Editor Note: Several people have pointed out that PVC piping can shatter without warning when under load. While we used this setup regularly for over a year without incident, know that this is a possibility and build and use this setup at your own risk. If you are interested in a more durable version, please contact me through my framebuilding company, and I can build this for you with light weight chromoly steel tubing. The cost is $200 plus shipping and includes powder coating and cork bar wrap.
When I purchased my Xtracycle FreeRadical conversion kit a few weeks ago, I was mainly focused on finding a good way to haul my kids around by bike. We currently have a bike trailer for two that is rapidly outgrowing its usefulness. Miles, my eldest, looks mighty cramped in that thing, and I was never a fan of how the trailer negatively effected the handling of my road bike. I also hated how long it took us to get ready with the attaching of the trailer, the loading of the kids, the securing of the cover, and the reverse actions at the end of the ride.
My Xtracycle FreeRadical with custom kiddie handlebars
For a while, I considered getting a Bakfiets, the Dutch bicycle equivalent of the mini-van. With it’s large wooden container that can easily fit two children, it seemed like a great option. However, the $3000 plus price tag and limited availability of this bike led me to other pastures. With my old Trek 7200 just gathering dust, I decided to take the Xtracycle plunge and order a FreeRadical conversion kit.
Last week, my kit arrived and within hours I had installed it and given Marcus’ wife, Nicole, a ride. But I wanted to also start hauling my kiddos around and the standard setup did not feel safe enough for a 4 and 2 year old. I searched for many options other parents had tried including the Xtracycle Footsies/Stoker Bar combo and putting seats on the top board but finally settled on an interpretation of long handlebars surrounding the kids. The version I originally saw was made of metal piping, but for ease of construction and to save weight, I created a version made of PCV pumping pipes and joints.
Here’s an overview of how I made it and thoughts on how it performs.
Building the handlebars
Materials
- 2 eight foot sections of 1″ PCV pipe (the thinner gauge for weight savings is fine)
- 4 PCV elbow joints for 1″ piping
- 4 PCV “T” joints for 1″ piping (make sure it’s 1″ for all connections)
- 20 1 1/2 #10 bolts with nuts
- 40 #10 washers
- 2 6″ rubber tube clamp
- 2 6″ or longer zip ties
- 2 1 1/2″ long water bottle boss hex bolts (came with Xtracycle)
- Saw with miter box
- Tape measure
- Drill
- Electrical Tape
- Black bar tape
- 1 Skull and cross bones pirate flag (optional)
Finished handlebars from above. The front cross tube is connected like the back, it just has bar tape on it.
My wife and I had several discussions about the design of these bars in which I think neither of us understood what the other was saying, but it yielded a good design in the end. We ended up at the hardware store way too late at night with with kids but ended up settling on 1″ PCV piping and joint connectors. The entire set of materials not counting the bar tape and tools I already had cost me $17.
I’m going to give measurements for what I built, but much of it was based on putting my kids on the back of the Xtracycle and making measurements based on that. You can certainly use my measurements to build your own, but I’d use your kids as a guide checking as you go. The upside is that building these handlebars is cheap and easy so if you make a mistake, it’s not a big deal.
First, I cut 4 pieces of 2 foot long piping to make the down tubes. Do measure each piece for length including the last as the piping was not exactly 8 feet. I then cut 2 very short pieces at 2″ each. These ended up being the pieces to connect the elbow joint with the first T joint. Next, I cut the front cross piece at 9″ that connect the T joints across the Xtracycle linking the hand rails for added strength. You can now put the front section together with the elbow joints and T joints to check your work and make sure everything fits OK.
"T" & elbow joints with drilled bolts
To continue building to the back of the bike, I cut two 18″ pieces of piping connecting to the front T joint on one end and the second set of T joints on the back. Since the Xtracycle FreeRadical tapers narrower to the back, I cut the second cross beam slightly shorter at 7 1/2″. This also gives you a little tighter connection when putting it all together but was within the tolerances of the piping and joints. To connect the handlebar frame to the back elbow joint and down tube, I cut two more short piping pieces at 3″ each. I then put it all together to make sure everything fit right before proceeding.
Installation
Front downtube of handlebars bolted to frame boss
When I purchased my FreeRadical kit, I also bought the Footsie accessory to make it more comfortable for someone to ride on the back. It turns out my son is not tall enough to need them. Once I got to the installation stage, I removed them to allow more space to install the handlebar down tubes. I was going to use large metal piping camps on the front but discovered bolt bosses on the Free Radical frame. I had several long hex bolts left over from the FreeRadical installation so I drilled holes in the piping about a inch from the bottom and ran the bolts through the piping into the bosses.
