# The Yuba Mundo Thread



## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

Yuba Mundo is now a fully established cargo bike with many owners worldwide. Let's share our experience from riding her, loading her and upgrading her. Here is mine with a fixie in a tow, with a 1940 vintage S&K velocipede, parked at home next to a coat rack, and a detail of her winter shoe. Mine is stock V3 with a front rack, Avid bb5 upgrade and few small things to make the ride for my kids more comfortable. Post pictures of yours, show us the improvements you made on her...


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## flipr (Sep 5, 2011)

My Yuba Mundo v4.0










250 pound passenger, dirt road, passenger movement steers bike... not a good experience for me. 140 pound passenger, dirt road, passenger movement effects bike... this is near maximum comfortable live load. 40 pound passenger, basically no effect on handling or me.

Mundo is used for hauling and recreational riding, 140 pound passenger (grandson) wants one of his own. From a bulk standpoint, two large square bales of hay is a maximum load (for me) and the weight is a 130 ~ 140 pounds.. (This is a maximum load that I can transport a useful distance.)


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

How do I post Pictures? Whats a url?


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## kdc1956 (Feb 5, 2010)

Love the Yuba in Orange wish the BD came in that color.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*front rack*

A front rack - a "bread platform" becomes very useful when one carries two kids on the rear rack and needs to pick up a bulky item in the store on the way home. It is easy to attach - just two brackets with 4 screws.


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

Hi Fox, thanks for starting this thread:thumbsup: Here are my Mundos, my Orange for daily all around commuter









Here is my Black Mundo for off-road / single track / fire road use.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*stand alone kickstand*

Just a short advice to anybody considering Yuba Mundo. Whatever configuration you get, make sure you buy a stand alone kickstand. It gives the bike incredible stability whenever you need it - be it kids or a load of shopping bags.


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## Mendobikesprite (Nov 19, 2009)

*Very nice front rack...*

Where did you source it and what brand?


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

The rack is Yuba's own, available from their website. I bought it directly with my bicycle. Given a standard head tube, it will fit most mountain bikes with 1 1/8" headset.


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## owenfinn (Nov 14, 2011)

fox1965 said:


> The rack is Yuba's own, available from their website. I bought it directly with my bicycle. Given a standard head tube, it will fit most mountain bikes with 1 1/8" headset.


Nice, I really want one of those for my Mundo. After a bit of googling I found out that the rack is made for Yuba by Steco, a Dutch Company.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Almost to 10 posts*

After this post I'll be able to post pics!


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*OK Then! Now I can post pics!*

I replaced my 29er w/BOB trailer with a Mundo. The Mundo goes anywhere the old bike did. The Mundo takes "hike-a-bike" to a new level with the rear handlebars to grab hold of. Shown here with about 80lb of camping gear, and a custom four water bottle capacity bar bag system. I run downhill tires with slime because everything has thorns where I live. I did have Hookworms front and back but the wire bead broke on the front tire and it would dismount itself from the rim on occasion, something I'm glad didn't happen while I was bombing down some hill! Anyway I threw a $5 almost bald Kenda Nevegal 2.35 on the front and it grabs the ground a little better than the Hookworm but offers slightly less floatation at low psi. Pretty happy with the combo actualy. I want one of those front racks, just not sure if I want the black one that clamps to head tube or the new one that bolts to the braze-ons. The black one looks more solid to me. I'd also really like to rebuid my bike with a pugsley fork up front and Endomorphs or Black Floyds (fat tires, for those who dont know check out the fatbikes forum) A fat tired Mundo would be the ultimate go anywhere do anything bike. I think you would have to run an internal gear hub because of chain rub. If anyone has done this I'd love to see pics. Also, For anyone who wants to tow a bob trailer, The main tubes at the very back of the bike have an I.D. of 7/8in. so you can put quill stems in them and possibly rig up a spot to put a BOB skewer.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

fox1965 said:


> A front rack - a "bread platform" becomes very useful when one carries two kids on the rear rack and needs to pick up a bulky item in the store on the way home. It is easy to attach - just two brackets with 4 screws.


Dude, I would totaly plug those braze-on holes in that cold looking place in the pics. I would take a sharp pencil and jam it into the holes and then snap it off so the tip stays in there and prevents rust.:skep: Kidding, I would put some anti seize on some hardware and seal it up. I dont know if the braze-ons are open to the inside of the frame but that would suck if the uncoated inside of the frame started to rust from the inside out. Or someone could have a small flexible tube full of lead bird shot and fill your frame when you were not looking! Nice bike, and totaly dig the front rack.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

I, too, ended up with 2.35 downhill tires with slime. For that I played with the chain line a bit. I put a 2 mm washer under the right BB cup and under the freewheel. Still at a small-front large-rear combination, the chain sometimes rubs. I measured other possibilities such as a wider BB spindle or a 6 cog freewheel at the back, but you would not get a chain line for a tire much bigger than 2.3-2,5" at the back. The reason you can get a better chain line with regular bikes is that a tire is right behind the BB, therefore you use the entire space behind it. On Yuba the tire is actually halfway between the BB and the rear axle, therefore on the largest cog on the freewheel you always get the chain closer to the tire. Conclusion: for anything larger, like say 2.5 - 3" you must use an internal gear hub. Then it becomes a matter of strength. I am afraid that 440#-plus-a-rider weight is too much for the hubs on the market. Nu Vinci hub may be capable of that. Tried one on a tandem and works just fine.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Igh*

I have heard good things about the Sram P5 Cargo hub. Yeah the 2.5 Hookworm hits the chain in the lowest gear but I am in that gear so seldom that for me its not worth worrying about, and the friction/outcome is so minimal that it doesn't matter for me anyway. Whats that thing sticking out in front of your front rotor? Some kind of guard? Has anyone ever unloaded their bike to get through a tuff spot, like a crazy rocky hill and then went back to carry their cargo up to the top? Or maybe across a deep wash? Carrying a Yuba Mundo up hiking trails is realy good exersise and will make you feel "hardcore" or sometimes crazy.ut:


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

It is a Reelight (Shop) - a LED light with a friction free electricity generator. You just attach a pair of magnets on wheel spokes and enough electricity is generated to run a LED light. A small condenser (capacitor) stores small amounts of energy and decharges during stops keeping the light on for several minutes after stopping the bike. Unlike hub dynamo or BB dynamo or tire dynamo there is no contact point. You only have to overcome the force of magnetic field that is negligible compared to air resistance, rolling resistance or bearing friction. No batteries, no upkeep. Always on.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Cool light.*

Thats a pretty cool light. There is a thread in Fat Bikes about fat tired yuba Mundos, heres the link: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fat-tire-cargo-bike-552339.html#post8635105


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## Trex1955 (Nov 19, 2011)

Here's my v.1.1 Yuba Mundo 1st generation...paid $300 used from a college Student.






​


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## swpisstol (Jan 7, 2008)

Just picked up four Yuba's at my shop. We have two Big Dummy's in our fleet currently. Looking forward to doing a full comparo between the two. So far Surly feels faster but flexy. Yuba's an impossible deal to beat. Good to see the cargo stuff catching on.


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## Trex1955 (Nov 19, 2011)

swpisstol said:


> Just picked up four Yuba's at my shop. We have two Big Dummy's in our fleet currently. Looking forward to doing a full comparo between the two. So far Surly feels faster but flexy. Yuba's an impossible deal to beat. Good to see the cargo stuff catching on.


Mr SW...you're right about the Big Dummy being a faster bike, but for the money you really can't beat the Yuba line of bikes. Plus they are doing great things in Africa with them.... the company gives them away to locals, who use them to start-up a delivery business. The following is some information on one the Africa projects, that's on-going....






​
Mundos going to Tanzania -


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Wrap around deck*

So check this out. I think I am going to replace my side loader boards with one big wrap around board of a little thicker wood. (I think my current boards are 3/8 inch) Then I can attach one of those fork mounts that people put in the back of their truck to the deck for a towing attachment! Also, if the pugsley 135mm adapter is used I can tow my bob trailer. Plus that extra deck space could be useful. If someone is sitting backwards on the rack they can rest their feet or the board. Like I said though, the board will have to be pretty stout. Also a little caution will have to be exercised so that not too much weight is behind the axle, so loading up the bob trailer with a lot of weight will be ify. Usualy the bob trailer puts its weight right over the axle but now the yuba will be taking some tounge weight. Maybe if my wife does not task me over the holiday break I can sneak out to my garage and work on it. Will post pics when its done. Here are my artistic renderings The last one I took from google images and adjusted, so I give the photographer credit whoever they are:


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

This is a very interesting idea. Just watch out for the curb! One reason why Yuba is designed this way is, that the separation of side loaders at the back of the bike prevents you from getting stuck when you ride down a step, be it a curb or a natural step on a stony trail. I am really interested in your experience with this design.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Oh yeah, and check this out!*

If you are pulling a bike with the new "wrap around deck" and towing attachment, someone could conceivably be pedaling that bike thereby making it a trail-a-bike! Here is another crude drawing. So if you had a ton of cargo and didnt think you could make it up a hill on your route you could just recruit a buddy to be a "pusher." Or how about adding another Yuba on the back! If you add a front rack and load it down with rocks you will be able to put more tounge weight on the deck hitch.ut:


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Oh,yeah, that could be an issue.......*



fox1965 said:


> This is a very interesting idea. Just watch out for the curb! One reason why Yuba is designed this way is, that the separation of side loaders at the back of the bike prevents you from getting stuck when you ride down a step, be it a curb or a natural step on a stony trail. I am really interested in your experience with this design.


I see your point. I think I try to avoid curbs for the most part but when I do go off one I use my brakes so the rear tire goes off in slow-mo and does not slam down. That is when it would totally get hung up. On the other hand if you let the wrap around rest on the curb it would be parked there solid as heck so you could load the bike up. Might actualy be a good urban bike thing for that very reason. Would probably be just as stable or more stable than the stand alone. It would be a good way to stabilize your bike when kids are climbing up on it.
Now I'm starting to get board here at work and am doing this with paint:








I guess you could just cut a slot in a 4x8 sheet of plywood and slap that on too!!!!!!!!!!


