Utility Cycling - Xtracycle Touring?

Believe it or not, I just got my first look at the Xtracycle. I'm in love! :love: I'm planning a cross country tour and I was wondering if there would be any drawbacks to using an Xtracycle. I'll be taking my Trek 3900 mountain bike and have not bought the front rack and front panniers yet so was considering investing in an Xtracycle conversion kit instead. I did see a few pictures of some Xtracycles with front panniers in a gallery but I don't think I've ever read any journals on crazyguyonabike about someone using one to tour. Any thoughts? Thanks for your imput. (This might be better suited in the Touring forum).

Mark

Try searching crazyguy there are several mentions of xtracycles there.

I toured the Oregon coast on my xtra last month. the only disadvantage I can see is the ability to haul too much stuff.

Try searching crazyguy there are several mentions of xtracycles there.

In my search on crazyguy I only ran across two journals about xtracycles. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. Thanks.

Believe it or not, I just got my first look at the Xtracycle. I'm in love! :love: I'm planning a cross country tour and I was wondering if there would be any drawbacks to using an Xtracycle. I'll be taking my Trek 3900 mountain bike and have not bought the front rack and front panniers yet so was considering investing in an Xtracycle conversion kit instead. I did see a few pictures of some Xtracycles with front panniers in a gallery but I don't think I've ever read any journals on crazyguyonabike about someone using one to tour. Any thoughts? Thanks for your imput. (This might be better suited in the Touring forum).

Mark



Hi Mark,

I've toured with my Big Dummy a few times this past summer. My BD is setup with heavy tires/rims and is more of a cargo bike than a touring bike, but it gave me some insight into using a BD or Xtracycle for that purpose.

The pros:
- the weight difference between an Xtracycle and 4 panniers + 2 racks is low to zero depending on the items you use.
- the long wheelbase makes it very stable and absorbs road imperfections well.
- since you are sitting in the middle of the bike vs. over the rear wheel bumps don't affect you as much
- you don't need specialized panniers/bags to load up your Xtracycle and hit the road

The cons:
- it's more expensive than the lowest cost pannier/rack options [although once you start buying Ortliebs and Tubus racks there is little to no difference in price]
- the longer bike can be a pain to deal with if you need to fly/bus/train on tour [although I have a friend who packed his MTB and Xtracycle into a standard bike box to travel to/from his tour]
- the longer bike can also be a pain when you have to move your bike around on tour, but this generally wouldn't be a show stopper
- I find it easier to access my stuff from panniers while riding during the day than from my BD since I have to unpack it a bit to get at them. At camp it's no big deal since I can just empty my bike. I think you'd figure out a system that worked for you with a bit of thought - placing the most frequently needed items somewhere easy to grab.

I guess bottom line if you want an Xtracycle for day to day use it makes sense to buy it and use it on tour as well. If you already have a rear rack/panniers and don't really want an Xtracycle for day to day use at home I'd just buy the front panniers and rack.

Here are some photos from some BD touring I did this summer:

Dempster Highway (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vikapproved/sets/72157606340683742/)
Mosquito Creek (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vikapproved/sets/72157606024805655/)
Bow Valley Parkway (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vikapproved/sets/72157605156694532/)

Here are some LHT + Xtra rigs for inspiration. Shane has toured for thousands of miles with his Xtrafied LHT. If you leave a comment on his Flickr page I'm sure he'd be happy to answer your questions about touring with a Xtracycle.

RJ's LHT + Xtra (http://viksbigdummy.blogspot.com/2008/07/rjs-lht-xtra.html)



Shane's LHT + Xtra (http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanerh/485053056/)

Also, check out the article about a trip one of the owner's of Clever Cycles took on Xtracycles here: http://clevercycles.com/?p=238

They did use Stokemonkey's, which I don't think you can get right now.