Conventional cycle tourists carry their gear slung over the bike in panniers. The practice is simple; it works; it's relatively quick to load and unload.
Chris is planning to go with orthodoxy. For gear that doesn't fit in his panniers (like his tent) he'll strap it to the top bar of his bike. I think that Simon will probably do the same
I'm not convinced that putting all that weight hight on the back of a borrowed bike will be good for the bike, or for stability. I've also got a bit of a reputation for favouring the unconventional, so with a reputation to uphold, have been casting around the web for other options. I've seen plenty of people who rate trailers, so was thinking of giving one a try. The consensus seems to be that bob trailers are the best for touring, even if a little more expensive than their competition.
The advantage of a trailer is that it has a lower centre of gravity and less wind resistance than panniers. The disadvantage is that there's more rolling resistance and the length makes it trickier to manouver in tight places like trains. Whatever I do, I don't want lumber myself with both panniers and a trailer, and have to endure the worst aspects of both.
I guess if there's a mix in the group we can do some trading - I could carry Simon and Chriso's tents and other bulky gear, and I could offload some of my small but heavy kit (First aid kit, torch, charger etc) to them.
