Review of Burley Design Encore Child Bicycle Trailer

Burley Design Encore Child Bicycle Trailer
By: Burley Design Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 4
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Good trailer but bruised my son.

On: 2008-06-30

The trailer is well built and has no issues going on flat ground or downhill. My son was complaining whenever I went up hill for me to stop, I would be standing and moving my bike back and forth. At first I had him on one side of the double trailer and then moved him to the middle but he complained in both positions. I was extremely surprised to see that he was bruised on his tail bone after about 1 hour of riding; it was the 3rd day of biking in a row that I noticed the bruise. I went to REI to buy a seat cushion for $20 as the Burley DLite padded seat is about $40. I think this will fix the problem. I can image many people may not have this same issue but if you like to stand went you go up hill, make sure you have extra padding or buy the DLite. I really like the trailer other than this one major point. I think the pad will make everything fine and as of now I would still suggest the trailer just with one caveat: get a pad for the seat.

Awesome Trailer

On: 2007-11-28

Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!

Ive tried other less expensive brands and the Burley trailers are far superior. Quality and safety of your little one can not be compromised. The Burley trailer is well built, easy to pull and very safe for the kids. I assembled the trailer in about 15 minutes.

I highly recommend spending a few more dollars and buying a Burley.

A Great Tot Trailer!

On: 2007-10-17

When my wife gave birth to our little one a couple years ago, I couldnt wait for him to be old enough to ride in a bike trailer for kids, but I had one huge worry: Safety.

These trailers are so light that they look as though theyd bounce up and down. However, nothing could be further from the truth. This is a very durable product, and while it is light, it is no "lightweight." Its very rugged, and after over a thousand miles on it, the treads on the tires are still holding up really well.

Most importantly, it connects to the rear triangle (near the dropouts) with a coupler thats built around a U-joint, so that if the bike flips over, the trailer will stay upright. I have put this to the test (with an empty trailer, of course), and the trailer stayed on both tires with so much as a nudge.

My kid fits snugly in the trailer, and during sunshiney days, the smoke-tinted side windows keep him from overheating, when used in tandem with the venting mesh front panels. He gets a lot of breeze back there, and if he drops his sippy cup, it conveniently rolls around on the floor until it comes back to him to pick up.

Speaking of tandems, this trailer is towable not only with my Bianchi road bike, but our Santana tandem my wife and I ride. It makes for one long total vehicle, but is very easy to manuever.

I notice I have to go up a gear on my rear cogset to pull this trailer with my single bike, which slows me down a little, but it doesnt feel like that much extra weight when climbing hills. This is a very efficiently built trailer and doesnt create a drag on me. When pulling with our tandem, my wife and I notice almost no slowing down, and just zip along as we always have.

The Burley Encore comes with an orange pennant and a long pole, for great visibility for other vehicles. I recommend getting a "slow moving vehicle" orange/yellow triangle for the rear for added safety, to let drivers know youre pulling precious cargo.

As for my little boy, he has a blast riding around in it, and points out birds, trains and pedestrians while travelling in style (though, with a helmet on, of course). Like a kids car seat, this trailer is also the best thing to lull a kid to sleep when nap time is due. After five minutes, my boy is out like a light, and doesnt wake up until were back home again.

As for me and my wife, this is an indispensable piece of exercise equipment: It has added hundreds of hours of needed exercise time to our lives, gotten us out into the great outdoors, and all without sacrificing quality time with the little one. Since shes now going to deliver another munchkin within a month, it ought to double our pleasure like Doublemint gum, as it can seat two, with plenty of elbow room.

LIGHT TRAILER & EASY ASSEMBLY/DISSASEMBLY

On: 2007-07-30

I have a 4 year old girl and 5 year old boy who loves it everytime we go in biking trails. Very light. I bought it because of it is the lightest Burley made. 19.5 pounds, which helps towing my 4, 5 year old and a Lhasa Apso dog. Between all of them it must have been 100 lbs with the trailer... I added the stroller kit for jogging and strolling...