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*My latest design*

The "Full" "Wrap Around Deck!!!!!!!!!!" Notice the support wires for the front. This takes things to a whole new level!!!!!!!!! 








ut:ut:ut:ut:ut:


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*OK, I've got a Wrap Around now !!!!*

I had nothing to do today but eat food, drink coffee, and mess around in my garage so I built the Wrap Around. Its got so much deck space its unbelievable. I just need to get one of those fork mounts for the trail-a-bike. I'm going to drill a few smaller holes for tie downs and I still need to get some longer hardware to bolt it down. Its pretty thick wood and it feels super heavy duty. I cant wait to haul some loads with it.


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## Fresno (Jul 11, 2011)

I thought the new racks were suppose to attach to the frame?


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Wrong rack*



Fresno said:


> I thought the new racks were suppose to attach to the frame?


The new one from Yuba does attach to the frame via the braze-ons in the pic. The black rack above is the one made in denmark available for like $35. the one from yuba is like $125 I think. I think I like the Dannish one myself.


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## curtis inglis (Dec 5, 2005)

The modified wood racks looks great.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*Merry Xmas!*

This is how I got our tree home!


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

Has anyone tried to put 29" wheels on their Yuba Mundo?
Has anyone tried one of the Surly's wide tires/wheels?


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Soon, very soon.*

I am getting closer to getting some fatties under my YuMu. I want to do a 135mm non offset pug fork and run interchangeable front and rear wheels, each built with no dish, 48 spokes and free-free hubs with single speed freewheels. Four gears baby! You have to pull over and flip or swap tires around to change gears!!!!! A four option single speed fat tire YuMu will be an unstoppable expedition machine. I will have to run a chain tensioner though, but they are simple and strong and its not unthinkable to carry a spare on long desert crossings. Strong, durable, simple. There is 4in of clearance in the back so I think endos will run fine. I would like to see some pics but I might just have to measure an endo on a 65mm LM to see what the width is. I might end up running some 44mm snowcats or something to get the tires to clear.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

How about using a gear hub at the back and having a 135mm non offset in the front? That way you will have whatever amount of gear the rear hub has and no chainline problems plus a spare wheel in the front in case rear hub fails. Just a suggestion. (Cause changing or flipping wheels on loaded YuMu can be a challenge.)


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Like an alfine 8?*

Yeah, maybe that would be optimal. It would not be as hard core but maybe that is a good thing! :thumbsup: I like the way you think. It would be a real pain to switch wheels if I was loaded, especially with my wrap-around deck which is always getting in my way. I guess the only issue is finding the right crank set so that the single chain ring is set far enough out that the chain line is good. looking at the surly website I see that the endos are 3.7 in on 65mm rims so there should not be a problem when running slightly more narrow rims. Theoretically they will run fine on 65mm but will have only 1.5mm of clearance on either side, so if a rim gets out of true or conditions are muddy I think I would want a little more margin than that. I am thinking 30mm to 50mm rims will be better. Of course with a more narrow rim the handling might get squirmy at low psi. I bet the 44mm snowcat rims would do well. And the more narrow the rim the greater the diameter of the tire so there is some playing around to do here. I do not know what the max diameter would be. Just looking at the bike I would say you could squeeze in a 700c wheel with conservatively sized tires.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

I thing the best crank is one with a good old square taper bottom bracket. That way you can choose any chainline you want.


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## YouAin'tGotJack (Jan 23, 2012)

Hi! I'm new here, just bought my Mundo home a few days ago. Love the thread and the different pics and projects, very inspiring! 

I need a little advice and I'm hoping you folks can give me an idea- Firstly everywhere I go my 20 month old will be in tow. Ive ordered a peanut seat but have to wait until the end of feb for it to be in stock.
I would like my son to be set back on the platform a little so he's not squished against me and also so I can still swing my leg over the back. This is important because I don't feel very stable putting it over the cross bar without his weight added, so I think once he's loaded it could be potentially dangerous for me to put my leg over (I'm quite short and out of shape). Secondly I'm getting two of the Go-Getters and want to use them too...but I've heard the panniers and the seat are hard to utilize together. So heres my ideas and I would appreciate other Mundoer's views, thank you!

1- Could I potentially extend the deck out the rear on each side to incorporate the panniers being placed back and extended past the rear a little? I don't intend on carrying huge loads in them or extremely heavy stuff and won't be going off curbs as my little one would get whiplash. I thought I could rig something with thinner PVC pipe and wrap it around from one side to the other. It would be easier if I had the seat and the bags in front of me, but I don't as they are both being ordered.

2- I considered raising the baby seat so his leg holders do not hang so low on the sides but was concerned raising him wold throw of the center of gravity making it harder to ride.

I totally realize its a long stretch that anyone here has dealt with this. I also cant upload pics yet so cant really show the complications Im dealing with. At the moment Im trying to rig a trailer up to the bike so I can get cycling, but that defeats the whole object of getting a cargo bike for me. My main buying point with the mundo was a baby seat and panniers- now that is looking a little tough to utilize I'm determined to solve the problem.


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## mikva (Apr 26, 2006)

Long tail bikes are excellent for transporting kids - the long wheel base gives a much more stable ride. 

I don't have any experience of the Mundo, but use an Xtracycle to transport two kids and believe that the experience is the same for both bikes.

Putting any of the kids behind the center of the rear wheel affects handling negatively. I also found that raising the child seat by only a few centimeters, say an inch, affected the handling. Because of this I have the child seat of the second kid as close to the deck as possible and just above the center of the rear wheel. The older kid sits on her own, between me and the youngest kid.

The child seat reduces the amount of other stuff you can carry, but it's possible to find room in the panniers infront and behind the child seat. I think that a good alternative is a front rack because it balances the bike.

Getting on the bike I use the kick stand, raising it only after having mounted the bike. I find getting of the bike is always easier.

Having said that, half the fun of having a cargo-bike is modifying it to suit you own needs!


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## baker (Jan 6, 2004)

I've tried an Endo on the rear of my Mundo V3. It fit, but with barely any clearance for mud, wobble, or snow. I actually have a Pugsley fork laying around that was supposed to be used to make the Mundo fat. Just haven't gotten around to it. Too many other projects and trails to ride.


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## baker (Jan 6, 2004)

Regarding carrying kids...I've carried my preschooler and elementary kids around a bit on my Mundo. Initially, I thought I'd get a "car seat" type thing for the kids, but I didn't.

I put a handlebar on the back for the kids to hang onto. If there is a second kid, they have to hang onto the first and/or the rack.

To keep their feet outta the wheel, I installed a lower mounted rail and put grocery panniers on that. Then the kids put their feet in the grocery panniers. Works fine and I can throw their backpacks, etc in the panniers, too.

Stability while getting on/off is definitely an issue. I installed a two legged kickstand, which helped immensely. I still have to be careful, especially on dirt roads (which is pretty much the only place I ride the Mundo). Also, the leg swing to mount/dismount is an issue. After nearly taking out the kids a couple times, I started mounting differently (lifting the leg over the top-tube).

As my kids got bigger, I actually installed an electric motor front wheel and a couple RC car batteries to drive it. Pretty fun and I can revert to pedal power very easily.

Here are a couple links that show my Mundo:

Monumentally Afflicted: Yuba Mundo...Schwing!!!

Monumentally Afflicted: Yuba Mundo V3 Upgrades

http://forums.mtbr.com/cargo-bikes/electric-pig-670913.html


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## YouAin'tGotJack (Jan 23, 2012)

thanks folks for the ideas- if you go to my blog spot and look on the right there is a link for my DIY kids seat.

You Ain't Got Jack


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## YouAin'tGotJack (Jan 23, 2012)

heres pics- slowly figuring this site out


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## YouAin'tGotJack (Jan 23, 2012)

The seat is set back just far enough that I can swing my leg on and off which is SO much easier than trying to step over the bar for a shorty like me. I have a pair of wheel skirts that I need to attach to, probably get to it today. 

I'm also waiting for a double kickstand- does anyone here know if I can use the double kickstand that E-bikes sells rather than the Yuba one and if they are of similar construction. I hate to have to wait until March for the Yuba stand.


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## campredcloudbikes (Feb 22, 2008)

Lone Desert Walker said:


> Yeah, maybe that would be optimal. It would not be as hard core but maybe that is a good thing! :thumbsup: I like the way you think. It would be a real pain to switch wheels if I was loaded, especially with my wrap-around deck which is always getting in my way. I guess the only issue is finding the right crank set so that the single chain ring is set far enough out that the chain line is good. looking at the surly website I see that the endos are 3.7 in on 65mm rims so there should not be a problem when running slightly more narrow rims. Theoretically they will run fine on 65mm but will have only 1.5mm of clearance on either side, so if a rim gets out of true or conditions are muddy I think I would want a little more margin than that. I am thinking 30mm to 50mm rims will be better. Of course with a more narrow rim the handling might get squirmy at low psi. I bet the 44mm snowcat rims would do well. And the more narrow the rim the greater the diameter of the tire so there is some playing around to do here. I do not know what the max diameter would be. Just looking at the bike I would say you could squeeze in a 700c wheel with conservatively sized tires.


If that frame has 4 inches of clearance in the back it is your civil duty to the world of bike nerds to make it an Alfine Fattie. SS would just be a dumb idea on that machine.
I just built up a front wheel with a Echo Trials 44mm rim from webcyclery and an Endo measures to either 84 or 86 mm (can't remember). For a little while I had the Endo on a 29 mm rim.... that was a little squirrely and lost a lot of tire volume - not all the tread would hit the ground even at low pressure.
I'd say go for the 44mm rims and don't look back. Mud clearance is a good thing.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

I looked at those awhile back. I'm very suspicious of the 14mm rear axle. Suspicious that its a p.o.s. that will be hard to replace. 14mm to 10mm converters are an ok workaround, but I still would prefer a frame designed to take conventional quick-release 10mm axles.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Dude,*

Half the bmx bikes out there have 14mm axles, they are just thicker axles, whats to be suspicious about? The 14mm dropouts are more universal and adaptable than any other dropouts. It is not a problem to run any axle in the mundo frame.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

The Mundo has a 400 lb cargo rating... PLUS the rider! You don't get there with a hollow 10 mm axle. We bent the Phil Wood axle on our tandem, no luggage, my stoker is fairly petit, and yells at me if I do anything that SHOULD bend an axle. That 14mm hunk of solid steel is very reassuring when the Mundo is loaded up.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Lone Desert Walker said:


> Half the bmx bikes out there have 14mm axles, they are just thicker axles, whats to be suspicious about? The 14mm dropouts are more universal and adaptable than any other dropouts. It is not a problem to run any axle in the mundo frame.





gumby_kevbo said:


> The Mundo has a 400 lb cargo rating... PLUS the rider! You don't get there with a hollow 10 mm axle. We bent the Phil Wood axle on our tandem, no luggage, my stoker is fairly petit, and yells at me if I do anything that SHOULD bend an axle. That 14mm hunk of solid steel is very reassuring when the Mundo is loaded up.


a lot of bmx folks have moved away from 14mm axles, but yes they still are used. bmx rear uses 110mm o.l.d. hubs, and you wouldn't want to lace that to a 26" rim... too narrow of flange spacing, not to mention unavailability of hub with 8sp freehub body.

