Yikes! ... you shouldn't have started me on this rant ... I've just had a few long discussions with local builders and mechanics on the subject. It seems that I may be the only one outside of either Germany or Western Africa who sees the appeal of a dedicated cargo bike ...

So... Here goes:

It does not seem at all the same to me. There is a big difference between modifying a bike not intended for the purpose (by adding on enough additional tubing to build another complete bicycle) and starting from scratch and designing from the ground up. That would be like comparing a complete custom designed classic, purpose built, loaded touring bike, made with all the fittings, components and accessories to work as a balanced unit,... to one of my old road bikes onto which I've simply clamped on a couple racks and a battery headlight.

Some people might like the home-made garage-built jury-rigged look of the Xtracycle... I don't. And in addition to unnecessary weight and complexity, it is a compromise to the superior strength of a solitary frame. I feel no urgent need for yet another bike. However, I'm looking for a viable example of this style to serve as the design basis for building a similar, but less basic bike, with somewhat lighter weight tubing (where practical), and internally routed cables running to the left rear dropout -for a Rohloff 14-speed rear hub rather than an exposed derailleur system, and with a few additional practical accessories - such as a frame-integrated 2-arm kickstand (not a bolt-on) and fender mounts. The Yuba seems to be the best example I've come across so far, and clearly designed with simplicity, strength and durability as it's basis - all of which are attributes I greatly value.

I've seen some very impressive bikes successfully modified to carry literally hundreds of pounds of cargo over the roughest terrain, and designed and constructed by truly brilliant masters of innovation... the Viet Minh and Viet Cong during the 1950s-1970s Vietnam wars. But, those were fabricated from desperate necessity, and using only the modest materials at hand. Many of these are still in use today in the streets of Hanoi, and are still used for the same reasons: economic expediency.

As for the Xtracycle... I've never seen photos of an Xtracycle carrying seriously heavy loads. Only cutsie snapshots with light loads, such as: ... a puppy sitting in a side mounted box ... loaded with small-ish lightweight parcels... hauling a guitar... a big bag of styrofoam peanuts... camping panniers (which I could also carry on a road bike)... a small child ... and a large but not at all heavy Xtracycle kit box [I've carried a complete bike in a factory bike box measuring 8" x 27" x 52" on a road bike with a rear rack, so size alone does not impress me].

Also, I've seen an Xtracycle in the shop being mounted on a customer's bike and tend to agree with the mechanic fitting it that there are simply lots of often awkward compromizes whenever you are dealing with ANY "one-size-fits-all" additions or modifications to a bike, even something as basic and simple as mounting a standard aftermarket rear rack is never the same as one designed for a particular bike.

As far as the strength of the Xtracycle in particular (versus other alternatives and add-on trailers), I'm really not impressed with the design or construction when I see broken stays like THIS ... [smaller image below] ... note the chainstay which had cracked and completely separated, just in front of the forged dropout [Doh!] and notice the ZIP-TIES! and accessory clips needed for mounting the fender... the lack of simple brazed-on eyelets to facilitate mounting a fender on such an elaborate cargo bike extension system seems a careless design oversight ... the bikes owner must have really mourned the loss of the ones which were on his existing frameset.

I think it is unfortunate that Surly now claims ownership of Xtracycle because that means there is less likelyhood that a true cargo bike will ever come from Surly. Notice that the bike shown in this photo appears to be a Surly... and perhaps this will their alternative to offering a real long frame bike.