i figured it’d be easiest if i split up my huge load of NAHBS pictures into categories of bike so that i can post them a little more slowly and efficiently, so here’s your first dose of custom awesomeness, the cargo bikes.

we’ll start with my very favorite bike so far, this ultra sweet bike/trailer combo. note the R3-approved colorway…

here’s a beautiful detail shot of the wooden insert between the frame tubes…

here’s a detail of the trailer, in which you can see that it has it’s own disc brake, somehow activated by that shift lever on the trailer mounting bracket (midway between the rim and hub of the bike’s rear wheel). i imagine you use it with your foot somehow, though that doesn’t seem very efficient. an exceptional detail, however, is the chris king headsets used to allow the trailer to swing side to side through turns, as well as to tilt laterally over uneven road surfaces. very savvy…

here’s another detail of the trailer itself. just gorgeous with the dual fender-mounted tail lights, the tarp covering, the wood platform — a real piece of art…

here’s a final shot of the bike, from the other side, so that you can see the double kickstand. one assumes that you use one stand when the bike’s on it’s own and another when you have the trailer attached, for further stability. very sweet…

i’m sure you can quickly figure out why i love this particular cargo hauler…

this is a BEAUTIFUL long bucket hauler. note the belt drive, the sweet little leather pouch between the frame tubes, and that interesting chainguard concept…

i just love this next one cause it looks so fun. mismatched color tyres, reverse trike frame, just really colorful and wonderful. i like that lashing that holds the canvas of the bucket to the frame of the bucket, too…

that’s it for now, but don’t worry, i have lots and lots more pictures from yesterday, and i’m sure i’ll get some more today. if any more cargo bikes come up, i’ll add them to this post, but in the meantime, stay tuned for the next installment, which will be "unique concepts."

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I mentioned to Lung over the weekend that I was aggravated by the current state of Wrongbike. It was, most recently, built up sort of like a rando, with wood fenders, a leather portage strap, leather wrapped mustache bars, weird long brake lever imported from the land of the rising tole, and a front porteur rack with a folding pannier basket. However, while I’ve ridden that thing around MV on townie rides, grocery or coffee runs (it was the best coffee bike yet, having so much vertical strappy space in the basket for the coffee cup) this time, I rode it home after a late evening at work. In freezing cold. In normal clothes. Everything was wrong about this ride. No strap ins, poor lighting, saddle dropping from tension issues, stem too tall, bars pushing me too far forward, etc etc. It was simply not comfortable for me for any distance. I had tried to build that up using parts from the previous Rapscallion baby bike build after I swapped frames on that project, but it was clearly an unsuccessful experiment. What to do…

FIX IT!

While Wee-Z dutifully ‘fixit-ed’ her Elmo hobby horse, I pulled the front end apart. Off came the wire basket (it’s rattly and irritating and off center, though functional.) Off came the ginormous Nitto Tecnomic stem that was required for the baby seat mounting. Off came the mustache bars, to be handed off to Lung in our usual cycle of passing parts back and forth, specifically these bars, which have been mounted on 55 bikes between us. Off came the brake lever and cabling.

Dream indeed! Well, anyway, this was the first time I needed to tension a Brooks Swallow, and I’m not sure why, other than it’s generally my oldest one. That made a world of difference. The saddle mounting position will change once the bike is done. I finally got the spare Nitto bulls on the old vintage stem from Wrongbike’s earliest incarnation as a beater Vista from the 70s. It had been attempted before, but was 1-2mm too large for the stem clamp. Finally got it up IN there. Now I wait for my usual elkhide and a finger-pull lever and we’ll see what’s what…

Carry on…

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Ah, the joys of breaking in a skid-stop capable fixed-gear bike… and fixed-gear capable organic engines.

Low: on Friday night, after doing some longer skids down my hill approaching my house from an alternate route, I felt slippage. Guh. I thought I had that stuff wrenched down, but of course these are new forces compared to backpedaling, so. This was expected. I took the wheel off, added Phil’s, cinched down the cog carrier and lockring, and was back in action.

