Upgrading to EdgeRunner

My new EdgeRunner is finished! For those of you, like me, who can't wait to see it:

It shares much of the same fit/geometry/styling as my old Karate Monkey Xtracycle. Here's how the build went down. 

When the frameset arrived at Defiance Bicycles, I immediately pedaled down to check it out. 

I hauled it home on my Xtracycle (of course.)

My friend Brian followed me home on his bike and took this photo. Note the 29er wheels and all of that ground clearance!

Brian then loaned me a copy of Gerd Schraner's book The Art of Wheelbuilding, which I read cover to cover. The next day, with the help of a few friends and a case of beer, I built the rear  wheel using the Schraner Method. If you are thinking about building a wheel for the first time, I recommend using those three things: the method, the friends, and the beer.

My first wheel: an XT disc hub (salvaged from my broken wheel) laced to a 20" Rhyno Lite rim with 36 spokes. 

This may be a good time to point out that the EdgeRunner has 138mm O.L.D. spacing in the rear to accommodate electric-assist hubs. (My frame actually measured 138.9mm.) There is just enough axle on this 135mm quick-release hub to catch in the dropouts, but we did add a 1.5mm spacer to each side to help center it and take up the gap (per Xtracycle's build spec). The EdgeRunner frame doesn't have the same amount of flex that you might expect from a regular steel rear triangle. This build option seems to be working fine.

Starting on a weekend morning, with no where to haul the kids and while the LBS was still open, I started building the EdgeRunner. This was a bittersweet event because many of the parts were coming directly off of my Xtracycle. There would be no turning back.

[There's a crazy story here in the middle of the build here that involves me needing a tool, realizing one of my bikes had been stolen, finding the thief riding my bike, and me recovering it. While that wholly unbelievable part of the build took only four minutes, it will require it's own lengthy post. More on that later.]

My FreeLoader bags and V-racks are still in good shape. Five years of use and they are showing their age, but it's nothing a few iron-on patches can't fix. I may even toss them in the washing machine someday.

At the end of Build Day One, the EdgeRunner looked pretty good and the old Xtracycle looked like this:

I took a break to go on The Dead Winter Mob Ride around town. We stopped on the Murray Morgan bridge to take in the scenery and marvel at the fresh pavement. It was glorious.

The next morning I meant to finish the EdgeRunner, but became rather distracted by the fact that my Karate Monkey frame was finally available for mountain bike duty after these many years of cargo and kid hauling. It's going to be RAD.

Mountain bike day-dreams aside, Build Day Two was frustrating. I struggled to remove the adjustable legs from the KickBack centerstand. They were rather stuck with lots of rusty muck. Also, the taco plate in the middle was shaped for the round FreeRadical tubing and not the wide oval-shaped tubing of the EdgeRunner. At first I tried to widen the taco plate with a bench grinder, then a friend stopped by and pointed out that the plate should just be replaced with something flat.

In the end, I removed the taco plate and wrapped it with a strip of old innertube. The legs finally came out with some T9 Boeshield and a bench vise. I had to chop about 2" off of the legs (cut at the "0" mark) to get the kickstand properly setup for the small 20" rear wheel.

Overall, the build wasn't too bad. I still need to figure out how to mount my passenger handlebars. The EdgeRunner seatpost is a bigger diameter than the stoker stem I was using. I also wasn't sure I wanted a front derrailer, but the one I intended to try won't fit on the frame due to the position of the shift cable stop. Oh well. Gearing is 38x12-32 if you're wondering.

There is certainly more to follow about the EdgeRunner as we incorporate it into the daily routine. And more on that mountain bike, too!

Everyone's Riding Bikes

Yesterday I received a call from one of my wife's college friends. She lives in Tacoma and was exploring the interwebs for a how-to on biking with little ones. Totcycle was very helpful, she said, but they didn't have a Madsen kg271 available in her neighborhood for test-rides. Tacoma Bike Ranch did! She walked down to the ranch and took the Bucket Bike for a spin with her 2 year old. Small world, eh?

Then my cousin calls at the eleventh hour, saying he wants to join me for the Harmon Bike Club's Tuesday Night Ride*. Except I have his bike hanging in my garage and he will have to meet me at the Hub, or risk being late. No worries, says I.


Four blokes showed up for the ride, and the five of us went on a barn-stormer down through 5-Mile Drive in Point Defiance Park, then over towards the Narrows Bridge. The rabbit of the bunch opted for the 6th Ave hill instead of a lap over the bridge. Pints of porter and sweet potato fries helped speed us towards recovery back at the Hub.


Most of the folks on the Tuesday Night Ride are training for the Courage Classic, which I'm riding this summer for the second time. It's a fund-raising ride for the Child Abuse Intervention department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma. Every dollar goes directly to helping these kids, and it only take a minute to donate online.

Now get out there and ride your bike!


*Tuesday Night Rides start at 5:30pm from The Hub at 203 Tacoma Ave S in Tacoma. 20-25 miles around town and anyone is welcome to tag along.

Grocery Run

Sarah and I planned a short rec ride for this morning, 10-15 mies on the Scott Pierson Trail, followed by a grocery run on the way home. We were soaked with some of the coldest rain imaginable by the time we reached the trail entrance behind TOP Foods, so we decided that this was far enough in these conditions. We purchased about 60 pounds of groceries and a 40 pound bag of dog food.

