Aosom Elite II Review
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
This Product
Aosom Elite II | |||||
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Awards | Best for Heavy Loads | Best Bang for the Buck | |||
Price | $160 List $119.98 at Amazon | $299.95 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $190 List $114.98 at Amazon | $150 List $149.99 at Amazon | $200 List $99.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score | |||||
Star Rating | |||||
Bottom Line | While this trailer isn't the most refined, it is extremely affordable compared to the rest of the field and will get the job done | A large carrying capacity makes this trailer quite versatile and unique | This model is a bit heavy, but its an excellent value | An around town trailer that assembles quickly and proved to work well as a grocery getter or while out doing some greenway trail steward cleanup | Not recommended for epic bike touring adventures, but this trailer is an excellent around-town option |
Rating Categories | Aosom Elite II | Burley Design Flatbed | Aosom Wanderer | Schwinn Day Tripper | Retrospec Rover Hauler |
Capacity (30%) | |||||
Ease of Use (20%) | |||||
Ease of Towing (20%) | |||||
Smoothness of Ride (20%) | |||||
Versatility (10%) | |||||
Specs | Aosom Elite II | Burley Design Flatbed | Aosom Wanderer | Schwinn Day Tripper | Retrospec Rover Hauler |
Capacity | 88 lbs | 100 lbs | 110 lbs | 50 lbs | 80 lbs |
Weight | 34.6 lbs | 14.5 lbs | 30 lbs | 18.5 lbs | 20.1 lbs |
Number of Wheels | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Size (when open, L x W x H) | 35" x 33" x 25" | 33" x 16.1" x 30.9" | 57" x 27.6" x 19.2" | 25" x 16.5" x 10" | 27" x 24.5" x 20" |
Wheel Size | 20" | 16" | 16" | 16" | 16" |
Access into Trailer | Top | Top | Top | Top | Top |
Cover Protection | Weatherproof cover | None | None | Weatherproof cover | Weatherproof cover |
Attachment to Bike | Forged Steel Hitch | Forged Hitch | Aosom Type 'B' Bike Trailer Universal Hitch Coupler | Forged Steel Hitch | Forged Steel Hitch |
Our Analysis and Test Results
If you're on the hunt for something large that won't break the bank, the Elite II is a solid consideration. It has some drawbacks, but depending on your needs, it may be the perfect companion.
Performance Comparison
Capacity
The Elite II is one of the largest trailers we tested and, in turn, was able to haul a ton of stuff. Indeed, one of the highlights of this trailer is the cavernous cargo bed. It doesn't carry the same weight rating as some of the burlier trailers do, but 88 pounds isn't too shabby. Have you ever tried to bike with 88 pounds attached to your bike? The reality is that this is plenty of capacity.
We went a little crazy cleaning up our greenway trail this year (you're welcome, Salt Lake), one positive being how much random stuff we could pile into this trailer. Everything from road cones exhumed from the creek to large rolls of horse stall rubber abandoned on public property. Shame, shame. The roll of rubber, weighing in at a solid 30 pounds, highlighted an issue with the cloth sides — the fabric got pushed into the wheels, creating some noisy friction. Be sure to pack the trailer bed strategically.
Ease of Use
Overall, the Elite II was easy to use. The assembly didn't take more than 10 or 15 minutes, including time spent pumping up the flat tires. The hitching mechanism is self-explanatory, as is the backup strap. We learned that excessively heavy loads cause some issues, though, which we will address in the next segment.
Once the bike side mount was installed, the trailer attached and detached easily, allowing us to park it in the garage and deploy anytime we discovered a new trash pile along our greenway, which means daily.
Ease of Towing
Unloaded, this trailer zips right along and cleverly notifies any pedestrians of your approaching by rattling so loud they jump from the trail — this also saves you from having to buy one of those cute bike bells! Kidding aside, the Elite II pulls well for a trailer that weighs as much as this one does when unloaded, and the rattling was our only major gripe.
When loaded down, the spring-loaded hitch sagged and pulled on our bike, probably worse than any other we tested. The spring hitch seems to dampen bumps when the trailer is modestly loaded, but when approaching its max, it starts to become annoying as you can feel it exerting weird forces on the bike. However, the large wheels pulled nicely on gravel paths and handled unexpected bumps well. We didn't tip this fella once!
Smoothness of Ride
My god, the rattling. Yes, we already complained about this, but the sound, at times, dominated our experience. Supposing we had earplugs in, this trailer does actually offer a decently smooth ride. The large wheels seemed to handle gravel road well enough, and the spring-loaded hitch dampened some bumps.
Versatility
The sheer size of this trailer boosted the versatility up quite a bit. You could pack just about anything appropriate for a bike trailer, such as groceries, coolers, fishing equipment, or, as in our case, heaps of garbage. If you want a trailer for long-distance touring or something that will slither down a single-track trail with no drama, this is not that trailer. Bringing the Elite II on a bike tour would be akin to hauling out a civil war cannon for a knife fight. This trailer is a heavy hitter built for swallowing up creek garbage and pretty much anything else you could imagine that weighs less than 88 pounds.
Value
The Elite II is downright affordable compared to so many others. It offers a huge cargo capacity and really performed pretty well throughout our tests. Even if you just wanted a trailer capable of being thrashed around town and without having to worry about dinging up your fancier trailer, this is a great choice. Like Bowser in Mario Cart, the Elite takes some time to get up to speed and doesn't snap around corners like Princess, but it can haul a bunch of stuff. The cost to capacity ratio alone makes this trailer a solid value.
Conclusion
For the price, the Aosom Elite II is a great choice for someone looking to haul things around with their bike. We have some gripes with this trailer, including its unloaded weight, incessant rattling, and handling when loaded down heavy. Those gripes aside, this trailer will do just about anything you ask it to do around town, and despite us trying to kill it, it keeps on keeping on.