However, it's not that great for quick trips to the shops. Where I live most shops are within an easy bike ride, but even with a capacious backpack, it can be difficult to lug everything back again. Also, even my heavily battle scared Cannondale just screams "Expensive bike!", and no matter how extreme my locks and security precautions are, I'm always a bit leery of leaving it outside a shop.
So, what I really needed was a cheap crappy old bike, and some way of converting it to being a load carrier.
I developed all sorts of pretty crazy ideas, but never got round to building any of them - mostly because they would have resulted in me being killed in some horrific road crash, when it all disintegrated underneath me.
I thought about trailers, but they're too unstable for my liking - I don't like the way they change the handling of the bike, and they're a bugger to manoeuvre when you're not riding.
Then I came across a bunch called Xtracycle, who make this awesome kit called the FreeRadical. It basically bolts onto your frame, and extends your bike to enable it to carry some serious loads.
So, I picked up a £10 donor bike from a jumble stall at our local May Fair, headed over to the lovely chaps at Practical Cycles in the UK.
On a related note - why do people throw away old bikes like that? A new set of inner tubes and tyres costs less than £20. A new chain is only £15 and a new rear cog set can be had for around the £20-£30 mark.
Seriously, if I wasn't doing the FreeRadical build, I could have put this £10 bike on the road, suitable for everyday commuting use, for under £80. £30 or so would have make it perfectly serviceable for occasional use.
Anyway, I've documented my build up on my Xtracycle FreeRadical Flickr photoset.
I'm a total amateur when it comes to bike maintenance. I've always taken my Cannondale to my local bike shops - I've adjusted the brakes and greased the chain and that's been about it. The only extra tool I needed for this build was a bike chain tool (£5) - I already had sockets and spanners. Everything was very straightforward and easy, and took about 3 hours in total. The instructions could have done with some more pictures, which would have made it easier to figure out a few parts - but this is something easily do-able by any budding bike mechanic.
The finished bike is a pleasure to ride. You don't notice the extra length at all, and it can be easily picked up via the FreeRadical frame and carried under one arm. It took two of my kids round the block quite happily.
Xtracycle's FreeRadical kit is excellent. It's simple and it works, and I've ended up with a very practical load carrier that's going to be put to heavy use for shopping trips, taking the kids to school, and heading off to the recycling bins.