High: On Tuesday, I began systematically trying to train myself for ambidextrous skidding, after that first attempt almost led me into the maws of Ole Coal Hi’sself. By the time I got to work, I had managed two reasonable ones (maybe 4") in gravely flotsam, and about 5 smaller ones on dry ground. It feels ridiculously alien, compared to the left leg forward on which I’ve been practicing normally.

Low: I’m starting to feel splints in my forearm tendons from gripping the drops and keeping my body as forward as possible.

High: On Wednesday, I had another 5 successful dry ground mini skids using the alternate right lef forward… still very alien, very hard to get my brain in gear. But baby steps. Lung waited a long time to go ambidextrous while in the meantime powersliding down whole city blocks with his dominant leg, so I thought I’d try and get ambidextrous from the get go if possible.

Low: Wednesday evening, I was stuck at the office late, and by the time I got off the horn, I was in hot water at home. I raced out the door, hit the light on my helmet, and shot down the street. It was some way down a little hill I descend that I realized I left my toolkit at the office. And my U-lock. Oh well, too late to turn back.

I skidded a few stop signs. On the third, I felt my leg drop and my cranks were spinning. I assumed I had some sort of crank or bottom bracket deaths, but when I pulled over to inspect, it was the other direction.

Scheiise! The lock ring had spun off and was dangling on the axle. The cog carrier (remember, I use these Sugino Keirin cogs) was about half way unthreaded, and the cog itself was off the carrier (nothing holds it on) and also rolling on the axle, still chained. I consider myself lucky: I knew at some point I’d probably unwind the cog, but when matters of drivetrain fail occur on a fixed-gear bike, if they didn’t send a chain to tangle the crank arm or simply send me to meet Ole Coal Hi’sself, I count myself in the win column. However, OF COURSE. No tools. And no U-lock means no Monkey socket end.

I spent about 10 minutes or so fiddling with it with my gloved fingers and managed to reseat the cog, re-spin the carrier a bit, and roll the lockring, despite threading problems. A few good pulls on the cranks got the carrier into place, re-hand-tightened the lockring, and then I just noodled home. I mean, I rode fast and hard and jumped on the cranks quite a bit to get that carrier cinched, but the real concern was the lockring rolling back off and then dropping the cog. It’s also really hard to ride without backpedaling. Not just not skidding. No counterpedaling to slow.

This morning, in Ye Shoppe, I examined the wheel off the frame, and saw that while the end of the hub had thread damage, and I saw some wear on the lockring, I was able to pull off the thread threads (You know what I mean, you can see one below) and then tighten everything down again. So, off I went.

High: Made it to work, including climbing Loring and doing a number of skids down the back side, without incident and the lockring doesn’t appear to have budged. I think from now on I’ll be checking this before each ride, though.

Tonight, more ambi skidding.

One more note: I checked my tyre again and since last check you can definitely see the difference, and by extension, the increase in my skid successes and confidence. Last time I saw no change to the tyre, and this time, I have three solid patches of wear. In fact, since I’ve been roll-stopping, or, you know, skid-hop-skid-hopping since I can’t seem to stay forward long enough to maintain the skid for more than at most 3 feet or so, the third patch is like a third of the wheel’s surface length. Ha. So I have two small contact skid patches and one looooooong one. Which also tells me that I need to consider a new ratio. Three skid patches is the worst possible. And while I won’t be skidding through expensive Gatorskins next time, Ineed more surface area. So, I suspect I’ll drop to a 17 cog, which will get me to 17 skid patches, though I’ll be back up to 75+ inchgear, which will make climbing again more onerous.

Final High: That 3′+ skid limit I mentioned? This morning, final skid before the front door skid (which my boss has noticed the marks on the sidewalk and given it the old WTF) and it was around a turn. Fun!

