Instep Bike Trailer: Burley Travoy Bike Commuter Trailer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a clever system for towing stuff behind your bike. It would be useful for the bike commuter, or those who shop by bike.This type of system is more common in Europe.
Some things you need to know that are not mentioned in the description.

The tires are pneumatic (blow up) like a bike tire.But much thicker and heavier than a bike tire.

The tires easily remove from the trailer and just as easily snap back on. Shown folded in the photos, the wheels are removed.

Axel width is 18 inches (45.5cm) without the wheels.With the wheels it is 22.5 inches across (56 cm).The wheels themselves are 12.5 (31.5 cm) inches in diameter.Depth of the bottom shelf is about 9.5 inches (24 cm).Height of back carrying portion is about 30 inches (76cm).Width of back section at widest point is about 16.5 inches (42cm).Height from floor to top folding section is 43 inches (109cm) .Carrying bag is22 inches (56cm)tall by 14 inches (35.5) wide by 8.5 (21.5cm) inches deep. Folded, with wheels removed, it is 18in wide by 22 longby 5.5 inches tall (at the bottom).

The trailer folds into thirds.The two top folds are accomplished by rotating a handle.The bottom fold (the bottom of the bike trailer) folds up by pulling on a wire cable that runs along the bottom of the trailer. This is very easy to do, my 11 year old can manage it by herself.Folding down the top portion makes it easier to pull the trailer around with you.
The whole trailer then fits into the carrying bag.The bag itself also fastens onto the trailer to use when you are hauling stuff.There a small knobs (called buttons in the manual)on the side of the trailer and corresponding tabs on the bag. There are four knobs (buttons) on each side of the trailer. The bag also has reflectors built in.It also comes with 2 straps that can be used to attach other stuff to the trailer.

The grey portion is a very thick flexible plastic.There are two reflectors on the bottom section of the trailer.

The hitch attaches with a 4mm hex key (which is included).Once you attach the hitch the trailer attaches to the bike by sliding a loop over a pin on the hitch.This is held in place with a rotating spring loaded latch.It is very easy to remove.From the manual "hitch is compatible with 25mm to 32mm seat posts.Use of this hitch with carbon fiber seat posts is not recommended"
The trailer has a kickstand but is not stable standing upright unloaded with the kickstand.

The wheels roll easily along gravel (next test is cobblestones, but that will have to wait). Hauling a trailer does make the bike less maneuverable (which is mentioned in the manual, but would seem like common sense).

Warrenty is 3 years for trailer and skin (I assume this is the plastic) and 5 years for bags and straps.Does not cover rental, competitive or commercial use.

The main issue I have with the trailer is that there is no way to lock it to your bike directly.Of course anyone with a wrench could remove the hitch and thus take away the whole thing, but it would be nice to have a loop on the hitch and the trailer that a lock could be attached to for quick trips into the store so that the trailer would not need be taken in.It would be possible, of course to thread a lock through the top portion and then to the bike or rack.I understand this is a design issue, as most bike seats can also be removed and the whole thing would then be easy to pull off.Still, some thought to this issue should be given by anyone who will use it in an urban area and plan to leave it for any amount of time.You will need some sort of cable or chain lock to secure it. I am not going to take stars off for this, since this is not really an issue with the trailer itself, but you should think about this when considering it.

I put the first part up right away as a couple of people asked me about the dimensions. Below is more about using it.

Yes, I bike.No, I would not call myself a cyclist.I can speak to using it as a trailer to fetch stuff from the store, which is the purpose to which I will put it.I can not speak to pulling for 50 miles, because I would not ride 50 miles in one day.

I took it out with a 40 lb bag of water softener salt on gravel and paved roads. Maximum weight is 60 lbs but that is more that I can handle.Corneringis harder, you can feel the torque and the minimum turning radius is slightly reduced but it is not unreasonable.Braking time of course is slightly longer, more momentum from the weight.It is not like you feel it pushing from the back though, more just like the bike itself is heavier.On a straight away I did not really feel any pull to one side or another, but of course it is harder to go up the hill pulling 40 plus pounds than without.That I did feel.It is a lot less of an impact than hauling one of the child trailers though, I guess because the axle is a lot smaller and the whole thing less heavy.

Someone who is a more intense rider will have to answer about pulling it over the long haul.

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Product Description:
The Travoy is a revolutionary new commuter product. It hitches to the seat post of any bike, and detaches easily when you reach your destination. As a stand-alone, you can wheel the trailer around the aisles of a store, onto the bus or right into the office. The Travoy has a very light (but sturdy) aluminum frame and weighs less than 10 pounds and can carry up to 60 pounds.We've introduced a series of integrated bags to store everything under the sun. The trailer itself folds down to a tiny size to stash in its carrying tote which is small enough to fit in an airliner's overhead bin.