Hamburglar

I'm finally about to bite the bullet and buy an Xtracycle. Money's in the bank. Now, what third party accessories do I want to add to this? I'd like to see a listing of all the 3rd party manufacturers to see if there's anything else I'd like to outfit it with.

Here's the rig as I plan on purchasing it now...have any recommended substitues?:

Surly Big Dummy Xtracycle
Down Low Glow
Footsies
Long Loader
Stoker Bar
Jr. Grips
Shower Cap
Tek Deck
Whatchamacollar
Wide Loader
Pedalite w/Toe Clips https://www.pedalite.com/
Veltop https://www.veltop.eu/index.php?gamme_veltop_en
Airzond Horn
Brooks Saddle B33 Honey

EDIT: Stokemonkey /EDIT

I want a dynamo hub for the front wheel to power the front and rear light. Front and rear light recommendations are also requested.

I also want a pad for the Snap Deck but I'd like more options than what Xtracycle offers.

Thanks for your responses!

Eric

NormanF

The footsies are not necessary with the Surly Big Dummy. I favor a Brooks B-73. The triple springs make for a plush ride and are appropriate given the length and weight of a longtail. Its also standard equipment on English roadsters. I don't think a long loader is necessary but a wide loader I think is essential optional equipment. Superfat tires like Schwalbe Big Apples or Fat Franks roll smooth and fast under load. SKS P-65 fenders provide all weather protection and then there's the choice of a front rack. Mine is a Jandd Extreme Expedition front rack. That is my BD outfit along with a Kickback centerstand and the longtail kit to complete the bike.

penexpers

Front and rear light will largely depend on what you need the light for. FWIW I have

Busch & Muller Lumotec IQ Fly Senso Plus Switchable LED Headlight on the front (this is blindingly bright and is easily bright enough to go on unlit roads at night)

Busch & Muller Seculite Plus Rear Mudguard Dynamo Light with Standlight on the rear (this is a nice light because not only is it bright but it'll attach to the SKS fenders with no problems)

snowranger

You might think about consolidating your power needs for the motor, dlg lights, and horn. You can use a DC-DC converter to tap your main battery for the DLG's and electric horn's 12 volts. Alternatively, you can get 12 volt LED light strips to use. Also, the main battery power could be used to drive the front LED lights instead of the dynamo hub.

kuan

Wow you're really going all out! I made my own stoker bars. One shim and a trip to the bike junkyard got me what I needed. If you want to save money you can make your own footsies.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trevely...ld/2262306219/

For a shower cap maybe get a big huge grill cover.

As for a headlight, I hear nothing but good things all over the web about the Edelux.

crackerdog

I wouldn't get the Down Low Glow until it gets dark in the fall unless you plan to ride at night a lot. I got mine in the winter and by the next winter the batteries were crap and the warranty was no good. I only got to use them about nine times. They have a lousy battery system- they weld the AA batteries together and if you have one bad cell it ruins the complete set.
Definitely, the kickstand.

dwnptrl_777

Just a couple of quick thoughts:

Dynamo Hub:
I'm running a SON28 hub that powers an eDeluxe front light and a Busch&Müller DToplight XS Plus on the back. Both have a 'standlight' feature. Both are bright, especially the eDeluxe. Available (with a little patience) from Peter White Cyles. From what he says, and according to what I've read elsewhere, and from what I've experienced in about 150 miles with these new lights, it's worth the expense. For what that's worth.

Padding for the Snapdeck:
Make your own. Seriously. It's incredibly easy to do, and you'll build something better than what's currently available.

coldfeet

Here's a response. Can I have your budget? ( to spend on myself that is )

snowranger

You can probably save those DLGs and use after market li ion RC batteries.

JeffS

Morgan @ cycle9 was talking about trying to come up with a way to run all these accessories off the main electric pack. If you're definitely going to run a stokemonkey it would be worth checking in to see if she's got anything worked out.

https://cycle9.com

Val

And, for the record, the only "third party" (shouldn't that really be "second party"? ah, well, whatever) centerstand for the Xtracycle or the Big Dummy is the Rolling Jackass (www.rollingjackass.com). Just in case you hadn't noticed it on various other threads.

snowranger

Something like this DC-DC converter will definitely work. Cheap too at $10. Not my listing, but I bought two of these in the past. It will work with an 18-72 volt main battery.

https://tinyurl.com/cfb96g

jdmitch

Pedalites are dubious reliability in my experience (my left one failed in a few months), plus I have a hard time with my feet sliding on them in wet weather (plus the one-sidedness of the pedals annoy me).

Reelights are a better backup light in my opinion.

However, if side visibility is your concern you might try Ledals (I plan on trying them sometime soon). That or Bike Glow Lights. Yeah, they're both battery powered, but that can be advantageous.

Realize, though, this is just my opinion I suspect you'll find others with better experience with the Pedalites. It's just that, for me, the quick failure combined with the ride feel turned me off.

Doconabike

I would avoid the footsies. They seem like a great idea, but they are actually superfluous. Also, if you have medium to large feet, your heels hit the footsies when you push off to get the bike going. It's not a huge problem, but it was enough to make me take off my footsies.

Also, I love having a dynamo hub. It's great to have lights at night without having to remember to charge the batteries.

I agree with the person who said to not buy the pad for the snapdeck. It's quite comfortable without the pad and the pad will just get all wet in the rain.

Enjoy the XtraCycle. They're great!

kuan

I wonder if you can screw plywood into the wideloader bars to make wideloader/footsies.

jgrant75

wideloaders are enough by themselves to rest feet on.

more diy footies https://www.jeremygrant.com/blog/?p=523

KonaBuyer

Note the price of this bad boy, as well. Ga Ga GOYNG!!! $300 for a kickstand? That's a kick, alright!

jdmitch

The thing is, this one is mostly / all hand-built. There are no mass producers making something workable for the BD at the moment.

penexpers

Yeah. I have to say that having owned the Xtra Kick Back for a week or so, it's easy to see how much better the Rolling Jackass is. The Kick Back doesn't really feel that sturdy. There have already been multiple BD-related problems with the Kick Back (mostly to do with how the stand interfaces with the boom tube when deployed). I don't like the way the spring works on the Kick Back, the Jackass looks much neater and better in this respect. Sure $350 is a lot for a kickstand, but to my mind, the Kick Back is not really worth the money being asked for either.