Xtracycle Free Radical Review - BikeRadar

A reasonable idea at best, and £450??? Far too expensive!

Look at the chain length and amount of sag, surely an inline chain device would be a good idea?

I agree - £450 is ridiculously expensive for something that looks a bit bodged.

Not sure whether it would be secure if left locked up either...

that thing + speedbump = snap/beached

Yes, above comments may be true, however, reusing an old steel MTB frame? Great idea! Not using the car to go into town? Again, great idea! Getting some of the lazy fat t**ts who drive BMW's off the roads? Priceless....

Could proberly do it for less though.

Rick from Xtracycle, thanks for the favorable review.

@Tempestas: A company is in the process of finishing the details for an inline chain idler. We've seen prototypes and are very pleased with it. That being said, people have used Xtracycles for over 8 years without much issue with the chain.

@Monkeypump: "Bodged"? Like learning new British slang. There's definitely a lot more going on when you design a component to work with most any bicycle. Locking them up is easy and most thieves seem to leave them be. Of course, a good lock and smart senses are your best defense against bike theft.

@Thel33ter: Hate to flatten your speedbump, but Xtracycles are surprisingly sturdy and can take a large amount of abuse. Check out http://RidingTheSpine.com to see just how much pain a FreeRadical can take before giving way.

Cheers,

Rick

Good to see a supplier come out and give some feedback and address consumers concerns

What makes me laugh is how everyone has ideas on whether something is strong or not - Xtracycle's have been around for ages, durability is not going to be a problem. Or maybe you're all engineers...

That said, maybe a bit expensive, but a lot of people put them to brilliant use - like hauling a BBQ into a forest to make lunch. :)

Great idea. Here's the best link from rickpickett's advice.

http://www.ridingthespine.com/gear/xtracycle.html

I’ve used this system for over a year now and it works great! I got a cheap mountain bike frame, built it up with heavy duty rims, and SRAM X.7 components. It is the best way to hall a person on the back, or 200 pounds of anything you can strap on to it. If someone wants to live “car free” this is the best system to do it.

If you are considering buying an xtracycle free radical consider the following:

1. You will need to zip tie on the board (snap deck) to the metal frame of the free radical to cut down on the rattle.

2. Put “cruiser bars” on your bike for a more up right relaxed ride.

3. Put “mountain bike flat bar” on your bike if you want a more powerful aggressive bike.

4. The free radical will extend your bike and it will make your bike weigh a total of 40-45pounds, which is an issue if you carry your bike up stairs.

5. This bike will put a smile on your face.

6. When you build this up with a frame, wheels, and components, cut some cost and go for lower end SRAM and Shimano which should be stronger, don’t pay extra for weight savings.

7. Buy the free radical for 26” tires rather than 700 tires.

8. If you are going to replace your car with this system consider adding a wire basket to the front over your front tire you will find that a front basket works really efficiently for getting small light weight items.

9. From my uses, the free radical is a very strong and very solid system. I personally would not do lots of off road riding on it, and I wouldn’t go off anything larger than a curb if I had a passenger or any thing that weighed more than 50 pounds with me.

10. If you really love this concept and want a heavy duty version, check out (Google) the Surly “Big Dummy” long tail frame. The “Big Dummy” is expensive but super high quality.

11. This bike will never be fast, but it will be smooth and steady, if you ride with a free radical, realize your driving the “big rig” of all bicycles.

12. Unless you’re a really good mechanic, take this to your local bike shop to set up for you. The company web site makes it sound a lot easier to build than it really is.

The Xtra-Cycle is the business. I've been taxied on one numerous times on an old Marin conversion. My buddy has just left for a tour with his girls on an Xtrafied tandem. My brother uses one as his car. I've used one as a 'car' for 6 months before getting a Kona Ute. Yes, the accessories are expensive. In Canada its the same. However, many mods can be done with a little thought. I recommend the wide-loaders highly, as they really extend the useabilty for carrying things like food. My Kona Ute is no stiffer than the Xtra conversions BTW. We use them here to take our 'cross bikes and spare wheels to the races in the fall, and xc skiing in the winter. The possibilities are endless.