Experienced skid-stop fixie riders may or may not remember these days with nostalgia or disdain, but for me, all new.

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left : STOCK
right : AFTER-MARKET cinelli MASH bolt frame, bullhorn, san marco concor team

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apparently enough to offer japan-exclusive bolt FRAMESETS with internal cable routing and drilled brake bridges for the rear brakes that japanese cyclists are required to have by law. note that the fork has a pre-drilled brake hole, too. according MASH’s comment in the link above, it’s a $1000 ticket if you get popped.

viva.

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As you may have read in my previous posts, I was bouncing around a bit on my future Kid Carrier Cargo Bike, also known as the Team Lope Junior Squad Project. I settled on an Xtracycle conversion for maximum flexibility, and then decided further that the cost of a new entry-level bike would be less than the cost of the necessary components and frame mods for a conversion on one in my stable. I had planned on pushing the whole project out until the summer when I would actually need to carry two kids, or at least when the second kid was nearing ride age and the first kid was heavier, but I found a bike I really liked and had a great deal ON it, thanks to a combination of discounted price (on a small set of these the shop got in from their supplier, qty: 4) member discount (offered for members of gyms, 10%) and cashback on the card used (5% more)… so that, combined with the relative scarcity of this bike (Cannondale doesn’t allow their bikes to be sold through internet sites, only local shops, apparently, though I think you can get around this by walking in, or using a proxy, to make the sale locally and then having them ship) and my general distate for most factory bikes, I pulled the trigger.

I haven’t ridden a mountain bike of my own since 1998, and of any kind since about 2001 (actually, precisely 2001, as Monkeybiktes and I were on a mountain bike adventure when the Twin Towers were attacked) so I caveat my comments in the following ways: I’m not an avid mountain biker, I’m not buying this to ride mountains, and I haven’t purchased a factory bike since what, 1999-2000 (Toro)… so I am justifiably impressed with the value/quality/economy ratio these days, on at least some bikes. This is a future cargo bike. But I rode it this weekend for a test run, and this is what happened.

SICK!

Now, I caveat further that I spend 90% of my time on fixies and 10% on a road bike, so even knowing that I was hopping on a heavier bike with rolling resistance, upright riding position, suspension and low gear ratio, I was nonetheless very aware of these differences. The Cannondale Trail SL 29er 4 is second from the bottom in Cannondale’s 29er series of bikes, of which there are two models. As you go up the line, you get different frame materials, different componentry, and as a result, different weight. I liked this bike for the general look of it, the strange color, the minimal, subtle branding second only to none at all, and the feel. It retails for $900. So, setting aside any discounts or sweet, sweet deals, we’re talking about a fully rideable, aesthetically pleasing mountain bike with the big wheels, for under a grand. I really didn’t anticipate, prior to my research, anything being available under $1500, with whatever might be available before that being department store generics. So, right off the bat, super impressive what you can get for your money today.

Weight: This is not a light bike. Being contextually aware, no mountain bike is going to be ‘light’ by my standards from my other rides, and the big 29er wheels only make this more so. However, I polled a friend who rides under Mt. Tam Bike’s colors and his sweet, high-grade 29er was approximately 23 pounds. Cannondale reviews seem to bring this bike in stock between 29-30 pounds depending on frame size. It is an aluminum frame with a 21 speed groupo and front shocks, big 29er rims and giant knobby tyres. You could thin it up considerably by changing components and of course, aim at the wheels, offering heavy rotational weight. But here’s my thing: it’s a cargo bike. two kids plus groceries? Weight becomes meaningless, as long as you have gears.

