(Photo © J. Maus – All other photos by Chris Sullivan)
Burley nailed it. Their new Travoy — part cargo trailer, part grocery cart, part portable office — is an amazingly well-designed product.
From the first time you hold the top handle and move it around with one hand, you get a sense that it’s unlike anything else you’ve held — much less attached to the back of your bike.
But there’s one glaring flaw: it attaches only to the seat post. My guess is that Burley’s biggest initial market draw will be parents with children who do their grocery shopping by bike. But since most child seats attach to the rear and block anything from connecting to the seat post, the Travoy won’t be an option for many parents.
attach the hitch without removing my child seat.
I was determined to use the Travoy so I popped off the rear reflector of my rack and attached it to the mount. It took some testing and bending to get the angle right — and I’m sure there’s probably some note of caution in the manual against doing such a thing — but it worked.
“At the register I unpacked it all, popped the bag off of its frame, had the checker fill it up again, and then I reattached it to the frame… and off I went, bouncing over potholes and train tracks with no spillage.”
As a grocery carrier, it’s sturdy and functional — I might even call it elegant in the way it glides and holds so much weight so effortlessly. A nice hand-cart is one thing, but as soon as I pulled it outside and hooked it up to the bike, people began to stop and ask me about it.
One thing I shared with them was how it greatly simplified my grocery shopping experience. I easily stacked two bags worth of food in the single bottom bag of the Travoy while I shopped. As it filled up I became worried that it would tip over from the weight, so I gave it a little shove from the sides and back. Not a budge. At the register I unpacked it all, popped the bag off of its frame, had the checker fill it up again, and then I reattached it to the frame. I cinched up the draw cord, and off I went, bouncing over potholes and train tracks with no spillage.
It made my grocery trip easier.
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People really “got it” once I attached it to my bike.
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Pulling a Travoy full of groceries was actually quite a bit easier than my former grocery bag panniers because the trailer took most of the weight onto its wheels. I didn’t have that uneasy back-heavy feeling I usually get with such a full load, and my bike was no longer prone to tip over on its kickstand from the added pounds.
With every facet of the Travoy — from the hitch that easily slips off with one finger, to the rotating handles, to the quick button release wheels, to the practical and beautiful bags, to the neatly stored rain cover — it’s obvious that Burley worked and reworked every inch of its design. The flexibility of the trailer allows you to slip it into virtually any mode of biking you may encounter, such as hauling heavy items (up to 60 lbs), commuting to the office, shopping, touring, and traveling.
I can’t wait to take this thing on my next business trip so I can carry more than two days worth of clothes, which is the limit with my current Brompton/pannier/backpack set up. And I look forward to Burley adding an interchangeable hitch that fits horizontal bars, such as a rear rack, as well as vertical seat posts.
— For more info and photos, see our first post about the Travoy. The Travoy comes ready to use and includes one bag and two tie down straps for $289. It just became available at local Burley dealers last week.
Thanks for reading.
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This thing would absolutely rock as a disc golf tote to the course!!
Drool. Thanks for this, and please let us know how the Brompton hookup and handling works out … looks like it’ll keep the seat post from dropping all the way down without removing the Travoy seatpost clamp. Enough to keep the fold from being secured?
Looks like there’s room to strap a kid in back there, if the rear child seat interferes. Kidding. Sort of.
It works great with a Brompton. I have the clamp as high as it will go, directly under the seat. It raises the seat about an inch when the bike is folded. The seat has to be raised about 4 inches to unlock the bike, so the clamp does not interfere with locking.
Burley also donated this to our raffle for Eugene’s Bike Music Fest that’s happening this Saturday!
Come check it out this weekend:
http://musicfest.uoregon.edu/schedule.htm
Sweet! I am sold. I hate using panniers to go grocery shopping and I feel a bit nerdy/homeless taking the classic granny grocery cart to the store via the bus.
It’s a pretty amazing product. I think it goes on sale in a few days. I’ve seen a few other sites showing it connected to a Brompton, so I expect it will be fine.
