Louis Le Tour

The "extracycle" piques my curiosity and I'm wondering if, at a future date, that might be good touring setup. I understand a lot of commuters use it, is it some kind of kit or does it require a frame modification?

lopek77

Here is another option Bike trailers - Extrawheel.com

tjspiel

There is a kit from Extracycle called the Freeradical that turns your current bike into an Extracycle. It's not as elegant as an actual Extracycle or Surly Big Dummy (if elegant is the right word for those bikes) but it does exist.

WickedOne513

Has anyone tried the Burley Travoy?

Leisesturm

People have, and they appear to like them. I'd say I like them too if I spent $400 to get one. Personally I own a BOB Yak and love it. I spent a lot of money on it so consider my opinion suspect. There are cheaper clones of the BOB now on the market. The Travoy does not yet have cheaper clones. I like the idea of the Xtracycle. Some people have made their own clones of it. I don't think they achieve the value that the real thing provides. JMO. FWIW.

H

acidfast7

if you doing any one those trailer-ish things ... i just jump in and do it correctly ...

no1mad 

The Utility forum has quite a few threads that talk about Xtracycles, Big Dummies, Trek Transports, and Yuba Mundos...not to mention Kona Ute, Sun Atlas, and even the Rans Hammertruck

Coluber42

I have a free radical attachment on another Surly frame, and for carrying certain kinds of cargo, I can't imagine doing without it, even though we also have three different trailers in the household, too. In particular, I play a large musical instrument that does not easily fit on a trailer bit is easy to strap onto the xtracycle. But I wouldn't go touring with it. It would be enormous overkill, harder to maneuver into a motel room, hard to fly with, way heavier than necessary, etc. I did see someone's ride report once who was touring with a fairly large dog riding on an xtracycle, but barring that kind of extenuating circumstances, I wouldn't recommend it or touring.

fietsbob

you extend the rear of the bike , wheel moves about 15" rearward ..

Surly Big Dummy got a whole frame made to do the same .. bit lighter ..

5 years ago a woman-singer-songwriter, brought her guitar along

using an extracycle longtail extended C'dale MTB.. Lots of people tour the coast ..

JAG410

I had the Xtracycle Freeradical set up on an older Trek and loved it! We used it for grocery getting, picnics, garage sale trips, etc. When we started kid hauling, we upgraded to a Surly Big Dummy for the extra stiffness and weight capacity. It's been a great addition to our stable of bikes. Many people have used Xtracycles for touring, the only big downside is transporting them. They really don't fit in cars, on bus racks, or car racks well.

acidfast7

That's why the bike I posted is great. It's not wider than one's shoulder and isn't that much longer than a regular. Fits in trains quite easily!

dimensions:


Technical Specifications
Total length: 2 meter
Total width: 89 cm/85 cm with turned front wheels
Weight: 32 kg
Max. load: 100 kg + rider
Height from cabin floor to rain hood: 104 cm
Height from child bench to rain hood: 78 cm
Transport box height: 50 cm
Max. width in cabin: 62 cm
Max. length in cabin: 88 cm

edit: FWIW, a regular bike is 1.8m or so usually ... so this is hardly longer

MouseSF

Thanks guys! I'll have to go and check out these options!

fietsbob

great .. IF AF 7 will pick up the shipping to California cost of his suggestion ..

Its a good Kinder carrier under that rain cover.

though Modesto is a lot drier than CPH or than here, but it is pretty flat there ..

acidfast7

Joe Bike can get them ...

also probably that Ace Hardware store.

Sorry, I like proper solutions in my life.

A trailer is not a proper solution, it's a half ass solution (like a pick-up truck/SUV).

fietsbob

Ive seen them, Europe has a lot more cars towing a trailer to carry stuff than big ol US style Pickups..
er Lorrys ..

brilliantly made, & steel was dip or spray galvanized, since they will sit outside all the time.



A fair sized flat duble axle trailer a friend, in Scotland Made, using 2 Citroën 2CV rear axles .

towed by a VW Bus ..

Salmon and steelhead Fishing season the parking lots are filled with big heavy V8 Pickups with a Boat trailer
surrounding the put-in ramp .

acidfast7

fuel is expensive over here.

MPG of a bike is ∞

fietsbob

it was before , there, taxes , now its high everywhere because like Fracking the easy to pump stuff has been burned

and fought over for 100 years .

acidfast7

I like it high, and really wish it was 3x the price it is now (on the continent it's pushing 10USD/gal ... UK is cheaper).

Less cars in the UK would be better.

Also, more fuel efficient cars would be better.

Drawback is the public transport costs would increase and they're super high in the UK as is

fietsbob

Carbon emissions taxes And eliminating the subsidies that are direct or indirect ,
like US/NATO aircraft carrier battle groups stationed in the Persian Gulf ..

don't hold your breath ..

Thatcherism, the UK privatized the Public transport which was a mixed thing , does Virgin (etc.) rail's cars
always stay on the track? nope.

acidfast7

I find it not so bad with rail transport here. It is expensive.

Germany is quite good at this

Not as good as Japan, though.

We'll see how China is doing shortly.

personally, box bike in the answer ... a trailer in an urban area is kind of ridiculous.

fietsbob

that why I, retired, live in a small town on the coast ..

though the milli sievert per cubic meter of seawater count after Fukushima has gone up,
and the PH of the water is going carbolic ..

good luck with that Future Mutation thing.

WonderMonkey

I have one. I did a little review on it.

OOBE ? Burley Travoy Trailer Review ? All Parts Linked Inside | 280 Dude

Medic Zero

Yeah, that's not going on a bus rack.

peterw_diy

Agreed. Longtails are for moving children, building materials, and kegs -- not general purpose touring. Even for bike-tent touring, most folks do fine with two pairs of panniers & stuff stacked on top of traditional pannier racks. There's normally no need to move another 20-30 pounds of bike around with you. Spend your money on panniers and decent (> $30 each) racks for your LHT.

Singlespeed92

We used ours for everything from just riding around,errands,grocery shopping,and yes,touring. Worked great,and rode "like a bike",well worth the investment IMO. I no longer have mine built up,sadly (needed the components for another project,and after having moved to a less accessible location,it wasn't getting used as much-so the Freeradical kit/Hoodie bags sit in the loft of the shed for now). For the $,I highly recommend it. That's my 4 cents/opinion anyways,hope it helps