badmother

Just take your time to play around with racks to find a good fit.I am lucky to have great racks available locally at £ 10 each so I buy two when I decide a new longtail is a keeper, but sometimes it is better with two different ones to get a good match. Wait until you are sure your angels are right (BB height and so on) before you decide on racks.

Personally I do not like the skateboard solution (but I lke the look of it) snce it is extra weight and I find it easyer to attach stuff (like normal panniers) to a normat rack top.

I am thinking of building a IGH fast light longtail for my son since he bikes to school and has got a lot of stuff (often two bags) to carry on the bike. Baskets would solve it, but try to make a 14 yr old boy use baskets to school . Been thinking of putting beer crates to make him accept it but I am worryed about the signal effect .

Only problem is the bie is looong so not easy to pick him up by car. Maybe another detatchable longtail..

Keep us updated.

Sixty Fiver

The skateboard deck is so handy for tying down loads like big bags of dog food and when I do off site repairs it provides a handy sanding surface for cable housings...

Sixty Fiver

Wow.. I just re-read this entire thread from start to finish (again).

Thinking it was The Girl who turned me on to this thread in the first place and she continues to support me in all the bike related things I do and even questions when I tell her I am considering selling one of my bikes... she is definately a keeper.

So we started like this...

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Went through a few incarnations...

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Realized how much I miss my pond...

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Found other ponds...

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And seem to have arrived here.



Time sure flies when you are having fun and pretty soon my bike will be 2 years old and we've almost survived out second winter and only wiped out once... and when you put a bike this long and heavy into a skid you just have to ride it out.

Best thing though... getting to know all of you.

Am looking forward to spring and hope more people are inspired to make their own "extrabikes".

badmother

You could attach a vise and a truing stand to it. Cut your bread and eat your lunch on it. More comfortable to sit on for a pasenger for sure.

HSean

Well the time has come! it seems like the warmer weather is comming and I can now start on this next build. I love my ugly current longtail but I desire something that will look great and ride like I want it too.

So what to make? I made a vintage long tail before and it looked awesome. so why not make another one? but a 3 speed and use my old friend whos helped me these past years . because of this bike I'm a huge antique/vintage bike Fan. so as a reward I shall make him a longtail so he can assist me daily!.

This is my choice bike for this build.


Look foward to something nice!

Sixty Fiver

I give my daughters rides on a near daily basis when I pick them up from school...

michael k

Keep us posted...with details!!
I'll be surprised if I find work anytime soon.Too much time on my hands and keep eyeballing my Raleigh sports.

I snagged a rack today for .50 cents. Heavy crome/steel. With the rider and all it must be pushing 300lbs.

HSean

I should be starting the build sometime this week. I'm wondering if I should make it only rear disc brake or keep it all vintage like the sports was. I might also make custom Trussrods for the forks because i find those weird Forks bent easy. I hope it turns out nice, I love Raleigh sports

HSean

Well Due to the lack of parts I have to hold off on the Sports Project, BUT! It dosn't mean I wont build a longtail. you know alot of these I have built where kinda ugly. So i'm gonna do it right on this next one, I decided to use the frame of a Kona I bought for 40$ It was busted up but there was good disc wheels. I also had a rear triangle that was same color as Kona and could take disc brakes. it was even the same tubing design.

Sorry for those who wanted to see the Raliegh sports, but it will come hopfully sometime this summer.

So heres what I started with. for some reason the paint hated my camera, it's flat black but turned that when pic taken


And i'e got no pics of how it stands now, but will soon.

badmother

Made another one. 20" this time.



https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post10491691

HSean

Aww those little 20" are cute I may have to make one!.
heres a update on my bike thats not an update because it's now 90% finished but not shown in this pic. just gotta make a custom rack for the back.


If you look closely you can see the older longtail I made, Winter took it's tole on it and it died.

michael k

From Frostbite?



Brrrr...Makes me glad I have a heated garage.

I like the handle bars.I picked up a couple of donors and 3 more racks today for 5 bucks.I'm stocking up for lotsa fun.

HSean

Then handle bars come in handy, they are my temp brace till I get something else.

So here it is rideable now. I rode it to work yesterday and got a flat tire and once you get one with the large tires it had. your dead stopped on the spot lol I ride on flats offten but it was to hard s the bike spent the night locked to a random post. theres a spare wheel on it right now.

I think Frostbite had a part to play in killing it. lol Still under investigation!

Here it is.

LucianTheOne

After I read all posts and watch all pictures, I decided to make my own xtracycle. I knew about xtracycle from long time, but now it cames the ideea.
Last year I buil a tandem frame, I make some trips whit my wife on that tandem, and after that I take it off all the pieces because I need them for another project.
Meanwhile I buy a new tandem frame, so the old one is available. I think to transform the old tandem frame into some kind of xtracycle. Is not actualy an xtracycle, but anyway is a very long bike.
I put an old fork and some wheels from another bike on the tandem frame to see how it looks. I have some good parts ready to use - o new ridig fork whit disc brake, right now I'm buildind 2 wheels, drive train, brakes, deraileurs. I will buy the rest of pieces and I'll painted black & gray.
I'm planing to build a custom rack, and maybe I will weld it directly to the frame. I find a piece o polished wood for the top of the rack.
What do you think guys? It is a good ideea, or I wasting my time and money? I apreciate any advices or critics.

Sixty Fiver

Lucian - That tandem should make the mother of all extrabikes... have considered using a tandem frame myself but would make sure it could still be used as such in case you found a good stoker.

purplepeople

Welding the rack directly will be much, much stronger than bolting it on. You can then make the side wings a little lower for better weight distribution.

:)ensen.

LucianTheOne

One of my friend wants to put an xtracycle on his tandem. He makes heavy loaded touring on his tandem, and he was afraid about that. He's worring cause the joining sistem isn't strong enough for that extra weight.
Is anybody who makes an xtratandem?

@65-er - I have the best stroker, my wife, and I'm working on our new tandem. The old tandem became the MegaCycle. Isn't a good name?

bugly64

Grabbed this off the net:

kingfish254

I like the "office table legs" kickstand

LucianTheOne

It seems is not a good ideea to put an xtracycle on a tandem.
I find this post about it https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ndem-Xtracycle

Sixty Fiver

I do believe that bike belongs to a Bf member... no surprise there and do so want one.

michael k

Nicely done!

Sixty Fiver

I work with a frame builder who specializes in long tail touring bikes and touring tandems...

Sixty Fiver

What she does best...





She has been such a good bike (this is her second winter) I opted to spend Monday night cleaning and polishing and installing and modifying some of her bits and she only got that much better.

Those pics will rate something better than CCP's...

LucianTheOne

Do tou have some pictures of those bikes?
I seen only one long touring bike until now. It's a Bilenky custom made. It's look great.