Every Day Adventurers

Owning an Xtracycle means more real estate for fun gadgets like air horns, electric motors and lights. One of our perennial favorites is Rock the Bike’s Down Low Glow. Their dual tube offering meshes perfectly with an Xtracycle’s long wheelbase, casting a fun glow that is guaranteed to excite passersby.

On my own Xtracycle, a Surly Big Dummy, I’ve rocked out a Down Low Glow for over a year and love it. But, it does have its drawbacks. I have to charge the battery after two-hours of use, the brightness dims after about 75 minutes of use and The lights last a useful four hours on a full charge, with the lights dimming around 3 hours*. The only downside? The transformer/battery/cables add visual clutter to my already over-cluttered rig, but I don’t lose sleep over it.

I wanted to see if another option existed for sweet ground effects that did away with the cluttered look, gave me longer battery life and still made me visible to others on the street. I figured an LED setup would be the way to go considering their low energy consumption and bright light output. A couple Google searches landed me on Bike Brightz. Their lights feature 6-LEDs, three functions (steady, slow blink, fast blink) and come in a variety of colors. Would this compare and offer a good replacement for my Down Low Glows? Well, I had to get some to test first!
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Peter’s truck had some mechanical hiccups on the way to HQ recently and needed to get it the last mile or so to park it ’til he got it workin’. The Xtra’ crew rolled out with three longtails and managed to lose neither life nor limb in another every day adventure.

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Editor Update: This is a semi-permanent solution for getting Footsies to work with KickBack. If you want to use WideLoaders, you’ll have to remove the bolts holding the Footsies on, so only do this mod if a) you’re fine voiding your warranty and b) don’t use WideLoaders.

KickBack is all the rage these days regarding our DIT tutorials. Our most recent tutorial focused on extending the peg platform of KickBack by using the handles off a Razor scooter. You can read up on that post here.

Taking passenger appeasement a step further, I wanted to explore a fast, simple solution to get your Footsies to play nice with KickBack. This mod will void your Footsie warranty, so proceed with caution (and if not installed properly, may void your KickBack warranty, too). Let’s begin!

Footsies modified to play nice with KickBack

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If it looks like an Xtracycle... c/o Jason & XtracycleGallery.com

An undeniable facet of owning an Xtracycle is it’s magnetism for questions. “What is that?”, “Did you make it?”, “Is it like a normal bike?” are just a smidgen of the queries you’ll get.

We asked our twittersphere to share with us their off-the-cuff responses to the perennial question, “What is that?” Here are their responses:

• “It’s an extention frame that mounts to a normal bike allowing you to haul most anything, cargo and/or people.” @illintechnology
• “it’s a cargobike, I do my shopping & stuff without a car. It’s really just my old bike but longer and able to carry 200lbs” @shanerh
• i tell them its my grocery-getter & get-around-town eco ride! i also tell them how awesome it is (& that our 2yr old loves it)! @schwartzsheldon
• “It’s an #Xtracycle! It’s my station wagon/kid hauler/grocery getter. Lots of fun to ride!” @jessikate
• “It’s a long bike called an Xtracycle FreeRadical. I use it for getting groceries and having fun. Cars Suck!” @xtracycleTony
• Actually, the most frequent question I get is: “Did you make that?” To which a yes or no answer isn’t easy. @gauch0
• “It’s a sport utility bike, kind of like a bicycle pick-up truck.” @jasondcrane
• “Xtracycle: A hitchless trailer puts me at the center of gravity, making the ride smoother, even with up to 200 pounds behind me.” @jamcycler
• if I have time I put the footsies on and show them what it is! @redfieldbikes

Thanks everyone for sharing their tactics for spreading the LongTail revolution. Please share any responses you might have in the comments below. My personal favorite response to, “I like your bike!” is, “My bike likes YOU!”

Have a great commute, ride, spontaneous adventure this week!

Xtracycle Trickery, c/o CarFreeDays.com

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Jessy Clonts, our neighbor in the Bay Area, test rode a Radish for 30-days this spring. This is a journal about her expectations, experiences and feedback. Enjoy!

Challenge Summary

My quest to drastically alter my lifestyle in 30 days by riding an Xtracycle instead of driving a car was predictably challenging. I expected to have a tough time sticking to this goal, but made up for it with a strong conviction not to give up.

Yes, I suffered a few lapses by driving bikeable distances, and while I expected to be able to ride to Indian Rock with climbing gear, I did not make it (although the bike is very well suited to carry said gear, including a 2’ x 3’ crash pad).

But what I learned and came to appreciate about the challenge was my gradual default to the bike over the car. Any time I can hop on two wheels instead of four, whether to save time in traffic, money in parking expenses, or the environment in cutting down on my emissions, I do. And that’s a start.

I keep trying to invent a reason why I don’t need this bike; I’m a young(ish), (almost) married person with no kids, I don’t shop for groceries more than three times a month, and can carry most of my necessities in a small purse. Maybe I don’t need the Radish, but it sure has made my life healthier, more convenient, and more fun. And who couldn’t use more of that in their lives?

Whereas I used to ride my bike for leisurely rolls with friends, now I ride my bike with more of a sense of purpose. And the greatest thing about this gradual default is that it wasn’t contrived. I don’t tell myself to hop on the bike. I just do it.

And I guess that’s what this challenge was all about: teaching a person on the fringe of the bike culture to embrace the lifestyle not just for the novelty and the political correctness, but for its truly redeeming rewards.

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