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ED-O....have you reviewed the 08 or 09 Ute?
2008. 2009 looks nice, enjoy it when it arrives.
Is this in the current issue?
Yes the just-coming-out one.
Is this in the current issue?
It's in the issue on my drawers at home.
At the risk of being smug, got this email today:
When I last heard from Yuba the bikes were being finished in Germany last week. This hopefully means we might get them by the end of March....
And of being smugger still, I have a voucher worth £999.99 in my bag 8)
McTimoney - I'm going to get you banned at this rate..!
Ed-O - your review, while praiseworthy, was v short! Anything else to add?
McTimoney - I'm going to get you banned at this rate..!
Just wait 'til it arrives. How many threads and photos do you think I can post? I'll make sure to Tweet and blog about it too, for full web2.0-saturation.
😉
Oh god.... *buries head in sand*
😀
Ed-O - your review, while praiseworthy, was v short! Anything else to add?
What do you want to know?
I have a similar problem with writing about the Dummy. It goes something like "this is the ace-est bike EVER. It can do anything. Yes, of course it's heavy, what on earth did you expect?"
🙂
I was trying to explain the point of the Mundo to some friends and family on my Facebook status comments last night. A friend whose husband is a roadie couldn't understand why I'd be getting a bike with a steel frame (to which I answered that my two current bikes both have steel frames) and am ex-student who is into triathlon was rather shocked at how heavy it was.
When it's got almost double my body weight on the back, I'm not sure the extra 15lbs on the bike is going to make much difference, and I'd not fancy riding a carbon fibre cargo bike.
I read somewhere the extra weight being described as "functional weight". Yes, it's heavy, but it's heavy because it's strong.
There's a whole intriguing world of possibility there though!
It must be right that a full suspension, carbon fibre cargo bike would be [i]better[/i] than a rigid steel and wood one in pure performance terms, we'd just have the same arguments about durability, damage resistance and cost-effectiveness (and possibly looks) as we do with mountain bikes. The black sheep titanium waaaaay back when this thread was young is presumably a tad lighter than a Mundo or a Dummy, and may be more compliant etc etc. And the engineering challenge of doing the suspension would be quite something, nevermind manipulating the carbon fibre to get the strength where it was needed.
🙂
It must be right that a full suspension, carbon fibre cargo bike would be better than a rigid steel and wood one in pure performance terms
Technically, wood [i]is[/i] carbon fibre. The Mundo doesn't come with a deck, but I'm going to make one. Out of carbon fibre.
What do you want to know?
I guess dull stuff, like:
*longevity of components (including wheels)
*gearing (and its overall suitability I note you found it low enough for your hill)
*flexibility of the structure of the bike for carrying awkward (not just child-shaped) loads
*sizing - pic looks like it could be quite flexible on the saddle height front, but less so at the bars
*whether the supplied panniers are the only bags that can be attached to the frame and what their quality and suitability is like
*how much more awkward storage is compared with a regular bike with rack and panniers (it's longer, but I don't have a feel for whether it's much harder to live with at home)
*what you think makes it a better alternative than other cargo bikes on the market (noting that the market is pretty limited)
*what you think it could have done better
Not much to ask, eh?!!!
Thanks
Tom
[img] http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yw0f1r&outx=800&quality=70 [/img]
new bars! not as wide as I expected but for £15 it's worth a try.
Alfine's working well too, expected that tho.
one of the parents at my kid's school has a big dummmy
he currently has one child sitting on the back - and has rigged up a tag-a-long thing which attaches to the back of the wooden deck thing for another older child
looks quite clever - next time I see him i'll ask if he minds if I take a photo and put it up here
How much stuff have you got on those bars? 🙂
I did pass by the shop this am, but it was before it was open. Will try to drop by some time for a gander.
just enough 😉
clock - to tell the time, so i don't get to work too early
bell - excuse me can i just sneak past?
horn - get out of my way i'm coming through!
light - please don't squish me
brakes - so i don't squish anyone else
gear shifter - so i don't completely kill my legs pedalling this bloody thing 25 miles a day.
Custom Pereira longtail bike, built to the Xtracycle standard: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54435280@N00/2640135856
*longevity of components (including wheels)
Only had it for a few months and haven't worn anything out so hard to say. It's for use on road (most of the time) and the components are decent Deore-ish level.
*gearing (and its overall suitability I note you found it low enough for your hill)
Granny ring and middle ring sizes 24 / 34 I think. There were times when a big ring would have been fun, but the bash was good on steps.
*flexibility of the structure of the bike for carrying awkward (not just child-shaped) loads
Good I'd say. There are lots of rings to attach bungees to as well as the rails. Just look at a photo of one.
*sizing - pic looks like it could be quite flexible on the saddle height front, but less so at the bars
Bike tested was an 18" and was fine for me at 5'8"
*whether the supplied panniers are the only bags that can be attached to the frame and what their quality and suitability is like
The 2009 bags look bigger and better. The ones I had were good but too small. Also held on at the top by folded, flat plate hooks which can bend under more extreme load. They do come with rain covers. I also fixed a bread crate onto the shelf for bigger loads.
