Utility Cycling - Raleigh Super Course or other classic road bike and an Xtracycle?

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA
deek
05-24-09, 05:17 PM
I'm in the market for a cargo bike and especially like the Big Dummy, but it's just out of my price range right now so I'm looking at getting a second bike to add the Xtracycle kit to. I found a very nice 70's Raleigh Super Course that I'd like to use, but it seems like most people are using old mountain bikes. I'll be using the bike for standard utility work and touring.

Does anybody have any experience converting an old road bike like a Raliegh Super Course into an Xtracycle? I think they have 27" wheels and I know there's a 700c conversion kit for the Xtracycle, but what would changing to 700c wheels entail on the bike itself? I was told I can't convert to 26" wheels, is that true? Also, are there any limitations to running 700c wheels vs. 26" wheels that I'd get with a mountain bike?

Sirrus Rider
05-24-09, 10:39 PM
The answer you seek resides on the xtracycle website; however, to repeat (albeit from the top of my head) 700C/27" tires and wheels lack the air volume and strength of 26 inch wheels. On their site Xtracycle recommends and strongly suggests using bikes based on 26 inch wheels and fat tires (1.95 to 2.5ish). They offer the kit for 700C with the understanding that the 700c route is more for touring where the weight will be not much more than 200 to 250lbs-ish and that using it for heavy cargo may lead to shorter wheel life.