Xtracycle is the name of a company and the name commonly used for the variety of load-carrying bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

, a longtail

Longtail (bicycle)

Longtail is a type of bicycle with a longer than usual frame wheelbase at the rear compared to a standard utility bicycle...

 or a longbike, that results from use of the company's product: the Free Radical kit and associated accessories. Web forums and blogs often use the shorthand Xtrabike, Xtra, or simply X to refer to either the Free Radical extension or the entire extended bicycle. An Xtracycle may be constructed by modifying an existing bicycle with a Free Radical extension called, or by custom-building an extended-tail bicycle frame

Bicycle frame

A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, on to which wheels and other components are fitted. The modern and most common frame design for an upright bicycle is based on the safety bicycle, and consists of two triangles, a main triangle and a paired rear triangle...

. Xtracycles are promoted as a way to achieve a bicycle-centric transportation lifestyle.

Differences from other load-carrying bicycles

While the Xtracycle is based on a standard hardtail diamond frame with 26-inch or 622 mm (700c) wheels, the Xtracycle differs from other load-carrying bicycles in that it does not employ a handlebar

Bicycle handlebar

Bicycle handlebar or often bicycle handlebars refers to the steering mechanism for bicycles; the equivalent of a steering wheel. Besides steering, handlebars also often support a portion of the rider's weight, depending on their riding position, and provide a convenient mounting place for brake...

 basket, pannier

Pannier

A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from the Old French, from Classical Latin, word for bread basket....

s, or a bicycle trailer

Bicycle trailer

A bicycle trailer is a motorless wheeled frame with a hitch system for transporting cargo by bicycle. It can greatly increase a bike's cargo capacity, allowing point-to-point haulage of objects up to 4 cubic yards in volume that weigh as much as half-a-ton.-Types:Different types of trailer are...

. Baskets are easy to attach and allow stowing of cargo in plain view. Panniers are often watertight or water resistant, and can be easily removed from their racks and carried as luggage. Trailers come in many shapes, sizes, designs, and qualities, and allow a bicycle to pull a significant amount of cargo. In contrast, an Xtracycle employs an extended frame on which large containers are suspended, allowing for more stowage capacity on the bicycle itself. Xtracycles are also called "sport utility bicycles" for their ability to carry larger loads than a normal bicycles having baskets or panniers.

History and spin-offs

The Free Radical was conceived by Ross Evans at Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 and developed during his work in the mid-1990s managing a "Bikes Not Bombs

Bikes Not Bombs

Bikes Not Bombs is a Boston, Massachusetts based bicycle project which recycles donated bicycles, trains young people to fix their own bikes and become employable mechanics and sends thousands of refurbished bikes to communities in countries such as South Africa, Ghana, and Guatemala...

" project in Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

, where having a bicycle enhances a person's employment opportunities. In 1998 Evans and his friend Kipchoge Spencer created Xtracycle Inc to manufacture and market the invention, as well as a nonprofit organization, Worldbike, devoted to encourage a bicycle-centric lifestyle and culture.

Despite the fact that the Free Radical qualifies as an aftermarket bike accessory, its growing acceptance has sparked an Xtracycle aftermarket not formally connected with Xtracycle Inc: varieties of specialized kickstands, electric-assist motors, and even bike-mounted blenders have come to market, even though each requires the prior purchase of a Free Radical to function properly.

Big Dummy

Xtracycle Inc has also entered into negotiations with various bicycle manufacturers to build purpose-built extended bicycles compatible with their accessories. The first to actually produce and market an integrated Xtracycle frameset, known as the Big Dummy, was Surly Bikes

Surly Bikes

Surly Bikes is a designer and importer of bicycles, frames, parts, and accessories based in Bloomington, Minnesota, established circa 1998. Surly is owned by and shares facilities with Quality Bicycle Products ....

, presently distributed by QBP and available in bicycle retail outlets. XInc hopes to form similar covenants with manufacturers in all price ranges to the end of making the Xtracycle less of a niche product and more mainstream. XInc is also working on Free Radical attachments sized for children's and youths' bicycles on the theory of "catch 'em young and train 'em right."

Other applications for the Free Radical have included linking two Xtracycles to support a mobile stage for use in parades and street fairs, and a computerized chalkpowder-printer device to be mounted on an Xtracycle that leaves a dot-matrix trail of messages on the street.

Radish

In 2009 the Radish was launched by Xtracycle. It is a production long-tail bicycle with a low-standover height frame and matching Free Radical.

External links

• links to cargo-carrying bikes
• WorldBike nonprofit organization that promotes bicycle-centric lifestyle
• The Ginger Ninjas band led by Kipchoge Spencer
• Bike Hugger Bettie, a Sport Utility Bike project using the Xtracycle
• http://www.surlybikes.com/new/bigdummy_pop.html Surly's page describing the Big Dummy frameset
• Xtracycle Gallery -- Gallery of Xtracycle pictures