REVIEW: Burley Tail Wagon

We received the Burley Tail Wagon Dog Bike Trailer for a giveaway we hosted a few weeks ago and agreed to review it. I tested it out on the back of my Cannondale CAAD 8 road bike by riding around our fairly busy downtown area for a few days. Funny thing is there are several of these yellow Burly bike trailers in town so I fit right into the cool club.

Design/Aesthetics (5) ★★★★★

The trailer has a max capacity of 75 pounds so our office Great Pyrenees, Shonekey, who is closer to 110 pounds, wasn’t going to get close to fitting inside. Even for a dog of 75 pounds the cart may seem a little small and will need some training to calmly get inside. The construction was relatively quick and straightforward for how complicated it looks out of the box and once built, glides very smoothly and handles potholes and bumps like a champ. The latches on the trailer are carefully thought out and very satisfying when clicked into place. Well, apart from the front wheel. There is a lever looking thing that isn’t actually the latch and the wheel rotates by pulling it out of the socket, anyway, it takes some getting used to. The ride is great though, at some points you hardly notice the trailer gliding behind you except on the initial acceleration.

From an aesthetic point of view, the Burley Tail Wagon looks quite nice. The shape fits a seated dog well and has an aerodynamic teardrop shape that fits right in behind any bike. My main qualm is that on its own it’s quite large, and navigating into buildings after a bike ride can be kind of a hassle. Definitely remove the handle if you plan to put it on a bike, that alone gets rid of a lot of the bulk. The bright yellow is a great touch especially for visibility, you gotta keep your furry friend safe.

Durability (4) ★★★★

A trailer coming from a company by the name of Burley should hopefully be a little sturdier than the competition. We were happy to see that Burley has a minimum 3-year warranty included on the Tail Wagon (1 year on fabric). We admit though that it’s a little hard to tell how durable this trailer is without abusing it a bit. We tried running over some taller curbs and bumping into metal railings and a brick wall (unintentionally) which left a couple of small scratches. The aluminum alloy frame certainly won’t hold up in a car accident and the cloth covering while water-resistant and somewhat ripstop, is not puncture-resistant by any means. So the risk you take in an unprotected bike is pretty similar to the risk you take with the trailer. I wouldn’t load up your pup in heavy traffic because hauling a trailer on a bike introduces a new layer of complexity in navigating tight spaces. It’s meant for easy and safe rides and in those environments, the warranty seems to calm any doubts we have about durability. But buyer beware – if you’re a weak biker and your dog’s safety means a lot to you, either get better at biking or opt to walk your dog.

Functionality (5) ★★★★★

What we started to realize was that this product has very specific use cases and if you don’t fit one of those use cases, it’s probably not the product for you. But if you fall under one of these use cases, this is probably the best solution in the market. The first use case is commuting with a dog to work. Biking with a dog on a leash is dangerous and should be avoided. Yet many commuters need to take their dog to work as part of their daily routine. A second use case is you need to contain your dog in a public place like a tradeshow or say, morning stroll through a crowded farmers market. The Bike to Stroll switch easily turns the trailer into a stroller giving you the needed control to push it like a cart versus pulling it on a bike. Clicking between bike to stroll is so satisfying because of how the latch just sinks into place and locks in.

Value (2) ★★

At $399, it’s significantly more expensive than the competition that can be attained for $100. Feature-wise, the cheapest of competition can’t switch between bike and stroll and the warranty’s on cheaper products are limited to 30 days or none at all. When you’re talking about the safety of your beloved fur baby, a 3-year warranty gives some assurance that the company stands behind the product. There is definitely a premium feel to this product and that’s who it’s marketed to – folks who take their pet’s safety seriously. Despite the warranty and premium feel, the trailer is expensive hence the 2-star rating in the value category.