Over at the RootsRadicals garden, the ‘Rads have shared some knot tying information that’s pretty helpful for lashing your cargo bicycle load.
Fat Rob suggests,
I find the bowline and the truckers hitch to be most useful when securing a load.
The bowline ties the end of a rope to whatever, it can be loosened and untied easily when it’s time, yet it won’t let go before it’s time.
The truckers hitch will cinch down and tighten a load, giving a 2 or 3 to 1 mechanical advantage.
Learn the bowline and trucker’s hitch with these animated instructions courtesy Grog’s Index. Devian also suggested learning the complicated knots to slow a would-be thief down. Of course, a knife will end any frustration quickly, but most criminals are in search of easy pickings. When tying two ropes together the double fisherman’s knot is handy.
Other options outside knot tying are CamStraps with bungees falling behind due to their stretchiness for heavy loads (and that whole hook-flying-through-the-air-aiming-for-your-eye-thing*). That being said, cargo bungee nets are very useful, especially the ones that lock your gear.
Of course, let’s knot forget the ever useful buckle straps on the FreeLoaders. Here SpokenWord demonstrates the over-top method of securing cargo on top the deck.
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….
I’ve been wanting to find a great rear light for my PeaPodLT for months now. Unfortunately, nothing seems to clip well to the various openings on the back of the seat, so I’ve come to terms with the need to modify.
This post details the modification process, but I’ve only just put it on, so I can’t necessarily recommend this product for the long haul, yet. Will add to this post as I learn more about the light itself. My main concerns are, as with all LED lights, battery life, and then with this particular install, gradual rattling of hardware such that the light becomes loose or falls off.
The light is a German rear seatpost light made by Sigma.
First, you need to disassemble the light mount probably intended for the seat post and rescue the two plastic parts - one of which accepts the light, the other as a kind of wedge to orient the light more or less perpendicular to the ground (very nice on the sloped back of the PeaPod).
Using a 3/8″5/32″ bit, drill a hole through the PeaPod shell that emerges below the level of the seat pad on the other side (to cushion your little rider’s back from the minimal hardware we will use to attach the light to the seat.
After a good while of searching for a nut that would work on the existing screw that held the seatpost mount assembly together, I finally just switched to a slightly larger diameter screw and nut combo I had in my hardware bin. The nice thing about this, is that the screw bound a little to the plastic of the light mount and the seat, acting as a kind of built in loctite to prevent excessive rattling. Additionally, the nut I found was very flat, and the overall length of the hardware was such that there was no sharp screw end poking through the nut. Screw + nut were flush (well, pretty much) under the pad.
The light has a nice feature that it can be mounted horizontally, for that KnightRider effect, or vertically. This light has a few different patterns, some of which are intermittent enough that they won’t likely draw down the two AAA batteries too fast.
More to come!
Here’s where to get replacement SpringPins for your WideLoaders, or any other Xtracycle DIT project you’re working on:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#pins/=6397fh
But wait, that link doesn’t get you all the way there - here’s the exact part number: 92988A730
Enter this number in the “Find” search bar - and it will take you right to the part you need!
One of our custom Big Dummy customers, Scott of Washington D.C., recently wrote to RootsRadicals about his experience riding his longtail in the icy, slick and packed down snow. Take it away, Scott!
Another Xtracycle rider on a Radish embarking on a grocery store run
So if you haven’t heard, we have been suffering through the Snowpocalypse. Washington DC has had something like 30 to 50 inches of snow during the past week. I haven’t had much of a chance to take the BD out (no snow tires), but have gotten out twice and can give everyone a testimonial of winter longtail riding.
I can say with confidence that the longer wheelbase of my Big Dummy really, really helped in the slippery stuff. I rode once with about three fresh inches on the street and again a couple of days later after the streets had been plowed under much worse road conditions. On the second trip, I carried a small load back from my local package store (two sixers and a half case of wine). The extra weight in the back really locked down the rear end despite the ice, snow and slush. I had next to no tire slippage as I carefully tread my way back home (with bottles cheerfully clinking along the way).
I’m looking forward to getting back on the streets after this round of snow finishes. I think we’ll end up with only eight inches this time.
Scott
Washington, DC
FreeRadical + Surly Endomorph Tires = Fun in the Snow
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