Living Car Free - My Experience with my Xtracycle so far

So I'm really stoked about my Xtracycle already, and I thought I would share my experiences so far.

I've only had it a week maybe tops, but I've used it a ton already.

I think the great thing is, it gives me way more freedom. I can go to multiple places, and have room for all sorts of storage.

As it is right now, I only have one brake on my bike, and it doesn't work too well. My back tire is missing the cap, so air leaks, my derailler cable is winding up on itself, and my chain is a bit too long. I only say all this because even with all these "problems" I've used my bike a ton and its all gravy.

I even almost gave 2 very gorgeous girls a ride to their car a few days ago, but I wasn't so sure about the thing yet, so only gave 1 girl a ride (my friend). I also took my girlfriend all the way to her house, with her rollerblades, my backpack, her backpack, and more food. Then I took her to my apartment. It was awesome, because I barely even noticed her on the bike, and it was fun to talk to someone and share the ride. It really expands the idea of using a bicycle. Of course I was more careful with only 1 brake, I can't wait till I have more control with this thing.

I've brought home mesquite firewood that someone gave me. I finally was able to go to the grocery store, and have ZERO second thoughts about buying as much food as I wanted, which is just great. It doesn't matter if I want that Spaghetti Squash, becuase I know it won't be taking up half my messenger bag. I think this thing is faster than a car, because I basically ride straight from the store, and just carry the bike up the stairs (easy) and roll it into my apartment. I unload right there and put it right into my fridge/cabinet space. I don't have to find a parking space/lock my doors/open my trunk/ grab all the bags and my keys and cell phone/ and then close the trunk while holding everything/ gather my keys and open the apartment security gate/and lug everything to my front door again and open that door.

I seem to get more respect on the road, which is cool. It seems cars give me more space, and just in general I feel safer on the bike. Yesterday I was in my gf's neighborhood and there were alot of people walking around on the streets, creating a nice pedestrian vibe. I saw a truck approaching, and it seemed to have no concern for the pedestrians. I guess I was kinda too far into the street, but it slowed way down and one of the guys said "What is that, a roadblock?" I was like all innocently "sorry". But inside I was saying, "yeah take your truck and your noise and your pollution elsewhere instead of raping this street of any sign of harmony, community, and safety" But really, its nice having a bike that commands some sort of respect.

I love how the center of gravity has shifted back. I can go over dirt and rocky roads with lots of gravel and have more stability. Even with people on the thing and a full load. Its pretty cool.

I guess thats pretty much it so far. I love riding the thing, I just have this kid-in-candy-store type of feeling when I get on it and use it. I think its also related to the fact that I have wanted this thing so badly, and took the time out of my schedule to work and pay for it, and now its MINE!

Now that I've been riding it, I've never seen so many people with Xtracycles. I see them every single day now around town and campus. I don't know if its just getting more popular or I'm just more aware of it now.

I hope to explore the idea of bicycle camping, and I'm also soon going to take my bouldering crash pad and go bouldering with it.

The adventure continues...

Do you have any pictures of it?

Is it a noticeably slower ride than a "regular" bike? (Although even if it is, it sounds like the other advantages make up for that to you.)

I am going to charge my digicam batteries soon, and can take a pic. I don't think its noticably slower than a regular bike. I mean, maybe a tad. I run a hybrid. I think even with the xtra, its considerably faster than a mountain bike.

Is it a noticeably slower ride than a "regular" bike? (Although even if it is, it sounds like the other advantages make up for that to you.)
In my experience it's only slower getting started. Once cruising, it's fine. Except for wind. A strong wind can make you really unhappy. You'd be unhappy anyway, without the xtracycle, but with the xtracycle you'll be really unhappy.

Yes, pics please! And about the missing valve cap and leaking air... I don't see the connection. Aren't the caps there just to protect the valve and to keep it clean? If your tyre is leaking air, you should check it for punctures.

--J

Have you hjeard about Stokemonkey?

http://cleverchimp.com/

I would think this will make your bicycle even more versatile, especially in carrying heavier loads.

Yes I've heard of the stokemonkey... I don't live near many hills, so don't see a need right now. Plus, my legs are pretty strong, and getting stronger :)

I've biked in wind, and ... I still went faster on my xtra then if I was biking with a mountain bike. It really wasn't bad. Maybe I'll notice it or something.

I have 700 X 40 C Tires, and even with the 700 version of the xtracycle, my back tire JUST BARELY touches the back of the xtracycle...actually it only brushes it every so often cuz I need to re-tru my wheel. Also, since my wheels are messed up, my brakes even brush the rims. But yeah, if you are going to get an Xtra, make sure your back tire is a 38 at the largest, although u can probably get away with the 40 like me.

