page_title: Freight bicycle
section_title: Longtail bicycle
hierarchical_section_title: Freight bicycle / Types / Longtail bicycle
caption_attribution_description: English: A Surly Big Dummy
context_page_description: Freight bicycles, carrier cycles, freight tricycles, cargo bikes, box bikes, or cycletrucks are human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads. Vehicle designs include a cargo area consisting of an open or enclosed box, a flat platform, or a wire basket, usually mounted over one or both wheels, low behind the front wheel, or between parallel wheels at either the front or rear of the vehicle. The frame and drivetrain must be constructed to handle loads larger than those on an ordinary bicycle.
context_section_description: Longtails have a longer than usual frame wheelbase at the rear compared to a standard bicycle. The extended rear better facilitates use as a freight bicycle or carrying multiple or adult passengers compared with shorter bicycles. They tend to handle more like regular bikes than cargo bikes with linkage steering.
  Xtracycle developed the first longtail product, their Free Radical, which attaches to an existing 'donor' bicycle to make it a longtail bike in 1998. The growing popularity of Xtracycle inspired the Kona Ute, launched for the 2008 season. Surly were asked by Xtracycle to build a complete Xtracycle-compatible frameset; the result was the 'Big Dummy', first released for the 2008 season. The chromoly frameset is designed for 26" wheels. Buyers have the choice of frameset alone or complete bicycle. In 2008 Xtracycle documented the LongTail as an open-source standard. This has helped individuals to build longtail bikes themselves such as the Xtravois.
  Xtracycle now offers a complete bike, the Xtracycle EdgeRunner, which allows for safer loading and unloading of children and is easier to handle and accelerate than other longtails because of its small 20" rear wheel.
  Since then LongTails have become a bike of choice to be outfitted with Electric-Power Assist systems.
  Yuba Bicycles launched the first complete longtail cargo bike with the Mundo.
  Other complete longtail cargo bikes include the Surly Big Dummy.
  Bike Friday has a unique longtail cargo bike, the Haul-a-Day, with a main frame that adjusts in size for riders from 4'0" to 6'6" tall. It is claimed to be the world's lightest longtail cargo bike.
  Bike43 has a longtail with a 20" rear wheel to lower the weight of the payload. The goal is to make the bicycle stable even with 2 or 3 children onboard. The frame is made in Europe from Cromoly steel for stiffness strength and durability.
  There is a sub-class of longtail bicycles referred to as midtails. As their name implies, they are not quite as long as a longtail, but can still often carry at least one if not two children. The Yuba BodaBoda is one such bike, as are the Tern GSD and HSD. The Bike Friday Haul-a-Day initially fit in this category, but can arguably carry as many kids as an Xtracycle Edgerunner (longtail). The Kona Ute is a longtail, and the Kona Minute is its midtail counterpart.
caption: A Surly Big Dummy with handlebars and foot rests for a second rider
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