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Here it is! After riding for 2.5 hours covering 35 miles and several big hills I came to the following conclusions:
The trial was a TW Bents trailer off ebay @ £89 brand new http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/ and my Trek 6500. The reason I used my Trek was purely for the triple gearing. I bought Specialised urban tyres to replace the Mountain tread and lessen the drag and increase the speed. Once on the road you really do forget it is there! its only when you get off do you feel the weight. Purely for this trial I didn't want to overload until I was happy with how the bike & trailer would react, cornering, braking etc. Initial thoughts as I rode up Dock Road were mmmmmmmmmmmmmm need to train with this all the time as the Pyrenees are not going to be fun! Once through the initial shock & doubt confidence was restored I just had to stay in lower gears and maintain a high cadence on the approach to a climb.
The longer the ride went the more I grew in confidence and the idea of Panniers slipped away. I still have to lose another stone and get the kit weighed and packed. The Trek is quite a heavy bike compared to my road bike but gives me the triple (of which I didn't need) however, Day 5 and a category 1 climb in 25 degrees heat I might be grateful for the 3rd cog! I will be buying a Specialised Tri Cross to pull the trailer: See details at the bottom of this blog
1. It is lighter than my Trek 6500.
2. Triple Mountain/Road cross gearing
3. More robust than my Trek Madone
4. Can take panniers if the trailer fails its trials.
Conclusion
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