Spotlight on Sponsors: Xtracycle

Bicycles have evolved to become so specified that we have different bicycles to handle different roads, different rides, different positions, and different jobs. These days a person must choose wisely because a road bike can no longer carry a heavy load, and a cargo bike might not work if going more than a few miles; we are now faced with a question of choice and it gets more and more limiting with each coming season. Thanks to Xtracycle, though, we now have the opportunity to enjoy a bicycle that covers all bases at once. Their products allow a person to have a single bicycle to use for a multitude of different tasks, and in this new world of too-many-choices their philosophy of singularity is a relief.

While bike trailers have been around for decades, Xtracycle has completely re-thought the process from the standpoint of a bicycle rider and this seems to make all the difference because their systems work flawlessly with a variety of bicycle types, are capable of carrying people or heavy cargo without any special changes, and perhaps the most important part is that they have done all of this without sacrificing the handling of the bicycle. Their system is simple: extend the rear wheel and carry the load between wheel and saddle, which is a huge departure from the trailers of yesteryear that needed to be hitched and pulled behind the bicycle itself creating a problem of handling as well as taking up time to hitch and unhitch. Thanks to Xtracycle, a simple attachment with just three bolts is all that is needed to turn any road bike, commuter bike, hybrid bike, mountain bike or beach bike into a fully integrated hauler, complete with bottomless bags and a place to sit should you decide to tow a passenger or two. This effective system gives cyclists exactly what we have been lacking for a long time: a useful bike for any situation that requires cargo. There is no need to unhitch the system when not in use so even when unloaded the bicycle will perform perfectly with absolutely no compromise made to the handling. Its capacity is unmatched in the industry; an Xtracycle is fully capable of carrying several hundred pounds gracefully and without much added effort on the part of the rider. They’ve made the impossible happen: hundreds of pounds of cumbersome cargo becomes weightless thanks to their product.

Xtracycle has been a big sponsor of our race for the past few years, and they are chipping in big time yet again. We thank them for the Free Radical prize they are donating, and we hope our cargo race means getting more and more Xtracycles out on the road.

In the photo, a racer at last year's start reclines on his Xtracycle.

(Text courtesy of Brian Raymond.)