Bringing something Xtra for the chipper

By John Bennett

January 6, 2008

Today’s Savannah Morning News Coastal Empire section features great photos by Carl Elmore of Drew Wade of the Coastal Georgia Greenway and his daughter Margaret. According to the cutline, the pair “used a bicycle” to transport a Christmas tree to the “Bring One for the Chipper” recycling event at Home Depot. While the cutline is technically correct, Wade’s vehicle isn’t just a bicycle. It’s an Xtracycle.

Wade is among a handful of local residents who are using bikes equipped with FreeRadical hitchless trailer kits. The FreeRadical turns an ordinary bicycle into a “Sport Utility Bike,” by moving the rear wheel of the bike back by about 15-inches and thereby “radically” increasing the cargo carrying capacity so that it can safely transport large items like, well, Christmas trees.

The Xtracycle site features a gallery of photos depicting Xtracycles carrying heavy and cumbersome loads. In Portland, Oregon, Xtracycles are regular fixtures at moving day parties at which residential relocations are achieved using bicycles instead of pickups, vans or station wagons.

For folks who are looking to reduce their automobile dependency, but still need to transport, say,  100 pounds of dog food, 100 pounds of dog or 100 pounds of people food, the FreeRadical is a terrific option for transforming a normal bicycle into a very useful hauler. For those who don’t want to fuss with the installation, complete bikes are available from Xtracycle and at least one other vendor.

Posted in Recycling, Transportation