fun.com/great_divide_trail/gdt_bob_trailer.htm
I have to give major props to biketrailershop.com. They offer unsurpassed selection on bike trailers and trailer accessories. Their prices are very competitive, and offer free shipping on orders over $100. They filled my order quickly, as I received my BOB in 6 days using UPS Ground nearly cross country. Unlike most businesses, they actually return phone messages and Josh was helpful in answering questions and providing info. These guys are the one-stop shop for bike trailers. Highly recommended!
Pros:
+ Great handling and tracking.
+ Sturdy construction.
+ Dry-sak is storm proof.
+ Holds lots of gear (particularly of various/odd sizes).
+ Easier to pack than pannier (although not as ‘organized’. This can be remedied by use of stuff sacks)
+ Easy to load and hook up (new pin design is secure).
+ Coil-spring shock sucks up the bumps
+ Takes most of your gear weight off the bike (which can prevent broken spokes, bend rims, etc.)
+ Can be used on nearly any type of bike.
+ 4 mounts for water bottle cages (I didn’t use them)
+ Versatile uses (local shopping trips!)
+ Gets loads of attention from drivers and pedestrians—(this could be considered a ‘negative’, although drivers seemed to give extra space due to the high visibility from the bright yellow bag and flag.)
Cons:
– Dry-sak’s buckle placement is awful (design flaw). Webbing straps and bungee too short.
– Parking can sometimes be a challenge.
– Somewhat heavy at 17 pounds.
– Doesn’t fold up for storage (not convenient for air/train/bus/public travel.)
– Pricey (but equivalent to quality rack & pannier set-up; should last for at least a decade.)
– Fender may be a bit short (other users have noted the dreaded “skunk stripe”)
The folks at Bike Rentals Plus rent BOBs in Europe for those who don’t want to haul one across the ocean!
My only experience with an Ibex BOB trailer was last October on a ride between Eureka and San Francisco California down the coast. I tend to share many of the above comments that slightly temper your almost perfect and glowing account of the trailer. First, I agee the bike trailer shop where I purchased mine was great and quick with the order. I also agee that the trailer is well made, quality, it has water bottle provisions, etc. I found that I needed to have several sqewers for the different bikes I used to pull the trailer, each about $25 (one was for a tandem with wider spacing), a mountain bike and a road bike. I also found the trailer somewhat cumbersome in close quarters like motel rooms, inside vans, etc. Climbing hills I certainly felt the trailer and amazingly also going downhill. It tended to push around the rear of the bike some. The one huge yellow bag for loading has already been discussed so I will pass on the same comments. A big plus that I did not forsee when buying the trailer is that cars tended to give more room, perhaps it is the yellow flag, perhaps the extra length of the bike/trailer combo. That is a good attribute of the trailer. The trailer also peaked the curiosity of some non riders as to the trip, etc. They see many with panniers on this stretch, perhaps not so many with trailers. One attribute of the trailer is the ability to pile on stuff. On top of the yellow dry bag, I fastened a tent and sleeping bag. There is almost no end to the stuff that can be bungied on the trailer; that in itself can be an issue. My trailer performed flawlessly but I wondered on hills if I should have gone the pannier route. If I had panniers I probably would have wondered if I should have gone the trailer route. So, that is probably a wash. I will add the trailer has much less effect behind a tandem and (except for the length of the tandem and trailer) is probably a good way to tour with a tandem. There is a rack available for the rear of the trailer that goes over the tire. That is probably a good investment for those that like to carry lots of stuff.
Dissenter: The Bob might be the only thing you can take on a single track expedition. The problem is you won’t want to. I have both the giant Burley and the Ibex, and have toured with panniers. I have taken both the Burley and the Bob on trail camping trips. In perfect conditions, the Bob is a delight. Add a steep hill, rocks, obstacles, snow, ice, sudden movement, and it is a different story. On mountainous single track, not your nice day at the beach wide prairie of a trail, but serious rough-house stuff, fully loaded, the Bob is suicidal. It severely degrades one’s balance and thus handling and causes an almost complete loss of steering capability when climbing in granny gear over the normal obstacles found on any tough single track. And try to maintain your balance coming down the same…
That being said, is there a perfect solution for serious single track touring? Probably not. If you are doing fire roads or fairly level single track, the Bob kicks butt. If you envision doing some very technical riding/camping, forget it.