Ride: So, first of all, on a mountain bike you’re upright more than you would be on a road bike and most fixie riding positions. With the bigger wheels, I feel even more upright than normal, because I remember how it felt to ride my old mountain bikes. You feel like these wheels are like pennyfarthing beasts, even though technically? 29ers are 700c rims, just like road wheels. Just much wider. But the mountain bike standard is 26" and it’s noticeable. I decided on a 29er instead of a regular mountain bike because liked the idea of more power at the pedals, but really that just means power to the pedals similar to what I would generally expect from all of my 700c bikes, right? But you hop on a 26" wheel mountain bike and you notice the difference. So, on this, you’re upright, but you’re comfortable. The front suspension offers 80mm float, which is sort of in the middle for this general grade of component, which could be down to 50mm or as high as 110mm from what I’ve seen in an unscientific poll. This is important for mountain riding, less for cargo bikery, but even on the road, the suspension is a magical thing coming from years of purely suspension-free riding. Sure, it sucks your power, but on the other hand, the cushion! I like the turning and the maneuverability of the bike. Normal MTB people criticize cornering issues with the bigger wheels, and most critics AND marketers of 29ers point to bigger wheels as being an entry-to-mountain-biking feature, offering more forgiveness when hitting obstacles and holes, at the expense of cornering and handling that a skilled MTBer would expect. But I don’t really know if that is measurable in a meaningful way. I’ve read plenty of those claims and plenty counter-claims. Maybe of note to you. For my use, no. There’s also micro-suspension at the wheelstays.

Look: The color ‘saffron’ is unusual for factory bikes, and the subtle branding especially so. Look at Cannondale’s range of MTBs and it’s the only one like it, and this is the variant of the main SL 29er 4, which is garish. It’s the thing they do with some of the variants on the CAAD road bike line, too. You can’t peel the graphics, but you can easily ignore them. And that’s before stickerbombing. The rest of the bike is black hole black. Pretty gorgeous.

Components: entry level to just above. If you look at department store generics or special discount bikes like through Performance, many times you’ll see a tier below the bottom level for the name factory bikes and well-known component groups. In previous years, Cannondale did use some less-familiar generic components on the SL 4 and SL 5 but for 2012 the group is Shimano and Cannondale-branded (in the case of the brakes). I assume entry level in weight, but functionally smooth. I would also assume that another factor in MTB components is durability. Entry-level components being more prone to being smashed to atoms by rocks and such. Dunno. So far, so good.

Braking, Special Category: This is not so much specific to this bike, but in general, my reason for using this type of bike was disc brakes. I wanted the additional braking power for the heavy weight of the bike when loaded, and while I know there’s lots of arguments about true braking capability of calipers vs cantis vs disc in all sorts of scenarios, it just made me feel better to upsize to hydraulic brakes, and thus, I did. And yes, they stop on a dime. Or rather, would if you didn’t sweep the back out on a skid, ha.

Reviews have suggested that this is the best value in its class (the $1000 aluminim hardtail 29er) but I can’t say anything of the sort, with no personal experience with any other bike. I can say, however, that it suits me just fine!

Specs:
http://www.cannondale.com/2012/bikes/mo … er-4-20758

Into it!

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So, when I first started planning the bike capable of carrying 2 kids plus groceries, it was between a Metrofiet, CETMA, and an Xtracycle Conversion. The CETMA was the most awesome, the Xtracycle the most reasonable. I settled on the Xtracycle. In Team Lope Junior Squad Project Version 1.0, I imagined building out of a mountain bike, specifically a 29er, giving me the option of breaking free and riding it if I wanted, in a conventional mountain biking scenario. I waffled a bit between the 29er and a 26" MTB standard, each offering advantages and disadvantages. Then, this past week, I started plotting the conversion of Rapscallion INTO the cargo bike. Sure, it’s a fixed gear, but why not? The Xtracycle has a derailleur mount, grab the extra parts needed, and run with it!

