Burley Nomad Trailer – Review
Burley Nomad Trailer Review
A versatile bike traielr great for touring and hauling around my dog.
Back at the start of November 2022, my Collie dog Darcey suddenly had an injury that would effect the rest of her life. Following an operation on a slipped disc in her spine, she is currently a few weeks in to 3-6months of slow rehabilitation and light exercise.
My girlfriend and I love cycling and not wanting to leave Darcey at home and having recently lost my old dog Poppy to cancer, I jumped on Google and hunted for ideas. Thats when I came across dog trailers for bikes. Yippee I thought, that is perfect, Darcey can ride along behind me and get out from time to time when the terrain etc allows it.
Trailers seamed to range from £100 to over £1100 in the UK. I wanted something that looked strong and would last a few years. Some trailers had lots of plastic parts, well they always break, so that ruled out some models. Then my budget ruled out the more expensive models. I thought the frame is the main thing that I want to last, aluminium is great for bike frames. I would be towing the trailer behind my Cube Gravel Bike and down forest tracks, so the trailer will spend some of its life on gravel and muddy, rutted tracks.
Burley is one of the top names in high quality, durable, and highly functional bike trailers in the world.
My Breif Verdict of the Burley Nomand
The Burley Nomad was designed for bike touring whether is’t just a weekend or thousands of miles cross country, but I like that it’s not limited to just that one specific use. It’s really just a empty trailer capable of carrying all sorts of things. The two push-button quick release wheels and collapsable design make the Nomand a space saver to store or transport in your car. The inside compartments consisting of six mesh utility pockets down each side, they are great when trying to organize and keep things separate inside the trailer. The Nomad is a lightweight, durable, and versatile cargo bike trailer, ready to get you and your cargo (Dog) wherever you need to go.
Unboxing
In the post came a box……..
Out of the box came a nicely packed Burley Nomand……
Everything was nicely protected and I found no damage or scatches on any parts while unpacking it.
Load Capacity
The Nomad boasts a massive weight capacity of 45kg. The cargo space allows you to hold around 105 liters inside with the bright yellow cargo cover on and secured. The built-in waterproof cargo cover can also be easily removed to allow for large or misshapen objects to fit in the trailer, two hex head bolts can be quickly removed to allow full removal of the cover.
Ease of Use
Assembly and use of the Nomad really couldn’t be easier. The trailer came almost completely assembled, requiring only the wheels slidding on and towing arm put into place before hitching up. A great feature of this trailer is the simple latching system making the cover easy to remove or close even with thick gloves on or in the dark.
Ease of Towing
The Nomad rolls smoothly on it’s 16inch wheels whcih have replaceable sealed wheel bearings, tyres are 16×1.75. The wheels look strong and well made, with black hubs and aluminium rims and silver Stainless Steel spokes. Their fitment to the trailer is very good and means they run true and without warbles or rattles — something other more affordable trailers really suffer from. While the efficiency of a two-wheel design is inherently less than a single-wheel design, the Nomad strikes a nice balance between efficiency and versatility, with tyre pressures between 40-50PSI (50psi max for the standard tyres), this should help with rolling resistance.
Ride Quality
To me the difference between budget trailers and the more refined Burley Nomad, is how quiet the trailer is down dirt and gravel roads. Cheaper trailers can rattle like crazy from a range of different poor fitting components, the Nomad was mostly quiet with the most noise coming from the hitch pin. The Nomad has no suspension which helps to keep the overall weight down to 7.6kg. If you run the tyres at max psi and the trialer empty, it will skip about a little.
Versatility
While not offering as much versatility as the flatbed trailer, the Nomad is lightweight, relatively efficient while pulling, and can manage a hefty load. Any trailer capable of taking you on an overnighter, to and from the shops, or just take a ride in the country with picnic and bbq stuff in tow is pretty versatile.
Value for Money
The Nomad is not cheap, but it is a great quality and value when ccompared to others on the market. Everything about it seems rugged and well made with good quality matrials throughout. Chunky attachment points, great fitting wheels and cover, some real thought has gone in to the design. The idea that this trailer could function well as a grocery getter and a decently efficient overnight hauler speaks to how well it is designed.
Winter Test Ride
Conclusion
The Burley Nomand has just entered the family and in the coming months I will test it and put many miles on the wheels. I will be loading up Darcey the Collie and going on day trips out in the countryside together. So far it is difficult to find things I didn’t like about this trailer!
Burley Nomand Specifications
| Capacity (lb/kg) | 100 / 45 |
| Weight (lb/kg) | 16.8 / 7.6 |
| Interior Height (in/cm) | 17 / 43 |
| Interior Width (in/cm) | 18.5 / 47 |
| Interior Length (in/cm) | 32 / 81 |
| Cargo Space (liters) | 105 |
| Wheel Size (in/cm) | 16 / 41 |
| Size Open L x W x H (in) | 32.5 x 22 x 22.5 |
| Size Open L x W x H (cm) | 82.6 x 55.9 x 57.1 |
| Size Folded L x W x H (in) | 32.5 x 21.5 x 10 |
| Size Folded L x W x H (cm) | 82.6 x 54.6 x 25.4 |
| Frame | 6061-T6 aluminum frame |
