Every Day Adventurers

From the Land Down Under comes another tales of Xtracycle happiness and utility. Take it away, Bruce!

Dear Cheeky,

The Xtracycle you sent me has been up and running for a few weeks now, and has become indispensable in our family transport options.

I’ve installed a 200w Bafang rear hub motor, which makes the steep hills around here manageable, even with big loads. It’s been particularly useful when the local roads have been damaged in the January flood rains. It carries loads of stuff, including our weekly Foodconnect delivery to Mt Nebo, 11km of steep mountain roads away, and transporting our 6yo to and from play dates.

It’s a good quality bit of gear. I’ve used the disk brake mount, which requires a 203mm disk which really gets cooking on the long steep descents around here. I think it will save rims and reduce the risk of heat blowouts. I’ll be interested to see how well pads, calipers and disks last, as I’ve never had a bike with disks before.

Thanks for getting it to me last year. I think if people knew how useful the Xtracycle was (especially with a motor), you would sell heaps more of them.

Emphasis mine

See more of Bruce’s Xtracycle cargo bike and explore more Cheeky(ness).

A customer recently outfitted his Xtracycle Radish with a BionX (pronounced by-on-ex) electric assist motor. Powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the motor wheel provides acceleration assistance with your pedaling.

They’re pricey ($1200-$1700 depending on the battery size and range), but if you’re consistently hauling heavy cargo, or just live in an area with lots of hills, electric assist may be the ride you’re looking for.

On of our Xtracycle dealers,Cycle9, has a wealth of knowledge regarding electrified bicycles, and is a great place to start exploring if you’re interested in electrifying your ride. They’re also certified longtail experts with tons of experience installing motor assist on two wheels.

Here are some details of the BionX system:

• The BionX kit includes: a spoked wheel with motor, console, battery mount with cables, battery pack and charger.
• Wheel sizes: 700c, 26″, 24″, 20″, 18″, all with a standard 135 mm rear drop-out.
• Gearing installation is easy with threaded freewheels.
• The Bionx system can be installed on a Xtracycle tandem, folding bike or recumbent; any bicycle with a standard shifting system.
• The Bionx control console includes a programmable anti-theft alarm and a thumb throttle for instant acceleration.
• The Bionx motor wheel is compatible with disc or rim brakes.
• Variable-speed thumb throttles are included with all Bionx 350 and 500 watt electric conversion kits.

Courtesy of Greenspeed.us

Here’s a video of Rick’s test ride:
[kml_flashembed fversion="8.0.0" movie="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5844017&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=f4b941&fullscreen=1" targetclass="flashmovie" publishmethod="static" width="497" height="373"]

[/kml_flashembed]