I've had my BURLEY NOMAD trailer since 2007 and it has held up well. I have a flag on mine, and I've made a mount out of pvc pipe to hold a tail light up a bit higher then mounteing them on the rack, which I also have on mine. Used my trailer in 2012 on RAGBRAI and it held up very very well. Changed out the tires to 16x1.5s and no flats.
Nice review! Hope you are pleased with the burley. Have had two generations myself and they’ve endured thousands of kilometres. Roads, dirt tracks, what have you, the burley nomad hasn’t let me down yet.
I bought and travelled down through France Spain Portugal and northern Morocco with a Burley Nomad but my aluminium hitch snapped while in Gibraltar. Didn't think much of the tyres provided either, I had puncture after puncture until I lined the inside with Kevlar tape. But apart from that I liked it. But I discovered your videos through an interest in buying an Ice trike to go touring. Being over 60 years old I've been considering an electric assist, and seeing you had an additional top rack to your Burley perhaps place a solar panel to charge the battery while travelling.
Yes, I have a small solar panel for charging batteries that were bad luck with the aluminium hitch. Good to learn about putting Kevlar tape in the wheels. I too am 66 :-)
Thanks for sharing this one, Graham...very detailed review and good points...really appreciate that you took the time to do this one! Greets from Scandinavia! Happy touring!
Thanks Graham! I got my nomad tower with the rack. It works like an absolute dream just like you said. I love it. The rack will work especially good for me transporting paintings.I plan on affixing a flat slighter larger surface to then bungee cord carefully cushioned paintings I Just love this trike! You mentioned it is slightly not dead center behind the trike. Mine is the same way. the only think I can think of for doing that is maybe better visibility of the trailer from your right view mirror. Not sure though. Otherwise I am extremely pleased. I was able to transport about 60 lbs of my paints, brushes finished paintings, pieces I want to work on at my various locations and this trailer really does almost all that for me minus being about to bring very large works with me. Well I guess you can't have everything but man this thin performed so well you do know you are towing anything behind you 85 % of the time. It was because of seeing your I decided to get it. Could not be more pleased. One small difference between my nomad and yours is my wheels have skewer quick release wheels. I like your push sensitive wheels looks wise better though they function just as good. Maybe the UK versions are slightly different? Not sure. Anyway, thanks for turning me on to the Nomad. I give it 4 solid start it is a winner!
I have a 25 year old (so made in Oregon:) D'lite Cargo trailer The offset has always puzzled me. Where I am we ride on the left, so I have to be careful not to clip the kerb , since my trailer is offset to the left of my bike. I like the way that this new trailer's hitch can be put on either side, so I could offset this one to the right instead. I think that the offset is to make the trailer tow in a straight line by putting the coupling pin close to the centre line of the trailer. However, this may also be why the trailer tries to steer the bike when going downhill with 50 kg of cement! After 25 years, I'm surprised that they still don't have dedicated light mounts and the flagpole mount is worse! Although mine has had a lot of use around town, it's still on it's original Cheng Shin tyres and the cover is still soft and waterproof! I'm considering upgrading to a Nomad, because it is narrow enough to wheel through my front gate! I have to lift my trailer 5 feet in the air to clear the gate posts. On the other hand my wide trailer chassis goes outside the wheels and means that the wheels don't catch on obstacles such as oak posts that stop cars driving down bike paths:)
How fast can you tow the Burley Nomad on the road..? USA here.. I usually ride downhill between 27-40mph. Will this trailer be sturdy enough to keep up..? I'm on a Azub T-tris 26 tadpole trike.
Hello and thanks for all the feedback. What trailer did you end up with after you sold the Burley Nomad..? and what is your opinion..? I really enjoy your joyous videos. They make me smile. Wish I was there to ride with you.. :) If you ever make it to Portland Oregon USA, look me up. We have great paved trails.. PEACE
This is from the Nomad user manual: NOMAD11Safety Guidelines: • Recommended speed limits:- 15 mph (24 km/h) on smooth, straight roads - 5 mph (8 km/h) when turning or on uneven roads
Thanks Graham. Do you try the trailer full load? Is very different ride trailing it below? How the brakes responding? And the drive when you using the brakes full of load the trailer?
Hey Graham- Question: is the bed of the trailer flat? From pictures, it looks like it is not level. I am considering purchasing it primarily for my transporting my dog and we have used an older Burley made for kids, and our dog didn't like that the bottom was not level as he was always losing his footing. Are there good places to attach a short leash?
+Daniel Backman No its got a Dip and the front so you need a difrent arm to give some room you can get this from a dealer, the arm on it is meant for cycles and is to low for a trike
Hi, There 20", But this makes no deafferents. I put a different are on it made for a different trailer they make, and it brought it up nicely. There is a video showing this.
you prolly dont give a shit but if you guys are bored like me atm then you can stream pretty much all of the new series on instaflixxer. Have been binge watching with my girlfriend for the last few weeks xD
Excellent review! FYI, I had the same problem with ground clearance on my Burley trike and found a solution. Burley makes something they call a "hitch adapter", and I got the one made for quick release wheels. It is sort of a stand-off that moves the hitch around an inch or so away from the frame. This allows the hitch to be run upside down without hitting the rack stays. The link to what I bought from the US amazon store is: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007LVUSF8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
good review! Would you think it would work for a Catrike 700? I want it to transport my paintings and paints etc when I go paint in the parks. How many feet length and width is inside the trailer? Thanks!
Hi Yes I would think that would work for you there is a divider inside and its on hooks to adjust it but it lays flat as well, there are pockets along the sides as well I found useful . and Yes it will go on the catrike no problem Hope that helps
Hi Well Normal long distance touring, no problem. Tent and equipment, cooking items, sleeping bag and so on plenty of room. The frame is a light but it has no floor, I put some cardboard to stiffen it up a bit. But it works well and is waterproofed, it did a good job. Hard core, I would say no Two I would recommend, Have a look at Carry Freedom Website There hard nice trailers and then by a top-quality bag to fit on it. The cyclone I would recommend you have a good look at www.icetrikes.co.uk Have a look under luggage. Hope this helps
I had a burly flatbed and the only thing I did was replace the floor with coraplast covered with Gorilla Tape, way stronger than the crappy floor they had. I had my trailer loaded up to 100 lbs max capacity and spent 3 years touring the country on it 12,000 miles it was still good when I replaced it with a custom built wike trailer I built myself designed to carry up to 200 lbs. The only 2 issues were the flex connection cracking halfway through when I replaced it, and where the tow bar connected, bent out from the frame. I put that trailer through hell! dragging it through the woods and brush to camp, over loading it to 120 lbs, going down a mountain at 45 mph with a 90 lbs load, and roping it off and lowering and rasing it up a cliff face. So under normal usage it should last 20 years.
But if you're need a SERIOUS bike trailer, contact wike and get their kit. u can build it to whatever size you need, and can have a trailer capable of hauling 200 lbs of gear or a tired girlfriend or both as long as the road is smooth.
Hi Graham, Great review. I'm assuming this is the new 2014 version. I've been looking online and most of the Nomads I see have the roll bar and the quick release wheels (not the push button release that you show) which would mean they are the pre-2014 model. Have you had any experience with the previous version?
I have both the Tail Wagon and the Normad. The former has more room but the latter is much better suited for cargo, especially with the rack. The Normad is easier to grab by the hitch post and pull by hand. The back of the Tail Wagon will drag if you lift your arm too high. Both are great products though. I use the Normad for photography equipment (well padded) and it takes a beating.