Back downtube secured with pipe clamp and bottom zip tie
Unfortunately, on the back there aren’t any of these bosses so I had to use the clamps I bought, tightening them until they bent to the contours of the tubing. In addition, I drilled holes about an inch from the bottom like I did in the front to allow zip ties to be run through the piping and around the back of the frame. I did this to prevent the back of the handle bars from slipping down. While the metal clamps take most of the load, these zip ties are a secondary measure to keep things from moving around.
Once everything was installed, it was time to secure the joints so they would not pop open while riding. There is joint adhesive available for PCV piping if you want a cleaner look, but I opted for bolts at each joint instead since I don’t know the strength of the adhesive and wanted to be able to take the handlebars apart in the future if I want. I went ahead and drilled holes through the joint and piping about a 1/2″ from the end of each joint taking care to make sure I was drilling in a straight line through. I then dropped the 1 1″2 bolts through each hole with washers on both sides. My largest drill bit created a hole that was pretty tight for the bolts so I rocked the bit back and forth while drilling to slightly enlarge the hole.
Front joints covered with electrical & cork bar tape
The handle bars were now ready to go, but the bolts were slightly long and I didn’t want my kids to hurt their hands on the bolts. On the front where they would grab, I wrapped the area of the joint where the bolts were with electrical tape. I then began wrapping the entire area with cork bar tape. I ran out of bar tape fairly quickly and have not had a chance to get some more. I intend to wrap the entire top part of the bars with tape eventually, but the most often gripped section that has bolts is now covered making the build ready to ride.
Impressions on Ride Quality
IMPORTANT NOTE: One thing I’ll say about the Xtracycle FreeRadical kit is that it is imperative that you tightly bolt down all the frame connections and double check them before you haul your first load. This is especially important when haul people as the center of gravity is higher then other loads. I say this because our maiden voyage with my kids was quiet scary. Apparently in my rush to get Xtracycle ready, I had not sufficiently bolted the conversion frame. Our first ride had a lot of shimmy and when we got to our destination, the frame twisted and popped loose, causing the bike to tip over with my kids in the back. I nursed the bike back home and reinstalled the frame conversion properly and since then everything has been fine. So just make sure everything is secure.
My kids were very excited to ride the new set up. Miles discovered that he could climb up on the bike himself, but Clara still needs help from me. When loading the kids, I highly recommend you hold onto or lean against the frame the entire time. The standard kickstand seemed to wobble quiet a bit, and I don’t trust it to keep the bike upright with the all that squirming weight in the back. The double footed kickstand is probably better at that. Also, when stopping or dismounting avoid tipping the bike too much as once there is a major weight shift with the kids, it’s hard to keep the bike upright.
Before you load your kids, I’ve found it very important to get the bike pointed the direction I’m planning on going. The bike is difficult to steer and a bit unwieldy when you are walking it with the kids on it, and I’m a little afraid of not being able to prevent it from tipping over in this case.
I found the bike a bit twitchy at very slow speeds and when pushing a hard gear at low cadence. This means I’ve tried to make sure I’m in a low gear to start, try to get up to speed quickly, and spin a high cadence on the ride.
Once up to speed, the Xtracycle is a real joy compared to our old trailer. I feel zippy instead of sluggish, and I take turns at higher speeds with confidence. My children have really enjoyed it as well. They like the faster speed and the ability to see more things without all the covering of the trailer. My son asks to ride the bike all the time now. This is a departure from the trailer which he was enjoying less and less.
I am amazed at how maneuverable and fast I am on the Xtracycle compared to this same bike before the conversion. We did several rides on hilly route. I was able to keep up with my unencumbered wife on the climbs, and we were an absolute rocket on the downhills.
We’ve also experimented around with positioning a bit. The Xtracycle is most stable when most of the weight is in front of the back wheel. In general, the children face forward with Miles in front. We also tried them facing backward. While they don’t want to do this all the time, I found this to be the most stable ride. It turns out facing backwards actually puts more weight forward and since they’re not looking at my back, there was less moving around back there to see things.
Riding off into the sunset
Final Thoughts
My overall thoughts are the ride quality of the Xtracycle is far superior to our trailer and allows for much more future use as my kids get older. The handle bar system we created has definitely performed better than I expected being lightweight, stable, and strong at the same time. The bar height ended up being a little higher than I expected, but I found this to be better at keeping the kids secure. In addition to the better ride quality, I’ve found our rides to be much more enjoyable because we can hear each other better and carry on conversations without yelling. I’m also enjoying the ease at which we can get going in contrast to the trailer. Our daily morning ride to daycare seems to now take about the same about of time as when we used to take the car with a lot less work getting kids in and out.
My new bicycle mini-van is a blast to ride, and I find myself wanting to ride with my kids instead of feeling obligated. It’s a brand new world, and I’m loving it.