Funny story behind this for me: on my last trip to Seattle, I ended up walking 15 blocks to the train station. Since I was there for a whole week, I couldn’t do my usual Brompton setup. So on the train ride I started sketching out a way to convert my Burley trailer to a pull-behind cart so that I could carry my luggage. I started researching extra parts for the trailer and ran across this product–which is more or less what I had sketched (though way better, of course).
This looks like a cool new idea !!! I bet it wouldn’t take much fabrication to adapt it to any sort of rack/kidseat combo.Burley stuff is always well made and easy to use.I have an old trailer that has been thoroughly abused and regularly overloaded,still works like a charm !!!!
Just thought of something else,this would be an excellent setup for people who live in apartment buildings w/elevators. Especially if you have a bike room in the basement,you don’t have to carry your goodies,just roll it into the elevator and roll ’em right into the kitchen !! Also this design could be done by D.I.Y. types like me,I’ve seen homeless folks with similar setups. A hand truck with bike wheels and tie on bags or old backpacks,necessity is the mother of invention !!
Can I fit a case of wine in it? I want an alternative to driving to my local wine shop to buy wine by the case.
Hmm. I want to believe, as I like trailers, and I like Burley. But the seatpost attachment seems like a dubious choice, as it gives the loaded trailer a high center of gravity. That, combined with the small plastic wheels make it look unstable. But the reviewer didn’t seem have any problems, so perhaps Burley used some engineering-fu on it.
JDL, According to the specs, the bare trailer can hold up to 60 lbs and comes with a tie-down strap. I’m already plotting my next keg pick-up for my kegerator. I’ve been having to drive to HUB up to now.
Toby, I didn’t notice any instability. At that angle, the center of gravity sits lower than a backpack (based on my poor understanding of physics, granted) and isn’t very high. Compared to grocery bag panniers, I wasn’t aware of the trailer at all.
Where’s the fenders? I have a Burly Nomad I use for touring, it’s a great trailer but it would be nice if fenders were an option. I think think fenders on this trailer would be a nice addition.
“This thing would absolutely rock as a disc golf tote to the course!!” Jackattak #1
Dude…!! I can’t help thinking this rig absolutely was inspired by the golf cart..(a marvelously simple and ingenious design in its own right…there was a documentary made about that invention that’s interesting to see).
Sounds like it works great for rolling around the grocery store.
Burley could probably easily produce other good ways to mount the cart to the bike if the thing sells well. What seems nice about the present factory designed means of attachment to the seatpost is how it keeps the cart upright and close to the bike’s back wheel; this way, the bike with cart, overall wheelbase is made compact, and turning radius is shorter.
“Where’s the fenders?”
Excellent question. The answer can be found here:
http://www.bikehod.com/
This is the original, and IMHO the better design. The one thing that the Travoy has over the Bike-Hod is its foldability (and if you live in close quarters that’s nothing to sneeze at).
However, the Bike-Hod is made of way more metal than the Travoy. Besides including fenders, it offers your choice of pneumatic or NON-pneumatic tires (for 12″ tires that’s a nice option) and a custom Carradice bag made of — you guessed it — waxed cotton.
The downside is that the Bike-Hod is a British product and you will have to pay quite a bit more (about US $525) to have one imported to the US. The upside is that it will last for ages — and carry a few pounds more than the Travoy.
Does look like a great product. I’ve been noodling over how to make grocery shopping easier for awhile. The best thing I thought of was two milk crates attached pannier-style (one on either side of the rack) with easy-release clips. This looks way swankier (though unfortunately the price reflects that).
Beth, I saw the Bike-Hod when I was researching my Burley trailer conversion. The portability of it is a show-stopper for me since I wouldn’t be able to fold it up and travel. Otherwise, it looks solid. It’s a great idea, and I think it offers a golf bag attachment as well.
I haven’t had a chance to run it during rain, so I can’t speak to the need for fenders yet. Could be a great addition if it’s an issue.
Robert: I think you’ve hit on a key feature of this trailer with the “roll it into your apartment” idea. The beauty of this style of trailer is that it comes with you wherever you go. Roll it into the office, fold it up, and throw it under your desk. Roll it into the grocery store and through the checkout line, then pop it on your bike and go. Roll it into your home and right up to the fridge for unloading.