*how much more awkward storage is compared with a regular bike with rack and panniers (it's longer, but I don't have a feel for whether it's much harder to live with at home)
Didn't fit in my shed! Had to take the front wheel off to get in my 6 seater Vito van which you don't have to do with regular bikes. Ideal if you've got a garage.
*what you think makes it a better alternative than other cargo bikes on the market (noting that the market is pretty limited)
Haven't tried any others, but cost is good.
*what you think it could have done better
Disc brake on the back as well as front, just so that you just carry on type of spare pads. Better panniers. Other than that I loved it.
How TF is this thread still going?
Oh...
How TF is this thread still going?
The new forum seems to keep threads going for longer. Which is a good thing.
Customary update on minutiae of buying my bike:
Me: Look how terrible this photo in my passport is
Paul: You look like a sex pest
Steve: But you look better in the photo
Just found a great review of the Mundo (BiGDummy might not want to read it): http://longwalktogreen.blogspot.com/2009/01/yuba-mundo-wow.html
I had a Yuba. Magnificent machine. 2 x 14 stone people on the back no flex at all and completely practical on the flat.
But I found the 67lb weight, including plywood deck and foot boards and mudguards pretty daunting and I let it go and got an electric assist bike which, because the assist drives through the gears, is excellent for load carrying, though not capable of big Dummy / Yuba loads without a trailer.
If the Clevercycles Stokemonkey electric assist had been available for the Yuba at the time I'd probably have gone that route. Exchange rate has of course pushed up prices a lot now.
A Yuba + decent hub motor kit would be about same price as a built Big Dummy and whilst not as ideal as a through the gears motor system it would be a very potent practical load carrier.
But I found the 67lb weight, including plywood deck and foot boards and mudguards
The newer frame/bike is a lot lighter than the older ones, and doesn't have the plywood deck, etc. any more.
Xtracycle Question: How long is your Extracycle from front tyre to the back of the free radical tail?
Im plannng on building a bike "garage" and need to plan for the xtracycle on an inbred frame that's going in it 🙂
That's an interesting Yuba review Mike. I have waaaay too much invested in the Dummy to admit that I could have had a better bike for less wonga, so I'm not going to. 😉
Stoner - I've got an Xtracycle tail in my shed. I'll try and get you a decent measurement on that and the Dummy tomorrow if no-one obliges sooner.
Stoner, IIRC an Xtracycle kit adds about 14" to the length of the bike.
doesnt seem a lot mike.
doesnt seem a lot mike.
Looking at this picture ( 
), the front edge of the rear wheel's rim looks to be two inches to the rear of the dropout. That means the back of the tyre is about 15" further back than normal. The Xtracycle kit looks like it adds another couple of inches too?
cheers mike. So I should allow 1/2 a wheel diameter + 2x3" or so.
thanks
Just got back from Travis Perkins with the wood. I feel a photo story coming on.
The Xtracycle shed, Grand Designs on a smaller scale 🙂
So I should allow 1/2 a wheel diameter + 2x3" or so
Might be better off waiting for BD's measurements - measure twice, cut once and all that...
Ha! He says. Measuring is for girls!
The Xtracycle garage is underway...250cm long, should be long enough...:)
The wood:
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The frame
[img] 
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The cladding
[img] 
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and first felt. Need a hand from a mate to finish felt tomorrow. Then build the door.
[img] 
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Now, what's the ground anchor and motorbike locking chain of choice?
I always use two different chains. Oxford can be had cheap from fleebay, mind you.
The anchor - ask your local motorbike shop, mine weighted a tonne and required hammering bearing balls into bolts once fitted in concrete. You can also get one of those sound alarms - riffle and shock granades they're called.
i dont need it to go off like an armoury alarm 🙂
"Oxfords" is it then?
off to google go I....
cheers hair. Quick eBay trip and that's security sorted.
Stoner...isn't that garage a bit low!? Or you planning on removing the front wheel to make it fit?
Its 120cm clearance.
Plenty for handlbars on inbred & pompino. can drop saddle on QR.
Didnt want it too proud of the wall.
Good...was afraid you'd spent so long measuring the length you'd forgotten the height 🙂
Nice work, though it does look a bit low. Are those bricks not going to be awkward when putting the bike away?
🙂
Ive been running back and forth to t'other shed to check everything several times 🙂
The other problem is since everything in malvern is on the piss, building a level shed always looks odd 🙂
What with this and the plane thread, I should have a couple of entries in the popular threads thing in the newsletter!
Love the lean-to, Stoner!
The slabs are set proud on a concrete deck to allow drainage. The garage section has 15cm of gravel on it. The bricks stop the gravel "draining" under the slabs, but the whole lot drains rain water really well into a storm run off. The bricks are only 2cm proud of the slabs.
All Im going to do is push a bike or two back into it, and maybe store Jrs trailer at the back so I can have the sapce back in my shed. WIll be a doddle to wheel the xtracycle or pomp out without the hassle of getting it up from the big shed now.