Burley d'lite Bike Trailer

Comments about Burley d'lite Bike Trailer:

This is a high quality trailer so far; been using it only a month. It works great for carrying my baby and groceries. Lots of room for cargo. I would like to see a barrier keep items from the back of the trailer from sliding up to the front under my childs feet.Pulling the trailer is way easier than I had anticipated. You can hardly feel more resistance than riding without the trailer (until you get tired if you're on a long trip!)Also, my trailer came without a dust cap on one wheel which was a good experience because they were great to deal with in the US and shipped me what I needed that day.I also wonder about the longevity of the windshield. I don't expect it to look good very long. I haven't seen a better option on any other trailers though.In the totality, I have no complaints about the trailer although I wonder still if it is a value for the money. I guess if you have plenty of money, this is a great trailer and definitely a better value than a Chariott at $800 to get the attachments you need just to use it.

Comments about Burley d'lite Bike Trailer:

I had to pick between this trailer and the Chariot Cabriolet. I know that currently the Cougar seems to be THE trailer to get, but I don't like the price or lack of storage on the Cougar. Cabriolet had more storage. We are looking for a good solid trailer with room to haul kids plus gear for a long day out on rail trails. My feeling is that the Cabriolet offers better features for the kiddies (comfier seat, more leg room) whereas the D'Lite offers more features for the parent.

This trailer is just beautifully designed. The Chariots all seem to have a lot of elastic on the covers, etc but everything on the Burley is tailored to fit. The cover forms to the frame, no elastic to wear out, attaches easily at the bottom. Rain cover zips up and down, no velcro to gape or wear out. You can't see up through the roof, as in the Chariots, but this also means your child won't have so much sun in the face.

Storage space is HUGE. Perfect if you want to haul tons of stuff. There is a little pocket inside so you can put keys, cell phone, other small items that you don't want lost or sliding to the front. (It is open under the seat, so small things can migrate - the Cabriolet is like this as well, though, but lacks that pocket and has less of a trunk)

Comes with reflectors all around and a safety flag (Cabriolet does not!). Has multiple metal bars forming the very sturdy roll cage. Overall it feels like an incredibly safe trailer - there is just more to it than a Chariot. If I had to pick a trailer for my kid to be hit by a car in, I would pick this (if I HAD to - let's hope that never happens)

Comes with a stroller bar attached so it's easy to move this when it's not on a bike. Handle bars rotates and locks securely into any position you want and folds forward to add to the roll cage.

Folding it is super easy - lift two metal things and push forward on the top bar and it's flat. Not sure what to make about reviews that said it was hard to fold - perhaps an old model? Mine is a 2011.

The only thing I don't like is the seat is not as comfy as the Cabriolet. It's not bad by any means, but it's not as padded. The harnesses are a bit more fiddly - two straps that connect to a crotch strap vs. the U shaped harness of the Chariots. I do feel the Chariot is slightly comfier from the kid angle. I don't see the slumping or hammock effect others have mentioned - the seat bench is attached in front and back, and the back rest part attached at the top - it's not just attached at the front and top. I think older models tended to be more hammocky?

I don't feel the suspension does much but if you are doing relatively smooth rides, the large air filled tires plus fabric of the seat will eat up many of the bumps you encounter so that's not a huge deal. We went with this over the Encore because it is roomier inside. I have twins and would like them to both be able to fit in this until they are 5 - I think they will be able to. Headroom and width of the Cabriolet and D'Lite are similar but Cabriolet has more leg room.

Overall it's just well designed and exactly what we need for our plans. I have no plans of converting to a stroller or anything else - I have a stroller I like and I don't ski. But for long days out biking with a lot of kids, I think it's perfect. If it had a comfier seat I'd give it 5 stars.

Comments about Burley d'lite Bike Trailer:

This is a great product. My 3 year old loves it and when night riding I roll down the front poly window and she dosen't even want her jacket, it is also very light mine holds 2 kids but never done it in 2 years. Got mine off [@] 4 less than half. I also have the adapter for the front and have used it for jogging also, its not so bad sence its light, to lift the front when turning because the front wheel dosn't rotate. Great for straight runs. pockets r very usefull for child cups and toys. the back compartment fits 4 grocery baggs very tightly also had about 50lbs of 3 pumpkins and gords plus some milk back there and my daughter(35lbs) comfortable in her seat. held up very well im guessing it was holding about 100LBS with no prob

Comments about Burley d'lite Bike Trailer:

So I have to first second "everything" David of Dallas mentioned...hammock effect (definately not a "recline" position as Burley mentions), snapping together though it got easier...but the straps do slide and get in the way each time I've collapsed the trailer, everything slides to the front under their feet...that is of course if it is less than 3-4 inches in thickness.

What I would like to add in the three months we have owned it, was the fiberglass pole that allows the back kick out punctured itself a hole and can no way stay in to provide this effect. Second the tabs that you pull on broke because instead of doing a full fold of the fabric for equal tension, they trim it right after the stitched seam...kind of a no brainer that it will eventually break from directly pulling on the seam from one side every time. With that same topic it is always a bear to pull on those tabs to get it to latch. Next, I have twin boys that are only 15 months old, so they only weigh 21 and 23 pounds, but for some reason the elastomer, or shock as they call it, has cracked already. I don't ride off road with them do I haven't taken any really hard hits to the axle. Finally, for the first time, I transported it by car, so I disassembled it and went to put it into the car, but it doesn't seem to have any way to lock it down so it doesn't unfold as you try and lift it up. You have to get completely under the thing and carry it level...back breaking...to get it to the destination. Totally disappointed, since I specifically bought this for the bowed window space, figuring my boys would appreciate the elbow room later. Not to mention they don't even make a storage bag of you wanted to take it on the plane...hmmm...no lock...no bag...I guess you use a large suitcase strap and hope the nice windows don't get trashed in transport.

Also, if you haven't already purchased the new caster wheels that they make, where one slides in each side, so you don't have to have the one wheel way out in front...well, don't bother. The swivel is horrible and one of them is already bent, so it doesn't work at all!

Comments about Burley d'lite Bike Trailer:

We purchased the D'Lite from REI after a lot of internet research and in-store examination. It is made well here in the US, and Burley seems to have a great reputation.

The hitch arm attaches easily both to the bicycle and the trailer, and it feels very secure. The wheels attach/detach easily and also feel sturdy. A solid sunshade was a must for us when deciding, and we were satisfied with the way it worked. The other weather shields worked as expected and seemed sturdy. Now on to the not-so-good stuff...

Although we were proud of our investment, we started to notice that our 12 month old was slouching even on the shortest of rides. She was almost immediately slouching down a bit, and she would end up literally laying uncomfortably sideways after thirty minutes or so. She is very capable of sitting and standing, so it wasn't an issue of her just being too young. This is because of the way that the seat is designed. The seat is essentially a piece of fabric that is attached in the front and then attached at the top with adjustable straps. This creates a 'hammock' effect, which sounds nice. However, it is not well executed and just results in the aforementioned slouching (at least for my daughter and many others I've since read about). Also, the way you 'recline' the seat is just to loosen the top straps I referenced earlier. If you can picture the hammock-style seat, you could see that all this does is make for a larger curve. This only resulted in more slouching. Adjusting the harness did help in keeping her a bit more upright, but I want her to be in a seat where she wants to sit up, not where she is strapped in so tight that she has no other option.

The storage area is generous, but anything you put in it will slide to the front of the trailer almost immediately. I would put my keys and phone in the storage area before our ride and open the front to get them from near her feet.

The suspension is there, but it doesn't seem to do much. It is very simple and relies upon the flexibility of a little plastic piece that sits between the frame and the axle. I wouldn't consider this as much of an asset when looking at this trailer.

