Long way to work

Left early and pedaled up Goldcamp, High drive, and then down Jacks and down the Chutes.  Just over 2 hours and just under 2k feet of climbing make for a damn fine commute.  I keep feeling more and more natural on singletrack riding the Xtracycle and hour + climbs feel better and better.  I really can not wait till spring comes to really see where my fitness is at.

Some ice but mostly hardpack snow and rock star dirt, not bad for 8k feet in feb!

Xtracycle Review

I figured after a couple thousand miles, and hundreds of pounds hauled with a couple different configurations it is about time to write a review of one of the most practical products the bicycle commuter/car free world has seen.  It worked so well a couple major manufactures decided to try and copy it and Surly even liked it so much they built a frame specifically around its platform.  Sounds like the industry is a fan of the Xtracycle

Lets start with the basics, how is mine built:  Currently the Xtracycle is bolted to a Surly Troll frame, this combo is quite a bit stiffer than the old steel Marin frame I started with (in all fairness that frame had been hit by a car at one point in its life)  I am running Sram X-7 drivetrain and hubs, the rims are now Mavic 521's.  They are heavy but pretty strong and I like that they have eyelets.  My original wheels were some 28h red ano Sun Ringle Cr-18's I won at a race years ago and could never throw them away.  They lasted long enough for the braking surface to wear to the point the rim cracked around the braking area and stayed surprisingly true since with those wheels I carried close to 200 lbs a couple times.  Tektro disc brakes which work ok but will be replaced by BB-7's when these fail or need the pads replaced, it really is hard to touch the performance and durability of a BB-7, as a plus it uses the same pads as my MTB.

How does it handle loads? Quite simply, GREAT!  I have carried close to 200lbs and other than it getting very difficult going uphill the bike actually handled really really well.  With 60-80 lbs I hardly notice any effect on handling.  One note though, since the Xtracycle puts a lot more weight on the front, if you are carrying a heavy load use the rear brake as much as possible to avoid over-stressing the fork.  You have plenty of traction with the back wheel when there is a big load so it really is no big deal.

Does it make my bike less fun to ride when not loaded?  Depends on your idea of fun, it adds some weight and a little bit of lateral flex so your bike will be a little bit slower than it was before Xtra, but if you do not base the quality of your rides on average speeds alone it makes it a much more fun bike in many ways.  The Xtracycle handles singletrack great and I have ridden many miles of it on my Xtracycle, it actually adds novelty value and makes what once was a mind numbing trail exciting again.  In no time you will have learned to actually pop off of lips and get some air with your Xtra (just remember, you have to push forward on the bars much harder than with a normal bunny hop, it is doable even with platforms with a little practice though)

Overall I absolutely love my Xtracycle and hope to do a big family tour on it in a few years.  Anybody looking to add versatility to their bike should really consider this option.  It is great to impulsively run to the store and not have to over analyze what will fit into panniers or making sure you have the trailer.

My only complaint is I wish there was a way to lock the velcro pocket inside the freeloaders but a little creativity might take care of that problem.

Now what everyone on the interwebz looks for, pictures!  Here is a history of my Xtracycle over the past few years in pictures.

Xtracycle mounted to Troll frame in winter commuter mode, normally I run Big Apple slicks in the summer which give a supper smooth ride that can slay paved corners with more stability that I ever imagined possible on a bike.

Drivetrain is nothing special, Sram X-7 mostly and cheap truvative cranks.   One thing I really like is these Shimano double sided pedals, I clip in when I plan to do some exploring but for daily commuting I wear regular shoes.  Also note, the car absolutely loves to sleep on the snap deck as you can kind of make out in this pic.

The snap-deck with mandatory sticker-age, my favorite is the one Xtracycle included that reads "This ass hauls things"

Believe it or not, it was my grandma's idea to ride on the back and not mine.

Laundry run, really shows what kind of volume this thing can handle , especially with the wideloaders.

If it is slushy out, remember to cover your bike since this thing is wider than most cars...lesson learned.

Getting ready to descend some killer singletrack

Exploration

Got to do some more climbing and explore some trails that I have not been on yet, some were marked, some I am not 100% were actual trails, fun was had none the less.  I pedaled up Goldcamp, turned off after the switch backs into a fire road going up and over the ridge, down some trail through a field, was on the Intemann Trail, section 16 trail, and the intermittent waterfall trail along with some easy trails through Red Rocks Canyon.  Fun day for sure, can not wait to learn the area better because I could see how there would be some amazing loops minutes from my door once I figure it out.

2 a days

Good times today.  This am pedaled up Goldcamp to High drive and then went down jacks.  I was surprised at how well the Schwalbe Big Apples handled loose sandy soil descending jacks, especially since some spots still had a little snow and were fairly steep.  After that ride, went home grabbed the wife and the toddler and went out for another 15ish miles on the greenways with mandatory stop at America the Beautiful park.  Jessica was talking about wanting to ride a century and do an xterra triathalon this year...this makes me smile.

One hell of a January

What a month so far.
Incredible weather, trails, people, city
I have pedaled probably 80ish miles with Christopher in the trailer already this year
Meet some damn fine like minded people with a similar obsession to bicycles
Jessica has had her farthest ride on the bike so far and later that day she wants to add another 10 miles to it.
Great job with people I enjoy working with
My body seems to remember how to pedal again, did a very hard 3 hour ride (climbed for 2.5hrs) and felt pretty good. Next I want to do my first century of the year within the week, and then do one every month for the rest of the year.
I can see Pikes Peak everywhere I go in this city
Jessica is behind me on the idea of training to do the Colorado Trail Race this year if fitness comes together like I hope.
It is amazing how much fun you can have being completely broke, especially when you do not have to go into work for an entire month. Sad it has to end in Feb but there are still plenty of good times to come, just not as concentrated as this month has been.
Found a dollar at the park today with Christopher as well, the optimist inside decided to use it to buy a lottery ticket, here's to hoping the unlimited time with family does not have to be spoiled by that work stuff.

The Chutes cargo bike style

Pedaled up gold camp over to the chutes on the xtracycle then past the shop to get an idea on how long this will make the commute.  It is amazing how well the xtra shreds fast flowy decents, i am even getting the hang of sending it of jumps, just takes pushing forward on the bars more than usual.  Good times

Riding loaded

First time I have been sore from 20 miles of pedaling other than during Pisgah death marches.  Jessica decided today she wanted to finally break 20 miles on the bike, which I was unaware of until partway through the ride.  I chose to put 60lbs of kettle bell and toddler paraphernalia in the bags on the Xtracycle while towing the trailer with Christopher in it, my guess was just shy of 100 lbs of extra crap.  Bike handled it great but that weight mixed with some killer wind defintally took its toll, was also wishing I threw on some bike shorts.

Jessica impressed me though, I gave her a few chances to bail when she was hurting but even once she started cramping she chose to keep going and get to 20 miles...but I miss-calculated and she actually ended up with 21.5.

Good times were had, went to check out the movie "Gasland" which was fantastic btw and almost lost my bike to some shady people.  If it was not for me locking the rear wheel to the frame behind the freeloaders the bike would have been gone, they cut the main lock around the frame/bike rack and stole my gloves, jacket (which was inside the building) head lamp and multi tool.  I plan on getting a chain that is on par to the fahgetaboutit from kryptonite once I have the cash.  Which brings me to the point, if you ever walk into a bike shop and ask the sales guy if the lock is really made of kryptonite, I promise he is fighting the urge to slap you...or at least not to laugh hysterically in your face.