Tip: add extra sealant onto the deck. Otherwise, it will likely suffer from weather damage.

I had an X-ed Fuji for several years, and have had a Big Dummy for a couple more, and I love it.

If you live in a VERY hilly area, you may want to look into a Stokemonkey (http://cleverchimp.com).

If you are at all clever with tools, or know someone who is, you can make accessories rather than buy them. Xtracycle is now open-source, so you can even market your creations.

Planning on moving to an extracycle. 86' ROSS Mt. Rainier is perfect for this transformation. Just need to find a decent heavy-duty rear wheel. Any suggestions? I have an electric hub on front, so only looking for rear. Wish I hadn't ridden that GT ZUM that was on sale this week end, It only has 8 speeds, but, it eliminates a derailer up front and feels very powerful. Oh, and it's incredibly light. @ $400 hardly seems worth fixing up the old bike. I like keeping a classic on the road and the New bike has nice components but is it worth it? I feel like I can't make up my mind on which bike to put the extracycle on.

Read the 1st couple of comments and was all prepared to add my bit, then read the others that state the case very nicely.

I've had one for a year or so (on a Specialized Rockhopper) and used it as the bike equivalent of an estate car/stationwagon with absolutely no problems. (I brought 4 heavy wooden folding chairs and 2 x 30 litres bags of compost home from Bunnings today (like B&Q - I'm in Australia)). The next year of so I'll be using it for a 12 month peri-road/off road tour; and will let you know how it goes.

1 - the bits that come with the "free-radical kit" are mostly good; and I fitted mine myself without a bother (if you're capable of fitting a new chain, brakes, and rear mech with attending cable/housing to a normal bike you'll manage an Xtracycle conversion). My only grouch was that the KMC chain was only useful to tell me how many extra links I needed on top of a normal chain - I still needed to buy 2 chains myself.

2 - my wooden top deck doesn't rattle, I head up and down curbs and other stuff without problems (though you can't "lift" the back wheel as you would clipped in with a normal bike so you do have to slow down a bit). I don't have any problems with chain slap.

Agree about the expense thought - especially the cost of accessories from the American website - they should have a cheaper postage option.

Lots of interesting comments but thought I'd throw mine for good measure.... I've owned an Xtracycle for about 8 years and live a car-free and self-righteous existence as a consequence. Great machine for moving many, many things - armchairs, dogs, food, bikes, wood etc, etc..

Just to comment on the price - yes the Xtracycle extension is pricey, but if you pick up a 50 quid donor bike - old steel Rockhopper, Hardrock, Muddy Fox etc., then you've got a great cargo bike for less than £500, (Xtracycle price has dropped to £400 at the time of writing). That's still less than a Yuba Mundo and no more expensive than the Ute.

Regarding the comments about the Xtracycle on the 'Riding The Spine' tour, from what I read on http://carfreedays.com/2008/06/13/snap-crackle-pop-goes-the-xtracycle/ the xtracycle on that tour wasn't a stock item, but rather a beefed-up version and, if that's true, Riding The Spine is not an example that should be used to illustrate how strong these devices are. Mine snapped on the 'tongue' about 3 years ago, riding on tarmac and carrying no great weights. I know a good welder and he sorted it, but they're not indestructable. That said, Xtracycle after-sales service is very good.

To be honest, I love my Xtracycle - I still stare at it in admiration. The best thing is that you're never caught short of load carrying space if you're out and about. If I remember some bits I need to buy in town, I've got the means to carry them, bump into a mate who's on foot and we fancy a coffee on the beach, s/he can jump on the back, get to somewhere green with the dog, he sits in a box on the back (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbmX4fmM0vk), etc, etc....

If you get one, I'd be surprised if you'd regret it.