Getting an Xtracycle Home without an Xtracycle

Matt Elias was in the process of fulfilling his ambition to be completely carfree in Tucson. He had just purchased a full Xtracycle setup from Campfire Cycling when he encountered a cart-before-the-horse problem: How do you haul all of this Xtracycle hardware home before you’ve retrofitted your bike as an Xtracyle?

In a car? Of course not.

Matt Elias Pre-Xtracycle

Contents: FreeRadical Cargo Bike Kit ($199.00), FlightDeck ($75.00), KickBack Kickstand ($150.00), LongLoader Rack ($50.00 ea), Mini MagicCarpet ($15.00), WhatchamaCollars Rack Mounts ($25.00), WideLoader Rack ($55.00 ea), X2 FreeLoader Saddlebag Lids ($25.00 ea), X2 FreeLoader Saddlebags ($100.00 pair), and Pannier Racks ($50.00 pair).

I’ll save you the trouble of doing the math. That’s just shy of $1000 worth of commitment to making the glorious leap to car freedom.

Matt bike commutes to his job at REI in Tucson.

Matt and I discovered that we have something in common. Our biggest challenge to becoming car free is the same thing: our respective skeptical partners. I’m more optimistic for Matt’s success than my own.

Matt Elias' Gary Fisher Bike
Before…

He told me he did the retrofit on his Gary Fisher hard-tail mountain bike the very next day.

Matt Elias' Xtracycle
After…

And he was happy to share photos of his who-needs-a-goddamn-car success.

Matt Elias' Xtracycle Loaded
After after

Note the excess capacity on the WideLoader rack. He has room for, I don’t know, another set of Xtracycle hardware for his girlfriends’s bike.

Congratulations, Matt.

Yeah, I’m jealous.

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