Over the last few days, though, I did more research. For one thing, I was really hot for using disc brakes on this project, for some added stopping power with that rear load on these hills, as I plan to ride said hills. Nay, I plan to RAHHHHDE them. That would require a fork with disc brake mounts, and a new front wheel. Plus disc brake system, front and rear. Next, I’d need a second brake and brake lever, both of which I have in the shop. Next, bigger tyres for stability, keeping within the size limitation of the Xtracycle Free Radical frame. Next, full drivetrain (front and rear deraiileurs, new rear wheel with cassette. So, basically, almost a full kit. Then, Lung advised I check rear dropout spacing, and sure enough, even with the 700c Free Radical kit, I’m 10-15mm short on the fixie frame.

Hm.

So I did some more research, went and did some field checks, and I think I have the new solution, Version 2.0, which is basically Version 1.0. I gave it a new version number because technically Version 1.5, the fixed conversion, slipped in there. I think I still like the 29er configuration. Little bit less maneuverable at low speeds, but much higher rolling speed per gear and easier over rough terrain. I spend all my time on road and fixed bikes anyway, so the 29er (the MTB industry can’t say 700c because, you know…) is a comfortable size for me. I tested the bike I was interested in today, and it felt VERY comfortable. I did the math: using a new bike was cheaper than a conversion. By a mile. I found the bike I was interested in, in my size, on sale, and test rode it. THis never happens to me, mind you, because I haven’t bought a built bike at a shop since what… 2000? Wow.

So, the new-old plan is thus:

Cannondale Trail SL 29er 4 in ‘Saffron’
Disc brakes, front suspension, 21 speeds, wide rims.

Xtracycle Free Radical Family Kit, with 2 seats, flight deck board and side panniers.
(I’ll get one seat first, the second in later summer)

And for tyres, switch out for sweet sweet Schwalbe Kodiak slicks.
I need the narrower tyre for the Xtracycle clearance, and I’m generally not planning single-track off-road rides with the kids and a bag full of eggs.

On track!

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I’d feel sorry for the fictional customer, being sold a bike with ‘top-spec gears’ and a ‘super light frame’, as it’s a steel fixie. But hey, I’m running short on sympathy for fictional characters. Especially cashing in on the Willamsburg Way.

http://www.rubenomalley.com/commercial/ … ike-store/

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For parents preparing to get their younglings on their bike for the first time, the immediate dilemma is the methodology: front seat, rear seat or trailer?
If you set aside the culture of fear associated with the placement of your beloved botlet on an inherently unstable apparatus in perilous motion, it becomes a combination of factors. What do you want to experience on the bike with them? What do you want them to experience?

I’ve had every iteration of the youngling carrier in the Team Lope shoppe, and I can tell you that while each have strengths and advantages, there was a clear winner in my family. Your choice will be subjective and personal. But I’ll break down what I’ve found. Remember, your youngling must have the neck strength to hold their head up even when jostled, and most importantly, you must be able to get the helmet on. We started with a Lazer helmet, which is the smallest available, and upgraded more recently to a Headcase helmet of her own selection. Pink.

Front Seat: I wanted to interact with my daughter on the bike, see what she saw, and talk with her as we rode, so I was hot for the front seat assembly. This was our second configuration, after using a rear seat first for a few months. The advantages of a front seat configuration are that you obviously have your youngling right up their with you, allowing you to interact and take data. For example, are they enjoying the ride, or is wind bothering them, or are they asleep, that sort of thing. My daughter cares not about the wind when on a bike, and generally narrates our voyage. She and I also regularly engage in surveillance assignments, such as watching for ravens or MINIs. Or girls. Speaking of girls, she rings the bell when we pass people. The weight is forward of the center of the bike, meaning you are pushing that high center of gravity mass around. It is the most stable position for a strong-bodied adult, as you are always gripping the bars, and less prone to the swing-out of the weight being on the back and getting away from you on a dismount. Care must always be used, of course. Disadvantages include the system being somewhat more difficult to manage for smaller, weaker individuals, and the fear factor: if you are convinced your child is going to be injured, it’s easy to imagine such things when you’re riding behind them on the bike.

