Xtracycle 26" to 700c Brake Adapter

Joined
Nov 18, 2024
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Location
Tucson, Arizona, USA

Hello! My xtracycle freeradical rusted through, and I had bought a replacement a while back, assuming this day would come. It turns out tho that there are apparently different models of xtracycle and mine was natively compatible with 700c rim brakes, but my replacement is not, and needs the above part. The other option is to switch to disc...which has its own complications to figure out. :D

If you have this thing, let me know! Thanks.
 

Hello! My xtracycle freeradical rusted through, and I had bought a replacement a while back, assuming this day would come. It turns out tho that there are apparently different models of xtracycle and mine was natively compatible with 700c rim brakes, but my replacement is not, and needs the above part. The other option is to switch to disc...which has its own complications to figure out. :D

If you have this thing, let me know! Thanks.
I don't have that part. You may have to go disc. However!

There are brakes that are adjustable enough to accommodate like Paul motolites.

And there are other adapters like the Mavic:

https://ebay.us/m/oV7kNN

I do have a question for you. Since you have a spare kit, you wouldn't happen to have a spare one of these? 😅

Xtracycle French Nut with Bolt (pair) for FreeRadical (Discontinued)
 
There's a few vbrake post adapters out there that are designed to move a 26" up to a 27.5" or 29".. i know box sells one.
 
27.5" with a taller/wider tire would be the way to go - not a big stretch for these adapter things.
 
do have a question for you. Since you have a spare kit, you wouldn't happen to have a spare one of these? 😅

Xtracycle French Nut with Bolt (pair) for FreeRadical (Discontinued)
I have some, but I wouldn't call it 'spare' just yet. One of my options is to find a welder who can fix my broken xtracycle... if I can't then they might be available. What happened to yours? :D

Thanks to all for the posts about adjustable v-brakes and other post options, i might do this, BUT if I'm buying a brake...i think I might as well just get a disc setup? That pull brake on amazon looks pretty cheap tho.

And I didn't know that other people made adapters like that! Those mavics on ebay might be a great option as well.
 
I have some, but I wouldn't call it 'spare' just yet. One of my options is to find a welder who can fix my broken xtracycle... if I can't then they might be available. What happened to yours? :D

Thanks to all for the posts about adjustable v-brakes and other post options, i might do this, BUT if I'm buying a brake...i think I might as well just get a disc setup?

If your rear wheel supports a disc, that's a pretty easy retrofit. Do yourself a favor and use an Avid BB7 or a TRP Spyke if you decide to go that way.

That pull brake on amazon looks pretty cheap tho.


Yeah, cheaper than the alternatives and very effective. It would increase the stress on your brake studs, but no more than the adapter you were asking about. You can combine it with a brake booster to stiffen the brake response and share loads between the two studs.
 
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I have some, but I wouldn't call it 'spare' just yet. One of my options is to find a welder who can fix my broken xtracycle... if I can't then they might be available. What happened to yours? :D
I bought a kit at a youth bike program that was missing this. I thought they would be easy to find and I was very wrong. I even considering hiring someone machine one for me!
 
I bought a kit at a youth bike program that was missing this. I thought they would be easy to find and I was very wrong. I even considering hiring someone machine one for me!
You can improvise with a hardware store bolt and nut and thick fender washer, with or without a kickstand top plate or two.

Think about what it does, not what it is.
 
You can improvise with a hardware store bolt and nut and thick fender washer, with or without a kickstand top plate or two.

Think about what it does, not what it is.
I did. I have a whole set of washers. However that "French nut" serves to center the rear axle and the washers simply allow for too much movement. It's a long term project so I thought I'd try my luck.
 
Have you tried asking grainger or mcmaster-carr if they have a piece that matches the dimensions and functions?
 
I did. I have a whole set of washers. However that "French nut" serves to center the rear axle and the washers simply allow for too much movement. It's a long term project so I thought I'd try my luck.
OEM is better most of the time. But I'm reminded about when I made my own hubs, and the 3/8" bolts I threaded into the axles filled the space intended for the axles themselves. I'm reminded about when I made my own cantilever brakes, and I removed the brake studs from my aluminum frame and made the brake arms pivot on bolts that went in where the studs had been.
 
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Have you tried asking grainger or mcmaster-carr if they have a piece that matches the dimensions and functions?
Yes. And I visited a number of specialty shops in my area that only deal with specialty fasteners. No luck.
 
i know i have seen one of these on retail fixtures before, holidng steel signage frames / displays together. i tused a phillips head instead of hex bolt, but the nut looked the same. i don't know if it was the same dimmensions and it certainly wasn't quality steel, but....
1748318692092.png

there are "washer" nuts that look like this but don't have the flat sides.
1748320757702.png1748320912102.png
you can take one and grind the flats into it, and grind the nut down to round, if there is one with the right thread and size for the bolt you need: some of them have a freespinning washer on them and some of ithem it is a flange of the nut. I suspect you need the latter kind for the connection you have to make.

there's also something that seems to be called a mother-daughter screw, which you'd only need the "nut" side of. these came from some retail fixture made of masonite, so tehy're soft steel there are better stronger steel ones like this one that came out of a really old office chair used to secure the base to the back-seat L plate. Keys for scale. They come in lots of sizes from tiny to huge.

20250526_211834.jpg20250526_211848.jpg20250526_211922.jpg



alternately, can you weld? if so you can make one out of hardware store parts.

you could weld a thick washer or stack of them to a nut of the right threading for the bolt you need to use.

leave a same-thread bolt (not the actual bolt you'll use) threaded into the nut when you weld it to keep spatter off the threads of the nut.

grind the nut round to the diameter you need; put the bolt and nut into a tube and clamp the tube in a vice so the bolt/nut spins inside it, hold the grinder against the nut until it's round.... might take a couple tries if youv'e never done it before, but t's easy.

then weld this nut to the washer, then grind the washer edges flat as needed.
 
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