When we came out of the grocery store, the sun was coming out. The rain had stopped and our load made it home completely dry.


I noticed quite a few car drivers doing double takes at the loaded Xtracycle on our way home. While waiting in a turn lane, one car driver hollered, "Very cool, man!"

So far, I've avoided doing big grocery runs with the kids by bicycle, but that's coming. Now that I know Tula can fit in the PeaPod, the logistics of getting the two girls to the grocery store on the Xtracycle are falling in to place. A sunny day would also be helpful!

Little Passengers

On Saturday I tuned up the brakes on my Xtracycle and Cross Check, now that the foul winter weather has taken its toll on the brake pads. I also added a new rear fender to the Xtracycle made from a coroplast campaign sign I found in a ditch post-election. I needed to test ride the setup, and decided to give Tula her first ride in the PeaPod seat.

It was biting cold in the damp 45°F air, but she didn't seem to mind at all. In fact...

I'm pretty sure she loves it! Now I need to finish my Snapdeck hack so that my 3 year-old can ride behind the PeaPod. More to follow!

Recreational Riding...

I organized a Sunday morning group ride for the Harmon Bike Club. Unfortunately, I woke up to find two inches of snow that were no where near the weather forecast for today (I was expecting a 92% chance of rain.) Well I'll be damned if I'm going to let down the one other person that might be willing to plow the slush with me this morning. I took the Xtracycle, wore my yellow rain coat (very rare occasion), lots of wool, and ski gloves. A small thermos of coffee was my back-up plan.

After two cups of coffee at The Hub, I rolled out at 10:20 by myself. Here's where I went:

View Larger Map

And here's what it looked like:


I stuck to the arterials where the cars had already plowed most of the slush off of the roads. I was already soaked when I reached Point Defiance Park, so I opted not to ride the portion of 5-Mile Drive that is closed to vehicles each weekend morning (more slush and run-off.) The 14 mile route felt more like a 20-miler, which was what I was shooting for today.

The sun peaked out on my way home. I got lots of smiles from drivers and saw one other set of bike tracks in the park. Those are very uplifting signs on a ride like this. Signs that kept me grinning the whole way.

A Weekend of Bicycling

I've been out on two wheels quite a bit, and thought I'd wrap it all up neatly for your consumption.

Friday:
Sarah had the girls, so Kyler and I took the Xtracycle to Puget Park. We stopped at the library and a bakery on the way home. It was a little chilly once we reached cruising speed, but the little guy loves going for bike rides. Xtracycle's Kick Back (double-leg kickstand) was worth the wait and the money. I have no worries about loading, unloading, or "idling" kids in the bobike seat while it is engaged.

Saturday:
I loaded up the basket on the Cross Check and left early for a chilly ride through Point Defiance Park. I dressed in wool and took a thermos of tea, a pbh sandwich, camera, extra layers. The basket was full, but not very heavy, and managed the load well. I stopped for a snack and a warm drink at the Narrows lookout point, only to find that the memory card was not in my camera. Doh! After the 15 mile ride, I decided that my Xtracycle is better suited longer tours like the Courage Classic ride that I'm planning to do again this summer. Although, I may swap my sprung VO saddle to the Cross Check and give it one more try.

From Cross Check

Sunday:
Cross Check milk run. I needed one gallon of whole milk and one quart of soy milk. However...

1 gal milk = $2.99 ea
2 gal milk = $1.99 ea (must buy two)

Who comes up with these rediculous sales? Not being one to turn down a deal, and knowing we'd drink it, I picked up two. The soy milk was also cheaper buy the half gallon. Plenty of deals, but I only had my basket and front rack. (I think the rack limit is 15 pounds.) With my 20 pounds of liquid cargo and the U-lock tucked under the cargo net, I slowly meandered the 1.5 miles home. The handling was poor, which is what I expected, but manageable. I now know the upper limit of this setup.

Monday:
Sarah and I ran errands in the van today. Too far to practically bike, but that's why we have the van. We stacked the destinations and didn't do any backtracking, at least.

Tuesday:
We ran out of powdered sugar and baking cocoa, so Kyler and I again took to two wheels. We stopped to admire the fire trucks in Proctor, as there was some sort of multi-station meeting going on (must have been six engines in front of the station.) We also slowed to check out the large back-hoes and grading equipment tearing up Union Ave. Kyler also spotted a garbage truck during this stop. He's got an eye for garbage trucks.

From Xtracycle

How's it lookin' back there?

I usually do my big grocery shopping trips at night after the kids are in bed. There's less traffic, both on the road and in the isles, so I can usually get more done in less time.

From Xtracycle

After returning home from a recent trip, I began to wonder about my night-time visibility to cars approaching from the rear, since I can at least see what's coming at me from up ahead. I always wear a reflective vest at night as well as a blinkie on my Bell Metro helmet. The Xtracycle also has a bottle-dynamo driven light set, but it's the many added reflectors that seem to be doing the most good.

Day...(notice LED standlight)

From Xtracycle

Night...

From Xtracycle

I think adding some reflective tape to the corners of the H-racks would seal the deal...

Sweetness...

Another reason to check out the Xtracycle Gallery...Thanks, John!

The KMX

A few more shots of my Surly Karate Monkey Xtracycle in action. The setup was mostly taken from a Clever Cycles suggestion with additional input from Aaron's Bicycle Repair.