Atlanta's Transportation Bicycle Shop
Feature Bike- YUBA Mundo - First Impressions
Can one bicycle change the world?. 
Oh, yes. Most definitely yes.
Be prepared for a paradigm shift. The Yuba Mundo will do that to you. From the time we lifted it out of the box, we coould see that this was a very different bicycle. After riding it for two weeks, it has changed even our bicycle happy lives in ways we never would have guessed. After riding a Mundo, you start to come up with uses for a bicycle that you never thought of before.
Go get groceries for the week - for a family of six? No problem - the YUBA Mundo will do it in one trip. Got a bookcase to move? Strap it on and peddle off down the street. Got a carful of packages to deliver? Take them out of the trunk and leave the car behind. Remember hen you were a kind and wanted to tow your friends bicycle somehow so you could fix it? Finally, abicycle that can be used as a "wrecker" for another bike. The YUBA Mundo can do all of this - and more.
The YUBA Mundo is the result of a vision that Benjamin Sarrazin, a professional kayaker, had in the 1990's. While traveling through developing areas of Africa, South America and Asia, he noticed
that while there were bicycles everywhere, they were virtually useless for carrying cargo. Teaming up with Klaus Schröder, the designer of ScooterBike, they developed and
launched the Mundo in 2006. Schröder likes to resume the concept this way "Most people in the developing, or in the western world, don’t need a bike for racing. They need a bike to carry their groceries, packages, children and
and more". Like the Mundo, the company is different from other bicycle manufacturers. They donate 10% of their sales to
Jugendhilfe Ost Africa and Re~cycle, programs that provide utility bikes to developing countries that don’t
have the resources to purchase them. 
The statistics on the Mundo are impressive for a bicycle that retails for under $1000. The frame is constructed from Cromoly 4130 Steel. The front triangle has been re-designed for 2009, making the frame lighter than the earlier models. The new version has larger, ovalized tubes, making for the stiff frame that you would want for bicycle designed to carry over 500 pounds on a trip over dirt roads. The rear triangle is extended to near tandem length, with a specially designed cargo rack that bolts into heavy lugs that are a part of the frame itself. The result is a platform that can be used with bungee cords or cam straps to lash a nearly endless variety of objects to it's heavy duty steel tubing.
The Yuba comes from the distributer the way bicycles did back in the 1960's. Completely disassembled. All of the parts are neatly bagged, along with all of the cables and housings. The groupo is standard Shimano 6-speed Tourney, with Revo shifters. The braking system is composed of extra large linear pull brakes, which provide more that adequeate stopping power. Better would be a front disk brake, but that would drag the cost upwards, and this is a bicycle meant for every one, and meant to be used in places where the nearest bicyle shop may as well be in another universe. The wheels are exactly what you would want on a muscular frame like this one. The front is a 36 spoke with heavy duty rims and hubs. The rear is a 48 spoke work of beauty, with an enormous 20mm axle. Delicate, it's not. The instructions on assembly of the Mundo are, in a nod to it's truly global use, in picture only format. They reminded us of the old "Wordless Workshop" column in Popular Mechanics magazine. At every step throughout assembly, they were completely accurate. However,this is not a job for the home mechanic. We had to do a little "improvising" to get the entire build done, but it went togethor in no more time than we normally allocate to complete bike builds. Every component is simple, and the bicycle itself is extremely sturdy.
The finished product, with the optional two-leg kickstand, is a truly impressive sight to behold. 
It sits proudly in a parking lot space, and attracts attention wherever you take it.
One immediate benefit is it's size. When on the road, vehicles give it a wider berth that you usually get. Even the impatient Atlanta drivers gave it respect that we
aren't used to getting. It handles extremely well on the road, and you really don't notice it's size or weight. It's actually - well, nimble. The geometry gives you a tight turning radius, and
in two weeks of riding we have yet to misjude and hit a curb.
And for the cargo carrying ability - you imagination is free to roam. The top rack took two standard bicycle rack packs, with room to spare. We went to Wal-Mart, spent $8.00 on
two recycling size plastic containers, took 4 bungee cords from the shop drawer, and - presto chango - massive sized grocery panniers. 