Even with all that, I still can go really fast. In fact, today I was going faster than some newbie road bicyclist, and every single bike I passed and no one caught up to me. Of course, having a hybrid helps, and since I've been biking instead of using a car for awhile now, my legs are strong and I go fast.

I even tried something cool. While riding, I can just sit back and sit on the snapdeck while holding the handlebars. I can go back and forth between sitting on the seat and snapdeck with ease. I can even put my foot on the snapdeck then bring my other foot back and get into a crouched surfing position while biking. In fact, I can pretty much do alot of stuff on the snapdeck, and I've only experimented with it...10 minutes so far.

I get a lot of positive vibes from people on it.

I actually installed the bike myself at BICAS, and they told me the original Xtracycle was built there, and showed it to me. Pretty crazy stuff. If you ever are in Tucson, AZ, go to BICAS on 9th Avenue and like, 6th St I think.

So far so good. I get pretty high riding the thing around. I took it really far today, with tons of random stuff in the cargo bags. I went to a park and rode through all sorts of terrain, really fast. Up and down curbs and hills and swerved in between the dashed lines on the bike path. I even was able to ride on water... wow this xtra is amazing. :)

But really, this thing kicks butt. I didn't really use my car before, but did for some things. Now, I really don't see a need for the car at all. Plus why would you want to drive when you can ride this thing.

i wouldn't say that stokemonkey makes an xtracycle more versatile. i'd say it makes it more specialized for stuff you might not even attempt on a regular bike -- very fast, very long commutes, or passenger hauling in steep hills, etc. i'm the stokemonkey guy, and i think people should use human power alone like cagertools when that's enough. i might not even sell you one if you tell me it'll be your only bike, because it's overkill for so much of what a regular bike is best for.

Amen tfahrner

Just got back from the store. My roomate and I went, and he didn't trust me when I said I could haul a bunch of stuff in it, so he brought his backpack...

We bought a TON of stuff, and no problems at all with the ride. The only problem I had was he was going soooooo slow. He has a crappy mountain bike. Its almost like he won't listen to me, when I tell him he should at least get a hybrid. Its so annoying... here I am with all this stuff, and I seriously have to force myself to slow down just to ride with him.

WAKE UP AND GET A BETTER BIKE! not a too-small bike that is made for girls with huge mountain tires. he's a frickin phd student... but i think i might be getting through to him... it might just take some time.

It's incredible how much faster a mountain bike is when you switch to slick tires with decent pressure. Maybe that's all your friend needs to do.

It's incredible how much faster a mountain bike is when you switch to slick tires with decent pressure. Maybe that's all your friend needs to do.
I think it is even more incredible that there are no pictures yet and this thread is 4 day old;)

i wouldn't say that stokemonkey makes an xtracycle more versatile. i'd say it makes it more specialized for stuff you might not even attempt on a regular bike -- very fast, very long commutes, or passenger hauling in steep hills, etc. i'm the stokemonkey guy, and i think people should use human power alone like cagertools when that's enough. i might not even sell you one if you tell me it'll be your only bike, because it's overkill for so much of what a regular bike is best for.

My philosophy is a bit different. If it will make you from using your car, espeically for the little things, and if every bit helps, then why the hell not? I would have stopped riding my only bike if it didnt have electric assist just because it is easier. You got great products, btw.

chicbicyclist, i'm not opposed to assist in general, especially in the case you describe of "wouldn't ride at all without it." there are a number of pretty decent assist products on the market that cater especially to that case -- looks like you have one. i don't consider stokemonkey to be in this class, however, as the skill requirements for using it safely and most effectively come mainly from riding regular bikes a lot; pedaling and shifting as if you had no motor isn't optional.

also, i confess to pursuing a marketing strategy that will benefit from stokemonkey being used most conspicuously by avid regular cyclists instead of people who wouldn't ride without a motor. a big barrier to adoption of appropriate levels of assist in north america is the perception that motors are only for weak or handicapped cyclists (the same perception leads these "pure" cyclists to carry their bikes around on cars, go figure); i'm trying to shake that up a bit.

unsuspended - geeez dude hold your horses. i guess i said i would post pictures, but its not like i don't have a life. i wanted to find a good time to take a video of me on it...so just for your pleasure i might have to do that tonight. but i won't have a load on it or anything so it will be boring. I'll have to YouTube it or something cuz this site doesn't accept vid.

BenyBen - yeah my roomie and I are going to Bicas this weekend though... his bike is actually too small.

