Question for Xtracycle users

[Satori]

I've been drooling over one of these things for a long time but I'm worried about 1 thing. How hard is it to keep balance on these things? What about kids moving around/leaning, shifting position? How much drag/weight do you feel when the bike is fully loaded and carrying an extra 150lbs or so?

Can a bike modified with an Xtracycle fit on a bus bike rack?

[Geonz]

go for it :)

YOu might want to check out the "rootsradicals" yahoo groups ( I *think* you can read messages wtihout joining but I'm not sure) at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rootsradicals/

I have an Xtracycle but I don't tote kids on it. I've found it much easier to balance than other options. If you can, find somebody close to you with one and give it a test ride to fidn out for yourself.

I was really afraid I'd have buyer's remorse when I got mine; I'd been looking for panniers 'cause I knew I wanted to be able to carry more stuff more easily. At first glance, I emailed a friend to say that hey, I'd found something that looked neat but was fortunately too expensive to really be tempting. Then 'cause it was the dead of winter I had time to read more about it, including its history, and my b ike shop guy said he would be glad to put it together for me (and he'd heard of 'em, and this was years ago before they were popular). I laughed at the testimonials that said it would change my life since I was already pretty "car-light." Welp, it really did take me to another level ... and another after that. They're wonderful machines and they proclaim to everybody who sees them "bicycles work!"

Return to your regularly scheduled stuff, now

[rcr]

I have an xtracycle. It takes a little getting used to, but it is not hard to balance. At no point did I think I was going to tip over, but it does feel more wobbly than a normal bike when you have two kids on it. With one kid (in a peapod), I don't see any difference at all. With a kid sitting on the snapdeck, and moving around, I do feel a very significant wobble from behind, but not enough to tip me over - especially because I am expecting it.

It is heavier than a different bike, but I don't see that as a problem. It is not like I am going racing with my kid and a bunch of groceries. Plus, I carry around a lot of stuff, so the weight could be minimized. Also, I have it on a steel bike (I am strictly a lugged steel kind of bicyclist), but I guess if you put it on a lighter bike it could be lighter.

I have mine on a mixte frame (women's frame), and it is so rear-heavy I would be afraid to put it on a car rack (not sure about a bus). With a mens frame, I don't think that would be a problem.

[Satori]

Thank you for the feed back It looks like we came up with a workable solution without having to convert to an Xtracycle I contacted one of the few bike shops that sell the Bobike Maxi seats (aka peapod) and they explained how to get away with using panniers or side baskets with the seat on my bike so were doing that plus added a basket up front so I can carry 3 paper bags worth of groceries without a problem which is more then enough for the weekly produce run. As for dd on the main roads I learned something yesterday that I had NO IDEA about in this town. I had my mom take the road along where I knew there was a bike lane on the main road since I wanted to see how wide it was. Turns out that's not the actual bike lane! The lane itself is on the other side of the curb! (I was always to busy driving to notice) Its totally separate from traffic, as in there's a 4-5 in high wall to separate them so there's no danger of dd riding her bike into traffic. Now if she falls off yeah but we'd fill have a 4-5 ft buffer from the road. I feel fine taking her on that bike lane, just have to work on endurance for both of us, her especially since she doesn't have gears and can really feel the hills.