Gear Review | Burley Coho XC Bikepacking Trailer 

This trailer has some good ideas, but also several flaws I hardly ever see in reviews, and I don't even use it for bikepacking, mosty to carry stuff to the recycling area and stuff. -The rear "suspension" is just a spring, it's not damped, so it's bouncing around on bumps if you're going a bit fast which in some cases could be dangerous, you can see in the video how much it bounces, it wouldn't if it were damped which is the very purpose of a shock absorber. -So you could think about swaping it for another better rear shock, but that shock is 140mm long, and judging by the total absence of 140mm shock on ebay, aliexpress, etc, it seems to be the only 140mm rear shock in the world. Shock are 100, 125, 150, 165 etc long. I guess the 150 can work, but then you may have issues with eyelet width. It's bothering because such a weird choice looks like it's purposefuly made to keep the consumer captive in case of replacement, and even if it doesn't, it's surely not thought out with compatibility in mind. -Shock is barely adjustable, by that I mean I set it as loose as possible, if I unscrew the spring tension thumb-screw more, the spring will become loose on the shock beam. -The "steering" pivot has no bearings. Sure it doesn't carry a human like the frontfork pivot of a bike, just 0-30kg, but then it's alloy against alloy, and on mine after the paint got removed it started grinding against each other. I emailed Burley about this and they said it was normal, maybe, but I'm not convinced. So I added some shims and a lot of grease. Also it's exposed to dirt from the bike's rear wheel which could accentuate the grinding, so I added a vertical mudguard. -The clipping mechanism on the balls is cool, but it doesn't look solid. My mum used it once, didn't attach it well, which resulted in a small spring moving out of its socket and it would not spring the clip that holds on the ball anymore. Had to take it apart, put the spring back in place. The clip part and spring don't look sturdy, kinda "soft metal", not "safe for decades" kind of look. -The beefier 16x3.0" tire is also a weird choice. Again it's pretty much the only tire of this size. -On mine the "fork" is welded slightly crooked. It's not a problem, but it doesn't "breath" quality. So it could've been a great trailer, it follows well (don't carry 30kg though, it becomes totally akward) but overall I find the price expensive with those flaws and lack of compatibility.

Although they tell you not to, I use this trailer with my dog. I've lined the bottom with a few layers of hard foam padding and then placed his dog bed over that. It took a little practice, but I'm now able to tackle long trips and not feel guilty leaving him at home. while on trails I don't bother leashing him, but if I'm anywhere near traffic I simply put two small leashes on either side of the cart so that he physically cannot jump out of a side. look up dog packing if you're interested, and you'll find great info! happy trails :)

The trick is to lift the back of the bike up when reversing its far easier to guide the trailer backwards. Give the ExtraWheel trailers a tryout they use a full size front wheel as their wheel theyre comically good off road and on the flat roads you'd literally be looking round to see if its still there. Its effects on handling are really minimal ive even done drops and steep, like properly steep sets of off road steps on and it just follows.

very good and unbiased review! all the pros and cons from someone actually doing bikepacking with it!

Excellent! Because of my aging knees, I have become more and more a bikepacker - multi-day camping with my bike and want to get a trailer.

You are incredible! Keep up the good work. I enjoy watching all your videos :) This channel deserves much more attention!

Nice review, thanks.

Great review trailer seems like it works well

Thanks man!

One option for getting the correct thru axle the first time, pull your existing thru axle out. Often the specs will be laser etched into the axle shaft. On one of mine, part of the etching says "12-174-P1.5" which translates to 12mm diameter, 174mm overall length, thread pitch = 1.5 threads per millimeter. When choosing your thru axle, this is all the info you'll need to identify the correct Burley Ballz thru axle for your specific bike the first time. If all of this is over your head, take your bike or your thru axle down to your local bike shop and they'll usually help you out. Make sure to tip them with good beer. That'll definitely get you some help. If you can, buy the trailer and/or axles from them. It'll be the same price as online, and you'll be helping your LBS stay in business so they can help you and your neighbors again in the future. 🍻

Thank you for your review of this Burley trailer!. There are a lot of cheap knockoffs and other solutions out there and your comprehensive detail helped me finally pull the trigger on the Coho. I own an Evelo Delta X E-Bike and Live in a suburb of Boston. I was looking for a convenient alternative to driving my very old pickup truck to the grocery store and for the equivalent cost of a few car parts the Coho fit the bill. Again thank you for your professional filmmaking and communication skills

thank you for this video,

Very helpful. Mahalo!

