Every Day Adventurers

BikePortland.org has a recent write up trying to tackle the question we’ve addressed or encountered many times since setting up shop: is carrying someone on your bike illegal?

Well, turns out sometimes it is illegal and sometimes not:

[Portland bike lawyer Mark Ginsberg] said that people who carry kids and friends on Xtracycle decks have nothing to worry about because those bikes pass the “consumer expectation test.”

One of the first cargo loads Ross carried on his prototype Xtracycle were his friends lending a hand. Since then, we’ve improved passenger carrying with LongTail standard accessories like Footsies, MagicCarpet and Stoker Bars. Not content with just carrying young kids and adults, we designed our PeaPod LT to carry tykes as young as 12-months and offer additional safety with our center stand, KickBack.

In making our products specifically designed to carry passengers, and then marketing them through photos showing passengers riding on board, we’ve essentially legalized passengering on Xtracycles. Why? Ginsberg says:

“…because the manufacturer displays photos of the bike being used to carry people in that manner, consumers have the expectation that the racks are designed for that purpose (he cited the 2001 Oregon Supreme Court case of McCathern v. Toyota Motor Corp. as precedent). “The consumer is allowed to look at the advertisements and rely on them.”

In the long run, Police officers aren’t going to be ticketing people riding in a safe, smart manner when passengering. They’re not out looking to ruin people’s days, well maybe a grumpy one here and there, but overall they want to avoid working preventable accident scenes had people used proper equipment and judgment.

Ride safe, ride with love, ride on!

We’d love to pin down the neurons that fire happiness in people when they see passengers being carried on an Xtracycle. Without fail, we manage to lift spirits around us when our friends, loved ones and strangers are straddled on, or surfing, our SnapDecks.

Last week, we asked our twitter buddies what tips they had for carrying passengers, here’s their do’s, don’t's and heck’yeahs!

• Stand up, surf and feel the wind in your hair!
• MagicCarpet pad very worth it; made foot pegs with chopped straight handlebar, bar ends & brake cable holding ends in. see most recent 4 pics here
• Don’t ditch the granny gear! 100+ lbs. of person makes a mean hill.
• Left hand under the handlebars, right hand gripping the stoker bar attached under the seat. Always w all cargo removed first.
• Some folks are shy, but it’s really better if they snuggle up close to pilot. Less sway.
• Side-saddle an option 4 short folks/kids/skirt wearers and readers too!
• The drunker you are, the harder it is to do. Admin Note: We do not advocate drinking and riding. However, we do advocate riding and then drinking.
• When you’re carrying three little ones, put the smallest one in the middle, and the most experienced rider all the way in back
• Side saddle is my GF’s preferred orientation, skirt or pants.

Thanks to: @xtracycleTony, @coxn, @dandyerband, @loquaiciousD, @oninformation, @crunchysue, @sarahgilbert for sharing the wealth (of knowledge).

Please share your tips with your fellow longtailers by commenting below. Happy, and safe, riding!