Utility Cycling - new xtracycle-made bicycle--the radish

xtracycle's very own longbike is now official!

http://store.xtracycle.com/_e/Xtracycle_Complete_Bikes/product/BK-RAD-01/Xtracycle_Radish.htm

Looks nice. If I had the money and didn't already have a bike I'm converting, I'd get one.

(If I had even more money, I'd get the Surly Big Dummy with road bar setup, but I always want another bike.;))

I think I want one just for the name!

Although... hmmm. I almost prefer the looks of the Electra Townie with the FreeRad on there to the Radish. I don't know. I'm also not totally sold on the "one size fits all" bike concept.

Think I might stick with the plan of converting my 90s steel MTB....

"LED generator pedals"? Or is that a typo? With "no need to purchase extra accessories," they seem to be implying that you won't need regular lighting if you've got blinky pedals.

And is that a rear disc brake, and front v-brakes? Weird. And those are some nutty handlebars!

I dunno, $1200 seems pretty steep for this thing. I spent about $800 putting together a better equipped Xtracycle (admittedly with lots of used parts and some kludging). I wish they would spell out the component specification a bit more... is that a Tourney derailleur?

I dunno, $1200 seems pretty steep for this thing. I spent about $800 putting together a better equipped Xtracycle (admittedly with lots of used parts and some kludging). I wish they would spell out the component specification a bit more... is that a Tourney derailleur?

+1 - I thought at first this was an integrated cargo bike like the Ute or Big Dummy, but when I realized it was just a bike being sold with the Xtracycle kit I couldn't really understand what the big deal was. It isn't particularly inexpensive and it doesn't seem to have any features that new or missing from the Xtracycle rigs rolling around already.

Not that the Raddish looks like a bad bike or there is anything wrong with it, but coming from the maker of Xtracycle I was hoping we'd see some thing new and exciting to add to the Xtracycle world.

Perhaps I'm missing something???

http://store.xtracycle.com/zoom_img/_1218980310.jpg

Any details on this rack? Price/availability?

EEEWWWW, I much prefer the Marin Novato build up

I really don't get why they like modern beach cruiser bars so much. Way too long and flexy, i think bars like the albatross or north road make for much better control. Or just some more reasonable cruiser bars, the ones that came stock on my big dummy are HUGE compared to the bars on older beach cruisers, probably eight inches more tubing.

I would think they would just get some solid MTN bike frames and build up a better Xtracycle. Young males seem to be the the users of these creatures, not beach pedaling old hippies.

Yea, I know, young ladies as well. Hmm, a pink Xtracycle......

Jerry

Not impressed.

"The swept-back shape lets riders of many heights ride comfortably just by raising or lowering the seat." Translation: It's a dinky little frame because they were too cheap to make it in different sizes.

Only drawback to cruiser bars that I discovered is that when your hands get sweaty, they can slide forward on the grips. I nearly had a wreck that way.

Actually, a one-size-fits-all has some appeal for certain families (like ours) where the bike will have different "drivers" at any given time.

However, I too was less enthused about the Radish when I found out it was a two-piece rather than a purpose-built bike frame like the Big Dummy. At that point we figured it was just as well to go w/ a Townie with big fatty boom batty tires. :D

Looks like it will be good for the rental market.

Now why is it that creamy white colour if it's a radish? Shouldn't it be red?

...Actually, given the length, maybe it's a daikon radish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Daikon.Japan.jpg). :D

I wonder way Xtracycle doesn't come out with another solid frame bike, something not as beefy as the Big Dummy, maybe on a lighter frma bike like a crusier or round tube mtn bike? No it will not carry the loads the BD does, and I'm sure some of us will still buy it because we don't haul book cases around daily just our kids and some groceries.

I always thought a Workman's bike built with a solid Xtracycle frame would be the ticket. But I'm sure other bikes would fit the bill as well.

Jerry