JDL: A case of wine should be no problem. Nor, as Chris has pointed out, is using it with a Brompton. http://twitpic.com/12utlh
Toby: we chose a seatpost mount because it is compatible with the widest variety of bikes, does not require you to purchase anything extra (such as a rack), and as Wsbob pointed out, gives a nice compact footprint as the trailer hugs your rear wheel. This does not, however, preclude you from keeping a rack on your bike–we have been using Travoys on numerous bikes with fenders and racks with no problems.
As you noted, this style of trailer presents design challenges for maintaining stability. We tested a number of European products of a similar style and found all of them to be alarmingly unstable. This was one of the key design challenges that we faced in the development of the Travoy. The solution we have developed is robust, easy to use, and very stable. I hope you get a chance to try one out and see for yourself!
Jimmy: Several employees here commuted with a Travoy through much of this last Pacific Northwest winter, and we didn’t find the wheel spray from the trailer to be much of an issue. Nevertheless, I understand your concern, and fenders are on our radar.
Beth H: Your points about fenders and non-pneumatic tires are well taken. We have used both PU foam tires and pneumatics on our prototype trailers, and both have their advantages. Weight advantage goes to pneumatics. We didn’t find punctures to be much of an issue for these tires, since the maximum weight on each is usually under 25 lbs. The PU foam tires carry a heavy price premium, so we decided to release the base trailer with pneumatics. Yet I understand the “never have to worry about it” appeal of the foam tires, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them as an available upgrade option in the future.
As for the Bike Hod, do you own one and use it? I ask, because it was a trailer I commuted with often during our research phase of development, and I rarely made it home without it turning over at least once. And, as you noted, it is substantially heavier than the Travoy. We have thoroughly tested the Travoy and have found it extremely robust, and consequently are very proud that the trailer weighs less than 10 lbs. I think it would be great to see a side-by-side comparison of the Travoy and Bike Hod. Perhaps we can find a way to get one of each in your hands and let you write it up on your blog.
Aaron Beese
Design Engineer
Burley Design
I don’t know if it generally available but I got an attachment with my Travoy that allows the mount to be attached to a rear rack. See this link for details. http://www.seattleelectricbike.net/_blog/Seattle_Electric_Bike_-_Adventures_of_the_Electric_Bike_Guy/post/OHM_hooks_up_with_Burley_Travoys/
Sometimes you really should produce/sell a good idea when you find it, instead of letting it sit on the web for all to see…. My senior thesis, ca. 2007:
http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_set.asp?keywords=katie+aring&c=1&set_id=89853&individual_id=150685
*Sigh*
…and it WAS patented wasn’t it Katie?
When I first discovered the Bike-Hod — nearly 15 years ago! — I couldn’t find a US distributor to import it in quantity. Ordering just one for myself proved too expensive because of the shipping costs and import duties involved.
I had an opportunity to borrow a Bike-Hod during my grad school days, for about a month while house-sitting for a professor. I found it very easy to use and very sturdy, and I never had a tipping problem. However, I was very careful to load the bag with the heaviest objects on bottom each time, and never to exceed the recommended 88-lb. limit.
My only contact with the Travoy thus far was with a prototype; I’d expect my experience to be different with a production model. I think the foldability is a *huge* seller, especially for apartment-dwellers; and I recognize that fenders would impede that.
I also felt uncertain about the absolute waterproofness of the bags. (Commuting year-round in Portland, I absolutely cannot handle bags that seep or leak.)
Given an opportunity to test the two units side-by-side, I would probably learn a LOT in the process. (Unfortunately, my liturgy professor returned to England, and took his Bike-Hod with him…)
$289? Ouch. So, nab a golf bag from garage sale fo’ a buck and a half, put wheels on it, and a tow bar. 30 clams, tops.
Paul,I really dig your D.I.Y. spirit !!! I recently saw an aluminum frame golf bag at a thrift store for $7.00,it already had aluminum rimmed bicycle wheels and pneumatic tires !!! The thing about this one is,It’s a BURLEY !!! It’s well made,well designed,and even at $289.00 would be worth it if you are a full time cyclist and use it regularly.A person could also do some D.I.Y. mods to the Burley to really make it their own.
