Comments on: Utility bikes that can carry a big load

By: MidtownFlyer

MidtownFlyer — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:51:23 +0000

Too bad you didn’t mention the Yuba Mundo. I have tried all four – Big Dummy, Kona Ute, Yuba Mundo, and an XTRACYCLE conversion. The Mundo wins, hands down. Better thought out cargo rack, 48 spoke wheels, mounts for disk brakes, 26″ wheels, fenders standard, comes complete with SHIMANO Acera group. and the whole bicyle comes ready to ride in the box at $1000.00 complete. The new model is actually nimble enough to make a commuter bicycle out of it. And it’s as big as a motorcycle – you get more respect from the Soccer Moms in the SUVS!

By: Top Commuter Bike Resources and Reviews | Commute by Bike

Top Commuter Bike Resources and Reviews | Commute by Bike — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:16:40 +0000

[...] A. In-dept. Look. at Various Heavy Duty Utility Bikes [...]

By: John www.smithrides.com

John www.smithrides.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:25:13 +0000

I scoped the UTE in Anchorage last month and it didn’t measure up the 45mm Hakkas. If it kan’t run the Hakkas then I kan’t buy it.

I have a buddy on the Xtracycle and it is great – feels bizarre to the first timer. But you adjust quickly. I would seriously like a Big Dummy (oh, but why kan’t they adapt the Karate Monkey into a niner BD?).

Email Surly and tell them (a) you rock, and (b) give us a niner BD

sorry about the kan’t thing – I really can’t think why it seemed necessary to do that…

By: Lennart (Blogger in Crane)

Lennart (Blogger in Crane) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:35:12 +0000

With great interest I have studied your website and you have a lot of good information. I think that the market for portable cranes is almost without limit since there are many obvious advantages. It makes life easier for the staff, who have to take care of handling many different products during a working day, they do not have to bend so much, they do not have to lift heavy stuff thus hurting the back and the small, adjustable cranes are easy to use and the price level is very attractive compared to the many plus sides of this product. I can furthermore see from your information that the fields of applications are almost limitless and thus offers many opportunities to the manufacturers of these products that come in various designs and models. On top they can be produced as a standard product meaning very fast delivery time, they are easy to pack and ship and the shipping costs are fairly low.
V

By: Tom P

Tom P — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:48:30 +0000

I own a couple of Xtracycles added to Stumpjumpers. The other day rode a Kona Ute. One thing noticed right off is that the Ute handled more like a normal bike. I am not sure what the overall wheel base is but the xtracyle free radical kits are long and do not handle particularly well. You wouldn’t add an xtracycle free radical kit to to a bike to enter a slalom race but still….
If the center of gravity is an issue versus the Surly you have to ask yourself just how heavy of loads are you really going to haul. I don’t have kids and own an economy car so if I am contemplating a 125 pound load I am going to not go to eco heaven and take the car. The one big complaint above is that the Ute does not come with big bags, well it appears for 2009 that they have been reading the blogs and came out with full size bags every bit as big as the xtracycle ones. However the bike only appears to come with one of those cargo bags on one side. Also it will probably not be long before enterprising folks start making attachments for the Ute if you can’t make them yourself. The difference in price would allow you to have a number of custom made attachments made for the Ute and probably still have it cost less than a Surly Xtracycle set up.

By: Boston at work

Boston at work — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:12:53 +0000

I used an Xtracycle for a while. It was great, but frame flex was a problem. I rigged up braces from the empty rear brake bosses to front of Xtra, which helped marginally. With the back loaded over 125lbs, flex affected handling to the point that it slowed me down in many situations.

The Electra Townie and other “fun” frames with long thin graceful (wimpy) tubes are not a good idea unless you carry only puppies and light groceries.

If I wanted the long-load capability, I’d spring for a Big Dummy for sure. But, I’m glad that there shorter/stiffer rides for toolboxes and dense/small loads.

By: rob bushill

rob bushill — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:43:33 +0000

The Yuba mondo is a dedicated load carrier…£498 for 6 speed…really strong frame….rides well…3 main players…all offering something different (but in the same format).

By: off the back

off the back — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:53:33 +0000

Surly / Kona are imported , as are most brands in the US.

so I offer another option along the Bakfiets line , but made in Eugene Oregon:
see: http://www.catoregon.org/hpm.htm.

the “long haul” is small batch made and you can specify brakes and drivetrain to suit your preferences. Sram 9×3 and V brakes , triple crank and disc brakes are on the option list.

3 styles of cargo carrying, though the hand laid up fiberglas waterproof case is a weight penalty ,it can be locked.

By: pc

pc — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:27:50 +0000

I bought an Xtracycle for my old maruishi MT18. Then I got cold feet in dedicating the beloved Maru so I looked at craigslist and next day bought a first-year (’95?) clear aluminum Zaskar – very inexpensively. Now I have an all-aluminum-looks-like-a-total-custom long bike.

It takes up extra room in the garage, yes

The design has some bugs in it like when you have the sideloaders on it’s pretty easy to wipe-out your achilles tendon by squishing it between the bar and the road when pushing off (you’ll understand when it happens to you) – that needs to be addressed.

Sometimes I feel like I’m rigging a boat to go sailing then unrigging it when getting back to port. Lots of buckles and adjustments.

The short rear deck I replaced with a longer one to make xtracycle portion look more connected to the rest of the bike

Overall a great thing to have

By: Quinn

Quinn — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:27:37 +0000

IM waiting for the Salsa Gordo 29 it build a 36 spoke utility wheel, wrapped with a WeirWolf