Many 14mm axles use low quality steel. a 10mm axle with a nice heat treatment and the right material can be far stronger than a crappy 14mm axle. I've seen this over and over again on bmx bikes. My perspective comes from 10 years of serious riding semi-professionally (getting payed, but not living off it) and working at a dozen bike shops (I moved around a lot while going to college).

Most people are running quick release on their big dummies and tandems without any problems. I've done some tandem touring with quick release front and rear with no problems.

semi-proprietary components are a huge pain in the ass. If its not broke, don't create a new part that breaks it!

axle converters get smooshed and gummed up over time. Say you buy a new hub after the cheapo one it (I'm assuming its low quality since this is a relatively cheap bike and we are speaking of the bicycle industry) comes with fails after only a few thousand miles. Perhaps you buy a nice solid axle to replace the qr axle. You install it with some 14mm to 10mm adapter and ride for awhile. Then one day you want to overhaul the hub or tighten a loose cone or locknut, but that damn adapters bunged up the threads on the axle and you can't get the locknut and cones off without stripping them or trying to find a die to clean up the threads. This kind of ordeal has plagued bmx riders for years. Why bring their problems to the bigger wheeled bicycle world?

edit: and i also wanted to mention that one of the great things about 10mm dropouts is that you can file them to accommodate a 14mm axle without much trouble (assuming the dropout design leaves enough material remaining). adding material to go the other way, now that's tricky.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Good points here.*



PretendGentleman said:


> a lot of bmx folks have moved away from 14mm axles, but yes they still are used. bmx rear uses 110mm o.l.d. hubs, and you wouldn't want to lace that to a 26" rim... too narrow of flange spacing, not to mention unavailability of hub with 8sp freehub body.
> 
> Many 14mm axles use low quality steel. a 10mm axle with a nice heat treatment and the right material can be far stronger than a crappy 14mm axle. I've seen this over and over again on bmx bikes. My perspective comes from 10 years of serious riding semi-professionally (getting payed, but not living off it) and working at a dozen bike shops (I moved around a lot while going to college).
> 
> ...


I never thought about steel quality, I hope the yuba axles are quality. If they are not they could be replaced with quality ones, and quality 14mm axles will be stronger than quality 10mm axles. I think all those people running hollow 10mm axles on their cargo bikes are not loading them up like you could with a solid high quality 14mm axle. The fact is thicker steel (steel quality being equal) is stronger, so if you want a serious cargo bike 14mm might be the way to go. If you never plan to use it to its full capacity go with whatever.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Lone Desert Walker said:


> I never thought about steel quality, I hope the yuba axles are quality. If they are not they could be replaced with quality ones, and quality 14mm axles will be stronger than quality 10mm axles. I think all those people running hollow 10mm axles on their cargo bikes are not loading them up like you could with a solid high quality 14mm axle. The fact is thicker steel (steel quality being equal) is stronger, so if you want a serious cargo bike 14mm might be the way to go. If you never plan to use it to its full capacity go with whatever.


All this is true.

However it may be very difficult to find another axle(of higher quality), let alone a replacement axle. I've seen 12 year old kids bend solid 14mm axles, and I've put some 10mm axle wheels through the ringer with no bending.

If the hub is unsealed, there will be no problem replacing the axle, but good luck finding a nice one. Suzue replacement axles are an option, but they're probably rare now.

If the hub is sealed, then you have to find an axle with shoulders that have the same spacing. I can pretty much guarantee you that you will not find this, as no bmx hub will have shoulders for the inner race of the bearings in a comparable location due to narrower old.

So the idea is fantastic in the abstract, but the real-life trade-offs make it highly questionable.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*This is a revelation!*

We now have a picture of a Yuba with Endomorphs on it, yes thats right, photographic evidence of a fat yuba!!!!!!!!!! http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fat-rims-772344.html


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

*Fox asked for some info......*

Hi Guys,

In response to Fox, who asked for some info on my bike, I'm going to post up the Q & A's here as well.

There are a couple of other little things, namely the Rohloff hub I'm using is one that I've owned for many many years and that unit has a QR axle, not ideal but good enough for evaluation purposes. This bike, at this stage, is an experiment, and to keep costs under control in case the whole thing goes pear shaped I'm using what I have. However....I suspect this whole shebang will work.... ("live in hope, die in despair"  as they say) so I'm researching my avenues for components that are better suited to a fat cargo bike. One of these will be a solid axle, 48 spoke Rohloff laced into a Wienmann / US Chopper 26 x 4" double walled rim. The boys over on the fat bike forum have been feeding me info on this, thanks guys. (they know who they are :thumbsup: ) And on advice from said Fat Bikers, I'm already trying to source a different Sus shock for the front.

The bike, in it's interim state when it leaves the LBS in a few weeks will carry me on a maiden voyage of approx 800 Km's over a mixed bag of bush, very sandy double track, across a dry salt lake, hard pack dirt road and finally 80 odd Km's of tar. On this ride it'll carry aprox 40Kg of water, me , 90 Kg, a heap of crud I'll likely not use, ~30 Kg. a total of 160 Kg.

OK, below are the Q & A's posed by Fox, the questions have the nubers beside them, the answers don't.

Al

PS I'll put a pic at the bottom. It was taken with my phone so it's not the best :thumbsup:

fox1965, Mate, this is turning into a Tome....but here you go, my answers will be under your questions.

1. Is your blue bike Yuba Mundo or is it a knock-off version? There are several Yuba Mundo owners out there who are trying a fat bike conversion of Yuba and your input is very precious.

I strongly suspect it's a Chinese knock off. There are subtle differences. eg the tube from the bottom bracket to the rear forks is a little shorter and the rear axle mounts are a bit different. It's built of high tensile steel I'm told.

2. Doesn't your chain rub the rear wheel? This was my problem with traditional derailers.

When I picked the bike up I put the Endo's straight on the rear and rode it basically standard. There were two mudgaurd mounts that I had to cut off with a hacksaw but that was all.
I had chain rub if I tried to use the low end gears in the low ring on the front. As I'm taking the cluster off and replacing it with a Rohloff, I'm hoping this won't be an issue.

3. How do you brake at the back of your bike? I do not see any caliper or disc.

I had to remove the caliper because, as you'll likely realise, it hadn't a snowflakes hope in hell of getting itself around 3.8" of tyre. So for the 15 Km ride to the bike shop I simply relied upon, a) the front brake and b) running into either a pole, car or pedestian to stop.....I've discovered it's a great way to meet women as one can then visit them in hospital for some time thereafter "meeting" them....
Whilst it's at the LBS, which is not so 'Local' as it's 3700 Km's away it's getting a disk brake tab grafted onto the rear. I'll run a 203mm rotor on the Rohloff.

4. Is the rear tire on the original 30mm Yuba rim with 48 spokes? How does the wide tire sit on a rim this "narrow".

Yes, for the first ride the original rim of 30mm width was used. The Endo sat well on the rim, but I carried no weight. I've used Endos on 47 mm rims extensively to enable me to change to road tyres once I hit a long patch of tar on my rides. I've never encountered any problems with that combo. Of course, one doesn't quite get the spread one would on a wider rim.

All of us Yuba Mundo riders are watching your progress with excitement!

Fox


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## GuruAtma (May 17, 2004)

Easily fitting 2 kids on the Mundo:


IMG_2389 by guruatma, on Flickr


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## YouAin'tGotJack (Jan 23, 2012)

looks great!


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## morganxc (Mar 27, 2012)

Better not get going to fast with the full wrap you might just fly away!


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## chongoman (Jun 25, 2006)

*Yuba!*

Love it.
Everyone should have one of these. It even makes going to Costco fun.

We added a Montague Octagon quick release adjustable stem to ours since my wife is 5'6" and I'm 6'2". The rest of the setup is from their catalog.


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## YouAin'tGotJack (Jan 23, 2012)

chongoman said:


> Love it.
> Everyone should have one of these. It even makes going to Costco fun.
> 
> We added a Montague Octagon quick release adjustable stem to ours since my wife is 5'6" and I'm 6'2". The rest of the setup is from their catalog.


AWESOME- that looks a similar set-up to my bike only I'd have size 5 diapers on the rack for my boy!


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*I cant control it! Its lifting off!*



morganxc said:


> Better not get going to fast with the full wrap you might just fly away!


Wow, you just gave me some really dangerous ideas. If I make a wrap around deck with adjustable tilt and pitch controls on the handle bar and install a rudder........
This link has a picture that is relevant Skycycle(s) - Bike Hugger


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

What is that on both of these just in front of the rear wheel?



Fatboy Joe said:


> Hi Fox, thanks for starting this thread:thumbsup: Here are my Mundos, my Orange for daily all around commuter
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

Tom93R1 said:


> What is that on both of these just in front of the rear wheel?


It's an electric assist system:thumbsup: Helps me get through the steep stuff while loaded with cargo, or with my kids.


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## owenfinn (Nov 14, 2011)

How do you like the Maxxis Hookworms on your Yuba?


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

owenfinn said:


> How do you like the Maxxis Hookworms on your Yuba?


They are great. No flats since I put them on. They are 2.5" wide,which makes them stable at high speed (38mph). They are heavy though, compared to the Schwalbe Marathons and Big Apple.


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## owenfinn (Nov 14, 2011)

Fatboy Joe said:


> They are great. No flats since I put them on. They are 2.5" wide,which makes them stable at high speed (38mph). They are heavy though, compared to the Schwalbe Marathons and Big Apple.


Plus they just look awesome. Not really concerned about weight or speed, but durability and ride quality with a lot of weight on the bike is most important. Are those the stock fenders?