Burley manfactures its products in Asia and ships them here. For those that care, you’re purchasing another China/SE Asia/Philipines-made product, having been shipped thousands of miles before your purchase.
Which, in almost any simple calculation of “sustainability”, negates any amount of pollution reduction we’d like to claim for biking with the trailer.
In fact, most of the bike products like this that we purchase are made overseas. The production cycle of bicycles, like cars, is one of the most resource extractive and and environmentally abusive that we have–starting with mining to provide aluminum. Both my own bikes were made in Asia.
Let’s keep riding, but let’s also be honest about the real so-called ecological “benefits”, okay?
ecohuman…it’s important to keep the environmental costs of bike and bike accessory production in mind.
About the idea presented in your second paragraph though…”…almost any simple calculation of “sustainability” …”. I’ve read some of those calculation sustainability arguments related to bikes before. There’s certainly some truth to them, but that the basis of those arguments negates any amount of pollution reduction that could be claimed for biking with a trailer is not solid.
Once a bike is made and being used for day to day tasks a motor vehicle would otherwise be called in to serve in their absence, the bike (with it’s trailer as the case may be), is like pollution offsets in the bank…so to speak. The bike mostly just eats up food by way of its rider. Much of that commodity is definitely could be a sustainable one, locally. (Can’t blame people for wanting to eat exotic, imported foods if their available.)
Paul Tay #20…I’m not a golfer, but somewhere along the line, I learned that the aluminum frame with wheels is called a golf cart, same as the electric vehicle’s senior citizens drive around in their retirement villages. The golf bag is a separate thing that can be slung over the golfer/caddies shoulder, or be set on and pushed along on the golf cart.
Golfers get tired of the old model, decide to upgrade or whatever. So perfectly good ones get thrown or given away. Coming home tonight, I saw one sitting out in front of the thrift store near me…store’s closed on Sunday. People just want to get rid of them. How well and easily they’d adapt to performing something like the Burley Travoy is an interesting Question.
“There’s certainly some truth to them, but that the basis of those arguments negates any amount of pollution reduction that could be claimed for biking with a trailer is not solid.”
I think you’re making that up. Tell me specifically why it’s not “solid”.
“Once a bike is made and being used for day to day tasks a motor vehicle would otherwise be called in to serve in their absence, the bike (with it’s trailer as the case may be), is like pollution offsets in the bank…so to speak.”
The exact same argument can be made for any non-motorized manufactured good. What’s interesting is the frequent comparison of bikes to cars–but nothing else. In other words, the mantra seems to be “but they’re better than cars, so they’re good”. Except that they’re not, actually.
And, of course, you’re ignoring the continuous flow of motorized traffic required to make bicycling possible–shipping everything bike related, including the bicycles themselves, into and out of the city. Mostly from Asia, by the way.
Last (but far from least) is the environmental cost of mining aluminum resources. I’d urge you to look into it.
I’d propose a radical idea, folks–despite being “better than cars”, bicycles are still part of the problem, and utterly dependent on motorized traffic, fossil fuels, and extraction mining to exist.
I totally hear what Ecohuman (#22 & 24) is saying. And I agree that there is an environmental cost inherent in the design and manufacture of bicycles and their related products.
That said, there is an environmental cost inherent in any aspect of human enterprise. While we live in the earth, we consume– resources, things, whatever. It’s unavoidable. The best any of us can do is to REDUCE the worst environmental effects and be mindful of our choices and actions.
That’s why, twenty years ago, I chose to stop owning a car and instead use a bicycle to get from place to place. A bike trailer helps make bicycle transport easier, more convenient and for some folks, just plain possible.
Yes, these trailers (and most of them, frankly) are made overseas. So is most of what the bike industry has to offer. And not all of those products are sold or used in the “greenest” way. But I maintain that the bike industry is doing more to get folks out of cars than, say, the auto industry is. That right there ought to put Ecohuman’s arguments to rest — or at least give them a coffee break.
Change is maddeningly slow. Maybe someday we’ll revive the manufacturing sector in this country, go back to local communities and economies of scale, and create smaller, more self-sufficient, intentional communities that cause less strain on the planet. But getting there will take lifetimes, and the evolution towards such a vision will not be without tremendous pain for many as they struggle to adjust.
