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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| Adding the chain is the next project. I am combining the chains from the 2 bikes using a simple chain tool |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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| I thought this cutting board would be the trick, but it was about 6 inches short, and kinda heavy. |
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| 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. |
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| I am using a chalk line to give me some straight edges to work from. looks like the board will just make it. |
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| the chalk line was straight, but I can't seem to cut straight. hopefully it will router out. |
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| 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 |
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| I don't have a jigsaw, so a hacksaw is the best way I have to cut the rounded edge |
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| 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. |
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| Drilling some pilot holes to mount the flight deck |
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| by cutting the board on the angle, the wood grain has a pretty cool look |
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| here is the upper view of the two bike racks back to back. This is where the flight deck will mount |
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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| I cut off an old seat post to length and mounted it in the old brace for the rear suspension bike |
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| the top of the seat post connects to the frame of the standard bike |
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| I ran a large wood screw through the seat post hole, and into the end of the white bikes frame. the frame was capped at this spot, I drilled a small pilot hole |
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| the nice thing about this setup is that there is already a mount for brakes |
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| I simply removed the brakes from the white frame, and moved them back to the rear suspension triangle frame |
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| now that the brakes are out of the way, there is room to get a socket driver in to tighten things up |
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| because of the length of the screw, it took quite a few turns, but it also really snugged everything into place |
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 is a craigslist find. someone selling frame only, I intend to pull many of the necessary parts off of the full suspension bike |
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| here is the first mockup on what the frame extension might look like |
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| the rear dropouts on the full bike frame will line up with the bottom bracket, (or where the pedals connected) on the full suspension bike |
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| the full frame is on the bike stand, and the rear suspension triangle is being held in place with some large spring clamps |
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| here is a rear view of the mockup. a rear wheel is in the front fork, just to give an idea what the profile will be |
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| this is a topside view of where the connections will happen between the bikes. the frame is a bit wider than the bottom bracket. I will need to add some time of washer or spacer to make up the difference |
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 is a craigslist find. a 26 inch full suspension bike, with no seat, and no pedals. $20. |
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| the rear half of this bike will function as the xtracycle extension |
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| the suspension rod is connected with a simple Allen screw, easy to remove |
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| hanging the bike off of the bike stand makes it much easier to work on |
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| without a seat post, the bike is really just hanging in the balance |
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| without that one suspension pin, the bike is very quickly floppy and hard to manage |
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| now the connection swivel point needs to be removed. this requires a large Allen wrench |
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| after removing the pin, the bike still doesn't want to come apart |
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| here is the bike unattached. I turned the Allen screw in a couple threads and hammered it out, and the flange popped out the back side |
I didn't catch him.
No, the strong wind was too much for me to overcome with the trailer in tow. Instead, my heart was pounding and my face was flushed, and now I had left my beautiful bride in dust with no one to ride with, and to no one's surprise she lacked desire to chase after an overly-competitive husband.
Pedaling into the wind.
Sometimes, we chase after things that have little meaning, and leave those we love in the wake of our foolish choices.
Solomon, the wisest man ever to live says this in Ecclesiastes 2:11 says: "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."
So what are we supposed to do?
Here is Solomon's solution: Ecclesiastes 2:24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?
How's pedaling into the wind working out for you? Try something different. How about living fully, for God, right here and right now in the present moment?
Yesterday I had the opportunity to go for a quick ride in probably my favorite biking location of all. I was only going to be in Greenville for about 24 hrs, but I wrangled my schedule in a way that would allow me to get in a quick MTb ride.
Wow, I miss it. This park has gotten more and more biking friendly, and the trails have gotten better and better. We park by the main offices and headed out along the amphitheater.
I noticed right away that the trail had been maintained pretty well over the years. It was holding up really well or the amount of traffic it gets every day. This is a section of trail that I started on, or at least where I really learned to love and prefer single track riding.
Mark, a great friend, and an avid MTb enthusiast was riding with me and told me he had heard about trail improvements on the sulphur springs trail, and that we would be able to ride all the way to the top now without having to get out on the blacktop. He was right.
The ride was incredible. The backside of the mountain has an awesome downhill trail called Kanuga that takes your breath away. The views are impressive, the workout is brutal, but the reward is always worth it. Flying back down sulpher springs to the parking lot as fast i dared, with mark breathing down my neck on his bike behind me was the most fun I've had on a bike in a long time.
Scratch that. It was the most fun I've had in a long time. Thanks for an epic time mark. 1 hr 30 min. Not too shabby.