DIY accessories for Xtracycle FreeRadical?

[kiltedcelt]

Hello all,

I'm looking to breathe new life in an unused '92 Specialized Stumpjumper Pro mountain bike that I have and no longer use. I'm planning on converting it to a cargo bike using the Xtracycle FreeRadical base unit. I think I'll probably buy their standard V-racks or possibly the more expensive P racks (which will accommodate many regular panniers). I'd like to build up something similar to their Trucker kit http://www.xtracycle.com/cargo-bicyc...ucker-kit.html but I'm kinda balking at the price. I really can't afford that. However, a lot of things about that kit I feel I could make myself by buying the tubing and bending it to create the running boards, making my own flight deck, long loader, etc. I'm just wondering if anyone has bought their own FreeRadical base unit and made the add-ons themselves. I dunno - I look at their decks and the cheapest two are $70. I can buy a piece of 3/4" plywood (in Baltic Birch like they're using), and make my own for way less than that. The same goes for the tubing and plywood for making running boards. Heck, they sell a single cam-type cinch strap for $12! I can buy a set of four at a hardware store for probably about $8-$10! I've read the lengthy post about how Xtracycle's stuff is priced well within the market, etc. blah blah. I just want to know how many folks buy the base FreeRadical or one of the complete kits and go that route and how many folks buy the base unit and craft their own add-ons.

[badmother]

Did you search the forums and the Internet? I know I did read about it some time back but not often. Possible of course if you are good at it but sad if the result ends up so-so.

We bent some tubing (20mm I think) this summer for making towbars for some DIY trailers. We did something I remember reading about many years ago, we filled the tubes with fine sand and plugged the ends (used bar end plugs). This way the tubes do not collapse when you bend them. Make or find something to bend them around. Look at youtube films on the topic, we learnt a lot from there.

Show us pix if you do this!

[kiltedcelt]

I don't think tube bending would be an issue. I'd just get my hands on a tubing bender for conduit and such. I have a "maker-space" here in Chicago and they have all kinds of stuff like the conduit benders so I can bend probably aluminum or steel conduit as far as that goes. I don't doubt that I can do it and that it will probably be cheaper in terms of materials cost. I'm more wondering whether other folks have just bought the base unit and constructed their own bars and such rather than buying the expensive bits and bobs that Xtracycle sells go along with their base unit. Oh yeah, and most of my searching on here and the internet at large seems to be turning up DIY builds of Xtracycle rip-offs rather than people who bought a FreeRadical base unit and customized their own add-ons.

[cabledawg]

Actually, Xtra sells just the parts and peices to encourage folks to build thier own. They have the snap hooks and j-hooks for the decks and plugs 'n such for tubes. Check the home-built xtracycle thread here in the utility section to see alot of DIYer jobs. Some come out looking, well sketchy, but some comeout looking like factory builds.

As far as the straps, I use adjustable bungees. Lightweight and they dont have the big hooks or cams like standard cargo straps.

[squirtdad]

check this out xtra cycle is noted as open source, meaning the give you tech details that allow things you build to fit

http://www.xtracycle.com/longtailtech-dit-tutorials

and an older one
http://old.xtracycle.com/longtailtec....php/Main_Page

[kiltedcelt]

check this out xtra cycle is noted as open source, meaning the give you tech details that allow things you build to fit

http://www.xtracycle.com/longtailtech-dit-tutorials

and an older one
http://old.xtracycle.com/longtailtec....php/Main_Page

Thanks for the links. Interesting stuff, but not quite what I was looking for. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has built the exact kits that Xtracycle sells, like the Trucker for example, but done it with their own tubing and ultimately paid a whole lot less. For example, I can do the tube bending and I can make things like the running boards and a snap deck very easily. Heck, I can even sew up my own pannier type bags, assuming I can get a heavy enough denier of nylon from one of the local fabric stores. Since the base line FreeRadical is $224, and a complete Trucker (which includes said, FreeRadical), well, basically with a price difference of $485 for all the bells and whistles I'm sure I can make a similar set up for far cheaper.

[squirtdad]

check this thread out http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=bending

[kiltedcelt]

check this thread out http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=bending

Squirtdad - thanks for the link. I can't believe I missed that one when I was doing my search before. Some good examples there on how he approached doing the bending for his own frame rails. Nice to know that off the shelf conduit will work just fine for this.

[squirtdad]

Squirtdad - thanks for the link. I can't believe I missed that one when I was doing my search before. Some good examples there on how he approached doing the bending for his own frame rails. Nice to know that off the shelf conduit will work just fine for this.

no problem... .I remembered this was out there and it took several searches to find it...... searching on bending is what let me finally find it.