Helpful hint, a Sterilite 66qt plastic tub (and maybe other similar brands/sizes) fits perfectly inside, giving one walls and ability to loose pack and a few other options.
While the Burley is certainly going to slow one down, the hard shelled one can take literally a ton of stuff. If speed was not a factor, I would choose it over the Bob for touring as I know its not going to kill me if I get distracted. Also, one fringe benefit of the Burley and similar, drivers often think you have a baby in there and are extra courteous.
Hello from Italy.
I have two years bought the Bob Ibex. I could not do purchase better. The use especially for my summer holiday also together with Luggage Carrier front and rear. Unfortunately, here in Italy we cyclists we must win a war with the mentality blindly of motorists. Here in Italy who goes in a bike is seen evil, why not have money to buy a car!!! Poor Italy….. a hug to all of you
I’ve never tried it, but I’ve seen good reviews of the “Extrawheel” one-wheeled cycle trailer on some of the touring and adventure cycle sites. It’s got a single 700c or 26″ wheel and you mount panniers to either side of the wheel. One advantage is that you’ve only got to carry a single type of tire/tube to handle both your bicycle and the trailer.
They’re more expensive than the BOB and seemingly much more available in Europe than in the US. More info at: https://www.extrawheel.com/
I love the bob trailer. Have at least 5000 miles on mine and bought a second for my son. You can through everything in a duffle bag and go. I also carry a cooler. I tour all over and commute everywhere. It handles nice and is much easier on the rims. I get to a camp site I can just unhook the trailer and off I go. I highly recomend one with the kick stand added.
I recently took my new Bob Ibex for its maiden voyage on a 30 mile undulating on and off road route in Sussex in the South East of England. The Ibex handles very well indeed, following the line of the bicycle with no wobble. Going uphill (I was carrrying a large tent plus two sleeping bags) is tough, but at least you know that your rear wheel is spared much of the strain. Going downhill was fine and after a short while I felt relaxed and confident even at speed.
My complaints are that the mudguard doesn’t protect the rider behind from road spray and the yellow Dry Sack got sprayed too. More significantly I think that the little “mushroom” button which secures the attatchment pin is far too small and the pin itself is a weedy little thing. Why not have a “mushroom” with a much bigger “cap” and why not use heavier guage spring steel for the clip. Early in the day when I wheeled bike and trailer down the street I turned a little sharply and the trailer detached itself! This gave me quite a shock – what did I do wrong? Thereafter things were fine, but I was rather nervous for the first hour of the ride in case the trailer detached itself at speed. My last moan is that using trains to get to the ride start is a pain with the Bob ast takes up such a lot of room and not all British trains have guards vans.
That’s it, happy trails!
A great trailer that you can use to do real moutain biking! When I mean real I mean rocky singletrack with 2+ feet drops and sharp turns. Used in southern france in really gnarly terrain for 3-4 days off road tours in complete autonomy (I had the camping gears + food for 2 persons). The only thing you cannot is carry the bike and the trailer together if the terrain requires so..otherwise it opens a lot of possibilities.
Hi there, I was wondering whether it is true that it is not possible to link BOB to a bike with disk brakes. Does anyone have any experience with that?
thanks, tina
Hi Tina-Feb 03-2010
I use my BOB Ibex on my mountainbike ( Specialized Stumpjumper ) – with Disc brakes as well as with our Tandem and loves it = no problems with disc brakes.
Andre,Kelowna,B.C,Canada
We just got a BOB Ibex a couple weeks ago and wanted to try it out on a 150 mile overnighter. We set off with the trailer loaded with only about 35 pounds of gear plus me and a Camelback (another 170lb). We gave up after 3 flats within the first 7 miles. None of them were punctures, but rather it seems that the tire/tube could not handle the additional weight. I was riding a stock Cannondale CAAD9 5 so the tires were Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Slick.
Many of you seem to be trailer experts so I was looking for some advice. Should I give up on trying to haul gear with the CAAD9 or would replacing the Zaffiros with something like the Specialized All Condition Armadillos help the situation?
Luke, I’m not sure I understand. Were you getting flat tires on the trailer? Or on your bicycle? If you were getting flats on the trailer wheel, there might just be something wrong with the wheel you received. If you are getting flats on your bicycle, I doubt that has anything to do with the trailer. As long as you attached the trailer correctly, I don’t see how to the trailer could be affecting your bike tire.
