Burley Solo 2006 bike trailer

Extremely well designed trailer (2008 version), very thoughtfully designed for full functionality. Suspension system. Comfortable for child. Straps keep them securely in place. "Trunk" in rear can fit a backpack or purse or bag of groceries. Easily attaches to bike with hitch. Very smooth ride. I love the narrower width of the Solo. Having great gear like this makes it such a pleasure to bicycle. I am biking my son to school 4 miles each way and we love every minute. My only regret is I didn't buy it 8 years ago for my older son.

We recently purchased a Burley Solo from BicycleTrailers.com and we couldn't be happier with the product or the retailer. We find ourselves riding our bikes so much more now that we can take our 16mo old daughter along in comfort and safety. The Burley brand can not be beat for design and durability and the solo is a perfect size in areas we have to ride the sidewalks. I ordered the wrong third wheel accessory to convert easily to a stroller and biketrailers.com made the exchange and shipping of the correct item painless and fast - thank you for great customer service! The Burley will hold groceries or a diaper bag and small cooler in the back making shopping by bike or heading to the park a family affair. Our only regret now that we are expecting a second child is that we did not purchase a larger Burley trailer to hold two children from the start. We will have more than gotten our money's worth out of the Solo when we trade up and we will certainly stick with the Burley name as they are the best in the business. For ease of operation and lasting performance, I would recommend this product. Save the planet - go biking!

This trailer is wonderful. Our daughter, who is 15 months old, loves to ride in it. We have great bike trails here in Pennsylvania (Rails-to-Trails) the only problem is the trails are crushed limestone. The limestone gets kicked up into the trailer from the bike. We bought a fender in hopes that it would help and it really hasn't. We pulled the plastic front on the trailer down but when its hot... we don't want our daughter to roast. It would be nice if the side panel windows had the same feature then it would be perfect. She also tends to slouch(?)after a while and the shoulder straps tend to dig into her neck. She really doesn't complain about it we just stop for walks so she can have a break. Other than that I would highly recommend this trailer it is wonderful. We love being outside and this has allowed us to share our love of biking with our daughter.

I purchased the Burley Solo and I think it's great for the outdoors here in Florida. I have access to paths near the marina, the beach and the neighborhood. My son enjoys it when we go out. He usually falls asleep because it's so relaxing and comfortable. One draw back is that his little head doesn't have a place to rest comfortably as he sleeps. There is nothing to support his head. However, we do enjoy this purchase very much. I recommend it to those parents that want to enjoy the outdoors, or something to do with their children. It gives one the opportunity to exercise and relax.

We love ours. Except the snap broke off and we are getting the run around about fixing it. It broke less that 6 months after we bought it with minimal use. Other than that it has lots of storage, is very comfortable and our baby loves it. We purchased the axle mount for my husbands bike which has disk brakes. It is very easy to set up, light weight and folds compactly. We take it everywhere. We do not intend to use it as a stroller.

Every day I drop my son off at daycare in the Burley Solo. We call it "the Pod," as in "Open the pod bay door, Hal." I unhook the Pod from my bike and leave it there. My wife arrives on foot to pick him up and pushes the trailer home. Because of its flexibility it works well for us. We've used it since the start of last winter, when our son was under a year old.

In winter we add a "Runneroo" sack, like a baby sleeping bag that accommodates safety straps. It's so comfy for the boy (now 19 months old) that he often arrives at daycare asleep. So, it does work in all four seasons, weâ??ve found. It works so well that we usually donâ??t have to think about it. It does not create a huge drag on the bike and itâ??s pretty stable. I only tipped it on its side once, and I did it by going over a curb. The safety straps held my son in place. I righted the trailer and we went on our way without fuss.

Problems? Just a few. It took a while to learn how to use the connection deviceâ??with lots of cursing and spitting. Either Iâ??ve gotten very smooth in six months, or the plastic wedge that rotates the front wheel out of the way when youâ??re riding works better in warm weather. The clear vinyl front cover got a one-inch crack in the middle after three months of daily use. Iâ??ve used it to carry a baby and groceries and both. I do recommend it to my friends. Itâ??s worth the money. It seems to be standing up well to heavy use and we should be able to resell it when our boy outgrows it.

Good concept but lousy seat design. Our infant (now toddler) is forced to slouch into a half-prone position while riding & often ends up slipping way over to one side with the neck strap rubbing her raw.

Comments from The Staff:

Here's an option you may want to consider, check out the Kiddopotamus Cushy Straps.

I bought a used Burley Solo when my daughter was about nine months old. I had done a lot of research on trailers, and liked the Burley because of the hitch system. It attaches to the bike frame near the rear axle, rather than behind the seat or onto a luggage rack. The neck of the hitch is made of rubber (or something similar)and flexes when the neck is twisted, so that if you fall over the trailer will not flip. That's the theory. I've never fallen, but I have knocked the bike over while the trailer was attached, and the trailer has stayed put while the bike was on its side. At nine months, my daughter did not like the trailer, and so it was used mainly as a jogger for a while. My wife and I both liked it better than a stroller because of its oversize wheels, but it is too low to the ground and the front wheel you use to convert it into a jogger is too small to take a curb, so it is not very good as a serious jogger. It is slightly better than a basic stroller, though. But as my daughter grew large enough to fit into the straps and feel comfortable in the seat, we began using it with the bike more. After a while she loved it. It rides smooth for her and me, it feels solid without being too heavy or intrusive as it is being pulled, and because of the way it is pulled off-center, it never catches curbs or shoulders. I've never had any trouble being spotted by a car, and have had no issues that would make me afraid to use it, although I do not take it onto major thoroughfares. There is enough room inside it for her to take a couple of toys to entertain herself, and there is enough space behind the seat to carry a small package or two. I've used this to go on picnics, carry kids' blankets and toys, along with towels for swimming. Even groceries. As for weight, it glides smoothly behind without dragging me down too much, although I notice it most when I stop using it. Then the bike feels lighter and faster. While I am pulling it, though, it does not feel too heavy. On drawback. It is difficult to take apart quickly, since some of the pieces don't snap quickly into place, and several parts have to be aligned and screwed down tight. Even apart, the bottom is so large that it is difficult to transport in a small car with a bike. It is difficult to fit into a minivan without collapsing it. So it was not portable enough for me to take on my remote rides. I wound up skipping them or leaving the kid, which in the end made the kid happier, too. But it is definitely a product I would recommend. It has now been used for two daughters, as well as whoever used it before me, and has held up with no tears or problems. It continues to feel safe, and as I watch other similar trailers being used, or examine them in stores, I can tell that the Burley is better than anything else I have seen, for safety and quality. The safety difference is worth the money. And they seem to have a high resale value. And we still use it frequently, both as a jogger and a trailer. It has been so good for us that I can't even remember how much I paid for it. Spend the extra and get a Burley.