Like most mechanics, we like beer or two after the shop closes, so as soon as the "box panniers" went on it was off to the "packie" for our weekend supply. Loaded down with
our precious cargo, the Mundo handled it all with ease. The cassette has enough range to handle the slight rise and false flat on the run up to the shop, even with a load of
25 ounce cans and a 20 gallon bag of ice. We could have loaded each side with ice and beers and had a mobile party right in the parking lot. Food for thought on Grand Opening day.
The real test was the bookcase. We have a storage area two miles from the shop that we use for bicycles, parts, and furniture. Chrissie wanted one of the 7' X 3' bookcases, so it was the YUBA Mundo to the rescue and it's first big load. YUBA sells cam straps that are strong and simple, and recommend them on every purchase. We included a pair with our model, and we were glad we did. The straps secured the bookcase perfectly, and the step through frame allowed Joe to mount the bicycle without using a step ladder. Then, safe and secure, we started our bicycle convoy back to the shop. We strapped a concrete block on the other side of the mudo as a counter weight, and this proved to be a wise chice. It provided adequate balance, and, true to it's balanced geometry, the Mundo handled the heavy load with ease. There is a real hill down from 17th street by the Waterworks to our shop, and the brakes proved to be more than adequate, handling the fairly heavy road without issue. We glided into the shop parking lot, unstrapped our load, and carried it into the shop.
What next? Hmmm - didn't we say we wanted that small freezer for ice down at Wal-Mart? Fire up the Mundo!
The Yuba Mundo comes in Four models:
| Singlespeed | MSRP - $639.20 |
| 6-Speed | MSRP - $999.00 |
| 18-speed | MSRP - $1099.00 |
| Electric 18-speed | MSRP - $2097.00 |
What model works for you depends, as always, on how you plan to use it, and how you ride. The singlespeed is perfect for short trips in parking-lot flat South Florida, but for the same type of trips in Atlanta we would recommend a six speed, and if you plan on heavier, longer haul trips, the 18 speed is best. We tested the six speed, and the 18 speed, and preferred the latter for the heavier hauling of jobs like the bookcase. We will be evaluating the E-Mundo electric assist version in the future, and may well use it to replace our last remaining internal combustion vehicle that sits, forlorn and neglected, in our garage. Is this a bicycle that can make a difference? We think so. The majority of the world uses bicycles from purposes other than racing or trying to stay fit. The Mundo is a perfect example of how a bicycle can be used to replace a vehicle, and help solve the traffic congestion and transportation problems in cities like Atlanta. We will post regular updates, and pictures, of ways we use the Mundo to eliminate car and truck travel. We even know of an owner who raced one in an Alleycat! The uses of this truly remarkable bicycle are limited only by your imagination.
UPDATE - September 11th, 2009
We updated our inhouse Mundo demo to use SHIMANO Alivio rapid fire shifters, and SHIMANO Altus rear and front derailleurs. We will be configuring these on all models we sell going forward. Our experience with our own homegrown commuter bicycles has shown that these components are the most reliable and cost effective choices from a transportation cycling standpoint. We use the 42/32/22 triple combination on the chainring, and this will give you lower gears that are sufficient for even the hilliest roads and off-road situations you are likely to encounter.
UPDATE - November 17th, 2009
Since we have become a Worldwide Electric Bicycle Dealer, we will be receiving one of the new upgraded 500 watt, 48 volt rear drive kits soon. We are planning on immediately building, and installing, a Mundo rim with the electric hub on our store demo. This is an exciting devleopment for cargo bicycles, as it finally gives us the ability to build an electric assist wheel that has enough muscle for cargo bicycle applications. Most electric motors are far less powerful than this, with European Union units being limited to 250 watts. This may well turn out to be the long sought after "SUV Killer" bicycle we have been waiting for in the business. As soon as we build the wheel and mount it on the demo Mundo - hopefully Mid-December - we will publish a reveiew and Feature Bike article. Stay tuned.
UPDATE - January 8th, 2010
I rode a bicycle through the winter when I lived in Denver, but used studded tires on my commuters. We don't have any in our inventory, so when the "Alberta Clipper" blew through the area and left patches of ice on the streets, we wished we had. But the Mundo, with partially inflated tires to help combat the slippery conditions, handled every trip we needed to make. Anyone living in an area that constanly gets this type of weather could upgrade their tires and easily use the Mundo on ice and snow throughut the winter.