Sean

Hey everyone. I bought a Big Dummy 3 years ago for commuting to work. Rode it for one summer and then my position at work changed. I now have to drive for my job. Anyway the bike has been in my basement essentially unused for 2 years. Willing to part with it for $1000. I probably spent about $2000 on the build. I don’t want to ship this because of its size. So an arranged pickup would be the only way. I am in Northern Michigan. The bike is in excellent condition. It is a 16″. If interested send me an email. I can send pics and component lists.

Marcus
northwoodsbc@gmail.com

I bought my Big Dummy over two years ago, in the first release of army green framesets. I was able to build it up fairly cheaply at the time as I had lots of parts in my bin from old mountain bikes. It was like a recycling project really

But caution – I upgraded everything and tricked it out. It is addictive that way. I repainted the frame, fork, racks, kickback. Upped the wheels to Large Marges with Alfine hubs. Put big phat tires on it. Put lots of custom woodwork into it. It’s pimped out now.

I now use it to boot around in my suburban area, to get groceries and run errands to the hardware store, etc. Yes, it saves on gas and wear and tear on the car. The payback was very quick as a result and it will last for years. I’d love to put a Stokemonkey on it to make it an ebike.

That said, I put more miles on my CrossCheck these days – the Swiss Army knife of bicycles. It’s more convenient and a little faster for my daily commute, though I did use the Dummy nearly every day for the commute the first year and got very strong doing that.

Check it out here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25195092@N04/sets/72157604323356253/

It depends on the use you want/need. If you want to do your grocery shopping, commute to work, and don’t mind having access to a car/truck the BD might be overkill.

If you want to go fully car free or have an off road adventure (as described in the letter)…well….i can’t help you, but the BD is probably a good choice.

If you rarely want to carry people but often want to carry washing machines or other large bulky items over reasonably unbroken pavement a bakfiet is likely a better choice. Anything that I can lift and move by myself has been fair game for the Dummy, but beyond that you could quickly run into issues. Really large items end up on top on the Dummy’s deck or off to one side which messes with the bike’s stability. (The kitchen table and my bed were two very interesting items to move by Big Dummy.)

If you only ever really plan on carrying people, buy a tandem. People are really heavy, particularly up hills when they aren’t helping pedal. That said, if they are young’uns there are some great child seat and stoker bar offerings for the Big Dummy.

For me the Big Dummy has been a great bike. I use it as my primary bike and daily commuter. I pick up people frequently and often carry loads ranging from groceries to boxed bikes, so it sees a very mixed duty. It is also just a fun bike to ride.

As far as the price: It isn’t cheap, but it is a good value. A lot of the cost is the frame, and the rest is a pretty solid component set. Mine is a custom mix of parts, but is spec’d very close to the stock offering. The primary differences are excessively beefy wheels, and a SRAM drivetrain. (I like SRAM, and I like to build wheels, there isn’t really anything wrong with the stock offering.)

Get some frame saver into the frame first thing, keep air in the tires and oil on the chain, and the bike should last more than long enough to recoup your investment. You could get bikes that do certain things better, but not one that does everything as well as the Dummy.

Did I mention it’s fun?

Whether that is a good deal, depends on their parts, but also on the riding you intend to do. In my experience hiking you are better off making your load radically light, than buying heavier boots and a stronger backpack: the engine stays constant – you. If you need to haul water through a desert, the Big Dummy is it. If you need an urban cargo bike, the Kona Ute is half the price. If you can scale down your load, but want to roll over everything, the new Salsa Mukluk is an improvement on the Surly Pugsley.