Xtracycle - Mountain Bike - Touring
 

G'day

I am keen to get into off-road touring (extending my current bushwalking activities) and I am looking around for a suitable mountain bike and tossing up the options in terms of BOB or a Xtracycle or panniers.

Locally a 2007 Avanti Ridge Rider has come up for sale and I am interested in any comments as to whether it would be okay with the Xtracycle mod. Also would appreciate any advice from those who tour with an Xtracycle or who are into off-road touring.

Thanks
Andrew

I'd love an Xtracycle for around town, but longer and heavier makes offroad slower and harder. And I do love my Bob Yak, but I've never taken it touring because it weighs half again as much as my bike and would encourage me to take too much stuff with me.

Panniers are dull and minimal, but they're still the best hauling technology for touring, I think. Unless you're carrying extra for, say, a bunch of unloaded kids or elderly people riding along with you.

Read around the forums -- the only thing that everybody agrees is true is that the less you take with you, the happier you'll be. (I think. Actually, if you can spot a topic where someone bitterly laments leaving something behind, I'd like to read it!)

I backpack (bushwalk) so am familiar with going light and will carry that over into my bike touring (I do this when I just fly as well).

However, I want to off-road tour and here in WA water is an issue. I often have to carry up to 9 litres for a two day backpack. Hence just panniers are not necessarily the idea setup if I have to load up with water. Also the centre of gravity is higher with panniers which I suspect is more of an issue off-road.

This journal gives an idea of touring with an Xtracycle and a BOB.

Regards
Andrew

Check out www.ridingthespine.com/ these guy are riding alot of off road (Alaska to Tierra del Euego) and seem to rate the xtracycle for the job. Also I read a journal about some guy that did a bigish ride through the out back in Oz who used one for the reason you state, carring lotts of water. Can't remember much other than he was on the forum for a bit. Here is the link to him http://www.davidcriniti.blogspot.com/

Aushiker,
I have a BoB Ibex trailer, (that's the model with the suspension), which I tow behind a hardtail MTB on singletrack, dirt roads, railtrails etc with camping gear and it's great and it handles anything you can throw at it. I have found that you learn to pack the trailer with the weight towards the back and not too high, so if you are a minimalist already you won't have much trouble with overloading. The beauty of the BoB is that when you arrive a your campsite, simply unpack the trailer, set up, unhitch the trailer, then you're free to go MTBing.
I don't have any experience with the Xtracycle, but they seem a great idea as well, many glowing reports.
One reason why I like the BoB is the 3rd wheel takes weight off the bike's rear hub, bearings and spokes, whereas most touring bikes carry the weight directly there, so, more broken spokes. Also the BoB carries the load low and out of the wind and once you get used to it's handling characteristics, it's quite easy to ride with. I have spoken to a number of guys who have toured a lot with panniers and they all said they were considering the BoB as a better option.

found it:


http://davidcriniti.blogspot.com/sea...&max-results=7

Yep, that's me. I definitely rate the xtracycle for offroad touring. The best thing since sliced bread!

...and on that note, thanks to those on this forum who pointed me towards it when I came here, not knowing about it, and asking questions about suitable trailers... I'm very glad I went with the xtracycle. Having said that, I still haven't tried a trailer and have nothing against them - just commenting that the xtracycle filled my needs perfectly and I highly recommend it.

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks. Will check the links out.

Andrew

Have you tried it on a road tour? I am interested in how it handles on the road. Much bounce?

That appeals and it also means I have the MTB for well MTBing outside of touring :-)

One other thing that appeals with the BOB is the possibility of using it both behind the MTB and behind the road tourer whereas the Xtracycle is fixed to the MTB. I wonder if the 700c BOB can be pulled behind the MTB okay.

Andrew

Andrew,

1: Yes I have, using my MTB with slicks and with my flat bat roadie, for both bikes I had front panniers and the handling was excellent, I can't recall any unseemly bounce and anyway the suspension has 3 settings for whatever weight you carry. But remember, you will probably need a BoB skewer for each bike as the road bike will be narrower in the back end, I cut a skewer to size.

2: My Ibex is the MTB size and it fits both bikes..no worries.

If you live near Perth, go on the BoB website and search for a guy called PuppyDog, he lives near Perth and he might let you try a trailer, before you buy...maybe.

Thanks. Good to hear.

Andrew