Longtail is a type of bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

 (specifically a type of longbike) with a longer than usual frame wheelbase

Wheelbase

In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...

 at the rear compared to a standard utility bicycle

Utility bicycle

A utility bicycle is a bicycle designed for practical transportation, as opposed to bicycles which are primarily designed for recreation and competition, such as touring bicycles, racing bicycles, sport/training bicycles, and mountain bicycles. The vast majority of bicycles can be found in the...

. The extended rear better facilitates use as a freight bicycle

Freight bicycle

Freight bicycles, carrier cycles, freight tricycles, cargo bikes, or bakfietsen, are human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting large loads. Vehicle designs include a cargo area consisting of a steel tube carrier, an open or enclosed box, a flat platform, or a...

 or carrying multiple or adult passengers compared with shorter bicycles.

History

Xtracycle

Xtracycle

Xtracycle is the name of a company and the name commonly used for the variety of load-carrying bicycle, a longtail or a longbike, that results from use of the company's product: the Free Radical kit and associated accessories. Web forums and blogs often use the shorthand Xtrabike, Xtra, or simply...

 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

Kona Bicycle Company

Kona Bikes is a bicycle company in Ferndale, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. It specializes in high-performance mountain bikes, racing and touring bicycles. The company name comes from the owners' love of Kailua-Kona in Hawaii....

 Ute, launched for the 2008 season. The Ute is an aluminium-framed bicycle with 700C wheels, a mostly Shimano derailleur-based drivetrain

Bicycle drivetrain systems

Bicycle drivetrain systems are used to transmit power on bicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, unicycles, or other human-powered vehicles from the riders to the drive wheels. Most also include some type of a mechanism to convert speed and torque via gear ratios....

 with 8-speed 11-32 rear cassette and 36/26 front chainset

Crankset

The crankset or chainset , is the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts the reciprocating motion of the rider's legs into rotational motion used to drive the chain, which in turn drives the rear wheel...

. The bicycle has two matching large-capacity panniers.

Likewise the Yuba Mundo was introduced in 2007, a hi-ten steel-framed bicycle with 26" wheels. There are three models available for model year 2011, elMundo electric utility bike, the 21-speed (14-28 cassette and 22/32/44 chainset) and frameset.

Surly

Surly Bikes

Surly Bikes is a designer and importer of bicycles, frames, parts, and accessories based in Bloomington, Minnesota, established circa 1998. Surly is owned by and shares facilities with Quality Bicycle Products ....

 were asked by Xtracycle to build a complete Xtracycle-compatible frameset; the result was the 'Big Dummy', first released for the 2008 season. The cromoly frameset is designed for 26" wheels. Buyers have the choice of frameset alone or complete bicycle. The bicycle has a 400 pound combined rider and cargo limit, and the complete bicycle is configured with 9-speed Shimano 11-34 cassette and 48/36/26 chainset.

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 began to sell its own combo-bike, the 8-speed derailleur-based Radish, in 2009, featuring cromonly steel frame, 8-speed 11-32 rear cassette and 34t crank.

Trek

Trek Bicycle Corporation

Trek Bicycle Corporation is a major bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Gary Fisher, Bontrager, Klein and until recently, LeMond Racing Cycles...

 introduced the Transport, a 26"-wheeled aluminium-framed longtail with 8-speed 11-32 cassette and 28/38 chainset for the 2011 season.

Electric longtails

Longtails are designed to carry heavier loads than regular bicycles. To assist with transporting these loads, longtails typically have lower gearing

Bicycle gearing

A bicycle gear or gear ratio refers to the rate at which the rider's legs turn compared to the rate at which the wheels turn. Bicycle gearing refers to how the gear ratio is set or changed. On some bicycles, there is only one gear so the ratio is fixed. Most modern bicycles have multiple gears,...

 than shorter bicycles. For riders needing extra assistance, several companies make electric

Electric bicycle

An electric bicycle, also known as an e-bike, is a bicycle with an electric motor used to power the vehicle. Electric bicycles typically cost between and , use rechargeable batteries and can travel up to...

models. Kona sells the motor-assisted Electric Ute, Yuba sells the Elmundo, and Trek sells the electric Transport+. While non-electric longtail models can similarly be upgraded with an electric motor; the Stokemonkey is designed for Xtracycle bikes.