A New Rider in Portland, Oregon

PDX Cabbie · #1 (**permalink**) 08-21-2008, 01:30 PM

Hello Motored Bicyclists. I'm Christopher Harley from Portland, Oregon. For work, I drive a taxi and have for the last 9.5 years. As many of you may know, Portland is renowned for its bike culture. Some would say the enthusiasm borders on psychotic militancy. Whichever it may be, I'm part of it but only in small measure. What I see from behind the wheel of my taxi is a completely different story. Namely; too many people driving too many cars and accomplishing so little while navigating 4000lbs of machinery. But, to each his own. I would never try to dictate what type of transportation to which anyone should be restricted. With that said, I'm now trying to decide how I can leave my personal vehicle parked at home while still being able to take advantage of a quick and efficient form of gas-powered mobility.

My bike is an Electra Townie 21. I'd like to start my upgrade by installing Xtracycle's Free Radical extension kit. I'm interested in this addition because I'd like to be able to haul things around and get out of the city for camping as well. Beyond that, I'm looking at various engine options and design schemes.

Any tips or advice is always welcome so let me thank you in advance.

**fairracing31** · #2 (**permalink**) 08-21-2008, 02:34 PM

Hello Christopher, Welcome to the forum glad you joined us

Here is a link to some free extension bike drawings....Extrabike CAD Drawings | WorldBike.org

That is a very cool bike...Have any questions just ask, always someone here willing to help out.

PDX Cabbie · #3 (**permalink**) 08-21-2008, 02:46 PM

Thanks for the note. I'll have lots of questions to post. The Extrabike drawings are a great example of a first-world convenience serving a third-world function. I may have to try my hand at cobbling one together.

jf30cp · #4 (**permalink**) 08-24-2008, 10:49 AM

welcome to the maddness!
I to live in Oregon.....Bend Oregon! by the looks of your frame, i dont think a 2 stroke will mount up. It would if you uses a bunch of spacers. If i were you, i would look into the 4 stroke Titan. Go to Thatsdax.com.