Top tube morphs into fender

November 15, 2008 8:22 PM

Recently I saw an unusual bike, one with a curved top tube that extended beyond the seat tube to support a rack. It had trekking bars, too. Please help me identify it!

I was going downhill opposite its rider, so I didn't want to stop and ask. Lemon yellow frame, which seemed mostly pretty normal--I think the down tube and seat tube were both straight, what looked like normal seatstays and chainstays. But that curved top tube extended maybe a foot and a half behind the seat tube, almost as if it were a fender, and it had a rack mounted on it. My google-fu has failed; please help! If you know of a similar bike, please link to a photo so I can figure out if it's what I saw.

posted by brianogilvie to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 answers total)

Somenthing like a Kona Ute or a Surly Big Dummy? There are probably others out there as well.

You can do something similar to a regular bike with Xtracycle.
posted by boogieboy at 1:41 AM on November 16, 2008

@boogieboy: no, it wasn't a cargo bike, though I can see how my imperfect description suggests it. The bike I saw had the same wheelbase as a diamond frame road or touring bike. The top tube curved up in the middle, like some cruisers, not down like the Big Dummy.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:10 AM on November 16, 2008

Here's a quick sketch of what I recall it looking like (and proof that I'm not trained as an artist!).
posted by brianogilvie at 8:19 AM on November 16, 2008

Maybe a Tout Terrain, or something similar?

It seems possible that it was a custom frame of some kind.

And this is probably a stupid question, but are you sure it wasn't one of those seatpost-mount rack doohickies?
posted by box at 9:30 AM on November 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

@box: you may be right about a custom frame. It wasn't a rack; I got a good enough look to see that it was a continuation of the top tube. It helped that the frame was bright yellow. I'll keep my eyes open for it again; that seems like the best way to figure it out.
posted by brianogilvie at 6:48 PM on November 16, 2008

I've seen a picture of this bike, or at least of a yellow bike with a rack integrated as you describe. I'll try to remember where I saw it, but I don't think it was a custom job.
posted by mikepop at 6:22 AM on November 17, 2008

I don't think this is it, but it's a cute bike.
posted by mikepop at 7:08 AM on November 17, 2008