Xtracycle is a great company. Period. They’ve revolutionized the cargo bicycle market in the United States (by revolutionized, I mean practically created one!). They’ve recently introduced some new products and raised their prices a bit. Personally, I still think it’s worth it (have you checked car prices lately?).
They’re making a great product. One that I would even call revolutionary, probably more so than Campy’s 11 speed group (want to talk about expensive and over-priced!). Lately they’ve been getting some flack for upping their prices. On Vik’s Big Dummy Blog they post a very good and cogent response.
Personally, I think they have given the bicycle world an amazing gift. I’m not going to begrudge them a few extra dollars for their contribution. And on top of all that, they’re going to make their standard open source! Now that’s a class act.
Furthermore, we’re excited to announce that we are officially open-sourcing the Xtracycle Long Tail Standard to encourage other players to make Xtracycle-compatible platforms and accessories. Surly has been a fantastic lead partner, and has aptly demonstrated a concept not altogether understood by the bike industry at large: that collaboration and partnership, built on trust and passion, lead to great solutions and a shift in the bike industry at large.
By “open source,” we mean that you don’t have to pay licensing fees or royalties, or get permission to make a product that works with our system. We want to lift those barriers to encourage a fertile environment for ideas, innovation, and partnership.
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