Vanilla goes long with new Xtracycle frame

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about Xtracycle, the company that sells kits to convert bikes into longtail, cargo-hauling machines. Besides besides a great company with a solid product, much of the recent excitement has revolved around the news from Interbike that Surly now makes the first Xtracycle-equipped bike, their new Big Dummy model.

Now comes word that yet another well-known bike company has joined the Xtracycle chorus.

Todd Fahrner of Stokemonkey fame has posted a photo that confirms the rumor I’ve been hearing for months; that Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles has been working on an Xtracycle-specific longtail bike. I’ll let Todd’s photo do the talking.

[Photo: Todd Fahrner/Cleverchimp]

This bike belongs to Ben Leonard (seen here flying), who works with Sacha in his shop in Southeast Portland. How does it ride? Fahrner — who is the closest thing you’ll find to an expert on this topic — took it for a spin and had this to say:

“Ben’s a very lucky man. This is the lightest, most comfortable longtail I’ve ridden yet, at least unladen. Single-speed pending a little work, upright, sprung and softened with air, steel, leather and cork, it just floats over the harsh old concrete and basalt streets, up curbs, over the grass, dreamy. Perhaps more importantly, it looks like an object of burning crazy love instead of dull cool utility; it erases the line. That kind of genius just might save us.”

Check out more of Todd’s Fahrner’s photos, but don’t get too excited about owning one of these beauties yourself…that is, unless you don’t mind waiting in line for year or so.