Related posts:
on Sep 26th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I am considering giving up my car during the warmer months. My biggest concern was how to carry my 3 yr. old. I know it could be done. Thanks for the suggestion. I didn’t want to spend $400 on a trailer that he wouldn’t be in too long. How do you remove the handlebars that you’ve built? And any other beginner tips?
on Sep 26th, 2008 at 11:41 am
The bars are installed on the front with a hex bolt through the PCV tube into threaded bosses on the Free Radical frame. The back is attached with metal tubing clamps. To remove, I’d just remove the front bolts and rear clamps and lift it off.
Other tips, I’d practice riding without load first, then with your kid at slow speed on a low traffic street. It takes a little getting used to on handling. Also, don’t trust the kickstand alone while loading your kid or get the double foot version. Hold on or lean against the bike as they climb in. Finally, if your child is extra squirmy, tey having him or her face backward. It puts more of their eight forward, which makes the setup more stable in handling, and they can see better and don’t squirm as much.
on Oct 6th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
You think you are saving money but the first broken bone or facial reconstruction surgery or worse that your kid endures (plus the arrest from police for having caused injury to your child with a reckless device ) will make that $3000 seem like chicken feed.
It’s one thing to put your groceries in a homemade shaky contraption – it another to put your kids in there.
PVC pipes are notorious for breaking without warning. Unlike metal – they crack and shatter. The bolt holes will likely crack and give way with no warning.
Sorry – I admire your ingenuity but this is a horrible idea.
You just don’t risk your kids in a device like this.
Even you doing a sharp trun to avoid sudden cars or hitting a big pothole can cause those bolted pipe joints to fail -especially with all the leverage on them from the kids side to sdie motion at the tiop of the pipes.
on Oct 6th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Yep, we’re doomed.
on Oct 6th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Life is full of calculated risks. When it comes to loss of limb and life, automobiles are statistically more dangerous than a bike any day. We just feel better in our metal cans. The Xtracycle is built to haul people. My adaptation is simply to give my children something to hang onto, not support their weight.
I believe there is no way to totally avoid pain and injury in life. Such reasoning has turned our country into a bunch of fearful, overprotective twits willing to trade truly living life for illusion of safety.
I’m not saying you should not be reasonably safe or do unnecessarily dangerous things. Life is a balance. I feel comfortable with the choice we made knowing life will not always give us what we want when we want it. That is the peace I’ve made with the universe that allows me to get up and live every day to the fullest I can.
on Dec 20th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
[...] up the kids for the ultimate in cargo biking. I have been taking the kids to school most days in this Xtracycle mini-van, but this would be a real test of my commitment to utility cycling and my leg [...]
on Jul 16th, 2009 at 2:01 am
Is there any reason why the younger one is in the back? Does it affect handling to put the younger one in the middle?
on Jul 16th, 2009 at 7:28 am
On the Xtracycle, it’s best to keep as much weight as possible in front of the rear wheel axle. Too much weight behind the axle makes the bike unstable and difficult to ride. Sometimes the kids sit backwards which puts the weight further forward and improves the ride quality.
on Jul 31st, 2009 at 12:49 pm
That’s good man, keep it going.
on Jul 31st, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Automobiles are only more dangerous than bikes if you pick the right statistic (singular, I’m only aware of one) to look at. If you look at other statistics, they’re more dangerous.
The one statistic I’m referring to is the `The Fatality Rate Per Hour’ argument, used in http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm. But safety is far more than simply not dying. I’d rather not break my hip, for example, like Ken has.
If you look at deaths *and* significant injuries, and try to be more accurate about how many miles you ride (many people overestimate), driving is safer. Not an order of magnitude or something like that, but significantly. The usual counter to this argument is the increased overall health from exercising, and there’s validity to that, but I’m not sure it really fits — you could get that exercise on an exercise bike too, then drive to work. Exercise AND safer!
I’ll still be riding, and I’ll take my kids with me. I just hate seeing statistics misused to prove a point.
on Jul 31st, 2009 at 1:25 pm
(And I hate to have to mention it, but somebody else probably will, so I’ll do it first — Ken Kifer was killed by a drunk driver while riding his bike. This doesn’t really affect my argument, however — it could happen to anybody, no matter what their mode of transportation is.)
on Sep 3rd, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Hi. I realize this is a year old, but curious after a year of use how this is going and what thoughts you have on this mod?
Jimmy
on Sep 6th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Jimmy Jo Bob,
I’ll try to write up a more detailed one year later, but all in all it has been great. My kids love riding on the Xtracycle. We are now a 2 Xtracycle family thanks to a Free Radical I won at SXSW, but my wife’s only has a stoker bar on the back. This will be OK for both kids in the next few years, but we think our 3 year old is not yet rear to leave “the cage.” Our 5 year old rides fine with just a stoker bar every day to school.
We used thick PVC which has held up well, but I have to admit to being given some pause based on other comments made about sudden failure (kind of reminders you of carbon fiber!) I am working on a version of this in chromoly steel tubing possibly for sale though my frame building company, Violet Crown Cycles. I’ll let you know how things develop.