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Utility Cycling Want to haul groceries, beer, maybe even your kids? You don't have to live car free to put your bike to use as a workhorse. Here's the place to share and learn about the bicycle as a utility vehicle.

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Old 04-25-08, 01:57 PM
  #201  
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Since I've made quite a few changes, I thought I'd repost...
North roads style handle bars.
Sprung seat.
Better pedals.
Two legged kickstand.
Better homemade front fender flap.





click to enlarge

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Old 04-25-08, 03:11 PM
  #202  
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Originally Posted by Juggler2
Since I've made quite a few changes, I thought I'd repost...
North roads style handle bars.
Sprung seat.
Better peddles.
Two legged kickstand.
Better homemade front fender flap.




click to enlarge
That's a beauty. Lovin' those big honkin' baskets on the back. Very nice!
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Old 04-25-08, 04:26 PM
  #203  
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Here is the latest incarnation of my Staiger...the lowrider racks won't fit the fork I have so I am getting by with the folding baskets and the front basket. I also have a Redline R530 on order that may replace the Staiger or supplement it.

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Old 05-02-08, 03:12 PM
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https://fixedgeargallery.com/2008/apr/1/IanBatch_2.htm
me and my roomate threw this together one saturday out of old parts the basket was pulled off of a bike headed for the dump and the frame was already in the dump when we saved it.
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Old 05-10-08, 06:21 PM
  #205  
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I finally christened my bike. This is not set up anywhere near what any one has. I am upgrading the rack and adding a front basket here soon. I also want to build up a utility specific bike to haul a trailer. The utility bike will also have the wald newsboy style baskets and a CETMA front rack.

This is a picture after lugging bike and groceries 3 flights into my apartment after my first grocery run. I also used my back pack for a few things. I wasn't happy that the bag boy couldn't pack properly. Our grocery store has had a 10/$10 sale going on the Fruit Naturals cups. So he put all of those in the bottom, THEN stacked my half gallon of milk and big tub of yogurt on top. I had the repack it all.
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Old 05-14-08, 01:58 AM
  #206  
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Yeah, it's another Big Dummy. You're all tired of seeing them now I'm sure but here you go anyway.
That's a Nice Rack on the front now to balance out the load a bit.

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Old 05-14-08, 03:47 AM
  #207  
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Originally Posted by Old_Fart
Yeah, it's another Big Dummy. You're all tired of seeing them now I'm sure but here you go anyway.
That's a Nice Rack on the front now to balance out the load a bit.

Tired of seeing 'em? WHAT? Hailz no, my friend! We're in the process of taking over the entire planet, one quizzical-faced bystander at a time!

Would love to see some detailed shot of how you mounted that front rack. The more I see the Surly front rack, the more I prefer it over my leeeeetle tiny Rivendell rack.

Plus, it's black.
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Old 05-14-08, 10:36 AM
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OK, here's a pic of the mount detail. The adjuster knob is a tad close to the rack but there's enough clearance so it's not an issue. In the Surly blog somewhere there's detail of how they mounted a Nice Rack on a Dummy. With theirs, they had a smaller rotor so the rack mounted further back and the caliper body nestled inside the loop of the rack. It is only mounted at these four points (two on each side).


Here it is with the Nashbar rack on it. It looked ok but was rather limited. I wanted to put panniers on there.
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Old 05-14-08, 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Old_Fart
OK, here's a pic of the mount detail. The adjuster knob is a tad close to the rack but there's enough clearance so it's not an issue. In the Surly blog somewhere there's detail of how they mounted a Nice Rack on a Dummy. With theirs, they had a smaller rotor so the rack mounted further back and the caliper body nestled inside the loop of the rack. It is only mounted at these four points (two on each side).


Here it is with the Nashbar rack on it. It looked ok but was rather limited. I wanted to put panniers on there.
Thanks, OF. The one thing that pushed me towards the Riv rack for now is that it doesn't interfere with locking the Dummy into my truck's RockyMounts fork mount. The Surly rack would kill that idea...

...but there's gotta be a way to make it work.
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Old 05-14-08, 12:26 PM
  #210  
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Originally Posted by Old_Fart


Boy! I wish Surley wouldn't paint bikes olive drab. THAT color just disappears in traffic!
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Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
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Old 05-14-08, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by dwnptrl_777
Thanks, OF. The one thing that pushed me towards the Riv rack for now is that it doesn't interfere with locking the Dummy into my truck's RockyMounts fork mount. The Surly rack would kill that idea...

...but there's gotta be a way to make it work.
I was thinking about the same thing but couldn't find a way around it without sacrificing the utility of a good rack. Really tho, the rack is pretty durned easy to take on and off once you get the brackets set up right. How often do you carry the Dummy on the car or truck and how often do you use the front rack? The rack comes on and off in less than a minute with a 4mm allen wrench if/when you need to transport it.
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Old 05-14-08, 01:15 PM
  #212  
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mine cant haul too much... but i can get a 6 pack in there! but when i throw a pack on my back and use my bike bag i can get a few days worth of groceries at a time. my next bike will be a hardtail so i can carry more on the back.
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Old 05-15-08, 11:15 AM
  #213  
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My first post after lurking for a while - Raleigh are still making an updated version of the 3 speed shopper version of the Twenty here in the UK - here's mine



when I was younger I had a Raleigh Stowaway Twenty but my parents sold it when I left home unfortunately


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Old 05-16-08, 08:16 PM
  #214  
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I'm liking the front rack on the Xtracycle idea. When I load mine up with two complete sets of (free)diving gear I've noticed that it steers kind of weird under a super heavy load. I thought about a front rack to strap the weightbelts onto and leave the rest in the back. That would balance things out and make everything smooth again.

