Tricycle or Bicycle with trailer?

Grocery panniers rock! I just have a regular rack on my "around town" bikes, and have a couple of grocery panniers that I can slip on and off there. We use it for the towels when we head to the pool. And they can carry two gallons of milk each, or half a case of beer.

 

My GF bought a "comfort" bicycle last year. She got rid of her mountain bike because she had back pain (the frame was too long for her and she had to bend too far forward to be confortable). We sold the mountain bike to one of my coworkers who really likes it, but couldn't afford a new bike (she is a single mom).

Anyway, the bike she bought is a Cannondale - it is similar to this model:

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/08/cusa/model-8CS5.html

It was about $450 at REI. It is a pretty nice bike for tooling around on and you could pull a small bike trailer with it if you needed to.

I bought a similar bike from Trek - but I think her bike is nicer than mine - pretty good quality for the price.

 

If it's comfort you want, go for a recumbent. The seating position is more natural, and you can see where you're going without straining your neck at a weird angle.

Four panniers on front and rear racks should give you all the capacity you need. I've carried up to 80 pounds this way, though I wouldn't recommend it. The front racks should be 'low riders' so that the weight is centred. I've found the steering feels heavier, but is actually more stable with more weight up front.

 

I go with Darell, there are oversize panniers you can get (I read about one person who bungee-corded on those rectangular office-cubicle trash cans for an effective and cheap solution).

Otherwise, you can spend as much money as you want on something. There's an electric-assist tricycle with a nice rack in the back and front (I'd take the front one off) here, although the seat doesn't look like it's for serious cyclists, more of a comfort-around-the-neighborhood sort of thing.
Lightfoot cycles also makes recumbent trikes you might be interested in.

As for the hub-attached trailer, that's how my Burley attached. It was for a single child, and it worked fine with my son. Supposedly you can flip it under certain circumstances, but I never got close to that. Only took a minute to hook or unhook it.

 

^^^^ Recumbants are not comfortable for all people, especially people with lower back troubles(me). And they stink at carrying weight.
OP check out this Xtracycle Hitchless Bicycle Trailers and Sport Utility Bicycles or a Surly Big Dumby SURLYVILLE

 

Another problem with recumbents is that they are too low - not safe - makes it hard for cars to see you.

Panniers are what I would use in your situation. Mine can take a bag of groceries and a laptop no problem.

Also consider getting a Bionx or similar electrical assist kit on your bike if you want to enjoy riding more. It can be installed on almost any bike. Electric bike, electric power bikes, electric bike kit & electric bike motor hub manufacturer - BionX

 

Can a laptop handle a lot of abuse, i.e. knock around and vibration????

 

I think the safest place for a laptop on a bike would be in a backpack. Unless you've got an air suspension so finely tuned you float along on a cloud, I suspect the computer would suffer damage anywhere else.

 

^^^^^^^^Lots of people carry lapyops in panniers. No problem. Just don't let it bounce around too much.

 

I have a semi-recumbent with folding wire-basket panniers (truly nerdly) and a Burley cargo trailer (for those times when you just can't leave enough crap at home.) The trailer attaches to the hub. Here's my take on it.

Panniers are vastly more convenient, no question about it. Particularly if you do any biking at all on sidewalks or other narrow ways, as the footprint of the trailer wheels is worrisome, and the hub-mounted Burly sites asymmetrically behind the bike. So the road-ward wheel sticks out a bit, and on sidewalks I fear I'm going to clip a parking sign and go flying.

You only really need a trailer (and you only want to pull a trailer) if you're going to carry something heavy or bulky, because a really good load in and over the panniers will stress the rear wheel too much. (I figured that one out when I broke a bunch of spokes carrying bags of mulch from the Home Depot. Stupid, yes, but I did learn not to do that.)

For my money, the benefits of a semi-recumbent outweigh any possible disadvantages. There's no such thing as too comfortable. No more sore (fill-in-the-blank here -- hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, back of the neck). In a semi and opposed to full recumbent, you sit in a position about like sitting in an office chair, just a little lower to the ground. The visibility issue is not as bad as a full recumbent, but mount a flag on a stick if you want to be more visible. I find full recumbents awkward to get into and out of, but a semi is just like sitting down. And I find that a lot of semi- and full recumbents drive like trucks (or like tandems) due to the long wheelbase. Not good for maneuvering in tight urban environments, though I suppose you'd get used to it. Also, your bottom stays in the seat even when going over bumps, so I got a model with a shock absorber. It's less efficient but it sure is comfortable. You do have to learn different technique for getting up hills, particular with the shock-mounted seat. But even with that, I'll never go back to a traditional double-diamond bike or anything like that.

Oh, I should also mention that, around here at least, you may occasionally see somebody shopping off a bike, they might have a basket, but you'll never see someone pulling a bike cargo trailer. People really will stop and point, but they'll also start up conversations. (Stop and point doesn't bother me, it's the stop point and laugh that kind of gets under my skin.) If you have any trouble with looking like you're out of the mainstream, go with nice cloth panniers.

 

Meant to post this link earlier, but was in a hurry. This is what I use. I have two of them, and racks on several of my "around town" bikes. I use one or two (or none) when needed. They fold up almost flat and snap that way, then fall open to accept a standard bag of groceries.
TransIt Grocery Bag Pannier @ Performance Bicycle

I love these things. At at $25 they are a steal. They allow you to carry more than you probably ever WANT to carry. This is what finally allowed me to get rid of my trailer. At one point I really missed the cargo capacity, and now I have it back, and WAY more convenient than dragging the trailer.

 

Whenever I have bought a bike, the shop was happy to let you take it out for a spin just by leaving a drivers license for security.

When my GF was shopping, REI had a special bike demo day where they had a bunch of bikes available out in front of the store and people were taking turns trying them out.

A good quality bike will last a very long time with basic care, so I think its worth it to spend enough to get something you are happy with; you will have it a long time.

 

Godiva, it sounds to me like you're looking for a dual suspension bike with fat comfy tires. You don't seem overly concerned with weight or speed, but prefer to focus on comfort and carrying capacity. That would exclude most road bikes, but an upright "city bike" with tall handlebars and a seat-post shock absorber may work for you.

 

I'd agree with the fat tire thing on a recumbent or semi recumbent as well, but for a different reason. They have tiny wheels. Tiny wheels = less gyroscopic stabilization for a given speed = hard to steer straight at low speeds. First time I rode a semi-recumbent I said, no way I could ride this -- I was weaving all over the pavement. More weight in the rims and tires = more gyroscopic stabilization = easier to steer straight. I ended up with fat high-pressure tires on mine, and that works well for me. The guy I bought mine has since learned to set up his demo recumbents with wider rims and fatter tires.

Let me put in a plug for Bikes at Vienna. Not that you'll buy a bike from across the country, but my former next-door-neighbor owns it, and you can at least see a few models of bikes on the site. He's the guy who inspired me to bike commute in the first place. He tells me business has been very good since the price of gas went up.

bikes@vienna

 

Be careful of suspension, it wastes a great deal of power, even a decent quality system will bounce around, and sap power like crazy on pavement.
A modern bike, fitted properly, of a modern material will be extremely comfortable. For me, a modern road bike fitted properly is extremely comfortable. I can't even sit on a receumbant without being in pain.

 

You can carry a lot of stuff on a bike