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Kids bike trailers – Chariot Cougar vs Burley D'lite?
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HooterFree Member
Me n Mrs Hooter are umming and aahhing over trailer choice for the wee Hooter twins. We’ve narrowed it down to the Cougar 2 or Burley D’lite. The Cougar looks nicer but hard to get in the UK at the mo. There seems to be not that much in it price wise once we factor in baby slings, jogging kits etc.
Wondering does anyone have direct experience to compare both? Anyone have anything bad to say about either of them? Thanks!
binnersFull MemberI used to run my kids around in a Burley trailer all the time. Including the school/nursery run in the morning. So I can comment on Burleys. They loved it! They’re really comfy for the nippers. They’re a quality bit of kit too. They’re so light that at times you can forget you’ve got it on. And they can be unhitched in about 3 seconds (make sure you get the QR skewer) – I used to leave mine at the nursery, ride into work, then pick them up on the way home. No hassle at all
They also pack down to flat in no time at all for throwing in the back of the car, or taking up less space in the garage
ninkynonkFree Member+1 for the Burley
my twins are almost 6 and they still love going in it although its a bit of a squash nowadays
amazingly light and folds down really well and has a MASSIVE boot
would recommend buying the optional extra fold down front stroller wheel, we started to use it as our normal buggy because it fitted in the car a lot easier.
SannyFree MemberI have the single kid Cougar and it is great. Very well made after over three years of hard use, it’s still going strong. I really like the suspension element to it. I wouldn’t ever say it feels like you can ever forget you are trailing it though. Binners kids must be made of helium! 😀
Try Ben at Kinetics as he is a dealer if memory serves.
terrahawkFree MemberOur D’lite was brilliant. It was a sad day when I sold it as we had a load of great times with it.
It seated two little girls comfortably (until they inevitably started fighting) and all of our picnic needs.We also had the stroller attachment and me and my eldest lad managed to reach the summit of Snowdon with the two little ones shouting at us to move faster.
not cheap, but worth every single penny.
twiglet_monsterFree Member+1 Burley (solo)
light, high quality. flag falls off after a while, and my wheels are stuck on through zeo maintenance but fab bit of kit.
we’ve tipped ours too – with no ill effects (carried on sleeping once!)
check the kids can tolerate being in a trailer – some hate it..
TM
hatterFull MemberChariot now = Thule and they’re now imported by Madison so availability should be getting much better.
Give your LBS a call.
We have a Chariot CX1, it’s ace but the Burley’s also pretty good, see if you can try both before you buy.
ScamperFree MemberHad a Burley and as suggested the QR is needed or the standard fitment catches on your rear disc. Personally preferred it to using a rear bike seat. Stroller attachment above is front wheel (this can be moved out the way when its attached to the bike) and handle bars, works well.
I’d suggest saving several hundred quid and going second hand. Think ours was £80 on ebay, and can’t really see what can go wrong with them?
ScamperFree MemberAnother thing is we needed the baby seat for more support when we started putting ours in at circa 8 months – the Burley ones are £50 I think.
jonathanFree MemberWe’ve had a Chariot CX1 for 8 years (gulp), and I’ve also used a few older Burley versions (without suspension) for carrying two at once.
The Burleys I’ve used were great, but were seriously outshone by the Chariot in terms of versatility and weather protection. One of the joys of the Chariot is the ease of converting it to a jogger and being able to properly run with it, on and off road. With the appropriate add-ons (waterproof cover and sleeping bag thingy) it’s has regularly coped with wet, sub-zero, off-road rides, but also can be stripped back to make a cool/shady summer vehicle. Big tyres + suspension means it handles rough track really well, and I really have forgotten it’s there a couple of times, with it ending up upside down as a result! Occupant unruffled – and unwoken on one occasion.
That said the latest Burley looks very similar in spec now. The key difference seem to be the seating position and weight distribution. The child sits a bit higher and more upright in the Burley (good for seeing out), whereas they’ve lower to the ground and more reclined in the Chariot (better for handling and good for sleeping) – hence why the side windows go lower on the Chariot. The Chariot also gives more leg room for running. I like the Chariot hitch better than the Burley hitch too.
I suspect that price and local availability/support are the key factors to consider. When we were buying the Chariots were pricier than the Burleys (our CX1 came to about 800 with all the bits), but now the specs are closer I suspect the prices are too.
jonathanFree MemberJust on hitches etc – the only issues I’ve had with the Chariot hitch is with cowled dropouts, as it has quite a large contact area. Fairly easily bodged around using washers etc to space it out.
hatterFull MemberHaha, glad I’m not the only one whose got a bit ambitious after forgetting they’re towing a Chariot, got the wee fellow airbourne at the FOD.