Let’s be patient, be kind and keep riding our bikes.
“And I agree that there is an environmental cost inherent in the design and manufacture of bicycles and their related products.”
And the distribution, and the servicing, and the purchasing, and the upgrading, and so on.
“The best any of us can do is to REDUCE the worst environmental effects and be mindful of our choices and actions.”
We disagree on the meaning of “reduce”. To me, “reduce” had better mean a lot more than “make something less bad”. That mindset is what got us here in the first place, and is far too focused on the small.
What “reduce” has to include is one simple concept: stop using some things. Simplify. Of course, this concept is so alien to our currently constructed urban-density-growth-technology-centirc way of life that it gets dismissed as Luddite, inconceivable, or simply unacceptable.
In other words, to make a difference, you don’t say “I’m going to buy a vehicle made from less aluminum and steel”–you say “I’m not going to buy a vehicle”. Yep–that’d mean walking, or reusing scrap metal already mined. Period. Imagine that.
“But I maintain that the bike industry is doing more to get folks out of cars than, say, the auto industry is. That right there ought to put Ecohuman’s arguments to rest — or at least give them a coffee break.”
I have to say–you’re missing my point, if that’s what you think. I’m not saying that bikes don’t pollute less than cars–I’m saying that it’s not a reduction that meaningful enough to the ecology of the planet. Why? Because we *simply consume too much*.
And those bicycles we’re all drooling over continue to cost miners their lives, to delve deeper holes in the planet, to extract more and more finite resources (again, I highly recommend looking into aluminum mining), and so on.
So, let’s ride our bikes. But let’s do so with as honest an assessment as possible about what it actually means to the planet.
And if all this radical exposition isn’t blowing your mind, consider this: a healthy human population doesn’t necessarily mean a healthy planet.
@ Ecohuman (#26):
The end of growth that you describe could also hint vaguely at the end of humanity, or at least the weakest and most vulnerable parts of it; and that’s just not sometyhing I’m willing to entertain here or in another, more appropriate venue.
I’ll stick to my bike, and leave the discussions of nihlism to others.
ecohuman… first you tell me what you understand that statement to mean(second paragraph, comment #23). You did some rationalizing in comment #24 but I don’t see that considered the bicycle’s ability to outperform motor vehicles in many day to day situations.
For certain types of uses, pound for pound compared to motor vehicles…bikes have motor vehicles beat. That’s not saying bikes are unconditionally ‘better’ than cars, trucks or whatever…the latter vehicles are capable of providing very efficient service in getting certain things done.
For many basic, practical uses though (even recreational), using a bike is absolutely better than using a motor vehicle to get the job done.
The end of growth that you describe could also hint vaguely at the end of humanity
Yes, to those that can see no way other than growth, it would appear to be the end of the world.
I’ll stick to my bike, and leave the discussions of nihlism to others.
I’ll keep riding my bike, and speak the truth about it, and leave the discussion of the faux “sustainability” of it to others.
For many basic, practical uses though (even recreational), using a bike is absolutely better than using a motor vehicle to get the job done.
Which has nothing to do with what I’ve been saying, really. But I’ll leave the discussion of “bike performance” and “efficiency” to others–I’m not interested in what technology is efficient, because it’s a false diversion. What matters to me is the ecological impact they have.
For certain types of uses, pound for pound compared to motor vehicles…bikes have motor vehicles beat
And the same can be said of motor vehicles vs. bicycles, and planes vs. boats, and so on. So?
“…I’m not interested in what technology is efficient, because it’s a false diversion. What matters to me is the ecological impact they have. …” ecohuman #29
You’re not interested in technology that is efficiently superior to others for the job needed to be done? It seems to me, given the concerns you’ve expressed, that you should be very interested in this. That’s because efficiency of the technology applied to appropriate tasks for which a particular technology is best suited has a direct correlation to achieving less negative impact on environment.
“…So?…”. So each should be used in their place, minimizing the need for the production of 3000+ pounds of the materials it’s fair to say are costly in many ways to produce…when only 30 to 40 pounds of those materials used will do the job just fine.
If our global culture could be effectively developed to allow substitution of bicycles for many of the routine tasks motor vehicles are called into use for now, bikes would be making an enormous reduction in negative ecological impact associated with excessive motor vehicle use today, and as the case may turn out to be…into the foreseeable future.
For example, instead of 75 people each going out and buying a car(3000+ pounds) to get to work, they go out and buy a bike, or bike and trailer (30-40 pounds).
Some of these terms, such as ‘sustainable’, that people like to use because they come into vogue, can be misleading or meaningless if a too literal interpretation is applied. I don’t think many people are saying bikes are ‘sustainable’, because you can throw some seeds out in the field and grow aluminum and steel to produce bikes. It’s mostly true that once the energy is spent to produce those materials…at considerable cost…it’s gone.
As a component of low ecological cost transportation infrastructure, bikes may be key to sustainability of that infrastructure. There’s already too many cars in use on the road. Despite what some people seem to think, it’s probably not desirable or practical to have roadways become ever larger as if they could be made to do so infinitely, to accommodate more of them.
That’s because efficiency of the technology applied to appropriate tasks for which a particular technology is best suited has a direct correlation to achieving less negative impact on environment.
You’re wrong, and I’ll give you one example: nuclear power. Nuclear power is tremendously more efficient than, say, wind power–and it can provide tremendous amounts of energy. Is it a good idea?
For example, instead of 75 people each going out and buying a car(3000+ pounds) to get to work, they go out and buy a bike, or bike and trailer (30-40 pounds).
You’re making a common mistake–counting and weighing products and considering those measures the critical ones.
I don’t think many people are saying bikes are ‘sustainable’
You’re kidding, right? The City of Portland itself–and Mayor Adams, and PBOT–have all clearly and repeatedly said that bikes are a key part of “sustainability”.It’s been said on this blog, repeatedly. It’s been said at the federal level, too.
As a component of low ecological cost transportation infrastructure
There is no such thing as a “low ecological cost” transportation infrastructure. Again, you’re making the common assumption that “less bad” is somehow the difference that will preserve the global ecology. It’s not.
There’s already too many cars in use on the road.
I agree.
Despite what some people seem to think, it’s probably not desirable or practical to have roadways become ever larger as if they could be made to do so infinitely, to accommodate more of them.
Without the roadway infrastructure the US now has, its economy would collapse, probably within the span of six months. Bicycles–and the infrastructure required to build, distribute, maintain, and recycle them–utterly depend on that roadway infrastructure. So–if you removed all personal autos from that roadway tomorrow, the roadway would still be required. Not just for a place to ride a bike, but for all the other components of the chain.
I think this discussion has veered very far from the story topic and continued attempts to respond to Ecohuman will only serve to stoke his/her ego.
Burley designed and released a new trailer. While there is not universal agreement on the pros and cons of the design, the new trailer MAY get more people out of their cars and onto bikes more often. If it accomplishes this, what’s the problem?
Unless Burley has more changes to make to the design in the near future, it seems that the discussion has gone as far as it can for now.
Happy riding –B
FACTS- Bikes,bike trailers,Burley,and Beth ROCK !!!! and bologna is great in sandwiches not on blogs !!!
Quick update on the original piece: I just dropped my daughter off at school and had the Travoy attached to hold our swim and school gear. About 6 parents stopped by to chat about it–all very excited to get their hands on one.
Aaron/Burley, take note. This is a good market, but you’re going to need a rear rack connector.
Chris, nice work giving the Burley trailer a successful trial run that seems to be attracting plenty of positive first hand reaction! Seeing it visually in a picture conveys the sense that its design is smartly thought out. From that, I’d expect people to like it even more upon seeing it firsthand.
ecohuman #31…you’re too funny! What do you think you’re doing, taking…fragments of my statements and using them to push ideas of your own that have nothing to do with the topic at hand?
The topic is not energy technology, but vehicle technology, and how a modest little golf cart looking bike trailer could help the effort to radically alter the extremely wasteful transportation habits of people in our nation and others. Since you seem to want to compare nuclear plants to bikes, one thing that seems quite certain about bikes, is than civilization won’t have to worry about burying used up bikes for a thousand years to keep them from killing people.
