Every Day Adventurers

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Cargo Bicycles, Utility Bikes, Longtail Limos and other Xtracycle cycling chatter

Wouldn’t This Go Well With Your Bicycle Lifestyle?

Nate here, writing in the midst of the construction of my bike house – a 10 x 12 structure in my backyard that will, among other things, be home to my many bikes.

When I was 16, I was given a copy of Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher, and it changed my life. Someone had put to words my own inkling sensibility that less is more. And now 33, with two kids, I find that every time I get more stuff, I feel no corresponding increase in happiness. In fact, lately I have been selling off stuff – bikes, tools, furniture, kid stuff. With each good in the hand of a happy customer, I am less and less burdened by my own crap.

From Small is Beautiful

A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption…. The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity. Modern economics, on the other hand, considers consumption to be the sole end and purpose of all economic activity.

I live West Berkeley, in a fairly dense urban area – not New York or SF by any stretch, but not the suburbs either. I have learned over the years that having bikes but no safe, dry place to store them is a recipe for riding less.

If it is true that what you appreciate, appreciates, the investment in my bike house will pay dividends in more riding, less servicing, more sense of security around my bikes.

As I researched small structures – I was drawn to the Modern Shed aesthetic – a simple box shape – with a sloped roof (no peak) – a structure referred to in architecture as the ‘lean-to.’ Peaked roof structures all looked a little too charming to me (a la ubiquitous Tuff Shed), and they seemed a lot less space efficient. You can pay a ton for a true ‘Modern-Shed’ with it’s concrete-board siding and aluminum windows. I searched around and found a small local building outfit that would do it for a lot less, working with more easily sourced and mass produced materials. I am a sucker for a good deal, no matter how much my eye is drawn to the high-end.

The basic design of my shed

Above is a Modern-esque (post-modern?) shed that costs 1/10 what a true “modern shed” sells for, using simple and readily available materials.

In Berkeley, you can put up an un-permited structure (that is not plumbed or wired for electricity) up to 120 sq ft in footprint – if the structure is set off from the property line 4′ or more, you can have the structure go 12′ high. I opted for 10′ high, and the thing is still incredibly tall – a bit dominating, but so much capacity – more than double my 9′ x 7′ tin shed shown in the picture.

Of course, looking at such a large structure, my mind wanders to all kinds of man-cave territories: workshop, studio, office, band practice space… And then, my obsession with squeezing out economic value takes me far afield of the coveted man space to the distant realms of guest house, in-law unit, au-pair cottage, etc.

But no! My bikes groan as they fear being displaced again to the dewy purgatory of our backyard. There will always be a place for you here bikes. Au-pairs, you are forewarned.

Listen – I’m pretty excited, and I appreciate you reading this self-indulgent post – the cost per square foot of this structure with a window, door, and skylight, is about 1/10th that of my overpriced 100 year old house.

My own “little” modern shed (i.e. bike house) under construction.

Below are some great links to amazing small structures. As riding our Xtracycles enable us to enjoy the incredibly benefits a smaller transportation footprint, it’s only natural that we begin to look at other ways to scale back, scale down, enjoy life more, spend less time cleaning house, buying furniture, throwing stuff away, heating unused space, cooling unused space, lighting unused space, etc.

Micro Tree House

Shipping Container Studio

Tiny French House

This little structure in my backyard is quickly becoming an potential experiment in smaller living – could I make it both a bike shed and a living space? Off the grid? Composting toilet? I’m positive that the city of Berkeley would want to get in on the mix, exacting some exorbitant permit fee – but perhaps that’s the price of making sure that the firefighters come when called. I’m not sure – permits are so abhorrent to the average Do It Yourselfer, and yet, I do appreciate that my neighbor can’t do something with their house that jeopardizes the safety of my kids. Alas, I digress, no permit is needed to house bikes and tools, which will be the fate of this structure at least for the short term.

Maybe when my kids are grown, I’ll convert it to a micro-cottage, rent out my house, and spend more time reading, and less time chasing the American Dream.

Hope you enjoyed the links above, they really get the imagination going…

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Are Xtracycle Stickers Offensive? An Anonymous Poll

Xtracycle is gearing up to print another round of stickers. Since we buy printing, and cutting dies, and print tens of thousands of stickers at a time, we like to be clear that we’re printing the right product.

Historically, a lot of our stickers pushed the limits of ‘family friendly’ language. Scanning our sticker sheet included with every FreeRadical and Radish, you will find words like Sissy, Wuss, Booty, Ass, etc.

Skip down to take the poll.

Xtracycle's Old School Sticker Sheet

Xtracycle's Old School Sticker Sheet

Many of you like the spirit of these stickers, like Rick Logue, as he describes on his My Two Mile Challenge Blog.

Are these inappropriate messages?

Some of you may find these stickers inappropriate, or just plain immature, but haven’t had a safe environment to say that.

We’re downright curious – do stickers with borderline offensive words help spread the message of bikes as a solution? Or does the message get lost in the medium?

Should Xtracycle Continue to Print Stickers with the Words Sissy, Ass, and Wuss?

View Results

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Xtracycle Put the Sport in Sport Utility Bicycle

Tis the season for rowdy, messy, muddy cyclocross. If you’re not racing, you probably wish you were. And if you are racing, you might just wish you were sitting around drinking a beer.

Xtracycle has you covered. Why? Because we put the Sport in Sport Utility Bicycle.

Exhibit A: Kill Two Birds With One Bike

Check out this great video from an outfit called More Badasser – highlighting the the solution to the ‘grass is always greener dilemma’ mentioned above. Xtracycle allows you to enjoy the race and the beer, at the same time. Go ahead, pop one open and enjoy the ride.

Exhibit B: Seriously Now, People Do This.

