Bicycle Trailer Review

The Burley D’Lite 2010 Bike Trailer is the Bentley of Bike Trailers. With two kids, I needed to move from a bike seat to a trailer and wanted to find a trailer that was durable and very safe. After doing a lot of online research and talking to local bike shops, it quickly became clear that Burley was the gold standard for bike trailers. I have been testing the Burley D'Lite for about a year now and have been very happy with it.

The D'Lite will hold either 1 or 2 children (a little over 100lbs capacity) and comes with a comfortable deluxe seat pad, padded shoulder harnesses, helmet pockets and reclining seats. You can also choose to ride three ways; totally open in front, with the insect screen down or with the wind/sun screen down which is ideal for changing conditions. It also sports tinted windows with UV protection. Despite its rigidity and rollover protection, it’s very lightweight at 28 lbs and has a fast-action folding system that reduces it to: 35x31x12.5”. This is essentially flat when you remove the wheels which have easy to use quick releases. It fits great right on top of our luggage in the trunk when it is folded. The Burley D'Lite is also very easy to attach, you first attach a small metal bracket under the quick release on your rear wheel and then trailer hooks into it nicely with a back-up safety strap which provides extra security. It also comes with an orange flag which makes you more visible to passing cars, you can switch the side based on which way your area riding. Burley is a very customer friendly company which stands by its products and has a strong focus on safety.

My kids love riding in the trailer, they have even named it "Burley" and ask if we can go "Ride with Burley". From the parent’s perspective, if you have never used a trailer, you will find that you barely notice it's attached (until you go up or down hill), because it does not change the center of gravity on the bike like a bike seat does. The trailer rides very low to the ground and is designed specifically to stay upright if you go down on your bike thanks to a very flexible patented arm attachment. The Burley L'Lite also has a rear storage compartment which comes in handy if you take it on an errand, I have managed to store 2 full bags of groceries in back and it’s a nice combination to be able to do some shopping, get exercise and spend time with my kids.

This is an expensive bike trailer but it’s a great value. The D ’Lite comes with all the top of the line accessories that other top quality bike trailers make you pay extra for and also has an available attachment that turns it into a jogging stroller. The other benefit about investing in a Burley is that they really hold their value and are in demand on the used market. If you Search on Ebay or Craiglist, you will often see 3-5 year old trailers going for 50-70% of retail. To me, resale value is a strong statement of the quality of a company's product.

Note: Starting in 2008, Burley changed their quick release bracket so that one piece is permanenlty attached to the bike, making it much less likely to slide off while you are at high speeds. I strongly suggest you don't purchase a pre 2007 model as this is a big safety improvement. We used an older model on vacation and did have it fall off (the safetly strap worked however)

Devil's Advocate:

Although you can use the Burley D’Lite for one or two riders, because of the weight balance, the one rider has to sit in the middle and this involves moving around all the straps which could take 10-15 minutes. So don’t plan on switching back and forth on a regular basis.