An xtracycle is a really cool design for biking that extends the frame
length of your bike, so that your cargo capacity greatly increases,
while the mobility and agility of the bike remains pretty consistent. www.xtracycle.com
I have been wanting one of these for quite some time, but the high
price tag is pretty steep when I already have 5-6 bikes in the garage.
After searching around some internet forums, I discovered a growing
population of DIYers who are creating their own versions of this bike
design. Here is my attempt at documenting my steps in creating my own.
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| Figured out a way tokeep the chain from rubbing finally. I used the old middle sprocket as a spacer to move things over about 1/8 inch. |
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| Now the front sprocket is going to be about 1/8 inch to the left |
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| now I am tightening the crank back into place |
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| There is just bareley enough clearance between the chain and the bottom bracket |
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| here is another angle. Its a close fit, but It is necessary |
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| All the rubbing and wearing sounds I have been dealing with appear to be gone |
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| Looking down the chain shows the perfect amount of space between the drive line and the frame |
An xtracycle is a really cool design for biking that extends the frame
length of your bike, so that your cargo capacity greatly increases,
while the mobility and agility of the bike remains pretty consistent. www.xtracycle.com
I have been wanting one of these for quite some time, but the high
price tag is pretty steep when I already have 5-6 bikes in the garage.
After searching around some internet forums, I discovered a growing
population of DIYers who are creating their own versions of this bike
design. Here is my attempt at documenting my steps in creating my own.
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| Making an Xtracycle fit on a standard bike rack is nearly impossible. Look at the length of this thing. A putting it on a roof rack? Forget about it! |
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| Today I will be modifying an older DIY bike rack I made to mount on the receiver hitch. |
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| notice the grooves built into the watertight toolboxes I found. Its like they were meant to be a wheel tray. |
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| My 1st attempt at a mounting location is off. The front sprocket is interfered by the toolbox |
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| This was the first mounting location for the fork mount |
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| While the sprockets sits on the top of the tool box, the forks cannot reach far enough down to the fork mount. |
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| here is the final location for the mount. I wish It could be on the side rather than the cover of the box for improved stability, but the sprocket height over the box wouldn't allow for it. |
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| Even now, there is barely enough clearance. |
An xtracycle is a really cool design for biking that extends the frame
length of your bike, so that your cargo capacity greatly increases,
while the mobility and agility of the bike remains pretty consistent. www.xtracycle.com
I have been wanting one of these for quite some time, but the high
price tag is pretty steep when I already have 5-6 bikes in the garage.
After searching around some internet forums, I discovered a growing
population of DIYers who are creating their own versions of this bike
design. Here is my attempt at documenting my steps in creating my own.
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| Now that the bike is assembled, I'm having trouble with the chain |
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| This chain turns out to be the wrong size. notice how it doesn't fit in the gears all the way around |
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| here is a better view of the sloppy connection between sprocket and chain |
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| The chain is rubbing against the frame |
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| the frame is squeezed slightly because the rear dropouts are attached to the lower bracket |
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| the chain rub is bad, it might even wear a hole in the frame |
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| here I am trying to use a single speed derailleur to move the chain away from the frame |
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| It nearly works, but there is still some rub. I may have to come back to it. |
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| here is the first trip carrying a package. Felt awesome to have the extra space back there |
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| Right now, things are held in place with just a bungee |
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| The center kickstand also works really well for keeping the boxes centered while loading |
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| here is the same pic with a cooler look, thanks to a instagram filter |
An xtracycle is a really cool design for biking that extends the frame
length of your bike, so that your cargo capacity greatly increases,
while the mobility and agility of the bike remains pretty consistent. www.xtracycle.com
I have been wanting one of these for quite some time, but the high
price tag is pretty steep when I already have 5-6 bikes in the garage.
After searching around some internet forums, I discovered a growing
population of DIYers who are creating their own versions of this bike
design. Here is my attempt at documenting my steps in creating my own.
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| This was a cheap set of cables from the big box store. 5 bucks. |
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| This is the difference between the old and new cables |
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| This is my 1st attempt at running boards for the little kid passengers |
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| Here is the underside view. The rack is from a baby seat frame. |
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| Here are the new cables going in |
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| Its a little tricky finding the best route for the new cable. |
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| The cable needs to go inside of the frame. |
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| From this point, connecting the brakes are the same as any other bike. |
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| Running a single speed with a quick release hub is tough to get the chain tight |
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| This is the maiden voyage out. Date with Daddy breakfast. Success. |
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| The running boards were a good idea, but they seem to be a little too short |
An xtracycle is a really cool design for biking that extends the frame length of your bike, so that your cargo capacity greatly increases, while the mobility and agility of the bike remains pretty consistent. www.xtracycle.com I have been wanting one of these for quite some time, but the high price tag is pretty steep when I already have 5-6 bikes in the garage. After searching around some internet forums, I discovered a growing population of DIYers who are creating their own versions of this bike design. Here is my attempt at documenting my steps in creating my own.
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| here is the first look at what the completed bike looks like. still no brakes |
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| its amazing how quickly it looks like it was always built that way |
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| the next step is to add a center kickstand. cheapest one I could find on amazon |
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| mounted the center stand to the rear suspension triangle. seems like having the support under there makes the most sense |
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| bike stand nice with no wobble. pretty excited at we are looking at right here |
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| first attempt at a ride with my girls on board |
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| made the mistake of loading them on the bike with the center stand down. bent it slightly right out of the gate |
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| quickly apparent that they needed somewhere for their feet. I stuck a bar through the frame here |
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| maiden voyage |
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| kids look a little dangerous. good thing they have helmets on |
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| my younger daughter has her face right in my back pocket. less than an ideal design |
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| still looking pretty uncomfortable and unsafe |
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| next step is to add a handlebar for the kids. my seat is rusted in place from the buffalo salt, so taking it off to attach a stem that clamps was not an option |
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| Instead I had an old downtube style stem, and put it in an extra seat clamp. this also pushed the handlebar farther away from my rear end. success. |
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| this aluminum bar works perfectly for a straight bar hand grip for the kids |