We had a cold wet weekend here in Calgary Alberta so what better time to build up Karen's Xtracycle. The Xtracycle went on fairly easily. The only snags involved her fairly old 80's drivetrain. Other than the drivetrain her rigid Trek made an ideal Xtracycle donor bike. It's strong, light and wasn't seeing much use as a MTB since she got a full suspension MTB.
The finished product looks awesome and rides great. I am pretty amazed how versatile and complete the Xtracycle kit is. If you were installing it on a newer bike you wouldn't have any issues getting everything working nicely. We added some Planet Bike Cascadia ATB fenders, Super Flash Blinky, Brooks saddle and replaced her cantis with XT v-brakes.
I had some issues getting the really old Gripshifter working with her rear dérailleur. She'll take it to a LBS to see if they can get it working better. If not we'll swap in a new drivetrain. Unfortunately we couldn't install the new BMX platforms she bought as the pedals were seized into the cranks. That will have to wait until we deal with replacing the drivetrain.
Karen threw her heavy backpack into one side of the Freeloaders and was concerned it would throw off her balance, but after a few pedal strokes she was off without any issues and a huge smile on her face. Welcome to the longtail revolution Karen...=-)
We do have a few tweaks to make to get her Xtracycle rig fully dialed:
- adjust the rear dérailleur shifting better [LBS?]
- replace drivetrain and build up heavy duty rear wheel [end of season if she can get by with stock setup]
- de-squeal her front v-brake
- fabricate a mount to lower her front fender so it doesn't interfere with the V-brake and so it looks nicer
- install BMX platforms whenever new cranks go on
- add some Egron Grips
4 comments:
Looks good!! No more shoulder strain from heavy back packs.
The ride was smooth and felt well-balanced, despite my backpack being loaded on the right side. The gears worked well despite the problems. Thanks for the installation Vik!
Glad to see another has joined the fold!!
Looks great! A recommendation for rainy weather (I ride in Bellingham, WA...lots of rain here too): Cut an old tube in pieces a few inches long. Put the tubes around the aluminum sleeves where the freeloaders mount, and add some grease. Really helps to keep water from getting in the Freeradical frame. Enjoy!
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