Recommendations for Xtracycle base bike

Now that my 20-year-old Cannondale has finally given up the ghost, I'm
looking tor another bike to Xtracycle for the next 20 years. The Free
Radical extension won't fake more that about a 28mm 700c tyre, so this
time I'm thinking of nice fat Big apples on 26" with disc brakes,
which it can accommodate. I'm also thinking of an Alfine hub, which
would give enough range tor my purposes (on-road, slow, moderate
hills, but often wet and mucky- if is Ireland!) without having for
multiple chainrings.

Would any of the new urban bikes such as the Saracen Pilot 8 be
suitable? They all seem to have hydraulic brakes. Is it easy to extend
the back brake line, or would I meed to change to a mechanical brake?

Alternatively, I would be looking for a rigid 29er frame (to get less
trail and standover height with the smaller wheel, and have a back
wheel made up, but I haven't yet found a source.

On Nov 13, 11:18*am, JennyB wrote:
Now that my 20-year-old Cannondale has finally given up the ghost, I'm
looking tor another bike to Xtracycle for the next 20 years. The *Free
Radical extension won't fake more that about a 28mm 700c tyre, so this
time I'm thinking of nice fat Big apples on 26" with disc brakes,
which it can accommodate. *I'm also thinking of an Alfine hub, which
would give enough range tor my purposes (on-road, slow, moderate
hills, but often wet and mucky- if is Ireland!) without having for
multiple chainrings.


If you've already got a bunch of parts, a Surly Big Dummy frame can
start looking pretty nice. You'll have to figure out a way to tension
your chain, which isn't the biggest problem in the world.

Alternately--if you've got the extension--used rigid mtbs are terribly
cheap, and unlike a conventional bike, you really only need to put the
disk on the rear, where the weight will be. You can run a seven or
eight speed wide 11-34 cluster with a single ring up front with a bash
guard and a nickel plated chain--nearly maintenance free as well.

JennyB wrote:

Now that my 20-year-old Cannondale has finally given up the ghost, I'm
looking tor another bike to Xtracycle for the next 20 years.

Sorry to hear about your Cannondale. Note that if you are the
original owner, and if either you or your dealer can scare up a proof
of purchase, Cannondale will replace your frame under warranty. That
does not cover crash damage or other misfortunes not covered by
warranty, but in the past they offered reduced-cost frame replacement
for such circumstances. They might still do so.

However, a new Cannondale frame probably would not be my first choice
for enhancing with an Xtracycle. Despite having had their usual
points of failure addressed with design refinements, they are neither
as stiff nor as rugged overall as their equivalents from 20 years
ago. Whether they are appropriately designed for Xtracycle use is an
open question, but their thin-skinned nature does not seem ideal for a
cargo bike.

The Free
Radical extension won't fake more that about a 28mm 700c tyre, so this
time I'm thinking of nice fat Big apples on 26" with disc brakes,
which it can accommodate.

That's a good choice. 26 x 2.5" Maxxis Hookworms are almost identical
in size to 26 x 2.35" Big Apples, have similar virtues, and in the USA
cost a lot less. So you have options there.

I'm also thinking of an Alfine hub, which
would give enough range tor my purposes (on-road, slow, moderate
hills, but often wet and mucky- if is Ireland!) without having for
multiple chainrings.

The Xtracycle layout requires a chain tensioner, even if you use a
gearhub. A tensioner can be an old derailleur or something more
specific to the job like the Surly Singleator. That does not negate
the other benefits of a gearhub, but it is something to keep in
mind.

Would any of the new urban bikes such as the Saracen Pilot 8 be
suitable? They all seem to have hydraulic brakes. Is it easy to extend
the back brake line, or would I meed to change to a mechanical brake?

A good shop that is accustomed to servicing hydraulic discs should be
able to furnish a brake line as long as you like. One of the concrete
advantages of hydraulic brakes is that they exhibit normal feel in
setups that have such a long, tortuous routing that a cable actuated
brake would feel like crap.

Alternatively, I would be looking for a rigid 29er frame (to get less
trail and standover height with the smaller wheel, and have a back
wheel made up, but I haven't yet found a source.

The Redline Monocog 29er is an outstandingly robust frame. Its only
drawback for your application is its lack of brazeons for shift
cables, fenders, racks, etc. All it has are brake cable stops, which
may not even be relevant to you if you use a hydraulic brake. But it
is a rugged and well-thought-out frame that can be had for not too
much money:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=24506

When I went looking for a 29er frame of my own, I found one thing or
another I didn't like about every single one of them, until I ran
across the Monocog 29er.

It does not have a normal chainstay bridge, and the chainstays are
heavily shaped, so that might present an issue when mounting the Free
Radical subframe. I haven't evaluated the situation for myself,
except to note that the Free Radical mounts somewhat similarly to a
kickstand at the front end, and I was unable to figure out a
straightforward way to to mount a kickstand on my Monocog 29er. I
reckon this is an issue you are almost certain to face with any 29er
MTB frame.

