6.7.10

Longtails

There are only two things keeping me from converting my bike to a longtail:

1. It won't fit on a bus
2. I'm effictively broke.

For those who don't know what a longtail extension is, it's basically just what it sounds like. It's a frame extension that attaches to the rear of your bike, adding about an extra foot or so (I don't recall exactly) of frame length, hence "longtail." "What good is that?" you might be asking. Upfront, you can haul a lot more stuff on your bike - essentially you can carry twice as much shit on the back as there's that much more room for panniers or bungie strapping. Also, because the bike's center of gravity is moved farther back you can carry a lot more weight safely; for example, the main Longtail I was looking at (Xtracycle) actually comes with attachable footrests for people to ride on the back (this is where I gave a big "oh snap" to my roommate who had said "but dude, you can't pick up chicks on a bike"). A more subtle advantage is that the wider gravity center simply makes it easier to ride - something about putting your weight more in the center of the bike's center of gravity, makes the ride smoother, hills aren't as tough, yada yada yada.

In any case, they look great and pretty much trash any advantage of "convenience" of a car might have over a bike. Here are some great pictures to emphasize the point.







Also. Check out the Pleasant Revolution Bike Tour, including this guy. I'm pretty sure this is the first any group of people have ever tried a world tour by bike, and from the couple videos I've seen so far it looks absolutely awesome. Whole tour looks to have been done cargo bike; when they go busking, a couple others hop on their bikes and use pedalling to power the PA system, as seen in with Cello Joe. Anyway, super awesome, super inspiring, super fun.

No comments:

Post a Comment