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

owenfinn said:


> Plus they just look awesome. Not really concerned about weight or speed, but durability and ride quality with a lot of weight on the bike is most important. Are those the stock fenders?


Yes,stock fenders.:thumbsup:


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## owenfinn (Nov 14, 2011)

Well then - I think I am going to place my order for a set of Hookworms today. Thanks for the info! 

BTW - since I am ordering stuff, anyone have any suggestions on a good replacement seatpost for the Yuba? The stock seatpost I have is now pretty beaten up (scratched up and stripped of paint).


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Replace?*

If it has little burs on it you can use a fine file or some steel wool. When ever I get a new bike or put one together I always feel inside of the seat tube where the clamp goes because I have learned that sometimes there is a little bur there from the manufacturing process and it ends up scratching the hell out of the seat post, usualy resulting in a zig-zag pattern up one side. I use a little round file to clean up the area and then of course grease the seat post. I bet someone out there could really use your used seat post since posts that long are kind of hard to come by. They must be like 800mm or something. You could use a sharpe to hide the scratches if you were not to picky. I think cargo bikes look better with a few scatches. Anyway you can just order a new one from Yuba.


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

*Its now ridable..... (new link to pics added.....15/4/12 )*

Guys, I've all but got the "Yuba look alike" together. Rode it this arvo through some very loose dry sand and it goes really well. It was empty though. Tomorrow I'll put some weight on the old girl and see how it goes.

Pictures of all the relevant bits will hopefully posted tomorrow evening.

A bit of a run down;

Back rim is a rolling Daryl, 100mm, both an Endo and a Nate fit into the allotted space, albeit very snug. OK for sand, not so good for clay type mud, but then what is? 32 spokes laced to a Rohloff hub with a 15 tooth sprocket. 203 mm rotor with an Avid Elixir 1 stopper. (Must say it works really well)

Front rim is an old double Sun with an Endo. 32 spokes. Forks are now WB 200 Groove.203 rotor with an old Hayes Niner stopper. (Not as good as the Avid but the Avid line is way too short. Will get a kit to lengthen it off the net as I couldn't find one in town)

Crank set is a Shimano Saint with a 40T and 35T rings. The rings are el cheapo units at the moment. I'll have some good ones machined up in the USA if this goes well. Chain is a 9 speed SRAM unit, 2nd from the top of the line. (can't remember the name....) Will be trying a ½ x 1/8 chain but not sure how the Rohloff will like it as a 9 speed is reconmended.

Headset is...well, pretty different, I have 2 BBB 70mm steerer tube extenders on there at the moment and a 50 degree adjustable el cheapo head set. While I've been in town building this up, 2 Gazelle Shuttles, different extension lengths, have arrived at home. I'm hoping these will slide into the steerer. They are quill units. I've worked out how to get and keep preload on the A head unit.

Seat is a Brooks B67, (I think, I've owned it so long I can't remember....), and stem is a KS 27.2 remote dropper. This is my problem child at the moment as the seat tube is a queer size. I'm having to use a shim but it's not been 100% successful yet and occasionally the whole post drops whilst riding. :eekster:

I'm going to put on a wireless odo tomorrow to keep track of the K's

That's about it for now.
Al

Here's the link to the pics, there are 2 lots.

http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/its-now-ridable-pics-781812.html


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

I'm LOVING this thread! I'm REALLY hoping to be ordering myself a Mundo in the next week or so (fingers,arms,toes,legs AND eyes crossed ) :thumbsup:


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

I'm looking at getting a frame when yuba gets more at the end of May. I really wish the rear wheel had a freehub rather than freewheel, as this is the main thing deterring me from getting the complete (more so than my skepticism about the quality of the 14mm axle hubs). 

disc tabs are on their frame and fork now. I'll probably use my spare big dummy fork, as I'm not particularly interested in running a threaded headset and stem.

They've got a nice EP option, which I appreciate greatly. I wish Surly would do EP's.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

Current production has a thread less 1-1/8" steerer.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

Thanx to Lone Desert Walker and AlanM I am slowly but surely getting to a goal of a fat tire Yuba Mundo. Will post a better picture after I am done with it. The fork is an older Surly Pugsley. Rims are original Mundo 27mm.


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

Man that looks killer cool!!! :thumbsup:


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Fox, That rocks :thumbsup:

How much room do you have between the tyre and the chain stays?

How much room do you have between the tyre and the seat stays?

How much clearance is there for the tyre at the chainstay brace?

How much clearance is there for the tyre at the seatstay brace?

Do you have any issues with chain rub on the tyre?

Cheers,
Al


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*This is awsome*

Things are really coming together in the fat yuba world. Black frame is nice. Are you going single speed or derailleur? I dare you to go fixed! 22 tooth front 22 tooth rear, one to one! Also no brakes to keep it light, you can skid-stop. Can we see some pics of rear tire clearance? Is that a non offset 100mm Pug fork?


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

For those that are interested yesterday I spent a day in the shed modding the rear end of my "Lookalike Yuba" to take a BFL on the rear, screaming success even if I say so myself......  I had to knock up a dimpling tool (patent pending in all 3rd world countries!! ) to dimple the seat stays. It worked well but my Butane gas bottle couldn't really deliver enough heat to get the full area cherry red and consequently one side is still a little tight for clearence, so I'm going to use the oxy at work to finish it off. Bit of a chain suck issue but once again, a patent is out on that fix as well, another screamin' success story for the great Aussie shed.....
I also fitted a Nate to the front, it's on a Double Wide Sun rim and fits in neatly because of my front rack mounts. Without the front rack mounts I could go to possably an 80mm rim, I'll be trying this next but I have to fit different racks first.Fork is the WB Groove 200, lack of lockout may prove to be a bit of an issue but it soaks up the bumps and feels good with 20Kg of gear on it. I need wider bars though!

I took the bike for a ride last Thursday, it was meant to be a 4 day, 200Km bush trip and it's maiden voyage. I had it loaded to the hilt including 40Kg of water (40Liters) in total cargo weighed 70Kg and I weigh 95Kg. It rode really well on both the tar and loose sandy dirt, BUT the Rohloff hub fell to bits, 8 screws holding the hub together fell out, very sus really. My local Rohloff dealer had never heard of it happening before,it looked fine prior to leaving, still I wired it up with tie wire and rode it back. Luckily I had only done 20 K's when I realized something was wrong. I had it in a workshop and they changed the rotor, no reason to touch said screws but I can't help but thinking.......:skep:

Here's a pic of the great Aussie shed...... meanwhile, other pics will hopefully follow tomorrow.

Al


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

Dude, you really need to sweep your shop floor! It looks like you have not ever swept it Just kidding bro that looks like a cool shed. Do you know if your yuba is hi ten steel or 4130? Is the bfl going on a Marge or something wider? Thats pretty crazy that Rohloff comming apart like that. I have always heard good things about those hubs, but they have a ton of moving parts and if I was going off into that crazy desert you guys have down there I am not sure if I want anything other than single speed. That would suck if you were out on a long sandy road and that hub came apart like a damn watch and springs and gears just shot out all over the damn place. If you ran a Pugsley fork up front you could have a spare drive wheel so if the Rohloff couldnt handle the Aussie desert you could swap out. I guess you could also put a little bit of thread locker on the screws that hold it together.
Are you putting all of that water weight on the side bars or is some of it being held up by the main rack? I am curious to see how you have the water cans rigged up. Are you going to post up your trip on "Crazy Guy On A Bike" ? I assume you know about this other Aussie who did the Stock Canning on a Pug. Canning Stock Route by Bike 2005


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

so where does one find the faux yuba mundos?


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

PretendGentleman said:


> so where does one find the faux yuba mundos?


Yeah, and how much coin does one have to drop to get it?


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Guys, I picked it up in sunny Melbourne, Victoria, where it rains for 9 months and drips off the trees for 3...  It was a pure luck find, was walking past a cargo bike shop, saw it, went in an enquired, bloke wanted 400 bucks for it, it was a complete bike, so I rode it back to the backpackers.....:thumbsup: 

It's fron China I think and it aint pretty. 

Lone Desert Walker, in answer to your queries;

Dude, you really need to sweep your shop floor! It looks like you have not ever swept it 
Al; I havent but I do rake it occassionally.....

Just kidding bro that looks like a cool shed.
Al; I need to do something about the floor, it drives me insane when I drop something.....:madman:

Do you know if your yuba is hi ten steel or 4130?
Al; Hi tens steel, with a pretty rough rolled join, don't forget, this frame is really only being used for R & D.

Is the bfl going on a Marge or something wider?
Al; It's on a Rolling Daryl.

Thats pretty crazy that Rohloff comming apart like that. I have always heard good things about those hubs, but they have a ton of moving parts and if I was going off into that crazy desert you guys have down there I am not sure if I want anything other than single speed. That would suck if you were out on a long sandy road and that hub came apart like a damn watch and springs and gears just shot out all over the damn place

Al; It's very sus it coming to bits like that. I've done 000's of K's on that hub and NEVER had a whisper of a problem out of it. I look after it fairly carefully as well. Still maybe it just decided to toss all its screws out at once, I guess I'll never know. They've got locktite on them now and are torqued up correctly so I should have no problems with them. Did it all myself so I can only blame me if I have to push it for hundreds of K's 

If you ran a Pugsley fork up front you could have a spare drive wheel so if the Rohloff couldnt handle the Aussie desert you could swap out.
Al; Sorry mate, I like my squishy fork on the front, eats corragations (washboard roads) for breakfast...:thumbsup:

I guess you could also put a little bit of thread locker on the screws that hold it together.
Al; done.

Are you putting all of that water weight on the side bars or is some of it being held up by the main rack?

Al; Yep, 60 Kg was on the side bars, not too happy about it but want to keep the weight low as it's a real pig to push through the soft sand. I'm going to strengthen up the bars. Out here the water (40 L) would only last me 4 days in real tough times and up to 10 days in real good conditions (being very mindful of it as well i.e. very long hauls between puddles.)

I am curious to see how you have the water cans rigged up.
Al; Mate, they are just plastic water jerrycans and they are simply tied on with a good quality rope and an Aussie "truckers" knot. Nothing scientific about it. Using the KISS principle here. :thumbsup:

Are you going to post up your trip on "Crazy Guy On A Bike" ?
Al; I'll see, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to documenting my trips and even lazier when it comes to posting on the net. 

I assume you know about this other Aussie who did the Stock Canning on a Pug. Canning Stock Route by Bike 2005
Al: Yeah, there's been a couple and a Dude from New Zealand plus a women who also did it solo. Its one trip I intentend to do one day, u comin' along???? 

Al


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

I don't know whether to cry or curse (I try to never be caught doing either,LOL)...came home from a family day (the females hiked,the Boy n me rode) at the VA Creeper trail Sunday to find the heat pump/A/C had gone out. Was hoping for the best (something simple,just a service call),and while not as bad as it coulda been (it was repairable,doesn't need replaced),it wiped 90% of my Mundo budget out :madman: 

I won't get discouraged,I waited (at least) a decade to have conditions that I could own and acually use a cargo bike to be car-extrememly-lite,a few more months won't kill me.

In the meantime,keeping my eye on CL for a used Xtracycle I may can horse-trade my way into,LOL :thumbsup:


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*Yuba Mundo Fat Bike*

My new Yuba Mundo is ridable now! So far w/o a sideloader and a kickstand. There is plenty of space at the rear with Surly Endomorpf (between 5 and 10 mm), less in the front with Larry (2-3mm). The fork is an "old Pugsley" from a friend. It takes 100mm hub and is 95mm wide. Axle to arch - 38.5 cm, axle to crown 43 cm. Newer forks from Surly are sure much wider, but this one was free and fairly close to the original fork in axle to crown distance. Tires are on original rims and they would NOT fit in the frame/fork on wide Surly rims. I run original Yuba parts with Avid bb5s (road - also a hand me down). With two spacers on the right side of a spindle I am able to use all three rings and the 3 smallest cogs at the rear. The lightest gear is 22-18. I am deciding between NuVinci hub and Rohloff. NuVinci will probably win since I have a good access to it at a decent price plus a good experience with it from my tandem. I would recommend anyone going my way to buy a really wide fork for 130mm hub and have a spare rear in case the gearhub fails in the middle of your trip. Overall I am amazed how agile Yuba is on those PHAT tires. Attaching some pictures from its maiden voyage. Keep on riding!


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*Yuba Mundo Fat Bike*

Few more pictures


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

I LIKES!!!! Looks great,man,should be insanely fun to play with (by play,of course,I mean loaded down,bike camping,commuting....ANYthing you think of,that bike should do it ) :thumbsup:


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Fox, Well done Mate. :thumbsup: Welcome to the world of fat tyred cargo bikes. 

Mate, one day we're gonna rule the world.........

Al


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

Good job fox, looks sharp. Looks like your bottom bracket just got an inch higher for Monster trucking! Did you try the large marge endo combo in the rear or are you going off measurments? It seems like the endo would work on a Marge in the back. What kind of pressure are you running in those tires? Does it feel squirley on the 27mm rims? Now it looks like I need to get my act together. Which Nuvinci hub are you talking about? What I really want to know is do you get a bigger contact patch from running endos on 27mm or Hookworms on 65mm. If the patch size is close I might be tempted to go the wide rim way for more stability at low psi, and also because the nonoffset Large marge is bomb proof, especialy 36h downhill. Also there are some 3in tires that could be run on the bigger rims. And if I get a 135mm nonoffset pug fork I can run a Big fat larry on the front. But I am going Singlespeed with mine. I think I am going 24t or 26t chainring with 22t freewheel on one wheel and 16t freewheel on the other. 
Fox, what size rotors are you running on there, Did you have problems with the disk tab on the Yuba frame?


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*Yuba Mundo Fat Bike*

No, I had no problem with the disc brake tabs on either frame (orange V3 nor black V4). I run 160 mm in the front and 180(5?) at the back. I use the cheap bb5 road disc brakes and they worked fine so far (although I would recommend to go bigger in the front as well and to use bb7s). I usually carry my two daughters on it and have no problem braking. At 20psi the tires fit just fine on 27mm rims. The frame may take 65mm rim at the back, I just have to try it. I will try NuVinci 360 hub next week and let you guys know how it fitted and worked. It should have enough clearance, since I can run the third gear on the rear cluster (see the picture). And yes, the bottom bracket is much higher now but it seems to have no influence over stability. I can finally run 175 or 180mm cranks! I am very pleased with the result. With a lighter frame this bike is a true fat-tire-do-everything bike. Keep on riding!


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

fox1965 said:


> No, I had no problem with the disc brake tabs on either frame (orange V3 nor black V4). I run 160 mm in the front and 180(5?) at the back. I use the cheap bb5 road disc brakes and they worked fine so far (although I would recommend to go bigger in the front as well and to use bb7s). I usually carry my two daughters on it and have no problem braking. At 20psi the tires fit just fine on 27mm rims. The frame may take 65mm rim at the back, I just have to try it. I will try NuVinci 360 hub next week and let you guys know how it fitted and worked. It should have enough clearance, since I can run the third gear on the rear cluster (see the picture). And yes, the bottom bracket is much higher now but it seems to have no influence over stability. I can finally run 175 or 180mm cranks! I am very pleased with the result. With a lighter frame this bike is a true fat-tire-do-everything bike. Keep on riding!


are those spokes corroded or is that dirt on 'em?

I'm still pretty sure I don't want the stock build, mostly because I don't trust the quality of the wheels. If those spokes are corroded and you don't live on the beach, then my suspicions were too mild!


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

PretendGentleman said:


> are those spokes corroded or is that dirt on 'em?
> 
> I'm still pretty sure I don't want the stock build, mostly because I don't trust the quality of the wheels. If those spokes are corroded and you don't live on the beach, then my suspicions were too mild!


Good eyes! I tried to polish one of the spokes and I must admit I am not sure. The spokes and rims are so filthy that it is hard to tell if it is dirt or corrosion. Anyway, I would totally rely on the original set of wheels - this pair has been through two long winters of daily riding in a salty icy slush, snow, on ice, and in the mud with 200 pounds of load and 200 pounds of me. I occasionally hit the stuff under the snow and even when I tore a chunk of metal from the rim, the wheels stayed true. I actually never needed to true them - the rear wheel with its 48 spokes is phenomenal. They are heavy and you can sure build lighter wheels of the same strength if you wish to spend that money. Salsa makes great strong rims with up to 48 spokes. It is much harder to get a decent hub with 48 holes - any tips?


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*Tire and Rim Limits for Yuba Mundo*

For the fat tire Yuba Mundo hungry crowd I am sending info about frame and fork limits for tires and rim sizes. (You can always cut the cantilever bosses off - although it may be a good idea to keep them just in case your disc brake fails irreparably). This is for the new V.4 frame and fork. The old V.3 fork had a little more space close to the top.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*Yuba Mundo Complete*

with straps, bags, kids etc...


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

fox1965 said:


> Good eyes! I tried to polish one of the spokes and I must admit I am not sure. The spokes and rims are so filthy that it is hard to tell if it is dirt or corrosion. Anyway, I would totally rely on the original set of wheels - this pair has been through two long winters of daily riding in a salty icy slush, snow, on ice, and in the mud with 200 pounds of load and 200 pounds of me. I occasionally hit the stuff under the snow and even when I tore a chunk of metal from the rim, the wheels stayed true. I actually never needed to true them - the rear wheel with its 48 spokes is phenomenal. They are heavy and you can sure build lighter wheels of the same strength if you wish to spend that money. Salsa makes great strong rims with up to 48 spokes. It is much harder to get a decent hub with 48 holes - any tips?


tandem hubs are the primary users of 48h hubs. I have a pair of 40 spoke rim brake only wheels and the rear has a drum brake. I'm thinking I'll use these for my Yuba.

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna bite the bullet when the frames are available at the end of May. I had been thinking about a big dummy for the last two+ years, but after hearing reviews consistently state that the yuba is more stable under the heaviest loads, I'm pretty much convinced.

But at the same time, my desire for a cargo bike is competing with my desire for a mtb tandem and a fat bike and a zillion other things on my wish list. The worst part is that I'm moving in with my fiancee at the end of the month and I'll have to use a car if I don't buy the yuba complete!


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

Yo Fox, that thing is awsome! I want one of those steco racks for my Yuba and my Pug. Now that you have had a little bit of weight on El Mundo Gordo what do you think of the handling. Do the tires feel squirly with weight? Did you have to pump them up more? Are you running Surly tubes? 

Pretend Gentleman: I think you will be happy with the Yuba because it doubles as a fatbike and a tandem (sort of) it really is a do everything bike.


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

*Front fender*

Guys,

I fitted a front fender to the Yuba lookalike, which incidentally I think is based on a YM V1.

I tried to redo the radius to miss my water bottle.... no worky..... I then heated the offending area and used a seat stem to make an indent, much better. :thumbsup:

I've put a link up here; http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fat-mudgaurd-fender-wb-groove-200-a-787987.html

Al


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

Dude, whats with the fender? Why do you even want one on there? Does your front tire flip sand all over? I do like the craftsmanship, good job with the custom work there. The front of your bike looks like a motorcycle! I guess the fender kind of protects the water bottle, but I would worry about the fender causing a problem in the desert. I think the more simple your bike the more reliable, but also I guess you will have some extra materials to rig up an emergency repair. That fender could make a splint in a pinch. When is your expedition? How many liters of beer are you bringing?


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Hey "Mr Walker".... 

In answer to your queries;

Dude, whats with the fender? Why do you even want one on there? Does your front tire flip sand all over?
*Mate, when it gets wet, particularly on the beach I get tired of getting crud sprayed all over my fee*t.....

I do like the craftsmanship, good job with the custom work there.
*Thanks, it looks a bit rough in the flesh but hey it was the first time having a go at bending the plastic.*

The front of your bike looks like a motorcycle! I guess the fender kind of protects the water bottle, but I would worry about the fender causing a problem in the desert.
*Mate, if it misbehaves in any way, it'll get ripped off, hung on a tree and told to make it's own way home.....* 

I think the more simple your bike the more reliable,
*I agree.*

but also I guess you will have some extra materials to rig up an emergency repair. That fender could make a splint in a pinch. 
*True.*

When is your expedition?
*Not until next May*. :sad:

How many liters of beer are you bringing? 
*How much does it weigh per liter*.....

Al


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## slimhazy (Oct 13, 2009)

PretendGentleman said:


> I'm pretty sure I'm gonna bite the bullet *when the frames are available at the end of May. *I had been thinking about a big dummy for the last two+ years, but after hearing reviews consistently state that the yuba is more stable under the heaviest loads, I'm pretty much convinced.


 Are these new frames? As in V5.0, or just more 4.0s?

I've been drooling over the Big Dummy for a while, but I think the Mundo geometry makes more sens. (Sacrilege, I know...) :nono:


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

*Belt & suspenders brakes*


















I have the bread basket front rack. In the photo below, the canti brake cable has just hit the mounting bracket. I can go to 90 deg without the brake applying itself.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

slimhazy said:


> Are these new frames? As in V5.0, or just more 4.0s?
> 
> I've been drooling over the Big Dummy for a while, but I think the Mundo geometry makes more sens. (Sacrilege, I know...) :nono:


The surly is better made for sure. When I added the cantis I found that the left brake boss was about 3-4 mm higher than the one on the right. Sure it still works and all, but is typical of the way the Yuba is made.

Update; the bosses are not actually that far off. I had seriously de-centered the front wheel when I increased the spoke tension. This is my first/only bike with disk brakes, and I didn't realize the front wheel was dished. The de-centered rim required a large difference in pad locations on the brake arms, which I mistook as a stud issue.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

Are the disc brakes road version or mtb? Are the levers short or long travel? I am thinking of adding cantis to the front as well to distribute the load along the entire fork.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

slimhazy said:


> Are these new frames? As in V5.0, or just more 4.0s?
> 
> I've been drooling over the Big Dummy for a while, but I think the Mundo geometry makes more sens. (Sacrilege, I know...) :nono:


My guess is v4.0's

I just came across this guy's troubles with his yuba mundo disc brake mounts.

mundo yuba « My Yuba Mundo Build

For those of you with a yuba with factory disc brake mounts, have you had this same problem?

anybody have a v4.0 and not had this problem?

Another thing that occurred to me about 14mm rear wheel with freewheel is how inferior the axle supports are on the drive side compared to a freehub cassette. For freewheels the last bearing on the drive side is near the threads, leaving a couple of inches of unsupported axle before you get to the dropout. With cassette hubs the freehub has load supporting bearings that are only a centimeter or two away from the dropout. A lot of the 14mm axle's extra strength is going to offset this poor design.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

fox1965 said:


> Are the disc brakes road version or mtb? Are the levers short or long travel? I am thinking of adding cantis to the front as well to distribute the load along the entire fork.


The disks and levers are long travel, the cantis are intended as short travel, but the pads are as close as possible to the pivots, increasing the leverage. The levers have a balancing arraignment so both cables are tensioned near equally. So the disks are probably providing about 2/3 of the braking power according to sound SWAG analysis . Mostly I was just tired of looking at the sad unused studs....but also those beefy rims: just wrong not to get some of the braking load into them.

I have only a couple trips on the bike since adding the cantis. But it is obvious that the front brake has some serious power even though the pads are not yet run in.


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## slimhazy (Oct 13, 2009)

gumby_kevbo said:


> The surly is better made for sure.


No doubt. I own a 1x1, 1x1=11, 3 Karate Monkeys, a Troll, 2 Pugsley forks, and my Xtracycle is running a 1x1 fork and Open Bars. Surly makes solid frames.

What I want, is for them to make a cargo bike frame that will eliminate the flex of the long, cantilevered design of the Xtracycle/Big Dummy with that open space between the rider and the cargo area. I think that the way the Kona Ute and Yuba Mundo tie the cargo platform and the seatpost together is a better design. Basically, Surly made a Big Dummy with an integral cargo platform (no P-Racks/V-Racks) with clearance for fat tires in 4130 steel I'd be all over it. Base it around the Pugsley 100mm Adventure Fork like Fox1965 used on his Mundo and in addition to regular 26" wheels & tires, it could do Endo/Larry it could do a 29er wheelset too.



gumby_kevbo said:


> When I added the cantis I found that the left brake boss was about 3-4 mm higher than the one on the right. Sure it still works and all, but is typical of the way the Yuba is made.


Good to know. At the price point of the complete and/or frame, I guess that's to be expected.

I'm still tempted though!


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## slimhazy (Oct 13, 2009)

gumby_kevbo said:


> *Belt & suspenders brakes
> *


Dude, that's hardcore, what're you hauling in that thing?


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Guys,

Here's a teaser for you. I was out on the weekend.

Enjoy.

Marvel loch cycling trip - YouTube

Bush types and gear on bike - YouTube

Al


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

Edit: The lock has been great, but the mounting I devised...not so great. The adel clamps loosen/stretch over time, and the lock would end up rubbing the tire. I replaced the Adel clamps with a couple of 28.6mm front derailleur hangers, and used some 3/8" nuts for spacers. (the flat of the derailleur hanger is sort of radial, not tangent to the tube) The 5mm locking nuts sit in the radiused side of the hanger rather than having a flat surface, but this seems to work fine. I'll post some photos of the new setup when I get a chance. (done)

Here is the new and improved mounting clamp:









This photo shows the square 3/8" (~M10) nut I used as a spacer:









The radiused side of both clamps faces up.

-------------ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS--------------

The Mundo (and I assume other longtails) can be hard to lock up. Using a pair of #16 (1") Adel clamps, I was able to fit an AXA MTB frame lock to mine:









Ant's eye view:


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

slimhazy said:


> Dude, that's hardcore, what're you hauling in that thing?


There is a grocery store I like that is at the top of a long fairly steep hill. I can top 30 mph coming home with a load of groceries, and there are traffic lights at the bottom of the hill on each of two steep stretches. The stock Tektro IO disks would stop me, but I could smell them while waiting for the light. The larger BB7s are an improvement, but the redundant arrangement on the front is mo' betta still.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

slimhazy said:


> Good to know. At the price point of the complete and/or frame, I guess that's to be expected.
> 
> I'm still tempted though!


You should be. There is something to be said for a design that is durable and good enough for the job at hand. There are a number of ways I can see to improve the Mundo, and all would raise the price and none would improve it's ability to haul heavy loads without breaking or crashing.


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## Olasher (Apr 30, 2012)

Hey guys, I came to mtbr looking for setup advice for my Niner Rip 9, now I am on the cusp of buying my first cargo bike! I've spent a lot of time researching and I've settled on the Yuba. It would be used for errands/riding to preschool with my 1 and 4 year olds. What do you guys think of this setup:

I can't post images or links yet, so here is the flickr page, just fix the xxx to www , sorry. 

xxx.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4294835364/

I was thinking my 4 yo could ride on the back, the little guy in one of the boxes, throw groceries etc in the other bucket. Thoughts? Anyone doing something similar?


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## slimhazy (Oct 13, 2009)

Olasher said:


> Hey guys, I came to mtbr looking for setup advice for my Niner Rip 9, now I am on the cusp of buying my first cargo bike! I've spent a lot of time researching and I've settled on the Yuba. It would be used for errands/riding to preschool with my 1 and 4 year olds. What do you guys think of this setup:
> 
> I can't post images or links yet, so here is the flickr page, just fix the xxx to www , sorry.
> 
> ...


(It's tougher to post the photo when you've got it protected on Flickr)









Those boxes are huge!  

Will that fit through the doors into wherever you'll store it?
Is it balanced? (weight, side-to-side)
Would a PeaPod or similar seat be better, with some panniers for cargo?


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

slimhazy said:


> (It's tougher to post the photo when you've got it protected on Flickr)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


from my understanding that's illegal in georgia and I think quite a few other states.

just sayin'. don't shoot the messenger.


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

Any ideas how to fit one of these;
SideCar | Xtracycle, Inc.

to a Yuba?


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## Olasher (Apr 30, 2012)

PretendGentleman said:


> from my understanding that's illegal in georgia and I think quite a few other states.
> 
> just sayin'. don't shoot the messenger.


can you elaborate a bit? Width?


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

gumby_kevbo said:


> https://kevbo.smugmug.com/Hobbies/bike-stuff/i-wR7B5xv/0/M/smugshot3243360-M.jpg
> 
> That's quality right there. If there were any real hills around here I would consider doing that too. Cantis are great. :thumbsup:


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

What generation frame came green? Gen1?
Those boxes are nice.


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## Olasher (Apr 30, 2012)

What generation frame came green? Gen1?
Those boxes are nice.[/QUOTE]

Yuba Mundo V2 had a green option.

I'm thinking of doing the same thing, but making the boxes not quite so wide. They have some sort of a car seat for the young one, could probably save space by having the harness etc. built into the box itself.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Getting ready for desert expedition!*

Ok, I am getting ready for a little trip across the west desert here in Arizona. I have slimmed down my unit by removing the wrap around deck and 22gal rubbermaid totes and Ihave added four 6gal water cans. The cans have openings cut into the tops so that 3 3liter bottles of water can be put into each. , I have about 25miles of bumpy dirt roads with this set up with no problems. So I will be carrying 36liters of water as a base supply with a few other liters here and there on the bike. So a little over 10gal probably. I am concerned with the weight being all on the side loaders and am thinking about a suport cable from the top of therack to the middle of the side loader between the cans. Also I am going to put a stainless steel hose clamp around the front area of the side loader bar between the two mounting bolts. I think it is a little sketchy to have all that weight on those two 6mm bolts although I have never heard of them breaking and I have seen a washer and dryer on the back of a Yuba before. I also ditched the 10lb stand alone kickstand and have not missed it since. I would have had to take it off anyway since I WENT SINGLE SPEED!!!!!!
Yeah, thats right, single speed BIOTCH! What! What!
I wont go into the whole single speed tirade here but those who know know. My drive train is now more pure and clean. I have fresh 26x 2.4-2.75 downhill thorn resistant tubes in each hook worm and will be carrying four replacements along with a couple patch kits.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

I dont know why my pictures are small all of a sudden.:skep::madman:
http://forums.mtbr.com/picture.php?pictureid=6363&albumid=726&dl=1337052808&thumb=1


















I thought about using the 6 gallon cans but if one broke for what ever crazy reason I'd be out of 6gal of water. Can't have all my eggs in one basket right? The seven speed freewheel in the back is cool for the ghetto single speed because I can change gears every now and then if I want by manualy repositioning the chain. Since the wheel base is so long the chain line does not matter so much. Right now I am running a 28t up front and am on the 20 out back. this is a pretty good gear on softishdirt roads with lots of small ups and downs. I have a small bit of chain and a quick link I can add so that I can go 28t out back if the going gets insane. ONE TO ONE BABY!!! So my range is from 2 to 1 (28:14) to 1 to 1 (28:28) that is pretty good if you ask me. This set up will work for awhile until I get some other wheels laced up for fat yuba mode.


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Mr Walker,

Are you INSANE man, who goes out into the desert on a bicycle?? HOW MUCH water are you going to carry??....Do you know how much THAT WEIGHS??....

Here's a couple of pics showing how I take a bit of strain with the side loaders.

Keep those gears handy, it gets to be hard work shifting that sort of weight up a hill and in the soft stuff. My rig weighed in at 110 Kg (including bike) when I went scooting off on the weekend. I added another 98 Kg when I hopped on! 

How far are you going?

Enjoy yourself. :thumbsup:

Al

BTW, Do you have a certificate to prove your insanity, mines 000666911, it really helps when people question my sanity and I can just hand it over.....


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

Alan, would you mind posting a detailed picture of that chain keeper you built? Do you have it also bellow the frame where your chain runs back? Thanx Fox


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Hey Fox,

Here you go.

I made it out of nylon rod because it was all I had but it works so well I'm going to change it to steel next time I'm home. I'll keep the nylon rollers on the steel. Yes, it goes through to reach the bottom but it needs bending in a little at the bottom as it kicks the chain line out too far. I just welded 2 pre drilled tabs on, 1 at the top and 1 on the bottom. I put a piece of bar through them for allignment prior to welding, muffed it up a bit though but not too bad.

I've also put a link to a quick vid I shot off the phone.

2012-05-15_15-46-57_795.mp4 - YouTube

Cheers,
Al


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Olasher said:


> can you elaborate a bit? Width?


no, carrying a child who is too young to wear a helmet.

I think I even read something about somebody trying to push enforcement of a law against carrying babies on a bike in portland and the parents of the kids pushing back.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Olasher said:


> can you elaborate a bit? Width?


no, carrying a child who is too young to wear a helmet.

I think I even read something about somebody trying to push enforcement of a law against carrying babies on a bike in portland and the parents of the kids pushing back.


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## Olasher (Apr 30, 2012)

PretendGentleman said:


> no, carrying a child who is too young to wear a helmet.
> 
> I think I even read something about somebody trying to push enforcement of a law against carrying babies on a bike in portland and the parents of the kids pushing back.


Gotcha, thanks. My youngest is right there, he's 1, I think he could probably wear a helmet now.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

Hey Alan, Can you get your hands on any nylon nuts for that chain guide? Maybe you could just drill through the bolt, put a cotter pin and then a washer on top of that, and then the rollers, that way you don't need the steel nuts. Was the chain rubbing all the time? What about just having the bolt with nothing on it? it seems like a few days in the bush will have that grease so full of sand that the rollers will just freeze up any way. You could install grease fittings though and strap a grease gun to that rig somewhere
Looks like it works good. Is there any possible way to move your chain line out so you don't need that thing though? Custom rear cog or a spacer in the bottom bracket?
Hey wait just thought of something! Instead of all that grease you could find a couple sealed bearings that would slide down onto that bolt. Then you would have the precision of ball bearings! If you found some way of getting some bristles on those rollers your chain would get cleaned as it went over them. Keep the pictures coming!:thumbsup:


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## slimhazy (Oct 13, 2009)

andyh2 said:


> Any ideas how to fit one of these;
> SideCar | Xtracycle, Inc.
> to a Yuba?


In addition to the higher quality steel, I think this is one of the things he Big Dummy has going for it over the Yuba - ability to use easily-detachable WideLoaders and LongLoaders. Any Xtracycle or Big Dummy could take one of these, but I think you could make it work by welding two 25.4mm OD / 22.3mm ID tubes to the bottom of the Mundo frame, just fore & aft of the rear tire.

My ideal mythical cargo bike right now would be the front of a BD with the rear of a Mundo, but Xtracycle Wideloader-compatible attachment tubes...


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Camping Mode!*

Getting ready for 300+ mile of desert dirt roads rolling mostly self contained with maybe two water refill opportunities. Bike and gear weigh aprox 250lbs, I weigh about 165lb.
















more pics to follow


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

Wow...:eekster: Well I hoe you have a great time,my friend,looking forward to reading all about it :thumbsup:


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Mr Walker, in relation to enquiries.... 

Hey Alan, Can you get your hands on any nylon nuts for that chain guide?
*I've got some but I'm not sure they'll hold that well.*

Maybe you could just drill through the bolt, put a cotter pin and then a washer on top of that, and then the rollers, that way you don't need the steel nuts
*That's not a bad idea.* :thumbsup:

Was the chain rubbing all the time?
*Yep*

What about just having the bolt with nothing on it?
*I tried that but its surprising how fast the chain wears away the nylon.* 

it seems like a few days in the bush will have that grease so full of sand that the rollers will just freeze up any way.
*The grease is actually lube build up, I didn't put any grease on the rollers at all.*

You could install grease fittings though and strap a grease gun to that rig somewhere
Looks like it works good. Is there any possible way to move your chain line out so you don't need that thing though? Custom rear cog or a spacer in the bottom bracket?
*For this version of frame I have to have a dog leg in the chain line because of the bottom bracket width. When I have a custom built frame I'll run a 100mm bottom bracket and have a nice clean chainline that misses the tyre.*

Hey wait just thought of something! Instead of all that grease you could find a couple sealed bearings that would slide down onto that bolt. Then you would have the precision of ball bearings! If you found some way of getting some bristles on those rollers your chain would get cleaned as it went over them. Keep the pictures coming!:thumbsup:
*I'll work on this (bearings)......promise.....lol*


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Mr Walker.....

Where you goin' man. How about some info so I can Google Earth ya! 

Mate, you may find your rig a bit sketchy on the front wheel with all the weight on the rear like that. 

Al's tip #1, if you do, hang a few rocks (or water bottles) from the handle bars in a bag to shift some weight onto your steerer. :thumbsup:

Have a great trip. 

How long do you think you'll be gone for?

How far between water stops?

We need more info, must have more info..... 

Enjoy,
Al


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## mikva (Apr 26, 2006)

gumby_kevbo said:


> The Mundo (and I assume other longtails) can be hard to lock up. Using a pair of #16 (1") Adel clamps, I was able to fit an AXA MTB frame lock to mine:


Good idéa! I've thought about doing something similar with my Xtracycle - adding a lock on the front wheel.
What is the dimension of the tire you are using?
What are the inner dimensions of the lock?
/Mikael


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

alanm said:


> it seems like a few days in the bush will have that grease so full of sand that the rollers will just freeze up any way.
> *The grease is actually lube build up, I didn't put any grease on the rollers at all.*


maybe too much chain lube? You can always wipe off any excess, and anything on the outside of the chain is excess, so really, you can't wipe off too much lube.

just running the drivetrain backwards after lubing with a rag wrapped around the chain does a pretty decent job of cleaning things up.

Also, I'm curious if anybody has attempted to transport lumber with a cargo bike. specifically, I'm curous about a 4x8 sheet of plywood. seems like it would be quite cumbersome and potentially dangerous if there is any wind.

a bill trailer would work well if the wood were laid flat, but then you've got to build a box to hold it above the wheels.


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## BeastRider (Oct 20, 2011)

*Just figured the YUBA fans out there might like these......
You can pick whatever one you like and feel free to share it or use it as you see fit......*


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Rock on!*



BeastRider said:


> *Just figured the YUBA fans out there might like these......
> You can pick whatever one you like and feel free to share it or use it as you see fit......*


Thanks Beastrider, where did you find these pictures? Would be cool on a shirt, or a sticker.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Back from trip early, ready for ridicule*

I only did 105 miles, and my butt was so saddle sore I called my wife and asked her to come rescue, er, uh, provide logistical support. I used up my entire supply of Goldbond medicated powder (baby powder) trying to cope but it was no use. Temperatures were above 100 and I was just sweating and chafing out of control. I was not wearing bike shorts, instead I opted for basketball shorts under thick cotton cargo shorts.The pockets of my cargo shorts were laden with food and tools and camera etc. Bad idea:nono: I should have taken the bike shorts with the shammy. The next time I make like taco bell and run for the border I will definitely be wearing my bike shorts. I could have maybe rested a day and then continued on to the Colorado river/Califonia border which was my turn around spot but my butt was destroyed and I needed ice cold beer and pizza badly.
My route was mainly the El paso gas line road that runs through Phoenix all the way into California somewhere. It is a pretty rough road in some spots with miles of washboard and ups and downs across alluvial areas. It turns out I did not need quite as much water as I thought, but I was riding into the unknown and was happy to know that my water carrying system worked well. The gear I chose (28/20) worked out great, there were only a couple times I had to dismount and drag the bike through some sand or up a steep section of hill. I was glad to have the handlebars on my seat post when that happened as they really help in handling the bike. They also helped to secure the load on the back. My single speed drive train was totally trouble free and worked beautifully.
Alan the fat Yuba rider (the bike, not Alan) from down under pointed out that the bike might need some weight on the front for handling and he was right. I put an extra couple of liters of water up there for a total of 6. The handling was still not great but presented no real problems as I slid stuff as far forward of the rear axle as I could on the rack. Although I liked how my modified jerry cans worked out on the sides I think I will move to two 36gal Rubbermaid totes on the old wrap-around deck next time because the dual totes really keep the center of gravity low and the bike handles way better. All in all it was a great trip, despite being cut down to 2 and a half days. I left Friday night and called in for back up Sunday night. While I waited at the gas station on I-10 for my wife to pick me up I slammed, repeat slammed, a 40oz of super Ice cold beer and was like moaning and groaning and stuff. My wife had some pot-roast in the crock pot and some cabbage waiting at home, damn it was good. I will try to get some pics up but the site is saying I dont have security tokens or something. Is that like little wooden coins that say "security" on them?
















More pics to follow


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

I found this little piece of wood that works great as a kickstand, My bike only fell over a hand full of times during the trip








I unloaded my bike and carried my stuff over this rickety bridge
























G-Damn it! (that's what I would say every time this happened)
I will post pic after pic of dirt roads extending to infinity on the bike-packing expedition thread.


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## BeastRider (Oct 20, 2011)

Lone Desert Walker said:


> Thanks Beastrider, where did you find these pictures? Would be cool on a shirt, or a sticker.


