Xtracycle Kickback center stand in action...
I’ve used the Xtracycle Kickback for over a month with mixed results.
The Good:
- cost is reasonable for quality of product
- installs easily
- adjustable to many different bikes and tires that you might mount an Xtracycle on or Surly Big Dummy
- deploys easily
- holds the bike upright with a high degree of stability
- when retracted it stows out of the way
- seems durable
Kickback product porn...
The bad:
- uses front mounting holes on Xtracycle and Big Dummy
- this means Footsies can’t be used
- this means every time you want to install/remove your Wideloaders you have to futz with the center stand
- you can’t mount a cheap side kickstand at the same time as the Kickback [you want to use both as you can’t use the Kickback to hold the bike upright while you futz with installing the Wideloaders]
- Rohloff chain rubs on Kickback when riding [I got the stand from Dylan who had added a rubber pad to protect the stand, but the noise drove me a little crazy]
- reading the comments you’ll also see that the aluminum legs that slide into the steel body of this stand will corrode and fuse together in salty [ie. Canadian winter] environments
- Other users have had issues with the return spring failing
$7 side kick stand in action...
The Ugly:
- because I swap my Wideloaders in and out frequently the Kickback is a total pain in the ass
- you can’t use the stand to hold up the bike while you install the Wideloaders and reinstall the Kickback so essentially at one of the times it would be most helpful to have a center stand you can’t even use it….not to mention you wouldn’t have to even be wasting your time removing parts, lining up holes and reinstalling everything if you didn’t have the Kickback on the bike in the first place – lame.
- don’t even ask me about dealing with this in the dark, in the rain or when tired!
- I would avoid riding it and drive rather than spend the time screwing around with the Kickback
- I hate riding my Big Dummy with Wideloaders all the time because it becomes a pain to get it through any narrow openings [like the gate to my yard or the door to my bike storage]
- my GF, who cares little about details of my bikes, noticed what a hassle the Kickback was and pronounced it a Fail [I agree]
- if you are trying to understand what the problem is imagine if every time you wanted to use your computer you had to connect and disconnect the monitor and power cables…it’s not a huge task, but it is enough to make you less stoked to quickly jump online to do something
- my $7 cheap side stand [images above and below] is far more useful than the Kickback since it doesn’t interfere with any Xtracycle accessories and holds the bike up for most loads [except the really heavy ones]
$7 side stand holding up a heavy touring load...
Who should get the Kickback?:
- anyone who rarely or never uses Footsies or Wideloaders
- anyone who uses Wideloaders, but leaves them on all the time
- anyone who needs a center stand so bad that that the hassle involved is worth it
Dylan's Big Dummy resting on it's Wideloaders...
What am I going to do?:
- remove Kickback and sell it!
- reinstall my $7 side stand
- use the side stand for all loads it can handle
- for the uber heavy loads it can’t I’ll use the Wideloaders themselves as a sort of stand and just lay the bike over [see above] or lean it against a wall [see below]
- sadly the approach above works so much better than the stand designed and sold by Xtracycle….hard to believe
Devo's Big Dummy leaning sans Kickback...
What do I wish Xtracycle would do?:
- spend the time and $$$ to design a clamp mount for the Kickback so it doesn’t use the front mounting holes the rest of their accessories also need to use
- have a look at the Rolling Jackass stand [image below] for a simple example of how the Kickback should mount [I may eventually throw $400 at this stand – it rocks, I’m just cheap]
- I wish Xtracycle would build a better center stand for their own cargo cycles than a solo guy working on his own who needed something that actually work decently [aka the Rolling Jackass stand]
Hugger Industries Rolling Jackass photo....
If you want to see my previous Kickback rants click here and here.
I’m selling this lightly used Kickback in perfect shape for $75USD [$139USD new] shipped anywhere in Canada/USA.
The Lazy Rando Blog... 
Great review, Vik. You covered everything I can imagine.
I hope Xtracycle is listening. I’d love to see them license Val’s Jackass stand. Like you, I’d own Val’s stand but…my Dummy is so overbuilt at this point that I really can’t justify the cost…I’m like Spanish architecture—Baroque!
Again, thanks a bunch for taking the time to gather and post your thoughts.
Hey Vik:
sorry you didn’t like the kickback. I leave my wideloaders on all the time. In fact, ever since I ran into an obstacle and bent them back slightly, I can’t remove them very easily. You are totally correct about the fact that the wideloaders are too wide to fit through some doors.
I have some more comments on this here:
The other two complaints that I have about the kickback are:
1) the elastic strap that keeps the stand stowed is cheesy.
2) the aluminum end pieces corroded and seized so that it is no longer possible to adjust the stand height. Those plastic feet wear pretty fast.
I’d wonder if the “Stand Alone” kickstand for the Yuba would fit with a bit of fiddling.
http://yubaride.com/yubashop/30-stand-alone-kickstand.html
@JNYYZ – Good review of the Yuba…I had a line on one to review in Calgary before I left, but ran out of time. I’ll see if I can find out if their stand might work. [had a look and don’t think it will due to the way the tubes are setup on the BD.
I will say that if you can ride with Wideloaders all the time that makes the Kickback far more useful since you eliminate the main problem with it. I can’t do that and even if I could one of the things I like about my Big Dummy is that when not hauling stuff it rides like a regular bike, but I can quickly reconfigure it into cargo mode…having a 4′ or 5′ wide bike wouldn’t be much fun to ride around here.
@Dylan – thanks for hooking me up with the Kickback so I could test it. I also hope Xtracycle fixes this stand. They make some great products, but this isn’t one of them.
