Can Burley Trailers Work For Rear Suspended Recumbent?

I'm thinking of getting a cargo trailer for my new Scooterbike, probably a Burley. The Scooterbike
is rear suspended and is equiped with a pannier rack combo. I remember reading somewhere that
trailers could present a challange to rear suspended recumbents though I believe the caution was for
single wheeled trailers like the B.O.B. units which could place stress on the swingarm as you
corner. Would a two wheeled trailer work well with rear suspension? What do you guys/gals think?

Edward Wong Orlando, FL

I ride a BikeE RX, and last fall did a 1200 mile tour with a cheap ($79) kiddie trailer from Target.
The trailer was supposedly rated for 100 lb loads. I found that lightly loaded (25 to 30 lb) the
trailer worked fine with the swingarm on the RX; I was hardly aware of the load. But when I carried
50+ lb the trailer caused a noticeable oscillation in the ride.

I visited REI a couple weeks ago to see if the standard Burley hitch would work with my BikeE. Nope.
It's designed for use with rear triangles. Last week I visited Burley's website and left a message
asking if an alternate hitch is available. No response yet. Since Burley's recumbent bike line does
not use a rear triangle, you'd think they'd have an alternate hitch. If I don't get a response this
week I may try calling them.

Pamela

Pamela,

Burley does indeed have an alternate hitch option. It replaces the QR skewer on your rear wheel, and allows you to connect the burley (without the rear-triangle attachment thingy) directly to an attachment on the skewer. I've actually got one laying around, since my Burley got stolen before I got a chance to install it .

-Rick

-Rick

>Pamela Dallas at pamela.dallas@att.net wrote on 5/24/03 11:28 AM: <snip> I visited REI a couple
>weeks ago to see if the standard Burley hitch would work with my BikeE. Nope. It's designed for use
>with rear triangles. Last week I visited Burley's website and left a message asking if an alternate
>hitch is available. No response yet. Since Burley's recumbent bike line does not use a rear
>triangle, you'd think they'd have an alternate hitch. If I don't get a response this week I may try
>calling them.

The alternative hitch mounts off the axle nut and can be ordered through your Burley dealer. It was
cheaper if you ordereed it at the same rime as a trailer.

The Burley Nomad is indeed designed to work with the rear suspended bikes and also non-triangulated chainstays bikes. It has virtually no stress on the hitch due to the placement of the two wheels. They produce a really nice universal alternative hitch. It is really easy to use.

I highly recommend one of these.

Derek

> The Burley Nomad is indeed designed to work with the rear suspended bikes and also
> non-triangulated chainstays bikes. It has virtually no stress on the hitch due to the placement of
> the two wheels. They produce a really nice universal alternative hitch. It is really easy to use.
>
> I highly recommend one of these.
>
> Derek

Cool Derek! The Nomad was the trailer I was referring to. I think it is not only very practical but
looks really cool with that tonneau cover to protect the cargo. Thanks to you and all who took the
time to reply;-)

Edward Wong Orlando, FL