Biking Bison

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.

Adding the chain is the next project. I am combining the chains from the 2 bikes using a simple chain tool

for now I am going to go with a single speed. It eliminates the need for the extra cables, and complicated derrallier setup. Most of my riding in Buffalo is relatively flat

I have installed two bike racks on the standard mounts. One facing forward, one facing the rear. Now I have to determine the best option for a "flight deck" as xtracycle calls it

I found the dimensions from xtracycle's website. A flight deck is 26.5 inches long, 8.5 inches wide at the front, tapering down to 7 inches wide at the rear. I want to build mine to match in case I want to buy accessories later.

I thought this cutting board would be the trick, but it was about 6 inches short, and kinda heavy.

My neighbor down the street threw out this board this week, so I nabbed it from the curb. It is not long enough straight on, but at a diagonal, it is 30 inches.

I am using a chalk line to give me some straight edges to work from. looks like the board will just make it.

the chalk line was straight, but I can't seem to cut straight. hopefully it will router out.

I probably should have drawn this out before I made the other cuts. Now it is obvious my edges wont line up. the old sprocket makes a great 8 inch diameter circle

I don't have a jigsaw, so a hacksaw is the best way I have to cut the rounded edge

Hand cutting the board worked, but its obvious that a machined board looks better in the long run. However, I'm pretty pleased with it overall.

Drilling some pilot holes to mount the flight deck

by cutting the board on the angle, the wood grain has a pretty cool look

here is the upper view of the two bike racks back to back. This is where the flight deck will mount