Every Day Adventurers

Whew, it’s tough keeping secrets, but making new products kinda demands it. One of our latest creations, Hoodie, has kicked around our brains, design tables and bikes for over a year now.

Last June, I got to borrow our solitary Hoodie to put it through some every day adventure pacing. While I couldn’t fit it on my Big Dummy (this current version is not compatible with Big Dummy, if you’re spending that kinda cash, just get the full blown FreeLoaders (plus they’re new for 2010!)), I was able to rock out the company FreeRadical.

2010 Hoodie Color Comparisons, none of which actually made it into production. Hoodie comes in two colors - Redical Red and Graphite Grey

My mission: gardening supplies and sustenance for los gatitos (cats for those not Spanishly inclined). Retrieve and pay for said items, load and lash as needed to my Xtracycle and ride home, event free.

My initial thoughts: lovin’ it. The sleek profile, minimalist style and straightforward features all appealed to me. The install was easy, like a glove. It felt secure, taught and ready to ride. The webbing down the spine seemed a bit over kill. Might be useful to tie things down to, but I can CamStrap more securely off the frame members of my bike or the FreeRadical (Note: the webbing is not on the production version). I’m happy the logo is small and subdued, a nice touch.

This is the Hoodie that Rick tested. That's the understated logo Rick liked, though production Hoodies have even more understated branding.

I thought I may have some issues with the lack of straps a la FreeLoaders, but the large side pockets held my goods with grace and fortitude. I wasn’t a big fan of how low the upper lip came, so we raised the height of the pocket about an 1″+.

Cinching down the pockets was easy and smooth. They held super tight, giving me confidence that they wouldn’t loosen or slowly open.

Since my pocket space was gobbled up by my soil bags, but still had cat food, litter and a lock left, I was happy I brought a CamStrap with me. Attaching to the handle of the FreeRadical, I looped it through the litter handle and over the food bag. I attached the cam end to the rear horizontal bridge of the FreeRad and cinched everything down nice and snug.

The ride home was uneventful. I shook, shimmied and slalomed down the biggest hills I could find, took the long way home, hopped a curb and nothing budged. Me like.

Conclusion: Hoodie rocks. From it’s clean looks, simple operation, nice lock pocket, reflective webbing and other features, I dig it. I know that may be a biased opinion, but keeping it simple has its merit. Another bonus, it’s $75! That, coupled with a FreeRadical, and you’re looking at $364 to fly your every day skies.

Learn more about what Hoodie features and fits at XC.com.

The 2010 FreeLoaders are a great product, and what’s greater, is that they were designed to work on more than just the Xtracycle FreeRadical, Surly Big Dummy, and Xtracycle Radish.

Their ability to clip to your frame allows them to work with any number of long bikes on the market, including the Kona Ute, the Yuba Mundo, and the new long(ish) bike by Gary Fisher.

Prompted by a few customer emails, I tried to install the FreeLoaders on a Ute this morning, and though I was not sure it would work, it appears as though there is some possibility for inter-compatibility. Some pictures provided below.

If you would like to receive a free set of 2010 FreeLoaders (blue or brown only) to test on your Ute, Mundo, or other LongTail, and document your findings thoroughly in words and writing, such that we can share your discoveries with others here on our blog and elsewhere, please send a 250 word (or less) email to us describing why you think you should be a designated tester. You should own the bike that your testing, and not be affiliated with a bicycle company to participate.

And no - the super-blue pictured above not available for sale.

Elaine Nelson just passed the one year mark owning her Xtracycle. We’re happy to report that she’s still in love with her ride:

I love love love being able to carry whatever around town. A change of clothes to work? No problem. A gallon of milk on the way home? Sure! A big bag of library books? But of course, and why not the laptop, too? My personal maneuverability limit is way less than the weight limit, so I’ve gotten nowhere near that so far as I can tell. But that leaves a hell of a lot of stuff that I can carry.

You can read her full recap here. Thanks for taking the chance with our product, Elaine, we’re stoked and glad you’re able to enhance your every day adventure.

As we dial in our lives and rides we find things that work. When said things work smoothly, repeatedly we can sometimes become complacent and think, “That couldn’t/won’t/wouldn’t happen to me.”

Then, like a jealous, vengeful wrath, Murphy swings in and says, “Ah-a-ah… Let’s ground that ego for a bit,” and leaves you sweating, cursing and futzing with your previously perfect setup.

Vik experienced just that with his recent mega load on his Surly Big Dummy Xtracycle cargo bicycle in Victoria, BC.

Read his post at: Bow Cycle | Vik’s Picks » Murphy’s Law….

We’ve always been awed and inspired by the creatives in the cycling world. From Tom Ritchey to Joe the Frame Welder, someone, right now, is out there tinkering on the next new, cool cycling thing.

TerraCycle is one of those inspirational creatives. They design and manufacture a multitude of recumbent parts and accessories. Then they decided to adopt the Longtail Standard to make recumbents more cargo friendly and made a longtail extension that utilizes Xtracycle accessories and gear.

‘BentRider managing editor, Bryan J. Ball, recently installed a CargoMonster on their recumbent and are smitten with what they can do with it:

What cannot be denied is how amazingly useful the Cargo Monster is. It’s a technically brilliant solution that begs to be used. I could always manage to go get groceries on a standard trike but having the Cargo Monster made me WANT to go get groceries. In the cycling world, the only thing more hip right now than a fixed gear is a longtail and in my cycling-centric neighborhood, the Cargo Monster completely removed the TerraTrikes leaper status. It’s just… Cool. And there are so many Xtracycle options available that it’s easy to sit in front of the computer for hours and dream of things that you can carry on your Cargo Monster. (my emphasis)

Read the entire article here: ‘BentRider Online » Blog Archive » TerraCycle Cargo Monster.

And just to show that Joe the Frame Welder has been active, check out this latest creation: