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Old 05-01-11, 06:11 PM
  #150  
AdamDZ
Bike addict, dreamer
 
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Location: Queens, New York
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Well... that didn't last very long

I underestimated the size of this beast. It has become a problem and a subject of some heated discussions between me and my wife. The bike is huge and it's really hard to get in and out of the apartment. I found myself using the trailer more often than the Big Dummy. I've scratched walls and furniture already. With wideloaders attached it's wider than my trailer.

It's too heavy for touring, period. And too long. I even had hard time putting it inside my minivan (I moved 7' bookcases in this van). My latest attempt to tour was a flop (I wasn't feeling well though), and I finally realized that I need to learn to tour light and stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Anyway...

Also, this may come as a surprise to many, but I don't like the way BD rides loaded. I actually prefer to haul a trailer behind my MTB.

The final nail in the BD's coffin was the fact that I eventually came to terms with my crusade to become car-free... meaning, I gave up. This is just not going to happen. The car stays, it won't be used a lot, I'll remain car-lite but as long as I have a car I really don't need a dedicated cargo bike. My cargo trailer will be enough for my occasional light hauling needs and the car will do the heavy hauling.

So, all things considered the bike turned out to be a mistake (but I enjoyed building it) and it needs to go

If I can't sell it as it is I will part it up and just sell the frame and the xtracycle goodies and use the parts for something else. Probably a Troll, I still need a touring/weekend bike by the end of May. I only have one bike right now, the Kommuter built around the cheap Nashbar MTB frame.

When I come to think of it, the Kommuter is my favorite bike so far and I really like the way it handles. I might just get another Nashbar frame and build another bike around it for weekend rides and touring. I really don't think anymore that a fancy steel frame is required for the kind of riding that I do. The Nashbar frame is cheap but has braze-ons and mount points for everything and has strong rear dropout plates with holes for the rear rack, rather than brazed-on eyelets. It took a lot of beating while serving as a commuter for over a year now, including hitting some major potholes while loaded with groceries, and I came to trust this frame. Anyway, that's beyond the scope of this forum I need to think about that.

Yay... this one went faster than The Goat
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