Great review. You have another subs. Thanks

Great review! Would be great to see additional reviews re pannier on the sides and if it's possible to install a rack on top of the Coho like the Nomad Cargo Rack?

One's a quick release and yours is a thru axle. Two different setups altogether.

My first bike tour set up . I made wile I was away from home. I used one of those bike trailers for kids where they can peddle too .... I strapped all my bags to the seat and handle bars . Which made it really top heavy and hard to drive straight 🤣🤣🤣 .... my last tour, I used a baby carrier and just put my backpack in it ... worked way better

Fantastic view at around 6.25

I have the Quietkat trailer. Its positive features over the Burley are the greater capacity and the rear pannier rack setup. The Quidtkat’s mounting is not as convenient as the Burley’s but it has pins to positively lock it to the rear. I used the Quietkat’s mounts but drilled and tapped my frame so that the trailer is independent of the bike’s axle. The mounts are attached permanently to my bike’s frame. Just my thoughts. Tony

What about the hills? I live on the road and England is my trail and at present use a trailer. But recently I have had to navigate 20 and 25% gradient hills. One went up over 300 metres in just a kilometre. So I was thinking pannier as with my trailer I can not stand up. That one looks like you could?

You say put all heavy gear at bottom of trailer. I say start loading the heavy stuff at the back, where the spring/shock is located, and yes to heavy at the bottom.

What is your opinion of Rogue Pandas frame bags... From Prescott, Arizona -Friar Rodney Burnap

Can I fix Coho trailer on to surly bikes ?

Nice video. Question: is the spring adjustable for lighter loads?

Problem, I have a rear hub motor e-bike. How can I use the Burley COHO? I plan to use a Yeti 500xl power pack for recharging the main battery and have solar panels to recharge the Power pack. This gives me infinite range anywhere.

Are they going to make this product for three wheeling bikes?

What about protecting your gear in the rain?

I Love My B.O.B. YAK !

How much does the cohol t x trailer cost

I have been looking at this unit. Are you running a 29er bike?

Hello that was a great review!! I used the Bob trailer to go from Ventura California to northeastern Minnesota once!! I loved it! I'm coming out of retirement to complete the miles around the planet this summer to raise money for MS!! I have about 7, 400 miles to go! I'm looking to build my channel before I tour the Pacific coast this summer, I was wondering if you would subscribe!? And I'm 90% sure I'm going to get a Burley coho!!! It's definitely the best single wheel trailer out there!!!! Thanks!!!😁🚴

Do you like to say unit?

Can this trailer be used on 29" wheels?

I want to buy a Coho XC for camping this July but they no longer ship the standard QR Skewer, and none are available until late summer. Would you sell me yours since you aren't using it?

Can it fit on a fatbike?

I built these things as a kid for almost nothing, not that much to get a simple trailer and a wheel - although nice $500 is rather steep

Back-light?

How does one theft proof this trailer? Makes it not good for grocery shopping. The shortcut to the grocery store is 3 miles of rutted dirt road that would break up the $130 trailers.

You know a guy just goes with saying stuff, When he doesn't even understand his first thing. The stock axle he grabbed is NOT a thru-axle. It's called a QUICK release axle. And then him going on saying it was a smooth ride. Including with the built in shock. Which he didn't even adjust so during his video it shows it bouncing like a whale. Think the only pros to this, is it can house their dry back, Have optional panners added + bag on top. It's shock helps dampen it if adjust correctly. And fancy enough their using a double walled 16inch wheel! unlike most other trailer companies using SINGLE walled ugh. But the mounting is crap. Ball cups? The fudge they thinking? Quick release ball cups with crap holders. GG failure point right there. But hey it's for thru-axles to. woop. Rig also should have more swing, If you can't atleast make a 90degree turn with a single wheel. Something is wrong.

You didn't show us how it comes apart to fit in the back of a car.

Why coho weighs 10 kg when the original bob is only 6 kg?!? 😔

mesh net looks to small it should cover everything i wouldnt trust that light expensive needed gear on top from slipping out on the terrain

At $700 Australian....its a total rip off !!

Way too expensive!

Bikepacking starting from a car...

That axle system is the main reason I'm not buying this bike trailer.

🇺🇲👎🏻 Made in 🇺🇲=👎🏻

Whats a puneer rack? .....its called pan-yeah......lol typical americans......why do you have to try and americanize everything?

Got this trailer, and was shocked at the build quality. Its crap, and you do not get all you need to fix it to your bike, you need to spend at least another 50 - 60 pounds for extras, extras which are as rare as rocking horse crap. The stand underneath falls down with a simple touch of your finger, the cargo net is laughable.