For my money, the best front seat system is the Bobike, which offers a compact seat and footrest, compared to any other system I’ve seen that utilizes overbuilt plastic cages. Nothing wrong with that business, but when on a front rack that’s a lot more to have to look around while riding, and it’s more THERE there to be in the way between you and your youngling. I like to get face to face with mine.
You can get the Bobike from the only domestic supplier that I currently know of, Longleaf, who also have the Lazer helmet.
http://www.longleafbicycles.com/product … bike-mini/

They also have attachments like a windscreen or even offer a deluxe seat. Great folks, and highly recommended. I should point out that you need to consider your ride when using this seat. It attaches to the stem, so you need to have either a tall quill stem, or if using a modern stem, you need enough height in the steerer to accommodate the mounting assembly (sold separately for modern stems) and do some adjustment so you aren’t striking with your knees. For me, on a fixed-gear, that meant playing around with bar types and seat positions. I started on an upright Mixte frame and now am riding in a pretty conventional fixed-gear position on curved short touring bars that are like risers in the setup.

Another option is the Yepp seat, also quite popular.
http://publicbikes.com/p/Yepp-Mini-Chil … dium=email

Rear Seat: The rear seat is the most common around, and we inherited ours from another family. The seat rests on a modified rear rack, which connects to your seat tube ad clamps to the wheel stays. This is the traditional business, with the youngling in a large bucket, secured over the rear wheel. Advantages are that it’s perceived to be more stable for smaller, weaker riders, and the youngling is protected from wind by your own body in front of them. Disadvantages include visibility, for one, and in my opinion, contrary to the above, a tendency to introduce a twisting moment at rest. So, I guess easier for some in motion, harder when stopped. Anyway, these are everywhere, so I don’t even have links for you.

Trailer: I resisted this one for over a year, but now have one as well. A trailer attaches to your rear axle or stays and is on a pivot assembly so you have freedom to move the bike around without locking up the trailer. Your turning radius is thus quite tight, and depending on how deluxe your trailer is, the ride can be cush. We use the Burley Bee, which os pretty much a stripper. The reason I went with such a simple model was weight: in this configuration, you are pulling the weight behind the bike, and being pushed around a little bit by it as well. So, lightness to me was key. Additionally, for my use, it was for distance riding and hill climbing, giving me the capability to get something approximating my more aggressive rides in with my youngling along, so weight was absolutely the most important factor. More deluxe models increase the suspension, offer attachments to transform into a stroller, add a microwave, whatever. My youngling likes the trailer fine at first, but she prefers to be on the bike and involved. The trailer is a passive experience, and will generally lead to napping. So, in my mind, it’s somewhat more for your benefit and less about their experience. But great for long distances, many can carry two, like mine (planning ahead) and also great for inclement weather. Mine has a windscreen and a rain cover. A friend back east also pointed out they can be adapted for snow use in some cases as well. In my mind, the trailer is a good second option to one of the above that you might use more regularly.

http://www.burley.com/home/bur/page_306/bee.html

Note that your options expand considerably once your youngling is old enough to hold on for dear life, as you can introduce the ride-along extensions that offer a third wheel and second set of seat/bars, or upgrade to a larger kid carrier like a bikefiet or an Xtracycle. I’m entering that world soon and will be looking into those in more detail.

Anyway, have fun, and get those kids out there early. It’s a great way to commute with them, spend time with them, and get some junk miles in, so to speak.

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So I have no active builds in Ye Olde Shoppe, so you know that translates as ‘two or three planned or in process long term projects plus at least two potential projects’ because that’s how we ___O.

The subject of my research and speculations over the last few weeks, actually, has been the future cargo bike considerations. I got to take a few rides over the holidays, thanks to our cold but generally clear weather out here in Northern California, and each involved Wee Z, and was a little different in execution: a ride on Rapscallion, the fixed gear hauler with her seat on the stem, as a cargo run for groceries (a verrrry heavy front load, as you can imagine); a longer ride on the same bike, but carrying her MASH Strider in the rack for park execution; and finally, a longer ride on my road bike, Rogue, with Wee Z in the Burly trailer. This gave me time, both on the bike and afterwards, to think more about my plans for bike building this year. At mid-summer, I’ll have two bikeable kids*.