Chalo

On Nov 13, 6:53*pm, landotter wrote:
On Nov 13, 11:18*am, JennyB wrote:

Now that my 20-year-old Cannondale has finally given up the ghost, I'm
looking tor another bike to Xtracycle for the next 20 years. The *Free
Radical extension won't fake more that about a 28mm 700c tyre, so this
time I'm thinking of nice fat Big apples on 26" with disc brakes,
which it can accommodate. *I'm also thinking of an Alfine hub, which
would give enough range tor my purposes (on-road, slow, moderate
hills, but often wet and mucky- if is Ireland!) without having for
multiple chainrings.

If you've already got a bunch of parts, a Surly Big Dummy frame can
start looking pretty nice. You'll have to figure out a way to tension
your chain, which isn't the biggest problem in the world.

Alternately--if you've got the extension--used rigid mtbs are terribly
cheap, and unlike a conventional bike, you really only need to put the
disk on the rear, where the weight will be. You can run a seven or
eight speed wide 11-34 cluster with a single ring up front with a bash
guard and a nickel plated chain--nearly maintenance free as well.

That looks like the value-for-money option, since I already have the
extension, and no dealer near that understands hydraulics and hub
gears. Also i have got a hub motor built in a 26" non-disc front wheel
that I'd like to experiment with.

On Nov 14, 3:50*am, Chalo wrote:
JennyB wrote:

Now that my 20-year-old Cannondale has finally given up the ghost, I'm
looking tor another bike to Xtracycle for the next 20 years.

Sorry to hear about your Cannondale. *Note that if you are the
original owner, and if either you or your dealer can scare up a proof
of purchase, Cannondale will replace your frame under warranty. *That
does not cover crash damage or other misfortunes not covered by
warranty, but in the past they offered reduced-cost frame replacement
for such circumstances. *They might still do so.

Thanks for the thought, but it was already second-hand and crashed
when I bought it back in the early '90's, so it doesn't owe me
anything.I'd noticed it starting to shimmy under heavy load, and
eventually it just tore in two at the top of the down tube. About the
only original parts left that I can reuse are the chainset and the
Brooks saddle.

I went through the process of looking for a good base bike recently and steered away from 700c options after talking with the folks at Xtracycle and concentrated on 26" bikes instead. I ended up getting a Novara Safari on clearance from REI and have been super happy with it (down from $849 to $679, I think). It's not an internal hub option, because I think the range on this setup is better and I didn't want to get a Rohloff (I wish!), but it does have a super small chain ring that I slip into when I've got both boys on the back and groceries. It also has disc brakes and since it's meant for touring, it's got a beefy frame, but it's aluminum, so not too heavy. Here's a link to some pics of it. Since I snapped these I added a stem riser and albatross bars and it is really dialed-in now. It comes with Continental 1.9 Town & Country tires, but there's way clearance for fatter. I put the silver 60mm PlanetBike ATB cascadia fenders on there and will upgrade to Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 26" x 2.0" tires when the new ones come in stock later this month.

Good luck with your search

http://picasaweb.google.com/rohrer.gunther/Xafari#

On Nov 14, 9:21 am, JennyB wrote:
On Nov 14, 3:50 am, Chalo wrote: JennyB wrote:

Now that my 20-year-old Cannondale has finally given up the ghost, I'm
looking tor another bike to Xtracycle for the next 20 years.

Sorry to hear about your Cannondale. Note that if you are the
original owner, and if either you or your dealer can scare up a proof
of purchase, Cannondale will replace your frame under warranty. That
does not cover crash damage or other misfortunes not covered by
warranty, but in the past they offered reduced-cost frame replacement
for such circumstances. They might still do so.

Thanks for the thought, but it was already second-hand and crashed
when I bought it back in the early '90's, so it doesn't owe me
anything.I'd noticed it starting to shimmy under heavy load, and
eventually it just tore in two at the top of the down tube. About the
only original parts left that I can reuse are the chainset and the
Brooks saddle.

I would fine a nice used steel mountain bike which even in Ireland
shouldn't be more than a couple of hundred euros for a suitable
candidate.
Phil Brown

On Nov 14, 1:44*pm, philcycles wrote:
On Nov 14, 9:21 am, JennyB wrote:



On Nov 14, 3:50 am, Chalo wrote: JennyB wrote:

Now that my 20-year-old Cannondale has finally given up the ghost, I'm
looking tor another bike to Xtracycle for the next 20 years.

Sorry to hear about your Cannondale. *Note that if you are the
original owner, and if either you or your dealer can scare up a proof
of purchase, Cannondale will replace your frame under warranty. *That
does not cover crash damage or other misfortunes not covered by
warranty, but in the past they offered reduced-cost frame replacement
for such circumstances. *They might still do so.

Thanks for the thought, but it was already second-hand and crashed
when I bought it back in the early '90's, so it doesn't owe me
anything.I'd noticed it starting to shimmy under heavy load, and
eventually it just tore in two at the top of the down tube. About the
only original parts left that I can reuse are the chainset and the
Brooks saddle.

I would fine a nice used steel mountain bike which even in Ireland
shouldn't be more than a couple of hundred euros for a suitable
candidate.

Frame material would be about the last consideration on my list for a
donor carcass--but aluminum might be just the ticket in dank ole
Ireland*. ;-)

*If you pay attention to traditional manufacturers in Rusty Places
such as Sweden, you'll notice that they're putting less and less steel
even into their "traditional" bikes these days.

http://www.crescent.se/cyklar/classic/1399