The folding mechanism had me baffled from the beginning. These things are 99% assembled right out of the box. All you really have to do is unfold it and pop in the wheels. Unfolding proved to be a challenge - especially the first time. I'm a large man, and I had a lot of trouble snapping the two pieces of the frame in place for the first time. I tried several times and actually didn't believe I was doing it right. I didn't think there was any way that it could be that difficult for a 6'6'', 240lb man to squeeze these pieces together. I watched some internet videos and kept trying. I finally got it, and I had been doing it right. It got easier on subsequent attempts, but it usually still resulted in smashing fingers and/or snapping together only to find that the adjustable seat straps had slid out of place during my attempts. This required unsnapping and likely smashing my fingers again once they were in place.

I could deal with most of this, but the fact that my daughter was so uncomfortable led us to take it back to REI. REI is awesome, and they didn't even ask any questions when I returned with no box after 30 days. We swapped it out for a Chariot Cougar 2 after much more research and prodding in the store.

That is where my Burley D'Lite review ends, but I do have some preliminary comments about the Chariot Cougar and its differences. I'll write a review of that once I use it, but I think it is relevant here for direct comparison purposes. It is a bit unfair since I haven't taken it out yet. Upon taking out of the box, it just looks better engineered. Both have good quality parts, but the Chariot is more well thought out. The seat actually creates a noticeable bottom and back that seems to support my daughter much better at least when sitting still. The folding mechanism is infinitely easier and less stressful on the frame (and me). The storage compartment is completely separate and is pretty awesome in the way it can fold out or in with a quick release. The suspension is adjustable based on weight and functions much life leaf springs in a vehicle. All of the pros I had for the Burley are just as good on the Chariot. I did spend over a hundred extra dollars all in all for the Chariot, but it seems to address any of my complaints about the Burley so far.

Comments about Burley d'lite Bike Trailer:

I just took the trailer out this morning after anxiously waiting for it. I have a 3 yr old and a 2 yr old and they both fit nicely. The ride is great; I barely notice I'm pulling a trailer even though my kids weigh 60+ pounds together. I love how this trailer comes with the handle bar and it doubles as a roll bar since safety is a big concern for me. Most other trailers either have the hitch separate or the handle bar separate. This has both. Connecting the hitch to the bike was easy. Probably not as easy as the clamp style, but this seems safer. It has a brake, which some other trailers lack. I haven't put a helmet on the kids yet, so I don't know how comfortable that would be for them. The only things I don't like is the storage area. It is pretty spacey but there's nothing to prevent thing from sliding from the back to front where the kids feet are. And also, the fabric is extremely tight. Theres a button on the bottom right side that I cant pull hard enough to button. But those are minor setbacks compared to the overall quality . I love it. I personally think this has the best quality, safety, and best for the price.

Comments about Burley d'lite Bike Trailer:

I first purchased the Burley Cub which I love, love. The only thing is, the jogger kit is not compatible with the Cub. [...] I opted to exchange the Cub for the D'Lite instead. I needed a trailer after all and there's something about the Burley brand that I just appreciate [...] We are enthusiastic about the D'Lite's features and quality. It is a tad more compact than the Cub, but it is taller once assembled because of the larger wheels. In the folded position, however, the D'Lite is more compact than the Cub, making it easier to find a place to store. It seems that though the cabin in the D'Lite is tighter in comparison to the Cub, the storage in the back is roomier. I think the Cub is cute and what caught my interest is the hard plastic bottom. If the jogger kit was available domestically I would have kept the Cub, but I am glad to have the D'Lite because I do like the wheel guards, the shorter push bar/roll bar, the color options (ours is green) and the little details that differentiates itself from the Cub.The stroller kit is a good addition to the trailer, it's just a few steps in order to switch from trailer to stroller. It rides smooth as a trailer or stroller. We've only had the trailer almost a week, but I can imagine that it will add to our active and car-free lifestyle.