Jeff Wills

I really ought to post this in "Utility Bikes", but I figure the mechanics will understand this better.

I've been converting an unused mountain bike into a cargo bike because... I wanted a cargo bike. I decided to recycle a garage queen rather than buy a whole 'nother frame. (I know, I know... n+1...) It was a decent bike (Shimano LX & XT, Avid disk brakes) but it was just gathering dust.

After lurking on Craigslist for a couple weeks, I found a used Xtracycle Free Radical, complete with bags and deck. It was missing a couple special bolts, but I was able to buy the last set from Clever Cycles.
First score.
After stripping the original bike down, I bolted on the Xtracycle extension, moved the brake caliper, rear derailleur, and rear wheel, and bolted everything in place. It all lined up the first time, without any tweaking or adjustment. Second score.
I changed the crank to an old Deore because it had a bashguard on it, and of course it needed a longer bottom bracket, so I dug through my pile o' parts and found I had another Shimano cartridge BB... and it was the correct length. Third score.
I cut longer cable housing for the brake and derailleur, ran the longer cables, and installed them. Both the disk brake and the rear derailleur worked perfectly with no adjustments needed. Fourth and fifth score.

Finally, I decided that the beast needed a kickstand, so I bought a used one at Citybikes today. It bolted on and holds the bike at the perfect angle without further adjustment.

In short, everything bolted on and worked perfectly the first time. Either I'm a great mechanic or one lucky SOB. I dunno. Pictures soon.

I just rode it around the block. Further riding will have to wait for daylight, but it's darn nice if I say so myself. I'll probably ride it to the store tomorrow to load up on Super Bowl snacks.

jyl

Clean living, good karma, and your finely honed bike mechanic skills!

Congratulations on your Xtracycle. I think they are great - useful and comfortable.

Retro Grouch 

That is remarkable. Reminds me of the time I laced up a wheel for my tandem and, after bringing it up to tension, realized it didn't need any trueing. Stuff like that just doesn't happen.

Incidentally, my bet is more on great mechanic than lucky SOB. A lot of that luck comes from experience.

Dan Burkhart 

I love it when everything falls into place like that, but I'm sure your mechanical wizardry played into it to a great degree.
Long tails are cool. Mine is a Surly Big Dummy, which is basically a free radical designed right into the frame. To look at it, you would think it to be clumsy and difficult to ride, but it's actually quite nimble, even with my two grandsons aboard.

Reynolds 

Nice work! That's just the kind of bike recycling I like to do.

HillRider

Some observations:

As to getting it right the first time I'm also sure your skill had a lot to do with it. An expression I like is; "Funny how the more I practice, the luckier I get".

A KICKSTAND?? Didn't you read the recent thread condemning these dastardly devices?

Finally, what does the complete bike weigh and how low is it geared? I assume you don't plan any long, steep climbs on it.

Jeff Wills

Weight? I have no effin' clue. I weigh 230 pounds right now (winter padding), so the bike's less than that.

Gearing is 26/34 crankset, 11-34 9-speed cassette. I'm not planning on long climbs with it (what, touring with a long tail?) but there's some significant slopes between here and the bike path I help clean up. Getting there will test the brakes. Getting back will test the patience with that 18-inch low gear.

Actually, I lied about no problems on the build. The original front derailleur hung up on the Xtracycle hardware, then the replacement required a little file work to clear a water-bottle bolt. What the heck, I filtered that memory. Once it was in place, it worked perfectly once I attached the cable.

Dan Burkhart 

I think we all know what a long tail looks like, but we still need pictures. Am I right? Am I right??

Jeff Wills

Ya gotta wait until the rain stops (or at least slows a bit) before I can take pictures... I don't have enough room in my garage to get it in frame.

Kimmo 

Sounds more like 70/30 luck/skill to me; scoring the last set of special bolts available sets the tone.

Dan Burkhart 

So, June or so, eh?

Jeff Wills

It's the Pacific Northwest. The "rainy season" lasts from September to July 5th. It's pretty dependable.

Actually, I managed to get off work on schedule (unusual for a Monday) and home while there was still daylight (really unusual) and the light was good for photos. I put the photos up on my webpage alongside the photos of the unconverted bike so the whole world can see my mechanical malpractice: All My Bikes

Here's a sample or two:

jyl

That looks very nice! Fenders planned?

I like the rise of the long tails. Very comfortable. Since you ride the LWB this might not be such a different thing to you, but for me it really is unlike any of my other bikes.

Jeff Wills

Yes, fenders soon. I'm planning on doing the Worst Day of the Year ride without fenders on my Gold Rush, just to spray the costumes.

Dan Burkhart 

Looks great! I've had a ton of fun with my long tail, although I'm afraid this phase of my grandsons' life may be over.