It usually takes me about seven exposures to hold on to a new meme, but with the Stokemonkey, twice is plenty.
I first crossed paths with the name on Surly's blog (scroll down) reading about their new Xtracycle compatible frame. The Big Dummy, it is called, is due out in summer 2007, and although I would prefer to think that it is named after a certain Captain Beefheart song, I believe its own peculiar but fitting name actually comes from "Sanford and Son". At any rate, it is to be the first mass production model of a class of bicycles, either inspired by or coevolved with the Xtracycle, which collectively are known as longtails. The combination of such a bicycle with a Stokemonkey, which thanks to Bikeportland, I have since learned is an electric motor designed specifically for such bikes and produced right here in Portland, could be a beautiful example of one hand washing the other.
Longtails are utility bikes with extra long wheelbases that are designed for carrying loads which would be impossible on a normal bicycle. The Xtracycle, which has been the darling of the human powered community for years now, is a bolt on wheelbase extension that converts any bike into such a vehicle, complete with giant saddlebags and a multi use "Snapdeck". The versatility is phenomenal, but the problem with the Xtracycle, as some users have reported, is that with very heavy loads (200lbs+!) the frame can flex more than it should, and that handling can become squirrley when standing up, as to climb a hill. The effect, I have been told, is small, but I believe it has been retarding growth of the concept.
Surly's Big Dummy is designed as a single piece frame that uses the same Xtracycle bags and Snapdeck, but in a unified design for better handling and strength. As wonderful as the Xtracycle is, and as far to the extreme as it must be pushed for these limitations to manifest, the refinements the Big Dummy brings are prerequisites for new market penetration. Longtails make natural family vehicles and are competently able to replace not just a car but a minivan. However, this means targeting them to consumers for whom security and safety are priority number one, and to whom an Xtracycle probably looks like a dangerous gimmick. The Big Dummy exudes confidence in a way that the bolt-on Xtracycle cannot, and this can help it appeal to such non-cyclists. Given that the number one reason keeping all demographics of people from bicycle commuting is fear of traffic, marketing specifically to the safety conscious ones is clearly a tough battle, and one which leaves little allowance for fomenting insecurity.
But structural "gimmickness" of the Xtracycle aside, longtails do have size going for them in this respect. They certainly look more substantial than regular bikes, and I think that, to certain extent, that size commands respect is a relative rule rather than an absolute one. Therefore, if a regular bike is safe enough, then a longtail is "safer", but not still "less safe" than a Chevy Aveo, and instead engendering many of the same feelings of power and safety to spare that are associated with SUVs . With hydraulic disc brakes and generator lights, they look like, and are, eminently serious machines. But they're still missing something. Enter the Stokemonkey.
Rather than use a separate drivetrain, like other electric bicycles, Stokemonkey works like a stoker in a tandem helping you to push the cranks around. Therefore, unlike other electric bikes which often only have a single electric gear, Stokemonkey benefits from the multiple gears already on your bike, and can apply tremendous torque over a very wide power curve. Where a conventional electric bike might choke on a steep enough hill, a Stokemonkey equipped longtail could easily climb the hill with the groceries (Costco, even) and the children!
Unlike other electric bicycles, which have the temptation to turn on the motor and coast, with a Stokemonkey you must always be pedaling as long as the electric motor is engaged, which is done with a throttle grip. As such, you also go much faster than any regular or electric bike normally can. This is a Good Thing, for time stressed professionals and paranoid soccer moms alike. High speed is essential to being safe in traffic, as it brings bicycling that much closer to matching the speeds of cars. Therefore, cars overtake less frequently, more often deciding that the bike is going fast enough, and not worth attempting to pass at the moment, and when they do overtake, it is at a slower closure rate. Lane changes are easier at high speed, and cars are less likely to cut fast bicyclists off to make right turns (although the consequences of their recalcitrance admittedly become more severe). Fast moving bikes, especially such odd-looking ones, naturally attract attention to themselves and can easily earn the awareness, and the respect of motorists (when not flaunting traffic laws!). The increased speed of a Stokemonkey equipped longtail can also address another fear, one of inadequacy, with which bicycle commuters are regrettably stigmatized.
A combination of a Big Dummy with a Stokemonkey could very justafiably be advertised as safer, stronger, and more legitimate than the average bike, and an effective approach along these lines could prove both lucrative and profound for communities.
