Every Day Adventurers

With all the stories we’re seeing and hearing (both in the online and offline worlds), it’s clear that bike camping season has officially begun. Thanks to Matt McCambridge, we’ve got a great photo that says it all:

Here’s to good weather, great friends, bike rides and outdoor adventures! Hopefully the long weekend will allow you to get time outside on your bike.

Nate and daughter with the 2011 Radish

Now that the 2011 Radish is finding its way into homes and bike shops across the US (and beyond), we thought we’d share some feedback from Xtracycle’s own Nate Byerley, who was one of the very first adopters of the redesigned bike.  We gave him some areas to hit, and here’s what he had to say:

Ride Quality
Radish rides like a city bike.  Thanks to help in the redesign process from Grant Petersen of Rivendell and Bridgestone, the new Radish has quick handling & responsive steering, makes tight turns, and its light weight makes it easier to accelerate.  The Radish Sport (which includes the Hoodie) weighs in at a svelte 43 lbs. (The Surly Big Dummy weighs 53 lbs, while most other cargo bikes are even heavier, sometimes in excess of 80 lbs.)

The 2011 Radish’s geometry is designed to work with a wide range of riders.  I’m 6′ tall and my wife is 5’1″, and we both love the way this bike rides. And not only does the new Radish have 8 speeds on one simple shifter, the gear range spans the most useful 70% of the gear range of a mountain bike – favoring the low end for easier hauling.

Cargo Capacity
Radish is built to carry 350 lbs (rider + cargo), which is the same amount as the FreeRad. You can easily tote two kids and 4 bags of groceries at the same time.

Two-part Frame
Radish is built on the FreeRadical cargo bike extension, with a custom front frame and attachment setup built to interface perfectly with the FreeRadical. That means less twisting when under load than on any other Xtracycle-equipped bike.  All long bikes experience some twisting, but it’s minimized on Radish (while still keeping the overall cost low).

Affordability
Radish is the only chromoly cargo LongTail under $1000! That’s impressive when you realize it has SRAM components as well as an Avid drivetrain and brakes.

If you’re considering going car-lite or car-free, or just want to see how Radish handles, we suggest you try it for yourself.  Give one of the Xtracycle dealers a shout and take it for a spin!

Here is an inspiring bit of news featuring an Xtracycle outfitted with electric assist to give the rider a little Xtra get up and go.

Bike based lifestyles take center stage as more people look for ways to beat rising gas prices, have more fun and get in shape at the same dern time!

Go Green & $ave $ome $erious Green with Xtracycle!

Congrats to Sam, the only entrant :P, for the Morebadasser Video Contest. But, not to be outdone, Sam entered two videos (thanks, brother!). And while we’re down with moving homes via bike parties and producing less CO2, we found his second video, Xtracycle Cyclocrossing to be oh-so-much-morebadasser! Enjoy and Sam, we’ll be in contact to get you your goodies!

Xtracycle More Badasser Cyclocros 2010 from samh on Vimeo.

Almost 2 years ago, we profiled Jay Marlette, who had decided to make his home inspection business greener by adding an Xtracycle to the mix. As you can see from our photos and video, this wasn’t a small commitment.  The ladder is longer than the Xtracycle!

When people make a shift like this, it’s natural to wonder how things worked out.  So guess who I ran into the other day just as he was wrapping up a home inspection:

Two years later and he’s still going strong!  A lot of people can say they’ve gone green, but when you see Jay riding around town hauling that ladder, you know he’s walking the talk.

Some things need to be seen to be believed, so if you want to check out Jay’s geared-up Xtracycle and ask him about his experiences in going green via bike, both Jay and his ride will be at the Berkeley Earth Day celebration this Saturday, April 23rd (12-5pm, Civic Center Park).  As part of the Earth Day celebration, Jay will be fielding general home questions and can also offer advice on ways to make your home more energy efficient.

The Earth Day celebration will have free valet bike parking (which we love to hear). For complete event details, click here.