My experience:

Build Quality: 3.5/5

Function: 4.5/5

Style: 2/5

Overall: 4/5

Availability: Yuba is actively looking for an Austin dealer but for now you must order online at the Yuba site. A stripped down 6 speed version is available at $850 in green or orange and a nicely equipped 21 speed at $1100 in blue, orange or black. One size fits most. Like the Xtracycle, Yuba also sells other accessories including bags and child seats through their online store.

Summary:

Along with the Xtracycle and Kona Ute, the Yuba Mundo offers riders a full on cargo bike with a long tail as a legitimate automobile replacement for carrying kids, groceries and just about anything else you can stand to pedal. While the finish and build quality is a little rough around the edges, the Mundo gives you a well functioning cargo bike and a best in class hauling capacity at an astonishing $850 entry level for the bare bones 6 speed version and $1100 for a very nicely equipped 21 speed version.

Build quality and Style

Yuba sent me an orange (they call it Carrot) 21 speed bike with several accessories including pannier bags and a child seat. It arrived dealer ready which meant I had to do final brake and shifter installation as well as install of the wheels, seat, and handlebars. The Mundo also has a large side runner tube for a foot and bag rest that was separate and hand no installation instructions. Keep this in mind if you order online. If you are not confident of your ability to do a final build up, you’ll need to budget a little bit more and pay your local bike shop to get it ready for you.

The frame itself is extremely beefy but had sloppy, industrial welds at the joint. These do appear plenty strong, and  for the price point of this bike you are not getting master framebuilder elegance. There were some other rough edges in the bike including a fork that was out of alignment but not enough to be an issue. Also, the wheels were quite out of true and the many bolt bosses on the frame has to be re-tapped. Again, these are issues your local bike shop can address, but a sign of the lack of attention to detail that you are going to get with something mass produced at this price. The standard Mundo comes equipped with V-brakes but also has dropouts that allow disc brakes. The rear dropouts are vertical and designed with an external derailleur system in mind.

The actual equipment spec’ing of this bike is quite good. Unlike the Madsen, Yuba had the rider in mind, and swept back bars and a saddle designed for an upright seated position provides a very comfortable natural position. They’ve been paying attention to good utility bike rider geometry. The brakes and shifter groups are nothing to write home about but of a good quality for the utility purpose. The pedals are huge Victor VP-565 pedals with a nice grippy platform, my favorite component on the bike. While I’m a fan of the double footed kickstand (available as an add on), Yuba has provided the best single foot kickstand I’ve used to date. It is very larger and long providing a sturdy, stable resting point. Finally, little things like full on fenders and a bell showed the designers were thinking of the real world use of transportation cycling when pulling this together.

The only glaring omission on accessories were lights. I know it is popular to let the consumer choose lights as a way to keep the price point down, but this is a serious transportation bike and should come with the ability to ride after dark out of the box.

The overall style of the bike tends toward the industrial mountain bike look. This is not my cup of tea, but the orange paint job looks really good, and I got lots of compliments on how good the bike and it’s matching bags looked.

Function and ride

The Yuba Mundo will no doubt draw lots of comparisons to the Xtracycle. There is good reason. Yuba founder Benjamin Sarrazin was one of the people that developed the Xtracycle but wanted a bike the had more hauling potential than the Xtracycle Free Radical conversion kit. The Mundo succeeds on this front with a massive best in class 440 pound carrying limit and the 48 spoke rear wheel to back that up. I found the uniform frame to be extremely stable and not at all flexy under load.

Hauling my kids was a breeze and at one point I carried both my children and my wife on the back. The rack frame is a good 6 inches longer than the Xtracycle facilitating this. The foot runner provided an ease step up for them and the low center of gravity designed into the Mundo meant I had none of the potential twitchiness I sometimes get when kids shift around on the back of my Xtracycle Free Radical. Yuba did send me a child seat, but it was not compatible with the bags they sent. I chose to keep the utility of the bags and communicate to my 3 and 5 year old to be sure to hold on. If you do plan to use the child seat, keep this in mind and use more standardized pannier behind the seat.

The bags are the best accessory for the Mundo (an add on at $69 per bag). Unlike the Xtracycle, they have a cover and are waterproof. They are also absolutely enormous easily carrying three bags of groceries on each side. Also included with the bags are a shoulder strap so you can carry the bags off the bike if you don’t want to leave them behind. There are lots of tie off spots all over the frame so you can strap all kinds of things on the bike with twine or a bungie cord. The only down side to Yuba bags are that the extra width they create combined with the bike’s longer rear length make turning and maneuvering the bike in tight quarters a little more of a challenge. This bike has a real presence which is great on the road but may need some consideration if you don’t have a lot of space for storage when not in use.

As I said earlier, the rider geometry is a nice upright seating position with swept back handlebars providing longer ride comfort. I rode with my son for about an hour and a half at one point without any discomfort or issue. The frame is a semi-step through and designed to be one size fits all. This should be fine for all but the shortest riders. My wife who is 5′6″ still had plenty of room to lower the seat and handlebars when she test rode the bike.

Probably the biggest drawback to the Mundo as with most cargo bikes is the overall weight. It is definitely heavier than an Xtracycle, and I would highly recommend the 21 speed version for its gear range if you live in anywhere but the flattest city. (The inclusion of fenders, nicer shifter group, and rack deck in the 21 speed version make it a better value anyway.) The Yuba site indicates that this bike is e-bike ready whatever that means, but I do believe an electric bike conversion would make this an ideal car replacement. It does not appear to be compatible with the Stoke Monkey but should be able to handle hub based electric systems.

UPDATE: A Second Opinion

My wife also test rode the Yuba Mundo and had these comments:

Elliott’s wife here. I enjoyed test-riding this bike, too. I want to second what he said about the bike feeling nice and stable even as the child behind you suddenly moves around. I do have a complaint about the bags; the buckles are very low, almost underneath the lower railing. They’re black buckles against a black bag, and very hard to see, so you end up down on your knees or bent all the way over the back of the bag groping around for the buckles. And you have to buckle them every time; otherwise the straps drag on the ground. Hopefully the company will do a slight redesign on these bags and move the buckle up to an easier-to-reach location.

Summary

Picking up where the Xtracycle left off, the Yuba Mundo provide a lot of carrying capacity at a low price and reasonable quality. It is by far the least expensive entry into cargo bikes as a complete bike and does not skimp in its ability to do the job. Only the Xtracycle Free Radical conversion of an existing bike gets you into cargo biking for less at around $500. It’s unified frame provides a superior ride and hauling capacity to conversions, and I’d recommend moving up to the 21 speed as a better value for equipment. If you are willing to overlook a few non-critical rough edges, you can have a great replacement for the family sedan for a 20th of the cost.

Volunteering for Kid Bike Rodeo at Patsy Sommer Elementary School

Bicycle Sport Shop will be helping with a Kid Bike Rodeo at Patsy Sommer Elementary School on Friday, February 5. The event is going to help over 1000 kids get fitted with helmets, make sure their bikes are in good working order and run a few safety courses to teach the kids how to safely bike to school. The whole event is going down to kick off the Freiker program at the school. It’s a high tech version of the commuter challenge that will track each kid’s trips to school and let them see their results on the internet. More here: http://www.freiker.org/bp/How_It_Works. Volunteers should RSVP with Keith Byrd and show up at Bicycle Sport Shop Central at 517 S Lamar at noon on the day of the Rodeo. The group will be back around 7 on Friday. After done, the group are heading to A LITTLE PARTY I arranged for the volunteers.

Volunteering at the Armadillo Hill Country Classic

The annual charity ride of the Austin Cycling Association, the 16th annual Armadillo Hill Country Classic raises money for local cycling education and bike helmets for kids. This year the ride is on Saturday, May 8, 2010 and ACA is looking for volunteers to help make the event a success.

This year Mix 94.7 will be partnering with Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop to give away Trek bikes. They are needing help assembling the bikes and are building in shifts: Mon-Fri 8am-1pm and 1pm-7pm and Sat 8am-1pm and 1pm-6pm. Builds are going on from now until December 17, or until all of the bikes are built (there are 700 total!). There are some Saturday shifts left, but the most help needed is on weekdays. If you’d like to help, contact Erin O’Neill at erin@mellowjohnnys.com to sign up. Mix 94.7 will also be taking donates for the program at these locations today through December 16 if you don’t have the time but can contribute some funds.

UPDATE: If you know a child or children that are in need of bikes for Christmas, you can nominate them via the Bikes for Kids website.

It turns out the five person tandem was being driven by The Pedouin family, a husband and wife team with three daughters, ages 7, 4, and 3, attempting to bicycle 7000 miles from Kentucky to Alaskan. Their Pedouin name is derived from the word Bedouin – a member of a desert tribe that traditionally lives in tents – signifying a member of an adventurous family traveling on a tandem bicycle across the continent using a tent as their humble abode. On the trip to Alaska, they want to share their family’s journey with others to demonstrate how to live a dream despite the economic, social or educational climate.

Read more about the Pedouin’s extraordinary journey here.

In April during one of my first ventures to the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market with the Violet Crown Cycles tent, I met an individual who loved the look and functionality of my Ferguson city bikes but really wanted some form of electric bike. He initially asked me about a solar powered pedal assist option, but I indicated that I thought a drive train powered system would be much more efficient and economical.

We had an ongoing conversation over the next three months via the telephone and e-mail to narrow down the bicycle he wanted. Initially, he wanted a standard Ferguson bike with an internal hub and pedal assist. The first challenge we faced was combining the internal hub with a standard bicycle frame. There are pedal assist motors built into hubs, but they are currently always paired with a traditional external derailleur. Other systems use a secondary chain drive but require non-traditional frames to accommodate this system. After a bit of research, I recommended the Stokemonkey system produced by Clever Cycles, a Portland transportation cycling shop I visited last year.

The Stokemonkey was designed to work with Xtracycle compatible frames and Free Radical conversion kits. The customer was initially resistant to the long tail concept wanting as normal a looking bike as possible. I offered to build a custom rack on a long tail but suggested going with the Xtracycle platform as the company is always coming up with new accessories. This would give the customer a lot more flexibility to change the utility of his bike in the future (plus I’m a big fan of the Xtracycle.)

Once we settled on the drive train and long tail platform, it was down to the design. Fortunately, Xtracycle has made their design open source in the last year saving me much time in measuring everything out. Surly is the only company currently making a mass produced Xtracycle frame, the Big Dummy. I took a look at their design to see how they tackled the design issues, but ended up going my own way wanting a little more classically styled frame. My initial design involved a series of long double stays on the back, however one set of stays had to be replaced in the design with a single oversized tube to hold the heavy Stokemonkey motor and its brackets.

One odd bit from the Xtracycle design recommendations was the statement that horizontal drop outs in no way could be used with the design. Since I was going with an internal hub, this would be a bit of a problem meaning I’d have to put a chain tensioner on the bike. One of the reasons I like internal hubs is for the clean chain lines. I was using 26 inch wheels and since the design is meant to accommodate larger 700c wheels, there was plenty of room to put horizontal drop outs on this bike which I did.

I have to say I am quiet happy with the final results, but getting there was quiet a chore. I had estimated the build time would take about 50% longer than one of my normal bikes, but there was an awful lot going on with this bike and the build time on this bike took twice as long as estimated. Part of this was developing the system for building the rear of the frame. This was my first long tail frame, and I build my bikes without a jig (not that a conventional jig would have helped me.) My alignment table was just barely long enough for the frame which also became a little unwieldy to work with in my smallish workshop. I’m not in any hurry to start building tandems!

The customer opted for the midnight blue and had the chain guard, stem and fenders powder coated to match the frame. This yielded one of the better looking electric bike on the road (For some reason, the makers of e-bikes produce some of the ugliest bikes I’ve ever seen.) At first, I was a little nervous about installing the Stokemonkey system as this was my first e-bike. Luckily, the system is very straight forward with easy to understand instructions from the Clever Cycles site. Stokemonkey uses a second chain drive on the left side of the bike that engages when you turn the rev switch on the handle bars. The sensation is interesting, similar to that of a fixed gear bike. You feel the pedals continue to push even though you are no longer pressing the pedals. The entire red motor unit spins which is a little disconcerting at first, but the system itself is quiet and intuitive.

I let my wife take it for a spin around the block and she immediately started talking about getting rid of our car. She rides to work on an Xtracycle with my son on the back but has a hard time with the hills and longer trips. I think the Stokemonkey makes this more practical than standard e-bikes because it is paired with the Xtracycle platform meaning you can carry a weeks’ worth of groceries and 1-2 children on the back. For those looking to go car free with children, I’d give the Stokemonkey/Xtracycle combo a serious look. As for myself, I will be adding both the Xtracycle frame and Stokemonkey to my Ferguson line options for those wanting more in transportation cycling utility.

This morning I decided to forego my usual Saturday morning ride to volunteer for the Kiker Bike Fest. This is the second year in a row that my club, the Circle C Ranch Cycling Club, sponsored the bike fest at Kiker Elementary School in southwest Austin. It’s a chance for kids to learn cycling skills and have some fun in the bargain.

Last year, the bike fest attracted about 300 kids from the area, and we expected that many or more this year. Stations are set up to fit kids with new helmets, do quick bike repairs, learn the correct way to start and stop, ride a tight figure 8, ride in traffic with correct hand signals, and even ride a mountain bike trail behind the school.

Joe, who leads our Sunday morning A group rides, fits a girl with a new helmet donated by the Texas Medical Association. Image courtesy of Bike Noob.

Image courtesy of Bike Noob.

Pat and I handled the Straight Line – Scanning station. The kids had to ride a straight line between two chalk lines 18 inches apart. Then, we brought them back again to practice looking over their shoulders. Once they got halfway down the lines, I yelled “Look!” and they were supposed to look back, make eye contact with me, and continue. Because most of them were quite young, I did not point one way or another, as is usually done in this exercise, and they did not have to say which way I pointed. For many of them, staying upright on the slight downhill track was challenge enough.

It’s been awhile since we had kids at home, and both Pat and I were disconcerted to see how some parents hover over their children. One mother grabbed her little girl’s handlebars, and pulled her down the lines — nearly tipping her over several times.

But mostly, people seemed to enjoy the event. Parents liked how well organized the whole affair was, and many indicated they would be back again next year.

Debra gets a young rider rolling on the traffic safety course. Image courtesy of Bike Noob.

One highlight of the morning was a group ride on the nearby Veloway, led by former Tour de France racer (Motorola, Cofidis, U.S. Postal, Telekom) Kevin Livingston. This was assuredly not a hammerfest, as kids on BMX bikes jockeyed for position with their sometimes-wobbly parents and fully kitted-out weekend warriors.

Kevin Livingston waits for the group ride to begin. Image courtesy of Bike Noob

Hold your line! Image courtesy of Bike Noob.

“Just to show you how committed I am to this,” said my friend David, “I’m missing ESPN Game Day — and it’s here in town.” Texas is playing Texas Tech today, so I guess that is a good barometer of club participation. Besides, the game isn’t until this evening. Cycling education AND football — now there’s how to spend a Saturday.

My wife is the librarian at our neighborhood school where Miles attends and watches parents drive two or thee blocks every morning to drop their kids off. How insidious our car culture is that parents do this without any thought.

I am reminded how we model behavior for our children helping to mold the next generation. Just as a parent spewing racist rants predisposes their children to a certain viewpoint, when we drive everywhere we go regardless of distance we are hobbling the next generation with prejudices that will make dealing with climate change that much harder.

Will showing Miles that you can walk, bike, or take the bus places change the world? I don’t know, but I do know real change comes from the little choices we make everyday. Besides, riding on the back of an Xtracycle is a whole lot more fun than riding in a car.

Bikes on the beach at Pace Bend

Ridge Riders in a nutshell…
When the Ridge Riders was established in 1987, mountain biking was still in its infancy. As mountain biking has grown, so has the Ridge Riders. If you ride on a trail in Austin the Ridge Riders have likely had a hand in it. Besides trail work, the Ridge Riders promote safe environmentally friendly biking, organize rides, volunteer at biking related events and work to the benefit of mountain biking in the greater Austin Area. The Ridge Riders are as passionate about giving back to the community as they are about having fun. Calling them a club may be selling them short as an organization. If it’s Austin and its mountain biking, it’s also the Ridge Riders.

An organization reflected in their president…
After spending five minutes speaking with Judi Ronkartz, you understand why she was elected club president. Her enthusiasm for mountain biking and the Ridge Riders gushes forth. Judi started biking seven years ago, after a running injury forced her to seek out a new method of keeping in shape. Her new hobby quickly turned into a passion. Like many people, Judi became addicted to the little victories you get every day mountain biking. Those victories may be that sketchy downhill section you have never cleared or that loose rocky climb that you have always had to walk up. For Judi, running is work, but biking is fun. There was a natural draw to the Austin Ridge Riders. In 2006 she was elected vice president of the club and was elected president in 2007.

Rides rides and more rides…

Group Ride at Pace Bend

It doesn’t matter what level of biker you are, the Ridge Riders has something to be involved in. If you picked up your bike yesterday, you can ride on any number of group rides organized by the Ridge Riders. Membership is not required. It is a fantastic way to get the wheels under a first time rider. Group organizers are friendly and willing to help. Feeling timid about biking? Worried about flat tires or broken chains? Group rides are perfect, everyone is there to help and show you the ropes. All of the rides are ‘no drop’, so there is no chance of being left behind.

Group rides are also a great place to meet other bikers. Some popular rides are the Sunday ride at Walnut Creek and the monthly club ride that takes place at different locations around Austin. Keep an on their website or the A2W calendar for dates and times.

Ride like a girl…
Women who are interested in mountain biking can sometimes feel intimidated by the predominately male participation in the sport. That is why the Ridge Riders have created the Ride Like a Girl program. This program is specifically by and for women riders. The volunteers will show female riders the ins and outs of mountain biking in a safe, friendly and supportive environment. Before long these girls will be showing the boys a thing or two! Ride Like a Girl generally meets every Monday through the end of September at various locations around Austin.

Ride like a kid…

Kids Trips 2008

Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of the Austin Ridge Riders is Kids Trips. Kids who participate are educated in mountain biking skills, etiquette and safety. The Ridge Riders work to develop the next generation of safe courteous mountain bikers by instilling in the children the six basic IMBA rules. Volunteer ride leaders engage the kids in numerous outdoor physical activities. A fleet of kid-friendly bikes and equipment for the children is provided for those who need them. Often times Kids Trips is the first exposure children get to mountain biking. All youth groups are welcome and fun is the name of the game! Visit the Ridge Riders website for more information.

Riders on patrol…
Mountain biking, perhaps more so than other activities, is prone to difficulties. Anyone who has ridden for any length of time has likely experienced a flat tire, broken chain, or a gnarly fall. Sometimes riders go out unprepared for the ride or possible problems they may encounter. The Austin Mountain Bike Patrol is there to help. With the guidance of the IMBA this group of ARR volunteers prowls the trails on a regular basis, providing mechanical assistance and first aid for bikers.

Mountain bikers sometimes get a bad reputation. They are accused of damaging trails or endangering hikers. Some of these accusations are grounded in reality. The Austin Mountain Bike Patrol works to teach riders proper trail usage rules. Prevention is always the best medicine and the more bikers following the rules, the better we all look.

Play hard, work hard…
Mountain bikers need trails. Fun, fast, technical, rideable, exciting trails! A great deal of the Ridge Rider’s efforts goes into improving and expanding the Austin trail network. At any one time they may have three or four ongoing trail projects on the burner in various parts of Austin. The work is done during trail days, often a Saturday or Sunday. It is always done with the consent of the land managers responsible for the area. Having the consent of the land managers is paramount. Rogue trail work can cause a great deal of damage to the natural habitat and it is also illegal.

Trail work is not just great for mountain bikers. It is also a boon for organizations that support it. After trails were completed at Muleshoe Park there was an increase in year round attendance, in part due to mountain bikers taking advantage of the new trails. More trails also mean that the trails are less crowded overall as hikers and bikers have more places to spread out and enjoy.

This summer the ARR has major ongoing trail work at Pace Bend Park. They are collaborating with Austin County Parks to add six additional miles of sweet mountain bike trails. Work is from 8am to noon with a tasty sandwich reward at the end. Work will be ongoing through September, so be sure and check the dates and times. Bring your bike to hit the shiny new trail afterwards.

ARR has already completed five miles of trails at Lake Georgetown. An additional six miles are planned with the help of the Army Core of Engineers. The new section will stretch from Cedar Hollow to Tejas. This will create a 26 mile trail around the lake and promises to be an awesome ride! Also in the planning stages is an additional corridor at McKinney Falls state park that will double the trail length from three to six miles.

If you would like to get involved with any of the trail work go to their website to get dates, details and contact information. Much of the work is sponsored by local bike shops, REI and other businesses. There are often prizes, food and other benefits. For all of the TMBRA racers out there, the trail work qualifies for PayDirt hours. This nets you up to sixty extra points in the series!

Membership has its benefits…
You may be asking why you should become a member of the ARR. After all anyone can attend any Ridge Rider event. Besides the simple fact that membership is awesome, there are a number of other benefits. For only $20 you get a drawstring shoe and bag as well as a subscription to Southwest Cycling News. There is also free park entry at ARR events and free food at monthly group rides.

Mountain biking is not just about riding…
Sometimes it’s about hanging out with new people and drinking a few beers. ARR will have a strong presence and be providing volunteers for Tour de Fat. This event, organized by New Belgium Ale, raises money for cycling related non-profit organizations. Besides some great beer it will be great fun! Keep October 17th open on your calendars, bring your bike and come early!

If you are interested in anything discussed here, the ARR website is a great place to start. Get your membership papers filled out and come to the Muleshoe Birthday bash on August 8th!

Mother and child enjoying a Bakfiets at Clever Cycles in Portland

I’m a big fan of cargo bikes. They add major utility to transportation cycling making the thought of living car-free even more of a reality. You can do a week’s worth of grocery shopping, transport small children or even adults, or pick up a couch. Best of all, you can do all these things while not having to drag along a trailer.

There are various designs for cargo bikes out there such as the Xtracycle, Kona Ute, Yuba Mundo, and Madsen bucket bike. These are all great bike designs (heck, I have two Xtracycle Free Radicals!), but none except the Madsen can carry as many varieties of stuff as the Bakfiets. Based on the Danish Long John design created in the mid 20th century, the Bakiets is a bucket bike with the cargo riding in front of the driver. This has the advantage of putting the cargo at a very low center of gravity for improved handling as well as the ability to keep an eye on things.

The major downside of the Bakfiets has been their limited availability. A few retailers like Clever Cycles of Portland and Seattle Dutch Bike (which also has a store in Chicago) stock Bakfiets imported from The Netherlands. Also Joe Bike, an utility bike shop, sells the Chinese Flying Pigeon version of the Bakfiets with a Portland edition that jettisons most of the crappy components for quality ones. UPDATE: They will also soon be releasing a double decker, Portland-made Bakfiets called the Joe Bike with pictures here of the prototype.

How about Made in the U.S.A.?

These imports are certainly worth looking at, but why not save the shipping fuel and employ some American workers when you buy your Bakfiets. There is a growing list of U.S. builders making Bakfiets and we’ve put together a quick list:

Bilenky Cycle Works- Master builder, Steve Bilenky, can build you just about any kind of bike you want, but he also makes a Bakfiets inspired Long John. Frameset is $1650, full bike is $2700.

Center for Appropriate Transportation: Human Powered Machines- Based in Eugene, OR, CAT offers a Long Haul model with a wooden bucket, covered fiberglass container, or flat bed. Starting price for the flat bed version $2100.

The two part frame of the CETMA cargo bike allows you to separate the frame for easier storage or transport.

UPDATE: CETMA Cargo- Built in Oregon, these Bakfiets have a unique, two part frame that allows the normally lengthy cargo bike to be taken apart for easier storage and transport. Framesets at $2100 and full bikes $3150.

Double Dutch Bikes- This New Jersey company was recently brought to our attention with a range of no frills Bakfiets under $2000. It is unclear from their site whether they make these bikes or have them made off shore, so caution if you are wanting to buy Made in America. UPDATE: Danny from Double Dutch Bike let us know that they are an American company, but they import the bikes. Nothing wrong with that, just know they are not manufactured here.

Metrofiets- Hand made in Portland, Oregon, we recently posted an article about this company from the Seattle International Bicycle Expo. These are certainly the prettiest Bakfiets out there, and framesets start at $2600 with complete bikes coming in at around $3800.

Metrofiets of Portland

Want to learn to build your own Bakfiets?

The CAT Human Powered Machine Long Haul with Fiberglass Container

Do you want to add your name to the growing list of American cargo bike builders? Well, the Center for Appropriate Transportation holds a five month class in Eugene, OR twice a year to teach the craft of fine cargo bike building. Students learn hands on by working with teachers to build cargo bikes for CAT. Various different cargo bike designs are taught, and students leave the class with their own cargo bike of the design of their choosing. CAT also teaches students bookkeeping, management and marketing, skills which are woefully absent from most bike builders in my opinion. Tuition is $5000 and communal housing is $300/month. The two five month sessions are held July 15 to December 15th and from January 15th to June 15th.

Mark, Freya, and Courtney stand beside their bicycle mini-van, the Madsen Bucket

A few months ago, one of my neighbors spotted me taking my kids to school on our bicycle mini-van, a Trek 7200 with an Xtracycle Free Radical conversion kit and my own home made handlebars for secure child transport. Courtney e-mailed me to let me know she liked our setup and to let me know she had ordered a Madsen cargo bike. She invited me to come by and try it out once it was in to compare it to my Xtracycle. I said “yes” as I’m always in for trying out different cargo bikes.

Well, I got busy and honestly forgot to followup. Luckily, I saw Courtney riding her Madsen last week with her kiddo in the back (unfortunately from the seat of my car!) and contacted her about getting a closer look. This Saturday, I loaded up Miles & Clara in the Xtracycle, cold weather be damned, and headed over to see it.

Courtney purchased the baby blue Madison Bucket, which is a long tail cargo bike with a large 40 gallon plastic bucket over the back wheel and rack. The bucket includes seating for two adults facing each other or four children with a hauling capacity of 600 pounds. The Bucket version retails for $1299, is also available in black or cream color, and can be purchased through a dealer or from Madsen directly. It only comes in one frame size, but with a sloping, step-through top tube and a long seat post, the Salt Lake City builder claims the bike can be ridden by cyclist from 5′ to 6′6″ in height. There is also a version that comes without the bucket (just a long rack) for $1099.

I liked  the overall design and build of the bike right away. The powder coat paint looked good and the inclusion of fenders, chain guard, and double footed kickstand were a welcome sight in a utility bike. (These seem like no brainers, but you’d be surprised what large bike manufactures leave out of their supposed transportation bikes.) The design is like a reverse Bakfeits, with the cargo container stretching behind instead of in front of the driver. The front wheel is 26″ while the back is a smaller 20″ to accommodate the cargo container. The overall frame had a wheel base that was several inches longer than my Xtracycle. I took it for a quick spin empty and was immediately impressed with how stable its handling was from the first pedal stroke. The combination of smaller wheels, thick tires, a long wheel base, and evenly distributed weight made the ride quiet pleasurable.

Three kids and room for a fourth.

Knowing that cargo bike can handle differently loaded (the Bakfiets are much improved with carrying cargo), I decided to jump in all the way and loaded up both my kids and Courtney’s daughter, Freya, for a longer ride around the neighborhood. The Madsen Bucket did not disappoint. It remained stable from slow to quicker speeds, and I felt little instability when the children shifted around. The lower center of gravity of passengers plus its more secure seating make this a better design for hauling people and kids especially than the Xtracycle.

While I liked the bike overall, there were some glaring component missteps that mar an otherwise elegant design. First off like virtually all U.S. bike builders, there is an unexplained aversion to swept back handlebars. Somehow we’ve forgotten how ergonomically comfortable these bars are, instead going for the ubiquitous mountain bike bar. Anyone who rides an upright position will long for these better handlebars. And speaking of upright positions, the saddle is a complete mismatch for the riding style. They have put a hard, thinnish performance saddle on this bike. I like firm saddles, but I could barely stand this thing after 5 minutes.

The omission of a wider saddle appropriate to upright riding is a mystery. Courtney complained to the bike shop about this, and they said the bike company puts on cheap stuff like this to save money knowing most people will upgrade to what they like. Give me a break. I know for a fact that there are super economy swept back bars and wide saddles out there. It doesn’t have to be Nitto and Brooks.

My final gripe comes with the gearing options. 8 speed is OK for regular utility bikes and is generally your best choice if you are going internal gearing (unless less you want a $1200, 14 speed Rolfoff hub), but the Madsen is not equipped with an internal hub. The choice of external gearing for a cargo bike is wise as the Nexus hubs aren’t up to hauling 600 pounds. If you are going to go external, why not give yourself more range. I only did one minor hill with the kids, but I could see how I could run out of gears really fast on something steeper or longer. If you live somewhere very flat, this will not be an issue, but anywhere else, a gearing change would probably be appropriate.

Seating for two adults or four kids with seat belts.

Courtney has lived in Amsterdam and wanted to make a stab at going car-free with this purchase. She communicated a disappointment that there has not been as much change in her transportation choices as she expected. The weight and limited gearing of the bike make it a real bear on hills so she has limited its use to around the neighborhood and to the grocery store which are flat runs.

For a company that seems to be marketing primarily to mothers, I’d say these component choices are pretty important. Women are in general much more sensitive to smaller saddles and are going to be less likely to be able to muscle up hills. I don’t think it is acceptable to expect this market, which it not likely to be the cycling enthusiast market, to have to upgrade parts out of the box. Putting a little more thought into how people actually use the bike would greatly improve this product.

Two Bike Mini-vans, side by side. Xtracycle and Madsen.

These gripes aside, I think this is a really great design in a cargo bike. It combines all of the best features of the Xtracycle and Bakfiet into one bike. While I still like the zippier, more performance oriented feel and lower entry cost of my Xtracycle Free Racial, I would seriously consider the Madsen Bucket for bicycle mini-van if I had it to do over again.