This post is the opinion of the Experimental Mommy. While a sample was received to facilitate this review, all opinions remain 100% mine.
Because we live on a very busy street, all of our outdoor activities take place in our backyard. Unfortunately, this means that I now have a 5 year old and an 8 year old who do not know how to ride a two wheeled bike. We will be taking a family vacation to Callaway Gardens in the near future which includes lots of beautiful biking trails and we would love to be able to use them. So, we have been on a mission to teach the girls to ride this Summer at a nearby park.
We were thrilled to receive the Burley Piccolo Trailercycle to review and hoped it could help our cause. The trailer connects to an adult bike and allows to child to learn to pedal and balance. For more than 30 years, Burley has been worldwide leader in child bicycle trailers. I have heard of Burley’s exceptional safety standards, so I felt comfortable testing out the product with my own children.
Burley promotes active outdoor fun by designing and developing bicycling products that provide functional design, safety, and many years of use.
My husband got to work putting together the Piccolo and was very impressed with the quality of the product. The directions were easy to follow and didn’t require many tools. Here are a few Piccolo specs from the website:
- Weighs 18.0 lb/8.2 kg
- Lightweight aluminum frame for durability, high performance and a solid ride
- 7-speed twist grip shifter
- Front splash guard
- Innovative Burley patented hitch system with ball-bearing guided pivots to provide shimmy-free performance
- Hitch sits perpendicular to the ground, providing superior handling and stability
- Double locking mechanism for extra security
- Stable and snug in-line handling with over-axle pivot attachment
- Includes Burley rack
- Adjustable handlebar and seat post
- Safety flag and both wheel and rear reflectors for visibility
- 20-inch wheel for smooth rolling
- Recommended for children 4 to 10 years old and up to 85 lb/38.5 kg, with a recommended 2-1 adult weight-to-child weight ratio
The Burley rack easily attaches to my bicycle frame and the trailercycle is then connected by a hitch bolt. I love that the rack stays connected to my bike and the trailercycle can be connected or removed quickly for easy set-up or storage. All of the weight is transferred to the frame and allows the trailer to follow along smoothly. Take a look at my husband and daughter riding the Burley Piccolo in the park:
Now that my oldest is comfortable riding on the Piccolo as a trailercycle, it is time to connect the Burley Plus! The Burley Plus converts the trailercycle to an independent bike for my daughter. Simply disconnect from the adult bike and install the front half and you are ready to go. We are still practicing, but my daughter has come so far in just a few short sessions.
We are so impressed with the construction and ease of use of the Burley Piccolo. Because it is aluminum, it is light enough for me to remove from the garage and install within a matter of seconds. And the best part? Quality time with the kids! While the Piccolo is teaching them the basics of bike riding, I am able to explain to them exactly what they should be doing including watching for cars, looking both ways, etc. The entire family has loved it so much that we just purchased a bike rack to take our bikes on vacation with us!
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That’s really cool!
That is so cool – and smart. I love that it grows with your child as their skill develops. My kids would absolutely love this and I’d love being able to spend time with them being active outdoors.
I wish I knew about this product when my boys were young. I love the way it easily converts to a normal bike – very important once your child learns to ride on her own. I saw it on Amazon and it is getting very high reviews.
We had one of these for our daughter and loved it!! We love to ride bikes and once she outgrew the trailer, this was perfect for us so we could still ride at our own pace and she was right there with us.
That is a pretty cool bike! My kids already know how to ride theirs, but that could have been the easiest, fall free way to learn!
This is such an awesome bike and what a great way to get in family time too!
Brilliant! We have a bike trailer but my daughter says she’s too big to have to ride in it. This would be a great transitional bike for her!
who that is really unique I’ve never seen anything like that before
Thats pretty nifty and I have never seen one before!
That is really awesome. I can see that being a real blessing for special needs families.
How cool! I wish this would have been available 8 years ago when my son was learning to ride his bike.
My neighbors have this and it’s completely awesome! Our kids are older now, but it would have been a great way to exercise together before they were able to ride on their own!
I see these in the park in NY all the time and think it’s the coolest thing ever. It also looks very safe.