I used to own a beach cruiser equipped with a tall flagpole so I could fly a “Jolly Roger” flag at bike events (check it out on Velospace). Well, that bike rusted away, but I still had the flagpole, so I thought I’d attach it to the back of my Xtracycle.
This project took all of 10 minutes to complete — all that is needed is a length of PVC pipe, two eyebolts and corresponding nuts, a strip of aluminum or steel to make a bracket, one long machine screw with nut and a few zipties. Luckily, I had all that on hand, so this project cost me the princely sum of $0.00 — the BEST kind of project!
First, the flagpole was constructed — a couple of holes drilled and the eyebolts mounted to hold the flag. Next, the base of the pole was ziptied to the crossbar at the back of the Xtracycle’s frame:
Then I used a piece of aluminum strip and bent it to support the flagpole on an angle away from the back of the rig. One hole is drilled into it and a corresponding hole goes through the PVC pipe. Put the long screw through both holes and snug down. Then, this aluminum bracket was bent around the back of the V-racks, using a couple extra zipties to hold it in place:
Finally, the flag is attached and we’re off — our pal Val Kleitz has the most modded Xtracycle that I know of, but I’ll bet he doesn’t have a wicked flagpole for his rig!!
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Val // Jul 29, 2008 at 9:37 am
You know, flags are one of the projects on my “haven’t gotten to it yet” list. I was planning on two, angled out from just behind the seat. The poles are easy; my main obstacle is making the flags (I have my own ideas about the design). Someday….
2 Ghost Rider // Jul 29, 2008 at 9:47 am
If you have access to a sewing machine, there’s no telling what kind of cool designs you can make for a DIY flag — nylon is cheap at the fabric store!
Looking forward to it, Val — when you get something together, shoot us some photos and we’ll put ‘em up.
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