This just found on our popular users forum. For serious enthusiasts only.

observations from racing a mtb longtail conversion
Posted by: “A” andyboote@yahoo.com.au
Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:08 pm (PST)

Not sure how many of you are interested but the other night decided to
race the ‘ute’ at one of our shortcourse twilight mtb meets.
It was one sprint lap of a very technical, rocky and sometimes steep 7
km course. It mainly singletrack with a few switchback sections. The
bike is an alloy mtb frame, salsa chromoly fork and xtracycle unit. I
swapped the big apples for a 2.1 maxxis ignitor on the rear and a 2.35
specialized all mountain knobby on the front. I rode to the race for a
good solid warmup also took the freeloaders and racks out to lighten it
up (a touch).
Anyway hear a few of my observations / tips

* run air pressures pretty low to increase grip
* run big bag tyres for better compliance and a little suspension
* get up the front of the pack because its a sluggish start
* on rocky sections the longer chain can start oscillating and throw
the chain off the ring
* (also high cadence pedalling on the trail and sudden coast can do
the same thing)
* be tactical with gear selections, as there is a slightly longer
delay in shifting and you might be battling extreme chain flap
* the beast seems to climb ok but grip is diminished because of less
weight over rear wheel
* caution rolling over rocky mounds as longer wheel base can lower
bottom bracket height / bash rings
* longer wheel base seems to handle roll off ledge sections a bit
better – like normally i have to hang over the back wheel (altho note
above caution about pedal and chainring clearance)
* corner entry / apex needs adjustment, wide entry on switch back and
hover on seat / hold higher gear to keep grip on uphill versions
* deore level v brakes are ok but need applying a bit sooner
* the long tail will do spectacular sliding skids into flat open
corners
* caution of chain slap when running knobbies – the chain (especially
when running high on the cluster / chainline closer to the rear wheel)
can catch on the tyre and inadvertantly get lifted / thrown
* try and be smoother in general (as a result of above factors seems
to be more put pressure/ leverage on the chain)

Anyway i made it 4/5 off the way round before snapping the chain and
running the bike to the finish.
regardless of the result it got lots of attention and questions from all
the other spectators and competitors, so I guess its a win for the
awareness of the versatility of the longtail. All in all a very
interesting experience.
(PS Will let you know how it compares when i finish building full xt /
disc equipped surly BD ?!?!)
Andy

Exhibit C: LongBikes Soar Further

Certainly one of the top 10 Xtracycle photos of all time. Hardcore Xtracycle rider/racer/evangelist, Max Cooper stuns the field with a flying LongTail leap past the short bike competition. Do that on your Bakfiets folks!

xtraMAX

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New Product: Running Boards

Xtracycle has partnered with master woodworker Cemil Hope to produce our latest LongTail Standard compatible RunningBoards. These are available in our store and we have (very) limited quantities. We launched them on Facebook last night, and sold through half our stock. If we run out, we will be getting more produced immediately.

Xtracycle RunningBoards

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What are running boards?

Wikipedia describes running boards this way:

Typical of vintage cars which had much higher ground clearances than today’s cars, [they are] also used as a fashion statement on vehicles that would not require it.

Ahem, I think this photo says it all. Form meets function, meets absurd, yet somehow charming.

Useful and sexy, running boards!

On your Xtracycle, RunningBoards serve a primarily practical purpose, providing stable foot support for 2 passengers riding on the back. As you can imagine, the demand for this product has historically come from parents needing a place for kids to rest their feet.

But Xtracycle RunningBoards are more than just passenger friendly – think of them as mini-WideLoaders that you can ride with at all times. They work great for cargo, providing a 6″ shelf to rest bulky objects atop. And because they are about half the width of conventional WideLoaders, they will easily pass through doors and gates.

Here is an example of why RunningBoards exist.

Daddy, we need Xtracycle RunningBoards!

What’s so special about Xtracycle RunningBoards?

Well, first, they are here and ready to purchase. We’ve spent about 6 months testing and refining these. Some of the design constraints we were working with included 100% KickBack compatibility, FreeRadical, Radish and BigDummy friendly, high-style, ease of installation, and US made.

Cemil, who has worked with Xtracycle on other projects before, including the refurbishing of our Airstream trailer, is an expert woodworker and fanatical Xtracycler. As you will see – every aspect of these RunningBoards is well thought out, and expertly executed. Down to the anodized inserts that prevent the stainless hardware from gouging the wood, the risers sourced from skateboard manufacturing to allow clearance for the KickBack, and the elegant Xtracycle logo silk-screened on top.

Xtracycle RunningBoards are made entirely of US sourced parts and materials – assembly is done in California. Anodized aluminum tubes are sourced in CA, anodized outside of Petaluma, and finished in Cemil’s shop. An expert cabinet maker, Cemil has the RunningBoard decks cut on a CNC, then routed by hand, sanded, silk-screened and triple coated with UV resistant finish.

How Do I install Xtracycle RunningBoards?

Cemil helped us put together this brief video tutorial on how to install your Xtracycle RunningBoards. We’ll have more photos of RunningBoards in use, but for now, you’ll have to settle for this how-to video.

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Cargo Bike Documentary Taking Shape – You Can Help

The only ‘trailer’ we’re seeing these days is this Cargo Bike Documentary by California filmmaker Liz Canning.

(R)evolutions Per Minute is a documentary about the growing cargo bike movement, or what we at Xtracycle refer to as the ‘cargo bike boom.’

Check out this exciting trailer for the video and learn how you can become a co-director by shooting and supplying footage for the film from around the country and the world.

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Like much of what we do at Xtracycle, this film intends to be a DIT project. DIT stand for Do-It-Together.

More info about this project can be found at Liz’s website:

http://www.lizcanning.com/Liz_Canning_Creative/Cargo_Bike_Documentary.html

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