I’m not going to address any more of your other responses, (such as to what extent the kind of roads we have today would still be needed if not for motor vehicles), because the way they seem to be going at this point, any further effort on the part of some of us here to reason with you intelligently may threaten to send you so far off into oblivion that you might not ever recover.
one thing that seems quite certain about bikes, is than civilization won’t have to worry about burying used up bikes for a thousand years to keep them from killing people.
You’re right. Most deaths tend to occur before the bike is made. But the effects on local ecology are sometimes widespread and long-lasting.
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=40
As a bonus, have you checked out the ecological destruction of mining for aluminum inputs in SE Asia and China, where Burley products are manufactured–and in South America, where a lot of aluminum inputs come from?
And thanks, everyone, for making it all about me. I mean, why else would I take time to comment, if not for egotistical reasons?
Looking forward to the next bike trailer review.One word for the D.I.Y. crowd and the manufacturers/retailers-BAMBOO !!! Let’s see what y’all can do with some good old bamboo !!
Chris: Thanks for the continuing to update us with your experiences! It’s great to hear about the interest people have in the Travoy.
One question: when you say that a rack connector would be a good offering, is this specifically for those parents who use a bike-mounted child seat? I ask because we did design the Travoy to clear racks and fenders for the vast majority of bikes (as the first photo in your review shows).
We appreciate your feedback and want to make our trailers compatible with the largest variety of bikes possible. At the same time, we also have to weigh development costs against the size of a niche application.
Aaron Beese
Design Engineer
Burley Design
I believe Calfee is already doing some very big work with bamboo trailers, especially as regards making designs that use a minimum of parts and can be assembled in places where bamboo grows pretty abundantly.
Hey Jonathan — let’s have an in-depth exploration of up-and-coming trailer designs from various folks — yes?
Aaron,
Yes, rear-mounted child seats, like the Bobike Maxi, which is pretty popular around here. These type of seats block access to the seat post.
-Chris
Seems like a nice design and very well thought-out.
I just hope Burley keeps making it and keeps supporting it. In the past couple of years they have dropped several product lines, including their popular trailerbikes (best design in the biz) which have been dropped, reinstated and dropped again, with current owners unable to obtain replacement parts such as the Moose Rack that was an integral part of the design.
I finally had a chance to try out the rain cover yesterday, and it worked like a champ during a massive Spring downpour. I love that it has its own pouch at the top of the trailer, so I never need to remember to pack it. Great design.
As for the question of the wheel spray–yes. In large puddles I saw about an 8-12″ spray. While it didn’t get me, it did get the trailer itself pretty badly. I recommend using the rain cover in any wet conditions.
I purchased an auction package at the Alice Awards the included a Travoy, and I have been ecstatic about it ever since – I have used it to haul court files and groceries, I have taken it into stores and offices – it has made my life a 1000 times easier. The only problem is that I need to factor in extra time on my errands for all the people who want to stop me and ask about it 😉
The Travoy seems like it would be a pretty nice trailer. It reminds me of a trailer I made from an old hand truck. At least in general design, if not the construction. It didn’t have the same type of hitch, didn’t fold, and was a bit heavier of course. But it worked fine and didn’t cost $300.00.
It’s hardly a new design: http://www.bikehod.com/
How does this cart compare to the Wike Upright Shopping cart which is less than half the price?
I bought one of these three weeks ago and it might be the best $300 i ever spent. I use it with my bike, walking, shopping, on the bus with my bike on the bus bike rack (the Travoy folds for bus carryon, with cargo attached in the intended/designed way, in about three blinks of the eye) and in my car too…i fold it up and put it in the boot/trunk to move things back and forth from work, shops, and my house to and from the car.
yes, you can make something cheaper/less expensively, but no it won’t be as functional as the Travoy is.
Just bought a Travoy at my local bike shop. Burley now makes a rack adapter, so I could hook it to the rear of my recumbent’s pannier rack. (My recumbent is a Burley Koosah, funnily enough.) It appears my panniers will fit in front of the trailer hitch, but I hope to not need them for my weekend tours. I haven’t had a chance to ride with the rig yet–snow and ice on the roads.