He's CHINESE too. (no i'm not racist so shutup) . I just read a blog somewhere, either on xtracycle or stokemonkey or SOMEWHERE, about how lots of the chinese will ride around in their homelands with completely trashed messed up biked...riding around like they're suffering...

Because they ARE! Why the F would you want to ride around on a bike that makes it miserable to ride? When you have a oversize chain that is loopy, your breaks are not calibrated, your tires not trued, your tubes not pumped. When all it takes is 5 minutes with some tools. This is how my roomate is. It doesn't bother me, but when we have to ride together places, its ZERO fun to ride because we are going so phuckin slow. And its starting to piss me off that he just deals with his POS bike and complains about it, but doesn't do anything about it.

He told me that in China people just don't care...because they go so slow anyways...which is probably the case. But he really needs to shake his attitude towards bicycles...because here in Tucson you can actually go fast, so you need a bike to do it. Why would you want to take 30 minutes to go to the store and back when you can do it in 10? I mean...this is just fricking stupid.

Its extremely frustrating to bike at a pace with him that I could powerwalk at... and for the last 5 months he still hasn't done anything about his bike. Actually, his first undersized POS mountain bike was finally stolen, because he left it downstairs in plain open view, with only a u lock locking his tire and frame...not even to a bike rack. He asked for it.

I was happy when this happened. I thought, FINALLY, he will upgrade. We looked at some bikes, and he was a little scared of the price tag...for some nice new hybrids. I can understand this, but at the same time he wouldn't mind paying thousands upon thousands for a car he doesn't need (I won't get into this here though).

Instead, a chic friend of his gave him her POS bike... so now his brakes don't even work, the gears are phuked up...everything is shot. He rides that around, and it looks so awkward for him. The bike makes this horrible noise...he goes EXTREMELY....no...... PAINFULLY.....slow. He wonders why people will yell at him and stuff on the roads. His bike has ZERO street cred whatsoever. But he's chinese so he just deals, whatever that means.

So this morning, I finally laid it down. I said, "DUDE...you need a new bike. Lets go to BICAS this weekend and I'll help you get a new one."

He agreed. finally

Are you using a rollamajig?

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11296-108_AVDRG8-3-Parts-57-Derailleurs/Avid-Rollamajig---Derailleur-Cable-Device.htm

yeah i am....not really sure if its helping or not.

i have pics...but where can i upload them to?

someone give me some info... maybe a place i can upload a video too...

peace

yeah i am....not really sure if its helping or not.

i have pics...but where can i upload them to?

someone give me some info... maybe a place i can upload a video too...

peace

Flickr is supposed to be easy...I think now if you have a Yahoo mail account it will work for Flickr. I use Photobucket (http://www.photobucket.com), it's easy and works. Or try googling for "free image hosting".

how is the handling while standing up? I was riding back with some groceries today in a basket strapped to my rear rack...whenever i use that set up and try to stand and pedal, the bike feels really flexy and unstable? does the extension of the rearwheel make it feel more stable while you stand and pedal?

Here are some photos:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lajollacl/my_photos

XcapeKey - The handling is nice. Yea the bike feels more stable because its longer.

Honestly its worth the price. Its ridiculous...the more I have it the more I use it, and find all sorts of ways it makes things easier. I took my girlfriend to dinner tonight, and on the way back picked some stuff up... I don't even have the footsies. She had a fun time, and she likes riding on the snapdeck... Its honestly such a different experience just having someone there with you while you ride. You can talk and enjoy the ride together... but I don't think I would take her on a busy road in the bike lane... only side streets and easy streets.

I've never used a rear rack, so I don't know what thats like. I've seen people do the milkcrate thing. It seems really cheap...but, don't know what its like. With the xtra I honestly feel like I'm on a normal bike, with any sort of load. When you first start out it might be wobbly but thats just cuz the weight might be uneven...and i only mean wobbly for the first 5 seconds.

well...i've done it...i put in my order for an xtracylce today...should be at my LBS on thursday....i'm excited...i'm a working photographer and yesterday i pulled a trailer full of light equipment through the city...not a fun time...i'm hoping that the xtracycle will help me be a little more maneuverable....i really can't wait...i've used a single wheel trailer...double wheel flatbed trailer...panniers...handlebar bags...and every combination thereof to move my gear around...i'm hoping the xtracycle will be a good beast of burden for light to medium loads...i'll post my review next week after i break it in on a few photo shoots...

Xcapekey... congrats. I think you'll be very happy with it. I'm curious...what type of bike do you have? Did u get the 700 or 26 inch kit?

i have a 2006 trek 520...the LBS was selling them for $800 so i bought one...touring bikes aren't too popular here in So. Cal so it was pretty discounted...got the 700 inch kit as the trek has 700x32 tires