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.

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.

Now the front sprocket is going to be about 1/8 inch to the left

now I am tightening the crank back into place

There is just bareley enough clearance between the chain and the bottom bracket

here is another angle. Its a close fit, but It is necessary

All the rubbing and wearing sounds I have been dealing with appear to be gone

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.

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!

Today I will be modifying an older DIY bike rack I made to mount on the receiver hitch.

notice the grooves built into the watertight toolboxes I found. Its like they were meant to be a wheel tray.

My 1st attempt at a mounting location is off. The front sprocket is interfered by the toolbox

This was the first mounting location for the fork mount

While the sprockets sits on the top of the tool box, the forks cannot reach far enough down to the fork mount.

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.

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.

Now that the bike is assembled, I'm having trouble with the chain

This chain turns out to be the wrong size. notice how it doesn't fit in the gears all the way around

here is a better view of the sloppy connection between sprocket and chain

The chain is rubbing against the frame

the frame is squeezed slightly because the rear dropouts are attached to the lower bracket

the chain rub is bad, it might even wear a hole in the frame

here I am trying to use a single speed derailleur to move the chain away from the frame

It nearly works, but there is still some rub. I may have to come back to it.

here is the first trip carrying a package. Felt awesome to have the extra space back there

Right now, things are held in place with just a bungee

The center kickstand also works really well for keeping the boxes centered while loading

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.

This was a cheap set of cables from the big box store. 5 bucks.

This is the difference between the old and new cables

This is my 1st attempt at running boards for the little kid passengers

Here is the underside view. The rack is from a baby seat frame.

Here are the new cables going in

Its a little tricky finding the best route for the new cable.

The cable needs to go inside of the frame.

From this point, connecting the brakes are the same as any other bike.

Running a single speed with a quick release hub is tough to get the chain tight

This is the maiden voyage out. Date with Daddy breakfast. Success.

The running boards were a good idea, but they seem to be a little too short