Always looking at gadgetry, I sometimes manage to find something non-tech related that I want. The Xtracycle kit is something that held appeal for quite sometime and I finally decided to go for it. I’ve used a pannier in the past (excellent but not roomy enough while being easily transportable off bike) and I’ve recently gone to a backpack for carting the commute gear but found that even with a well fitting one I was getting some back pain. I suspect that most of that is due to posture while cycling and felt that going back to letting the bike bear the load was the best option. Having seen Eolai’s setup I was envious and intrigued. So, with the aid of the Cycle to Work scheme I settled on a FreeRadicalised Townie from ReallyUsefulBikes. Rob there was very helpful and co-operative working with HR and Finance where I work to sort everything out and clearly knows his bikes. I’d imagine a visit to his store would be a great experience. There aren’t any stockists in Ireland if Xtracycle kit which is why I went with ordering from the UK. I suspect it might be possible to get a retailer here to order the kit for you and so on but the level of complication this might introduce did concern me.

Anyway, I finally got my grubby paws on the kit. The next post will be about me assembling a bike for the first time.

Before getting torn open :)

I’ll say upfront – there’s loads that I did wrong and I’ll be replacing/re-doing a few bits as time goes by. However, I’ve learned lots about my bike and so I’d happily recommend it. You may want to find a friend who can assist now and again.