By Ever wish that you had a “trunk” for your bike? The Burley Nomad serves just such a purpose! Connected at the rear hub, I was a bit skeptical at first. My first “outing” after a relatively quick set up (except for finding the damn sleeve for the flag) was a Bike Rack dedication celebration across town. I was in charge of picking up the (donated) bagels. I had no idea how much bagels would slow me down . . . .I had to ride across town, about 5-6 miles, and had allowed a generous 30 minutes to do so. 150 bagels, however, probably weighed me down almost 30 pounds (okay, I had a few cream cheese packets, napkins, maps, and some schwag give-aways in there too). However late I was, kids and volunteers were very happy upon my arrival.
So, it slowed me down a bit, but the ride was great. Smooth, and I never felt a bump that the trailer hit. 150 bagels. delivered to middle schoolers. check!
Since the inaugural “bagel bike” ride, I’ve stuffed the Nomad with equipment for Artwalk, Art dedications, groceries and more. I’ve ridden it in the streets, on dirt, over curbs, to work, in skirts and in clogs. I have not put kids in it, put it on the bus or put it on the roof of my car.
Here are my observations:
– Despite the small wheel size, I never felt weighted down or slower rolling speed.
-Love the size, capacity and the “pockets” including side pockets, key fob (muy important) and separator
-it IS waterproof. Tested in heavy afternoon rains with paper maps inside.results? DRY!
-Great capacity with mostly adjustable cover.
-Width fits comfortably through doorways, along the path with room to pass
-Burley connotes kid on board. Cars give more room to pass 😉
-Easy to store in my teeny tine “bike basement”
-Would be easy to attach to many bikes with easy on/off rear hub mechanism
-seamless curb up/curb down
-Design “works” – for events, groceries and I would try it for touring as well.
Challenges are few, and are minor frustrations rather than deal breakers:
– what if I flat? I don’t carry a 16” tube.
– turning radius is frustrating; i lock my bike & have a tough time turning around/ backing up due to small radius.
– Bike must be 90 degree upright in order to insert attachment mechanism in. Kickstands don’t work.
– Locking up is a bit awkward: I use a long cable, attached to an interior pole, and lock that up to my rear wheel. Rest of bike is locked up separately.
While I don’t need the Nomad every day or even every week, it has filled a void in my life for the numerous summer events that I am a part of, and has provided an opportunity to RIDE to the various events that others may feel the need to drive to. That said, it likely holds the same amount as my MINI, but I get the satisfaction of arriving on bike, and hopefully, at the end of the bike, get to shed the extra 50 pounds!
0 Comments