vik 

In case you haven't see it there is a thread on the go in the touring section about using a Surly Big Dummy for touring. If you ride a BD and have toured on it head over there and let 'em know how you like it!...

Here are a few touring sets of mine:

BD - Dempster Highway
BD - Mosquito Creek
BD - Bow Valley Parkway

FunkyStickman

I love the idea of the Big Dummy... I'm looking forward to finding the need for one.

vik 

You want a need?

- bike touring
- commuting
- cargo hauling
- carrying a passenger

I don't know anyone that couldn't use a BD!

bugly64

Vik,
Are you rocking/rolling/running 700c on your dummy?

vik 

Nope I've got 26" MTB rims with 2.0" XRs on them... So far they've taken a beating and needed no maintenance. Having an undished rear Rohloff wheel helps in that regard...

FunkyStickman

I could use one, yes, but I don't need one yet... my commuter MTB fills most of those needs. When I have a need for it, I will probably get a Free Radical to put on the MTB. I just think the whole concept of cargo bikes is just freaking cool.

vik 

Everyone I know needs a vehicle to haul big loads...either they own a car/truck or borrow/rent one or pay for delivery...with the BD you can haul vehicle sized loads yourself as well as doing day to day biking.

The Xtracycle is a nice option to work with your existing bike. Once you put it on you'll never take it off!

vegenaise

i think you're opinion may be biased. i have a touring bike for touring (much better for touring than a bd), a commuting bike for commuting (much better for commuting than a bd), a trailer that your bd couldn't touch with a 10 foot clownpole in terms of cargo capacity, and the passenger point is weak at best. kiddie trailers, trail-a-bikes, bakfiets, having your child ride their own bike, perhaps.

vik 

I totally agree that if you can have a specialized bike for every need that is the best way to go...I have a couple touring bikes, I'm getting a second cargo bike, I've got a fixed gear around town bike....all sweet rides, but if I had to get rid of all, but 1 I'd keep the Big Dummy since it can do everything the other bikes can.

Personally I carry passengers [adults] regularly...I think the reason you think this is "weak" is simply because you don't own a bike that can do that easily so it doesn't occur to you how often you could make use of that feature.

I've toured on my BD several times and toured on other dedicated touring bikes [like my Surly LHT] quite a lot. Having actually used the bikes in question I can tell you the BD is an excellent touring bike...with the right tires you'll tour with other folks on dedicated touring bikes without issue and when one of their bikes break down you'll haul them and their bike to the next LBS for repair....

The only downside to a BD for touring is flying the bike is bigger than a "normal" touring bike...having said that people tour with tandems all the time and it's not a huge deal.

FunkyStickman

I think this is the best argument for owning a BD/Freeradical. I love bikes, but space and my wife dictate that I cannot have as many bikes as I want. If I were forced to narrow it down to only one, this would have to be it. Not because it's great at everything, but because you can use for anything except fast road riding (which I suck at, anyway). I love stuff that does everything, and the BD pretty much is the epitome of "do-it-all."

I just showed the Big Dummy to my parents, and they both were impressed at the amount of things you can haul with one. I could see them owning one or two in the future, if they ever decided to get off their butts and ride again.

vik 

I'd also add that one of the beauties of the Big Dummy is the capability to suddenly go from cruising to cargo carrying. I've been out riding my Big Dummy unloaded [ya it's that much fun] and ended up coming home fully loaded. I didn't have to ride home and grab a trailer or come back another day....I just plugged in my wideloaders [carry them all the time tucked in my Xtracycle bags] and deployed my tie down straps...carry those in my Xtra bags as well.

The cool thing about the BD is that it demonstrates that we limit our imagination to what we believe we are capable of. When I ride my LHT past a Lazy-boy chair at a garage sale my brain just doesn't allow itself to think that's an item I can load onto my bike and take home. So it's easy to assume nobody ever needs/wants to suddenly carry a big bulky/heavy item on a bicycle...until you get a cargo bike and start doing it regularly because now when you are out riding the options are suddenly there to use your bike in new ways.

vik 

I was out scouting stand up paddle board launches today on my Big Dummy when I got the call from the UPS Store that I had a bike to pick up. Trucked over there grabbed the box and rode home..of course I kept scouting SUP launches the whole time!...

oldfolksmashers

If i had to whittle my herd down from 7 bikes to 1, the BD would be the one to stay.

coldbike

Yup, I agree, while my cargo bike isn't the best at any one thing (except carrying cargo and kids), it is the most versatile on road bike that I own.I plan on doing some overnight trips on mine this summer.

xtrajack

I don't own a BD (yet), I do own a Xtracycle, everything Vik says about the BD applies to a Xtracycle as well. I use mine primarily for commuting. I own five other bikes, but but the X gets all the goodies and the lion's share of the miles.

vik 

Yup I agree 100%...

Although I don't own an Xtra...I've installed one on a friend's bike and ridden with Xtra'd bikes....my general assessment they aren't as stiff as a BD for really heavy loads, but you can easily break a Xtra'd bike in 2 and pack into a single large bike box...which eliminates one of the big issues with flying with your BD. So if you plan to fly a lot, but want the benefits of the long bike experience maybe use an Xtra?

For touring weight loads I don't think there is any downside to using an Xtra. I might prefer the durability of a one piece BD frame over an Xtra'd bike for a really poor dirt road tour like the Dempster Highway, but the Xtra may do just fine....I haven't had the chance to test one under those conditions. Obviously the front end frame you use with an Xtracycle has a huge impact on the overall all rig so choose wisely - strong and stiff is what you want.

chipcom 

A "commuting bike" is any bike that serves your commuting needs best. I commute on 3-4 different bikes, depending upon which one suits the conditions, my needs and even my mood on any given day. Some days that is the Big Dummy. If your commuting bike works better for you on your commute, great, but that only means that your commuting bike is "better" for commuting than a BD for you and your commute...not anyone else's.

The same goes for touring or just about any other application...what works best for you may not be what works best for someone else.

One of my favorite rec touring applications for my BD are the 1-3 day jaunts where Cheri rides one of her road bikes and I get to haul my stuff, her stuff plus all the stuff she picks up shopping while we are out. Doing that either with a trailer or just my touring bike would suck...based on my actual experience doing so using both.

vik 

I'll be doing some similar tours with my GF this summer/fall to get her stoked with minimal effort... Keep 'er rolling!...

It's interesting to hear the different perspectives of what a BD/Xtra is good for...particularly between the folks that actually ride one and the other folks that have never owned one.

vik 

I've been working on my beach touring setup...the Big Dummy can float over any water that gets in my way and then I start pedaling again!...

cyclokitty 

The Big Dummy looks like an incredibley useful and fun bike to ride. Now I need to add it to my Want List.

Norel

..

chipcom 

Cheri's newest weekend passion is what I have come to call her Tour de YardSales. She gets to ride her pretty road bike and do the shopping, I get to schlep everything on the Dummy. Which is the bigger Dummy, me or the bike, is a point of constant debate.

vik 

As long as you are both happy I don't see any Dummies other than the big green bike!...

coldfeet

Heh! When I took my bike to wok for the first time, a cow-irker looked at it, read the name off the top tube, and said "Big Dummy, so, you had it personalized??

vik 

"...no....I named it after you!..."...