The options and my thoughts… for science.
The objective is to be able to ride with both kids for a good distance in a pleasurable way. This includes hills.

1. Front-Load Hauler: I’ve adored the front-load cargo haulers for as long as I’ve been aware of them, which goes back prolly to my first Critical Mass. I love em in concept, when properly designed (ie. steerable)… of all the designs, I like the Metrofiet the best, due to the undercarriage and how the basin is crafted. However, this bike type is not currently feasible for me, in that it is too heavy and with an eccentric load too far from the drivetrain, for hills. Everyone reviews them as being GREATTTTTT!(in flat areas). So, that’s a future project for when we move to the flats of San Anselmo or similar. Not on Tam as we are now.

2. Rear-Load Hauler: Rear-load haulers are less desirable than front-load haulers because you can’t see your kids (or puppies, or SGs)… but they make reasonable mechanical sense as they are still carrying the load between axles or in some cases over the rear axle, and close to the drivetrain, ie. over it. Of several competing designs, including those made by local darlings Xtracycle, I actually find the Madsen most compelling. These guys, who first made waves at the NAHBS a few years back with their prototype, utilize what is essentially a large rubberized bucket for the cargo area. What’s so genius about this is that the tubs have capacity for FOUR small kids, or two larger ones, or two plus groceries, or half of an Ace Hardware. The bucket bays are also excellent for the inevitable whiny nap time, as all kids go from YAY to MEH when they get tired. They merely lay flat in the bucket and tuck in for a nap. Brilliant. I love the functionality. The compromise is that it’s a one-piece system, versus a modular design like item 3. On the other hand, one piece frame designs are inherently more stiff and stable than a modular design, thanks to the lack of hinges.

3. Rear-Load Conversion: Finally, the ubiquitous Xtracycle. Based in Alameda, they make a one piece frame design, like above, they partner in a more robust version with Surly, and then they have this, the Free Radical, with which most of us are familiar. It links to the rear drops, and extends the wheelbase, adding room for a top deck, side grocery panniers, and as of the current design, kid seats on top of the deck that can be moved back as the kids get older, and can carry young, older kids, and adults all in the same load in different combinations. The obvious advantage here is the modularity: move the seats around, put one seat on to start and add the second one when Matteo is of age, take seats off for more cargo hauling capability and so on. The weakness is flex, especially when used with a Mixte frame.

This leads me to my current concept, which may or may not happen as I get closer: the OTHER bike I haven’t had in years and have been thinking about is a mountain bike. So it occurred to me: what about an Xtracycle 29er! I have been interested in building a 29er for a long time, more out of boredom and variety than anything else, and the idea of building a cargo bike out of one appeals to me. Plus, remove the Xtracycle component and have a mountain bike for off-road use when desired. It was previously frowned on by Xtracysle due primarily to clearance issues with the Free Radical frame, but in the last year a number of people have done it. So, that’s where my thinking is currently.

BONUS ROUND: I was talking with Maynard, one of our Aids Lifecycle pals, and he tipped me to Saul Griffith’s ONYA bike project: a linked trike with cambered wheelbase that allows for cornering and agility with a front loaded bike. Really cool concept. Fabricated in Alameda too. Check out the Front-End Hauler at their site: http://onyacycles.com/
And perhaps more importantly, check out their ET bike… a front cargo bike designed to evoke the classic bike from E.T… See their blog for some awesome BMX style trick shots.

*Many actually strap a baby car seat to a cargo bike and take the infants along, but I don’t.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum here!

Related posts:

1. Advice for New Riders
2. The Burley Cub Trailer
3. Bike Build Process Log: Rapscallion – Live Load Test Ride

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