Right now I'm looking for a system that would allow me to strap 30-40 pounds of lead to the front. I looked at some front-load panniers, but they all seem to delicate and might rip out with that load. The metal baskets I've seen don't look much better. Maybe just getting a Riv front rack and strapping it to the top would be the most bombproof way?

Here's a shot of the bike in dive mode and, more often than not, in family mode.

Jon
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Old 05-16-08, 08:29 PM
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Originally Posted by freediver
Right now I'm looking for a system that would allow me to strap 30-40 pounds of lead to the front. I looked at some front-load panniers, but they all seem to delicate and might rip out with that load. The metal baskets I've seen don't look much better. Maybe just getting a Riv front rack and strapping it to the top would be the most bombproof way?
If the downtube is 1 1/8 inch you can fit the same rack I'm using on the bamboo bomber.
It's a frame mounted rack, not fork mounted. Frame mounting makes for a more stable platform. If the fork moves the rack does not.
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Old 05-18-08, 07:55 AM
  #216  
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THAT IS WICKED SMART. I want one.
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Old 05-18-08, 04:48 PM
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I've had fantastic luck with the Surly front rack. Now if only my LBS could ever find the matching rear (it's always out of stock)
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Old 05-18-08, 08:44 PM
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I started converting my Schwinn for my fair weather ride. I found this wicker basket on eBay over the winter. It came without any way to attach it so for now it's strapped down with bungie cord. This is not a good long term solution.

I stuck my son's old Wald basket on, and dressed it up a little. The flowers aren't just for show either, they discourage my kids from riding my bike and act as a little extra theft deterrent.

I figured out that one of the little baskets I keep paperwork in is perfect to line the Wald for my chihuahua! This is a huge timesaver too, her old ride was a plastic crate that had to be tied down and lined with a blanket. The lead I use strings across and keeps the basket from bouncing up.

I found the little Ping bell on my last trip to the LBS and I really like these. It's pretty loud for such a cheap little bell.
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Old 05-18-08, 08:48 PM
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m5nardi, your Traveler is lovely (flowers match frame perfectly!) and your dog is astounding.
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Old 05-20-08, 10:24 AM
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Talking cute

you must really like blue and i like the flowers that dog is SO cute i want 1
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Old 05-20-08, 07:03 PM
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Old 05-22-08, 11:02 PM
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Originally Posted by freediver
Right now I'm looking for a system that would allow me to strap 30-40 pounds of lead to the front. I looked at some front-load panniers, but they all seem to delicate and might rip out with that load. The metal baskets I've seen don't look much better. Maybe just getting a Riv front rack and strapping it to the top would be the most bombproof way?
On my Kogswell I use a Tubus Tara front rack and two Ortlieb front roller panniers. I've definitely carried a total of 40 lbs in them up front. It's nice to have lots of dense weight down low, the bike handles great.

I also have a Nitto M12 rack, which mounts to the canti posts and the fork crown (similar to the small Nashbar rack), upon which I have mounted a Wald basket. I carry my daily bag in there. Works great so far. I may convert the Kogswell with an Xtra at some point, so it's good to hear that they can handle/use a front load.

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Old 05-22-08, 11:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Old_Fart
Yeah, it's another Big Dummy. You're all tired of seeing them now I'm sure but here you go anyway.
That's a Nice Rack on the front now to balance out the load a bit.

It's a real beaut.
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Old 05-25-08, 04:35 PM
  #224  
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Today's grocery getter. Schwinn Varsity cost $5 at garage sale; modified with upright handlebars and handbrake controls from free junker bike. Trailer cost $10 at garage sale. Bungee cord supports underneath free from my gigantic road side collection. Plastic box is from my other trailer but a cardboard box would work as well.
Today's load bought at Walmart (12 mile R/T) was 12 two liter bottles of soda pop, 4 pounds of cheese and 2 weeks of cat food. Easy. Plenty of capacity for more too.
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Old 05-25-08, 07:01 PM
  #225  
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Today's grocery getter. Schwinn Varsity cost $5 at garage sale; modified with upright handlebars and handbrake controls from free junker bike. Trailer cost $10 at garage sale. Bungee cord supports underneath free from my gigantic road side collection. Plastic box is from my other trailer but a cardboard box would work as well.
Today's load bought at Walmart (12 mile R/T) was 12 two liter bottles of soda pop, 4 pounds of cheese and 2 weeks of cat food. Easy. Plenty of capacity for more too.
"Gettin'-r-done" as they say in these parts. And on the cheap, too. Kudos!
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