Best Wheeled Luggage for cobblestones?

The Travelpros ( 2 wheel style) my wife and I have, have worked well in Italy and Greece

Another vote for Travelpro. You can find good prices on Amazon.

Third vote for Travelpro two-wheelers. We've dragged ours over all sorts of surfaces, including long stretches of cobbles, for 15 years and they're still going strong.

What's your budget? Do you want two wheels or four? Is empty weight an issue? Do you want international carry on size or do you plan to check the bag?

There are many brands that make good, reliable bags in all price ranges, weights and sizes. Travelpro, Samsonite, Delsey, and Eagle Creek are good brands offering moderately priced luggage.

And yet another vote for 2 wheeled TravelPro. Have had our durable luggage for years and have rolled it on cobblestone & compromised terrain throughout Europe. It’s never let us down.

Another vote for 2 wheeled Travelpro. Been using this brand for 25+ years.

Wheels on the travel pro do look rugged. https://upgradedpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Travelpro-wheels-1536x1152.jpg

But here are some others: https://bagsandsuitcases.com/best-large-wheeled-luggage

Still, I hope you are considering all the tradeoffs. I travel to some pretty off the path places (Albania for instance) and while I do encounter some cobblestone streets when I weigh that against the time in airports, lifting bags into the overhead, ease of maneuvering, overall convenience; the fact that transportation gets me pretty close to any place i will be taking my luggage, etc; the cobblestone might be a consideration; but not a big one.

This topic reappears almost every month here, so if you search a little more, you will have a wealth of opinions. [Admittedly, the Search function of this Forum is a bit awkward to use.] Just keep checking in every week. Folks here are very adamant about their personal choices. Safe travels!

Maybe look under the "Packing" topic.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing

..the fact that transportation gets me pretty close to any place i
will be taking my luggage, etc; the cobblestone might be a
consideration; but not a big one.

That's maybe where we differ. The DH and I tend to use our feet from stations to hotel and vice versa, and sometimes those distances have been pretty long. Along with the rugged wheels on our 24" T.P bags (we check them) handling some pretty nasty surfaces, the two-wheeled version allows us to pull them behind us on any number of sidewalks too narrow for a bag built to roll alongside on all 4 spinner wheels. Trust me, we've dealt with enough of those narrow walkways, or those which may as well be s single-file passages once you navigate around the scooters, bikes, projecting stoops and whatnot. Same with only taking up one side of moving airport walkways.

But no right or wrong to it, just how we individually use our bags?

I switched from two wheels to four (spinner) several years ago as I have arthritis of my low back and shoulders aggravated by pulling a bag behind me. I’ve encountered cobblestones and other rough roads and, although bumpy, the spinner is manageable. It’s a trade off for no pain, easy transit down the aisle of an airplane. Wheels on spinners are smaller and more prone to damage. So, wether you go for two wheels or four, get a quality bag, but especially if you go for a spinner. Cheap ones will break when you least want it (while traveling). I agree TravelPro makes a good product, but there are multiple styles. The lighter, inexpensive bags TravelPro bags are flimsy IMHO. I like the Crew line-sturdy, good wheels. If you want a bag that lasts for a very long time and has a solid lifetime warranty look at Briggs and Riley, but be prepared to pay. The wheels on these bags are the best around.

After the wheels of my 4 wheel roller bag pretty much disintegrated while walking from the train station in Rothenburg ob der Tauber to my hotel at the beginning of my trip in Sept. 2019, I decided to try something different. I purchased the 42L Osprey Ozone, which has two large, rugged wheels. I got it in early 2020 and haven't been back to Europe to test it out on cobblestones yet, but I think it will probably work really well. I've used it domestically in the U.S. several times and it has been great. It seems to be well built, holds a lot and is lightweight.

Thank you everyone.

Like Alan, I switched to a spinner (in 2018), primarily because I had been traveling with the same 22” 2 wheeler for about 6 years (got it for $20 at a Tuesday Morning) and wanted to move to a 21”. So I got a $50 soft-side spinner from TJ Max (I had to go look - it’s a Ricardo Beverly Hills for whatever that’s worth, but I was just looking for size, price, weight, and spinner). It has been great - I roll it when it’s easy and I both roll and pull over cobblestones (think cobblestones all over Croatia). I find that having the option to roll it beside me when possible DOES relieve stress on my shoulders - and it pulls behind me just fine on the occasions rolling isn’t easy. Pulling over cobblestones hasn’t been a problem.

This year, like you, I am in the market for a new piece, but only because I want to go smaller. I will still stay with spinner. Maybe unlike others, while I understand the importance of good quality and will balance that with cost, I am very willing to pay less, have it last a few less years, and take on the risk of buying a new piece on a trip if necessary, with everything involved in that scenario. Both of my pieces are in good shape - and buying a new suitcase every 5 to 6 years is fun. :) My needs change, so I don’t feel like I have to spend a ton in order to make it last a lifetime.

Travelmom, we are alike. My soft spinner from Target was something less than $40 and still in perfect shape after more than 15 trips in places like Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania ..... plus as many US trips. I switched to a hard side for the next trip because I realized I wasn't using the pockets on the front of the softside; and they just cut into the interior space and hang up on everything. Also like being able to open the case in the middle to find things as opposed to digging into one that zips on top. My most expensive luggage ever $129

James, I am considering hard-sided and not sure why I am still mentally resisting. It makes sense for a couple of good reasons including fragile items inside and water/rain exposure from the outside.

I actually do use my 2 outside pockets on my soft-side: the small one for all the random receipts I get and feel guilty about throwing away until I get home and the larger as a great tip I got from Jean for popping my pajamas into (for quick easy access/packing when traveling at a faster pace or with early morning departures, which I am not good at). But that’s not a deal-killer. And mine opens on the side already, so that would not be different between hard and soft-sided.

No one talks about choosing their suitcase based on color, but if I find a really pretty blue in a smaller spinner (need to decide how small), that might overwhelm all my logic.

Apologies, webb1997 - I am sure I am not being of any help at all. :) But it’s fun to talk…..