Every Day Adventurers

Xtracycle has worked with Electra now for awhile, so we had to go see what they had to offer.  They have an uncanny ability to make practical bikes look ridiculously fun to ride.  Their Townies and Amsterdams were, as usual, looking good.

Their beach basket cruisers totally wanted to go on a picnic.  We had to tell them, sorry, we need to work.

And then there was this zippy little number.  Oooooooh.

The Raleigh Superbes are back!  Raleigh calls them hybrids, but we just call them fun.

Even Garneau is getting into the urban/commuter bike trend.  Do they really mean it, or is it just to placate us?  Looks fun, but it could use some pedals and a chain.  Maybe a brake or two.  A couple of simple tweaks, really.

Dahon’s got quite so many models of folders, we can barely keep up.

We’re particularly excited about their larger-wheeled bikes; small wheels do make for small folds, but the tall folks among us feel a bit too much like circus bears riding around the ring on, say, the Dahon Curve.  The Cadenza’s 24″ wheels help alleviate this phobia, and it can even be built up as an Xtracycle for light touring.

We also got a good view of the Dahon Tournado, a touring bike with the Ritchey Break-Away system that folds into a luggage case in about 15 minutes for travel.  The frame is painted a lovely rootbeer brown (we told you brown was big this year!).

Apparently the answer to this question is 22 Dahon Curve D3s, but only if you count the ones stuffed into the Thule cargo box on the roof.  That’s a little squirrely, Dahon!  You’re lucky you gave us free T shirts.

The easy-boarding step-through bike frame from Biria could make a great Xtracycle.  We know that some people have trouble boarding their Xtra when it’s fully loaded – for those of us who aren’t that flexible, getting your leg up over the top tube on any bike can be a bit of a challenge.  Well, for the flexibility-deficient (and/or for the skirt-wearers), this is definitely a viable option.  The Biria step-throughs tend to be a bit heavy (even the lightest of them is around 30lbs), but the cruiser geometry and ease of use help to make up for that.  One question, though – what happens when you have to ride over a speed bump?