Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Anatomy of my Longtail

You might have noticed that here at We Go By Bike, in addition to loving two-wheel power of all kinds, we have a special affinity for cargo bikes, and longtails in particular (Fabi's family has one, and you can see descriptions of the two my family own here). A longtail is a really convenient way to get your bike to carry more for you, because with the back wheel & frame all extend-o and the front half of the bike being normal, these cargo beasts pretty much ride like normal bikes even though they are carrying a station wagon's worth of stuff. Most "regular" bikes can be converted into longtails, either by you if you have bike mechanic skills, or at your local bike shop (you can learn more about them on Xtracycle's site: they are the original longtail creators and I'm just their happy customer, unpaid for my positive opinion). We are continually impressed by how much they can carry, like Fabi's post about the 30lb bag of cat litter, and Andy's legendary trip to Costco last fall (a flat of Diet Coke, two gallons of vinegar, a 30-pack of toilet paper, 15 rolls of paper towels, and a duffel with Andy's work clothes and lunch box).
However, I still don't think that their trunk space is well-known: recently I brought dinner to a friend with a newborn baby, and when I stopped by later to pick up my dishes, she said that she had almost taken them along to a Farmer's Market, hoping to bump in to me, but wasn't sure if I would be on my bike and unable to take them home. Au contraire! This bike holds a ton of stuff, so I snapped a little picture diary of yesterday's grocery store trip, just to show you how awesome my longtail can be when it's stuffed to the gills.
First, the full-body shot: my Xtracycle Radish longtail parked in our garage with a full store load (although this pic was actually from a couple months ago, I just wanted to give you the big picture).
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App 
Here was my actual grocery run from yesterday (clearly we eat a lot of Cheerios at our house; General Mills ought to give me a stipend for being their mobile billboard by riding around town with that recognizable yellow box). This trip was not so big that I needed to utilize the plastic deck behind Alton's blue child seat, but that sturdy surface provides a resting spot for things with easy bungee tether points all around it. Zero dollars per gallon!
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Here's a side view of the bags. These are Xtracycle's own "Freeloader" bags, which you can see are open on top and sorta shaped like a sling, with adjustable straps so that you can tighten the sling snugly to your load. On the inside of each bag is a large velcro pocket, which is really handy for keeping some things out of the weather, or for stowing items that you need and use on the bike all the time.
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As I mentioned above, the longtail really does ride like a regular bike even when its loaded down, and part of how this is accomplished is because those sling-bags keep weight low to the ground. Even still, it's important to try to balance your weight somewhat so that you don't notice a "pull" on your heavier side. You can see that on this trip I loaded my bags pretty full on each side, and made sure to mirror my gallon of milk on one side...

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...with a seven-pound bag of apples on the other side.
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Somehow, no matter how much or little I buy at the store, I usually wind up with no room in the rear bags for my purse and personal accoutrements. For this reason (and for the reason that it's pretty), I have a handlebar basket on my bike as well. It's a fabric bag with some kind of plastic stiffener inside to help hold its shape, a drawstring top, and even a strap to carry it like a purse. You can see that on my handlebars I also have a cage to hold Alton's (green) water bottle. Handy to pass back to him for a drink while we are riding!
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Inside the fabric basket on this trip were my purse and two Pooh Bear stowaways. I'm not sure how they ended up coming along on with us, but I was glad that I had room for them!
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The bike came with only one set of mounting points for a waterbottle cage (bikes that are more touring or mountain bike specific usually have at least two), so I use that one for my own water bottle.
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
My seat's trunkbag underneath is where I always keep a cable lock and key, so that I never have to remember to bring a lock with me, and so that it's stowed out of the way under my seat between the footholders of Alton's child seat.

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I usually also carry a waterproof seatcover, to protect the leather of my super-comfortable Brooks saddle in the Oregon rain drizzle.
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
Then you have me, or part of me at least. Alton snapped this picture and I guess this is all you get from a four-year-old's perspective.  But on this somewhat chilly and wet day I was wearing a jacket, pants and cycling gloves in addition to my omnipresent orange reflective vest.
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My last piece of cargo: my son Alton. Since his pic includes a face, you can also see him utilizing our helmet earwarmers, little triangle sleeves of black fleece that I made which slip onto our helmet buckles for in-place earmuffs on the ride.
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
Now let's get going before that ice cream melts!

2 comments:

  1. Although I have seen your bikes up close and in action, I appreciate your thorough explanation of how and why all the parts of the long tail are utilized. Keep up your good work!

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  2. I love the detail! And learning about different ways you store stuff. I like the idea of having a bike lock behind the seat. Maybe I will be adding that to my bike :D I am always hesitant of going grocery shopping when I have both kids on the Dummy because Matthew's extra seat takes up so much room from the bags, but I think you have inspired me to take on my next grocery trip with two kids!!!

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