It appears that 2007 has been a good year for continued development in the realm of bicycle cargo trailers as evidenced by a variety of new products sprinkled around the wide expanse of Interbike.
Xtracycle had a booth at Interbike after being absent in recent years. They had plenty of reason to be there as they were debuting a range of exciting new accessories for their Xtracycle FreeRadical.
At the top of the list was their long anticipated kickstand, the Xtracycle KickBack. It took a while but it was worth the wait. The new kickstand appears to give very solid support to the Xtracycle. This will be great for loading and unloading as well as using the Xtracycle as a seat, table, handing out pamphlets, blending or anything else that a mobile platform is useful for. The kickstand folds back and is held up and out of the way with a built-in ratching system.
With a nod toward the touring/adventure set, Xtracycle has come out with a new style of their vertical racks. The Xtracycle Pannier Racks are setup to take two bike panniers on each side. While the Xtracycle Freeloader Saddlebags offer great convenience for local use, they are not ideal for touring. Now you can easily mount fully enclosed, waterproof panniers such as these Ortlieb panniers. These new Pannier Racks include an additional horizontal piece of tubing that is the same size as standard bike racks and can interface with pannier mounting systems. Xtracycle CamStraps hold the bottom of the panniers against the Adventure Racks. A set of CamStraps are included with the Adventure Rack.
A lighter version of the Xtracycle SnapDeck was introduced as well. This aluminum fender styled SnapDeck, the Xtracycle TekDek, can replace the heavier wooden SnapDeck. The aluminum fender weighs in at about 1/2 a pound as compared to the 2 pound wood SnapDeck. It is not as wide as the wood SnapDeck leading to a narrower overall profile of the Xtracycle. This does result in the vertical racks not being held in place as firmly. A set of Xtracycle Watchamacollars are available options with the TekDek to hold the vertical racks in tightly.
All of these new adventure ready Xtracyle components, the TekDeK, 2 Adventure Racks with CamStraps and 1 or 2 sets of Watchamacollars are available as an upgrade kit, the Xtracycle Adventure Kit. Additionally, the Xtracycle 26″ or 700c base Frames are offered standard with either the Xtracycle LongTail Kit for $489 or with the Xtracycle Adventure Kit for $499.
A nifty little adapter will allow you to take off your bike messenger bag and sling it onto the side of the Xtracycle. This adapter kit consists of two knobs that are mounted onto the messenger bag and two rubberized receiver sockets for locking the bag into place for the ride. The messenger bag can be set in place with or without the freeloader saddlebag in place. Your messenger bag can sit on top of a load in the freeloader if necessary. Note: this item is not yet available.
Finally, additional accessories for using the Xtracycle in its passenger carrying capacity will soon be available. A padded seat, the Xtracycle Magic Carpet, for the Xtracycle SnapDeck and an Xtracycle Stoke Bar to mount to the seat post will work nicely together with the Xtracycle Footsies to make a comfortable ride for your passengers.
All these Xtracycle accessories are now available at the Bike Trailer Shop.