He didn’t even wake up.
binnersFull MemberThe Burley QR hitch is the best option. Keeps everything out of the way of the discs, and its handy to have it pivoting on your wheel axle, rather than the frame
pdwFree MemberWe’ve got a Cougar, and think it’s great, but can’t really comment on how it compares to the Burley.
I believe that the supply issues with the Chariots are/were down to them failing some UK fire reg. They were pretty hard to find when I was buying 10 months ago.
jonathanFree MemberThe Burley hitch works fine, I just find the Chariot hitch neater and less fiddly:
HooterFree MemberThanks for the replies. I’m keeping my eyes out for something second hand but nothing has come up on ebay etc as yet. Just wondering, from experience what’s the earliest age/size you can put babies in a trailer, I get the feeling the manufacturers say a year just to cover themselves right?
wigglesFree MemberHired a burley for a week and was very impressed but not used any others for comparison
ransosFree MemberI’ve just bought a brand new D’lite to replace our single Croozer. I’m seriously impressed with the design – despite only being 5cm wider than the Croozer, it has loads of room inside (more than the Cougar 2) and lots of luggage room too (again more than the Cougar I think). Suspension on the latest version is adjustable springs rather than elastomers, which is an improvement over previous models. It got left out in the rain all day last week (parked up at nursery, forgot to put a cover on) and it was completely dry inside. Miss R invariably goes straight to sleep in it so it must be pretty comfy to travel in.
The axle attachment slid straight onto my standard QR without any problems – maybe they’ve changed the design?
Regarding age, no.1 daughter took her first trips out at 3 months, using a weber baby seat. No.2 daughter should be making her maiden voyage this weekend at 4 months.
djflexureFull MemberChariot here – faultless for us. Suspension worked well. Only flipped it once.
RoterSternFree MemberAlso a Cougar 2 user here. We’ve had it for about 8 years now and it has been great. I don’t really have a bad word to say about them apart from maybe the price but you pay what you get IMO. Ours has lasted all four of my kids and indeed we are still using it for our youngest. And as said before the bewildering array of extras you can get for them is……bewildering!
jonathanFree MemberJust wondering, from experience what’s the earliest age/size you can put babies in a trailer, I get the feeling the manufacturers say a year just to cover themselves right?
We started at 8 months with our oldest, younger still with the next one – 4 or 5 months I think. Both with baby support harness and head supporter thingy (old type) in the CX1. With the suspension set as soft as it would go they were both fine – enjoyed it and were comfy enough to sleep. That was on forest tracks mostly and a bit of bridleway stuff.
postierichFree MemberBurleys are rubbish!
Splashdown! by Richard Munro, on Flickr
DSC00155 by Richard Munro, on Flickr
DSC00046 by Richard Munro, on Flickr
DSC00404 by Richard Munro, on Flickr
DSC00396 by Richard Munro, on FlickraracerFree MemberWe’ve had a Chariot CX1 for 8 years (gulp), and I’ve also used a few older Burley versions (without suspension) for carrying two at once.
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Big tyres + suspension means it handles rough track really well, and I really have forgotten it’s there a couple of times, with it ending up upside down as a result!Chariot here – faultless for us. Suspension worked well. Only flipped it once.
Isn’t it compulsory to roll it once? Only rolled mine once as well, and mini-aracer was totally unbothered.
Just on hitches etc – the only issues I’ve had with the Chariot hitch is with cowled dropouts, as it has quite a large contact area. Fairly easily bodged around using washers etc to space it out.
I attacked the mount with a file to get it to fit in mine – doesn’t seem to make it work an less well.
hatterFull MemberOff-roading with the nipper is one of life’s great pleasures here’s one of him having a runaround deep into Swinley last summer aged about 18 months no ‘action’ shots I’m afraid.
As regards age; he went in his Chariot in stroller mode with the infant sling at ten days old, very gentle bike use started as soon as he could sit upright with the extra head suporter (7 months ish) gradually trying him with longer and more demanding rides and then venturing offroad from about 13-14 months.
He’s almost 2, and everytime he sees me in my kit I get hugged round the legs and “daddy bike ride daddy bike ride” at the top of his lungs.
This summer’s going to ace.
murfFree MemberI’ve used both. Borrowed a chariot then bought a 2nd hand Burley.
The chariot I felt had a more comfortable seating system but the burley was more spacious. I wanted to be future proof so bought a two seat Burley even before we planned number 2.No 1 son loves it, number 2 is 9 months now and going in as soon as the weather starts to warm up.
Once you get used to the extra weight and being slightly less nimble you can have a lot of fun with them!
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