Thanks for the thorough review, Vik.
I’ve used my KickBack for a full year now, but don’t use WideLoaders, ever. I’ve found that most of my errands can be handled with the FreeLoaders, CamStraps and crafty thinking. That’s why I semi-permanently mounted some customized Footsies to my Big Dummy: http://bit.ly/footsie_kickback_mod
I know it’s not in everyone’s interest to modify their equipment, but another solution is here: http://bit.ly/footsie_kickback_mod2
We are exploring a HalfLoader, a WideLoader that’s half the width, to help with door clearance/heel strike/etc. As for modifying the KickBack, your criticism is duly noted.
Cheers and ride on!
Rick @ Xtracycle
Great comments
I can add that the steel spring on my wife’s Radish’s Kickckback broke rapidly and the spring on my Big Dummy’s Kickback needed fine tuning as well. The main issue I have with the Kickback on the Big Dummy is that the (xtracycles words) ‘Taco’ keeps falling off of the Kickback. The padding falls off and then the steel ‘kickstand’ then leaves a crimp in the bottom tube (steel to steel). I have improvised a few times with a layer of padding from a layer of carpet with gorilla glue. This still is a suspect way to approach protecting the bottom tube. The plastic end caps that encounter the ground have been worn to the steel as well.
Everett
I agree with some of your points and add the following:
The Kickback works great!
My biggest problem is the Kickback interferes with the chain on internal gear hub setups. I know I’m in the minority, but my frame has an eccentric bottom bracket and can run a “singlespeed” style drivetrain (no tensioner), but a tensioner is required to drop the chain low enough to clear the kickback.
Re: the Wideloaders, I’d love to see Xtracycle come up with a folding hinge or a quick disconnect setup that is external to the Kickback that would allow for either out-of-the-way flip-up stowage, or quarter-twist to disconnect removal.
@ Nate – I also had the problem of my Rohloff chain rubbing and I run a dual pulley Rohloff tensioner….I forgot to note that in my post [corrected thanks!]
I agree with you that the stand itself works well to stabilize the bike, but the downsides far outweigh this benefit.
@RIck – I hope you guys are working on a different attachment mechanism for the existing Kickback. By clamping it onto the frame like the Rolling Jackass stand you’d get rid of all the serious problems with it and let your customers use all your accessories with no restrictions or hassles.
I wouldn’t want to ride around with Halfloaders full time anymore than Wideloaders. Having a narrow bike is great when not carrying anything, but being able to swap back and forth as needed for each mission is one of the key benefits to the Xtracycle system. When you mess with that you really detract from the whole experience and utility of the bike.
I am a big fan of the cheap $7 stand. i have been merciless to it and it has yet to break. when it does, i have another one waiting. can’t say for sure what the heaviest load i have subjected the stand to was, but i would guess at least 100lbs.
of course you have to remember to load the kickstand side first! and inversely unload the opposite side first.
I’d be interested in buying it if you’ve still got it. My little guy is going to be riding on the back before too long and I’d like a more stable stand, and can’t drop $400.
THanks,
-nathan
@bikewrider – sorry it’s sold…=-(
[…] for [hopefully] several more years of bike holding up service. After talking it off to try the Xtracycle Kickback center-stand I used my Surly Big Dummy without a stand for a month or so. Until I put my trusty kickstand […]
Any BD riders in NC ?
Lumberton, NC here.
I got around the Wideloader issue by pushing it pretty much to the other side. You need to drill a hole in the WL through the front support and add another detent button to use the opposite hole; the rear doesn’t need drilling.
Anyway, this way the WL becomes a Narrowloader and I can leave it on all the time. Width is almost exactly bar width. Works well if you only use one WL.
If you need to use both you can put one in your bag. Of course you’d still have to deal with popping out the stand dummy peg.
Jim
Speedub Nate, I built a folding WideLoader. You can look at it at the following links. Currently using the stock kickstand but might get a center stand that bolts to the bottom of the frame..
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3020366720117.208559.1591144066&type=3
good review, but just to add another “other view”…
I’ve had my kickback for about a year and a half. I just leave one wideloader with long loader on all the time, on the opposite side of the bike from the regular kickstand. This allows me to haul a chariot around with my daughter and not have every single load fall away from the kickstand. So far i’ve loved it, no issues.
that said, i just singlespeeded my extra while doing some overhaul work on my derailluer and i realized i can NOT stand the bike on the kickback with a singlespeed chainline at all. Kickback off for now and my wife doesn’t want it. Very sad.
@Dave – if you either don’t use the wideloaders or you can leave them on all the time the Kickback is far more useful. I don’t like riding with the wideloaders installed if I am not using them and I can’t get my BD through the back gate into my yard with them installed. So that option doesn’t work for me.
[…] You can read my full Kick Back Review here. […]
I was looking for a sturdier option for my Xtracycle than the original stand was. Did not have a budget for 180€ kickback and I also wanted something lighter. I found this http://www.hebie.de/en/parking/central-stands/monopod/632/ model and initial expression when testing inside is very positive. Since it’s still snow in the ground here in Finland and I’m too lazy to change to winter tires for just 2 weeks snow is still on the ground, I have not tested the leg outside. I can lean heavily on the leg and also sit on the bike and it does not feel flimsy. The stand spreads further out from the frame than original and this wider footing feels more sturdy. I also bought this steering damper http://www.hebie.de/en/parking/stand-accessories/steer-dam at the same time and the bike is now much more stable to load.
Here’s comparsion pics:
