Q & A

First there was a question and I had an answer:

From rootsradicals@yahoo.com cargo bike listserve,

"I'd like a tire that can handle some off-road/gravel/hard-pack/maybe some mud, but which will also be fairly low rolling resistance on the the street. Right now I think my Xtracycle will see mostly street duty, but I'd like to have tires on it that will serve for those times that I might ride on the rough stuff. Also, after seeing some blog posts by a guy who uses his Big Dummy to carry equipment out to his research sites, I've been inspired by the idea of maybe using my Xtracycle to get out to do camping, birding, carrying my boat, etc."

So replied with this,

As a guy who has written "some blog posts by a guy who uses his Big Dummy to carry equipment out to his research sites"  I'll throw my two cents out there. 

(I don't know for sure if it was my posts that you read or not, but if there is somebody else hauling research equipment with a Dummy I'd love to have the link and the chance to pick his brain.)

First off I see you bought the Kendas.  Looked like a great deal on a quality tire, I hope you enjoy them and report back when you've got some miles and an opinion on them.

As for my set up, I am a tire tinkerer.  I enjoy experimenting with different tire/rim combos just to see what happens.  On the BigDonkey I've tried a number of things including:  2.4 Maxxis Holy Rollers, 3.7 Surly Endomorph (up front only), 3.0 Nokian Gazzaloddi, 2.1 Bontrager 'generic style mountainbike tires', 29x2.35 Schwalbe Big Apples, and my favorite set up 26x2.35 Big Apples.

All of these tires were run on a widish (~44mm) Alex DM24 rim, and a couple also spent time on a modified Sun Ringle Double wide.

If you were posing this question regarding a non-longtail setup, I would hands down recommend the Holy Rollers (which I've run in the summer on couple different bikes, including my Surly 1x1), but a cargobike is a different beast.
This spring a gypsy I crossed path with traded me some Holy Rollers he had for the Big Apples I'd been running on my Dummy.  A few thousand miles later he was switching to full on fat tires and offered to mail my Big Apples back to me, to which I enthusiastically said 'yes'.  I swapped the Holy Rollers off and slapped the Big Apples back on and everything was again right with the world.  Not that the Holy Rollers were bad or lacking, but I just find the Big Apples to be a little nicer, a little quieter, a little smoother and a little more pleasant to ride.

The Big Apples plenty of traction for almost all of the trail riding I do on the Dummy.  The long, stable cargo bike isn't getting rallied through corners quite the same way a regular bike would so cornering traction isn't a huge issue.
The flat protection from the tires is fantastic and the ride quality is super plush.  I think Gypsy Nick rode something like 3,000 flat free,  loaded, touring miles on my well used Big Apples before mailing them back. 

A flat tire on a loaded cargobike could be particularly inconvenient.
Knock on wood, but in the past 3 years I've had no flats on the Big Donkey that I can recall.
I have however shifted the chain off the top of the cassette a couple of times and learned how annoying rear wheel repairs in the field can be.

I've had more than one instance of slamming hard into an unavoidable rock and feeling my rim make contact with the rim.  Not only have I escaped without pinch flats, but I've also not had to true the rims.
It looks like the Schwalbe Fat Franks would also be a excellent option and perhaps provide a hair more traction.

Just my thoughts, no more right or wrong than anyone else's, but I'll put them out there for what they're worth.




Then I had a question I sent out to Allman and Gypsy Nick that went something like this:

Subject:  Thoughts?

6 miles through the woods to school. 

4 miles on paths home.

2 hours later, in the garage, rear tire is flat . . . tear at the valve stem (presta).

2 nights in a row.

Additional information available upon request.

I have a theory or two, but would be curious if you had any additional insight.


After all the holiday thankfulness I have to say I'm thankful to be able find answers to bike questions on the internet.  Not too long ago things were a lot different. 
Resources and answers were quite limited by today's standards, I try not to take it for granted.

The Past Few Days

Bikes, friends, kids, fishing, family, some science and a wheel build.

We had a public use cabin reserved for a couple nights out on a lovely lake.  Allman, Poundcake and Fi rode out hang out the first night.

Trucking in a few odds and ends.

Little reeled this one in all on his own.

Friends and fires.

Bikes, boats and science.

I've had some disc specific Velocity rims laying around since last spring's bike swap. I had visions of building up a coaster brake wheel for the 1x1 or doing a fancier build with some of the new Surly Ultra Hubs, but financial realities weren't going to allow any of that to happen anytime soon.

New hubs came in the mail from my brother's LBS.

I had some birthday slowly burning a hole in my pocket the past 5 months.  I managed to swing a price match deal on some Shimano hubs that would allow me to build some wheels sooner rather than later. 

Now to do some spoke calculating.

Happy Camper

The view from camp

The Little man and I snuck out of town the beginning of this week for a little father/son adventure.  Mrs. was off an a quick paddling adventure so we decided to have a little fun on our own.

I had initially planed a little alpine, bikepacking adventure up Powerline pass, but the forecast was calling for winds in the neighborhood of 50mph.  Above treeline, in a tent, with a toddler didn't seem like a place I wanted to deal with that much wind, so plan B was head around Turnagain Arm for a little car camping.

End of the road in Hope, AK.

 Wind and light rain tempered some of the more ambitious trail riding and fishing plans we'd had, but we still did a little of both and spent a lot of quality time lounging around the campfire.

A pretty accurate portrayal of the blur that he typically is on his little bike.

I probably shouldn't be, but  I continue to be amazed, not just by Little wRider's improving balance, but by the amount of sheer joy he gets out of zipping around on two wheels. 

Cool and rainy, who cares?  Loving the good life.

How Many Lumens is That?

I've been asked a couple times in the last few days about light mounting with a diy PAUL Gino style light mount and/or mounting lights on the Surly Nice Rack, so I thought I'd share my set up.

Admittedly it isn't great in windy conditions, but for camping or when the power goes out in my home shop it's a great option. Inexpensive and no dead batteries to toss into the in the landfill.

Cabin Camping for Science

I made a quick research trip this week to check on a project I've had going all summer. Conveniently the research site has a public use cabin about 150meters away. I reserved a bunk and rode out late Wednesday afternoon on the Dummy.


Science and camping gear, plus a little bit of wood for the stove to make things a little bit cozier.


Everything was rolling along great until I ran into this. Since I hadn't packed a chainsaw I had to wrestle the loaded Dummy over this mess. The next day Mrs. and Little surprised me on the trail. She said she disconnected Little's trailer and lifted it over the tree without him waking up from his nap.



Long Load


I love the BOB sak packing method for Dummy camping. Everything stays dry and protected while riding and I can have the entire bike unloaded in about 1 minute. Especially nice if it is cold or raining.

Fall Cabin Camping

Did an overnight cabin camping trip with the family last night.

12 miles, wide gravel trail.

Dummy carried science equipment and camping gear for a family of 3.