It’s been just over one year since the first Yuba Mundo long-tail cargo bike hit the streets here in Portland. It just so happens that this first Portland Mundo is the bike sitting in our garage right now –an electric-blue 6-speed. It’s completely stock except for the addition of fenders and a Hebie bi-pod kick-stand.

After its arrival at our home, we rode the heck out of the Mundo, putting it through its paces. However, once the box bikes arrived in November of 2008, the Mundo quietly took-up residence in the garage, collecting dust. We certainly didn’t put the Mundo out to pasture because we fell out of love with it –far from it. The Yuba Mundo is a fantastic cargo bike. We just didn’t have much need for its capabilities in the Fall, and after jettisoning our Burley trailer and Topeak child seat combo for the box bikes, we really didn’t ride anything but the box bikes for many months.

As Spring approached and we started re-organizing our garage, quite frankly I wasn’t quite sure whether we’d use the Mundo at all. Whatever the case, I decided to bring it back into the fold, just in case we found the need to ride it again. After a good bath and overall re-tightening and re-greasing, I brought the Mundo back out on the streets about a month ago.

photo courtesy bikeportland.org

Bringing the Mundo back really brought a smile to my wife’s face. Keri has always loved the Mundo as it provides the most supple ride you’ll find on a bike. Yes, the Mundo weighs more than 65 pounds, but it glides down the street like a pad of butter on a piping-hot flapjack. In fact, Keri is the person who so beautifully stated that the riding the Mundo is, “… like riding on a sofa” –it’s true! The combination of a single-piece, high-tensile steel frame, long wheelbase, cushy saddle, 2.25″ Kenda balloon tires, cruiser-rake handlebars, and upright riding position make the Mundo the ultimate cruising machine. Hands-down, it’s Keri’s favorite bike for rides that don’t require that she transport children.

With the Mundo back in the fold again, we’ve put it to work with great delight, once again familiarizing ourselves with its tremendous capabilities. Without a doubt, the Mundo is the most capable long-tail bike you can buy. It has a cargo capacity (440 pounds) that exceeds any other long-tail and most any other cargo bike. With its extra-wide and extra-long top carrier, you have tons of room for awkwardly shaped cargo, and the vast array of 20mm rack tubing provides plenty of places to attach nets and bungees to secure your load. Unlike other cargo bikes, the Mundo has integrated steel side carriers on the rear rack, enabling you to carry an impressive 150 pounds on each side –far more than an Xtracycle’s aluminum side rails could handle. For comparison, the Kona Ute leaves you out on a limb entirely as it doesn’t offer side carriers.

mundo towing mundo

The fact is, no other long-tail utility bike offers so many different hauling/loading configurations as the first-generation Mundo. I call out the first-generation bike because it simply has more rails to strap to. The second-generation Mundo has the same weight capacity, but uses slightly smaller tubing (16mm) on the rack and fewer cross-rails. Quite frankly, the first-generation Mundo was overbuilt. The second-generation Mundo loses some unnecessary weight while keeping its massive weight-handling capabilities and better accommodating off-the-shelf panniers and bags. This being said, the first-generation Mundo has more cross-braces and an overall larger cargo platform. Both editions are  extremely capable.

mundo tows super 72

So far this Spring we’ve put the Mundo back to work. After reinvigorating the bike, the first thing I did was haul my daughter’s new Electra Super 72 home on the back. The Mundo has always excelled at towing other bikes. I’ve even used it to haul another Mundo. Bike-towing aside, the Mundo really excels at tackling big, awkward loads, which is does with ease. Trips to Fred Meyer have been very fruitful on the Mundo, which has enabled us to bring home massive bags of soil conditioner, potting soil, mulch and large planting pots. My last load from Fred Meyer rivaled what most people would ever think of putting in a car: eight cubic feet of mulch and potting soil.

mulch, pots and plants!

In addition to this massive load of garden material, I also packed-on a separate load of groceries, stacked neatly in Keri’s handlebar-mounted wicker basket. Overall, the total load weighed in at more than 250 pounds. The best part of this particular experience is that the bike handled extremely well under load, regardless of the extra effort required to pedal it home. As is always the case in loading a utility bike, stability while loading and unloading is the most challenging part; but as long as you have something firm to lean the bike against while loading/unloading, you can load just about anything with relative ease.

8 cubic feet / 250 pounds

Fortunately, this year’s garden provided the necessary impetus for me to once again discover the true value of the Yuba Mundo cargo bike. It provides unprecedented hauling capability, handling and quality for the money. In fact, Joe Bike is selling the 6-speed Mundo right now for $800, fully assembled, which I think is a heck of a deal for this much bike. When comparing our use of bicycles with the typical automobile-owning family, the Mundo truly is our family ‘truck’, called-in to action when we need something more than the family ‘mini-van’ (e.g., box bikes) can handle. I’m happy to have the Mundo as yet another capable tool within our vehicle toolbox, and look forward to many more years of cargo haulin’ pleasure.