Yes, the flats were on the bike. My thinking was that the extra weight the rear wheel had to support might have had something to do with it.
Great review but I think I’ll stick with the extra wheel trailer. I think the fact that it doesn’t require the two #10 wrenches and it hooks on easier is more of a perk. Besides, the extra wheel is the best trailer that I’ve ever found to attach to my bikes. If you haven’t tried one do check it out.
Also, just like the bob, the suspension is awesome but the one thing that separates the extrawheel from the bob is weight. At 4lbs it’s the lightest trailer you will ever find and that is a huge perk once you have this baby loaded down.
Here’s a youtube vid as well. I really like this trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ijnEr1kn98&feature=BF&list=PL431FE39A0F443A92&index=16
The bike trailer shop in Phoenix AZ is the only dealer in the U.S. that carries it but it’s well worth the money.
https://www.biketrailershop.com/
As a bike messenger I have used the non suspended bob for 3 years daily. And it worked like a charm. It was often filled way over max capacity. We had custom dry sacs made which where 4 or 5 times as big as the original coming up to saddle high. I almost never had parking problems, but thats maybe because of infrastructure design in the Netherlands. I was always able to park against a building, pole, pillar or lean the bob on the curb with the bike on the road (parallel parking). Best trailer I ever had and yes it was completely broken and destroyed after 3 years, after lots of repairs. That always came from misuse (overweight) and accidents. Now we have Bullit cargobikes (also custom adjusted so we can carry a cubic meter of cargo at once) and loving them. Bob still is my favorite travel companion though
I have a Catrike Expedition just picked up a Quick Pack trailer reason 20″ wheels with sealed bearings, capacity and will fit behind nicely. Will load test it with equivalent weight tent,camping equipment, food, water etc and see how it handles.
I personally use and love the Extrawheel voyager, which is available from the Bike Trailer Shop. I actually had a chance to try a few of the other trailers and didn’t like them nearly as much as the extrawheel. Why? Well, the extrawheel doesn’t have as long a base. Second, it actually has two dry bags: one on either side of the wheel and boy is this thing awesome. I take my extrawheel moutain biking where a bob would have loosened or caused me problems going over rocks and doing jumps. No problem there with the extra wheel voyager.
Anyway, thanks for the great review but I’ll stick with my extrawheel. It’s lighter, has a smaller footprint and goes everywhere that a bob won’t go.
https://www.biketrailershop.com/extrawheel-voyager-bike-trailer-p-1377.html
I thinking about a “BOB”, but am worried about the weight “pushing me around during a long, down hill run. Would it make sense (or is it even possible) to apply some type of breaking system to create a bit of drag on the rear wheel. It wouldn’t need a lot of breaking power, I just thinking some sort of a Drogue for the bike.
Am I paranoid?
Yeah, I don’t think that is something you have to worry about. Maybe if you were planning to carry a piano on the back of your trailer, then that might be something to worry about, but otherwise I think you’ll be just fine.
I bought my BOB trailer used to carry 5 gal bottles of water. I did have to make a jig to hold the bottle from moving side to side, but it works great with the 44 lbs. of water I use it for. I have no problems pulling it up hills or going down hills.
I traveled to Ireland for 3 weeks with the first proto-type BOB trailer in 1997 — It sure generated A LOT of interest! 🙂
To travel on the plane, instead of the Bob dry bag, I purchased a large, inexpensive hockey equipment bag and put lock, stock and barrel into it — that way, there was NO chance of another baggage charge on the plane, as it was not another “wheeled vehicle” — worked like a charm — open the bag, take out the trailer, replace the wheel, and put belongings back into bag — only have to deal with it when you are packing it up for a flight. And it tracked perfectly up and down all the hills…
Those of us in the “Clydesdale” class (heavyweight riders), have another consideration for a trailer – the weight limit on our bicycles. My recumbent is only rated for me plus about 30 lbs of baggage. Using a trailer takes at least half the weight of the baggage off the bike. Many offload more than half the baggage weight to the trailer.
I have 3 BOB trailers, (2 yaks, 1 Ibex), and my earliest use was in ’99, on a tour of Cape York Peninsular, in QLD, Australia.
As an engineer and touring cyclist, i see lots of comments from people not knowing or having packing guidelines for touring, so i pack heavy,small items (water, canned food, etc) close to the trailer wheel, (as small wheels are stronger than larger wheels), and lightweight bulkier items, (clothes, sleeping bags, etc towards the front of the trailer to reduce leverage effect, and therefore weight on the bikes rear wheel.
i put a good quality 2.25 size brand of tire on the trailer as i think the original standard size tire isn,t good enough for off road use, and that 16 inch tire is subject to way more road wear and abuse.
I,m extremely happy with what i can carry with a BOB, love the jack knife style of parking, and have done tours with both panniers and a trailer, sometimes both at once.
No more touring with panniers for me. Not liking the way the Bob Ibex felt when trying it, I continued looking around. In the meantime I switched from Vaude Aqua Back Plus to Ortlieb Back Roller Plus. The Ortlieb are really superior to the Vaude no questions. And then a stroke of luck, an Aevon L80 Kit trailer on the classified, almost brand new with only 3 weeks on Utah’s roads… Now, that’s a real nice trailer unit, light and extremely well designed. It disassemble real easy with only one Allen key.
I changed the Innova tire for a Schwalbe Marathon Plus to keep the punctures away. So far so good. May I suggest you do a review on that Aevon trailer?
I have used the bob on several different bikes, mountain, road, hybrid and vintage. The quick release axle is made of cheap steel, because it bends. I have replaced it twice, and no longer feel safe using it.. I’m back to panniers. The best trailer I have is a burley that I found at the dump, the frame was fine, all the fabric had degraded, so I just made another cover out of a tarp. By far the easiest to haul, carries plenty of groceries.
I have a Bob Ibex. It took some getting used to how it changed the dynamics of the bike, but no different than getting used to how panniers change things. Losing a retaining pin is a bummer, but until I got some spares, I used a large paperclip rebent to spec. It worked terrifically. Not as convenience or as elegant as the design by the company. But it worked.
I traveled around Ireland with a Bob trailer in 1997. To transport it on the plane from the States and avoid extra charges for another wheeled vehicle, I purchased a large hockey equipment bag for transporting it as my 2nd piece of luggage. I removed the tire and turned the hitch around, filling the rest with belongings. Upon arrival, take trailer out, re-assemble, and use bag for gear. The Bob cargo bag is not long enough to do this. Hockey bag worked perfectly…
Haha. Just realized I posted this in Feb 2012… Mind going… Feel free to delete above comment…
I’m a recent subscriber to your newsletter and this weekend I got the one that includes your review of the Bob Ibex trailer. I just wanted to let you know how much it meant to me. And I’d like to tell you why, if you’ll let me.
One day last September as I was riding back home from Vermont I broke a spoke. Later, back in Montreal, the old Italian guy who owns the bike shop where I go says to me: “You know, a broken spoke can happen anytime. But if you’re worried about the weight on your back wheel, why don’t you get youself a trailer? I’ve been all over the world and I wouldn’t do without mine anymore.”
So I shopped for bike trailers, and for me it came down to these two: either the Polish-made ExtraWheel, or the Bob Ibex. Now one of the great things about the ExtraWheel is that it can be put to precisely the use its name advertises: as a full-size spare wheel that could save your life if you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere with one of your bike wheels twisted and smashed beyond repair. But, being more the road bike-type, I figured I would probably never encounter such extreme conditions and that, therefore, the Bob would be just fine for me. By the time it was delivered to me it was already late October and, you know, here in Montréal there aren’t many good riding days left before we get snowed in, that late in the season. So all I managed to do was take it for a test ride of no more ten kilometers or so. At least it was obvious that it wasn’t going to be either as clunky or as wobbly as I had feared it might (it’s neither, of course—at all), and my overall iimpression of it was VERY good.. But after reading your very thorough review, plus some of the comments your readers left here, I’m totally reassured as to the investment I made (those things don’t come exactly cheap, especially if you have to have them flown in) and am now looking forward to the next season—which up here, alas, is not due before another six weeks at least…
You obviously disagree with reviewers who commented on the instability of the BOB trailers, but that was definitely my experience. My wife and I ride a Santana tandem. We got a BOB Yak to pull our gear with on camping trips. If you thought you had trouble parking your long rig, imagine if the rig now involves a tandem + trailer! But that is a minor inconvenience. The real issue was that if the captain stands up while pedaling, a harmonic oscillation or shimmy sets in that is quite violent and destabilizing. This occurred for us every time we were above about 13 mph. If I stood and didn’t pedal, or if pedaled very, very carefully at speeds under 13 mph, then the shimmy didn’t start or was too weak to be threatening. It is miserable to do a long trip without being able to get out of the saddle occasionally. I did some research and finally decided that the physics of a trailing wheel vs. a wheel mounted under the center of gravity of the trailer is quite different in terms of instability. We sold the Yak and bought a Burley Nomad 2-wheel trailer and it made all the difference. No more instability or shimmy when pedaling while standing even at high speed. Your mileage may vary, but be forewarned and check out this effect before you finalize a purchase of trailer with a trailing wheel.
I am trying to decide on whether to purchase a Burley or BOB gear trailer. I ride a hybrid used almost entirely on roads or railtrails. The major question was raised in Robert’s 12.17.14 post regarding stability, especially while standing, using the BOB trailer. Does anyone have insight on that question? While I may not stand a lot, I do want to be able to stand while riding without a dangerous oscillation occurring, especially climbing. Comments?
Hi, Michael you may have an answer to this by now but you can stand with a trailer, I stand with a BOB Ibex. It just takes practice.
Nylon ties make an excellent substitute in the advemt of a lost or broken hitch pin.
Hi everyone,
I’m the overlandcyclist and have been building my weight carried and speed in anticipation of a GDMBR followed by a side trip off to Miami and then via the islands down to South America. This is a lifetime trip and as such expect I’ll be on my bike for most of the rest of my life. I have become very comfortable with my Thorn Nomad with modified back rollers on the front, a Carradice handlebar bag, Carradice Super C rear and a couple of drybag-rollbags.
I wanted the option of a trailer but not wanting to shell out £450 ($650) to try one out I found a as new (less than a mile) Ibex for less than half (what I’d sell it for if I didn’t like it). Annoyingly the chap had sold his old bike with the skewer so I couldn’t try it that weekend as planned. I took it out unladen for about five miles when the skewer arrived and was pleasantly surprised, yes it did take a bit more to get moving and braking was reduced though not much. I put in 22lbs (10kg) and did the same route and what a difference. Hills that I can climb with more weight in the pannier set up now became cumbersome, a proper drag. There is one stretch I do that is 20% and a mile and a half and that is a killer going up. Coming down is mental as the road ends with no taper off of gradient into a busy road or a stone building – your choice. With panniers I can take the hill full pelt (freewheel) until 75% down and hit speeds of 25mph which feels fast fully loaded. I deliberately took the Bob IBEX down there to see how stability was affected. HUGE, MASSIVE, NEVER AGAIN. I was terrified and gently braked ALL the way down for fear of fishtailing. The load seemed all over the place, unstable, wobbly and seemed to be pushing me down. The front was light and had around 30% of the braking force applied. I will never take this road at anything more than a 10-15mph pace with a trailer on again. I am even thinking of how to couple my brakes but I think that is adding another level of failure to an already heavy bike.
I’m not convinced, flat, commuting in a bike friendly country would be ideal but there are too many if’s, more tools, more spares, more brake maintenance through wear, parking, planes, lifts and such problems, stealth camping is significantly harder. That said it was a worthwhile experiment and it’s great for the shopping run. In my opinion you’d be better upgrading your rims and spokes to handle heavier panniers if that’s a concern. Or look at your route if there is nothing really steep or you could retain control of a runaway even in catastrophic brake failure (ie back brake broke) then a trailer is an option.
Hi, I read all the reviews. I just ordered the Ibex plus.
We dont have hills that are longer than 500m or hills that are steeper than 7%, usually 2-4%. Do you think the Bob Ibex is too heavy to pull up this kind of hills?
I ordered this to be able to ride to the closest camping forests 20-30km away from home. I would pack some 20kg of food, water and camping stuff inside.
Do you think this is a good choice for this kind of usage?
Sounds great!
It sounds like that BOB needs a multi jointed arm so that one could swing it around to lean parallel against the bike. That parking problem is a real inhibitor. A 250 watt motor would help it too, not to use for a good ride, but just to help get up hills, or to put in a few extra miles after a hard day of riding.
Anyone ever use a BOB with a 29″ Co-Motion with thru-axle? Seems from BOB’s website they don’t have a setup to work my bike.