Actually, I make this stuff. I just happen to like playing around on the computer to see what I can get it to do. Sometimes it works.....sometimes it doesn't!!!!!


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Lone Desert Walker said:


> I only did 105 miles, and my butt was so saddle sore I called my wife and asked her to come rescue, er, uh, provide logistical support. I used up my entire supply of Goldbond medicated powder (baby powder) trying to cope but it was no use. Temperatures were above 100 and I was just sweating and chafing out of control. I was not wearing bike shorts, instead I opted for basketball shorts under thick cotton cargo shorts.The pockets of my cargo shorts were laden with food and tools and camera etc. Bad idea:nono: I should have taken the bike shorts with the shammy. The next time I make like taco bell and run for the border I will definitely be wearing my bike shorts. I could have maybe rested a day and then continued on to the Colorado river/Califonia border which was my turn around spot but my butt was destroyed and I needed ice cold beer and pizza badly.
> My route was mainly the El paso gas line road that runs through Phoenix all the way into California somewhere. It is a pretty rough road in some spots with miles of washboard and ups and downs across alluvial areas. It turns out I did not need quite as much water as I thought, but I was riding into the unknown and was happy to know that my water carrying system worked well. The gear I chose (28/20) worked out great, there were only a couple times I had to dismount and drag the bike through some sand or up a steep section of hill. I was glad to have the handlebars on my seat post when that happened as they really help in handling the bike. They also helped to secure the load on the back. My single speed drive train was totally trouble free and worked beautifully.
> Alan the fat Yuba rider (the bike, not Alan) from down under pointed out that the bike might need some weight on the front for handling and he was right. I put an extra couple of liters of water up there for a total of 6. The handling was still not great but presented no real problems as I slid stuff as far forward of the rear axle as I could on the rack. Although I liked how my modified jerry cans worked out on the sides I think I will move to two 36gal Rubbermaid totes on the old wrap-around deck next time because the dual totes really keep the center of gravity low and the bike handles way better. All in all it was a great trip, despite being cut down to 2 and a half days. I left Friday night and called in for back up Sunday night. While I waited at the gas station on I-10 for my wife to pick me up I slammed, repeat slammed, a 40oz of super Ice cold beer and was like moaning and groaning and stuff. My wife had some pot-roast in the crock pot and some cabbage waiting at home, damn it was good. I will try to get some pics up but the site is saying I dont have security tokens or something. Is that like little wooden coins that say "security" on them?


well, sounds like a success, in most respects, to me. Congrats on staying safe and getting yourself to the point where you have an orgasm drinking a 40oz beer!


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*link to bike-packing post with more pics*

http://forums.mtbr.com/bikepacking-bike-expedition/yuba-mundo-heavy-hauler-desert-expedition-790193.html#post9333311

Here's the flicker page with full sized photos: Flickr: Lone Desert walker's Photostream


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Big ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

Things are happening at Lone Desert Labs. I just got two 36gal Rubbermaid Roughneck edition storage totes.:eekster: These bad boys are huge! I am developing a special proprietary Lone Desert Mounting System (TM)  to get these puppys mounted up securely. Will update when done.
































These things are going to get my center of gravity way down where it belongs.


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

Lone Desert Walker, how tall are you? I'm 6'3" and concerned, though only a little, about the one-size-fits-all frame. 

For all who own Yubas, I already ride xtracycle gear on a conversion, so the dummy frame would be the natural next step, but the Mundo looks like it would do most things as well, and some things better. How does the Mundo handle singletrack/off-road?


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

I am 6'2" and Yuba fits me well. I often ride her off-road with no issues. Of all cargo bikes I rode, Yuba handles closest to an MTB even with a big load ( I am talking hundreds of pounds). Depends on what you need it for. Big Dummy is lighter but cannot handle big loads compared to Yuba.


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

Thanks, fox. That's good to know.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

I am 6'2" and the bike fits great. I would not worry about it. The bike handles great off road because of its long wheelbase. It has a Cadillac feel on the bumps and dips.


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## amorphous (Jul 7, 2006)

as of this afternoon, i'll be the proud owner of a v4.0 w. avid bb7's!


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## YouAin'tGotJack (Jan 23, 2012)

amorphous said:


> as of this afternoon, i'll be the proud owner of a v4.0 w. avid bb7's!


Congrats! You will love it!


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

amorphous said:


> as of this afternoon, i'll be the proud owner of a v4.0 w. avid bb7's!


AWESOME news,Brother!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Can't wait to see pics of it in use. Still planning/hoping/daydreaming about buying one of my own next Spring


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

I ordered my v4 frame near the beginning of june. They even created a fedex label for it, but I'm still waiting for it to ship. They said 3 weeks when I ordered, so that should be anytime soon.

I'm using 40 spoke tandem wheels w/ drum brake that I already have laying around. So no discs unless I buy new wheels or put on some 32 spoke rhynolite/deore wheels I have laying around.

For those of you adding disc brakes, the rear requires a 160mm front (yes I said front!) adapter and 185mm rotor. pretty strange, but that's what they say. front is conventional.


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## george7117 (May 17, 2008)

Got my v4 a week ago. Awesome capability. 

Unfortunately, the rear derailleur had to be shimmed to work properly and the rear end tracks to the right whenever you ride the bike. Evidently, this has been an issue with the V4s. Checked that the rear wheel is seated in the drops, etc. The fact is, this frame is just plain out of alignment. No word from Yuba on warranty. 

Anybody else noticed these issues?


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

"the rear requires a 160mm front (yes I said front!) adapter and 185mm rotor"

This is what I did on mine. Used a 160 and an adaptor to take it up to 203mm. It simply didn't have the tab on my el-cheapo Chinese frame. Works well.

Al


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

george7117 said:


> Got my v4 a week ago. Awesome capability.
> 
> Unfortunately, the rear derailleur had to be shimmed to work properly and the rear end tracks to the right whenever you ride the bike. Evidently, this has been an issue with the V4s. Checked that the rear wheel is seated in the drops, etc. The fact is, this frame is just plain out of alignment. No word from Yuba on warranty.
> 
> Anybody else noticed these issues?


Are you using the 14mm axle wheel they provide?

if not, there's a bit of wiggle room to play around with a 10mm axle's position in the dropouts. I can imagine an eccentric 10mm to 14mm adapter that allows you to correct the misalignment.

I hadn't heard of anybody else complaining about the tracking issue. I hope this isn't a problem for mine. Unloaded, maybe not a big deal, but with a few hundred pounds on the back, I can imagine this being a substantial problem.

also, if you payed with credit card, you've got some leverage to encourage an amicable solution to the problem. This certainly brings peace of mind for me.


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## george7117 (May 17, 2008)

I have the complete bike, so standard axle size. And yes, I paid with a cc so we'll see how it goes. So far, no response from Yuba or the dealer on the alignment. For the rear dérailleur they basically said it was SRAM's fault. So, we'll see where this goes ..


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## Jwig7 (Nov 6, 2010)

Just picked up our Mundo on Sunday and have put it right to work. Yesterday my wife carted the kids around town on it - gym, library, bank, swimming pool - and they all had tons of fun while I was at work. I was jealous, so I got up early this morning,I strapped a milk crate full of tools to the side and a weedwacker on the deck and headed out to cut back some of the overgrowth on our local single-track. It handles single track well and the low gears make it possible to cruise up even the steep climbs. The Mundo's one-size-fits-most makes if perfect for sharing. I don't love re-installing the peanut shell, but I figured out how to do it in under 10 minutes and still use all 16 of those little plastic pieces.


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## chongoman (Jun 25, 2006)

*big orange on big orange*

towing the XC bike to the shop for shock service.


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

That's just too cool,my friend! :thumbsup: I always dig seeing bikes hauling bikes


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

I just built up my yuba mundo v4 frame. It was a long build, but I'm thrilled with the result. 

The only thing that isn't fully kosher is that I could not find a 31.8mm seatpost. 31.6's abound, but out of 3 main suppliers our shop uses (hawley, j&b, qbp) only j&b and qbp had a post, and each had precisely 1. of course 27.2 to 31.8 shims are available, but I easily bend cheap 27.2 posts and a thomson is not in the budget at the moment. My main complaint with the design of the frame is that they chose such a strange seatpost size, I presume it is inspired by the 31.8 oversize handlebar standard. Future iterations, imho, should be 31.6 or some similarly near standard size (but no 27.2, b/c most seatposts bend easily in this diameter if you're near 200lbs (surly, you should take this advice too!)

The bb is supposed to be 68mm, and my calipers indicate its about .5mm too narrow. But the threads were clear of paint, so no big deal.

The side bars that bolt to the bottom of the frame squish the tube that the bolts go through, leading to dimples, at least they do if you put a reasonable amount of torque on the m5 bolts. its not a big deal, but less than ideal.

too few m6 bolts(2 out of 4) were supplied to clamp the side bars at the rear of the frame. another tiny gripe.

instructions are terrible, but not particularly necessary. Just a few pictures that don't even indicate what you're supposed to notice.

the kickstand is awesome, but sharp on the bottom, and being dumb, I already scratched our bamboo floor. It was great that the bike stood upright while I attached my touring bike in towing mode. And speaking of towing, it took about 30 seconds to securely attach my touring bike(the front wheel stuck in the side loaders and a long bungee attaching the headtube area of the touring bike to the yuba. Its almost secure enough to be a 3wheel tandem ! (but not when attached with just a bungee)

2.5 hookworms fit the fork with about 3/8" clearance on each side. cannot get wheel from between brake pads b/c of tire interference w/o letting air out of tire, I will probably install my big dummy fork that's laying around at some point.

I'm using rim brakes and a rear drum brake, so I can't comment on the unusual disc brake adapter setup. Still need to hook up the drum brake as well.

My inertia designs panniers hooked up to the frame perfectly. I just put a bungee cord horizontal to catch the hook that usually attaches to the bottom of your rack to keep the bags attached securely. Since I didn't buy any of the prefab cargo solutions, this was a nice surprise.

My rear wheel is a 145mm o.l.d. tandem wheel. It would not fit in between the dropouts. I put the frame upside down with the sidebars removed, then I put my feet on the far side of the frame as far back as possible, grabbed the other frame, and pulled as hard as possible. I thought that it surely would not be possible to open up the rear end of a mundo with 1 man's strength alone, but after about ten minutes of several intense efforts I won! If I go back to 135mm hub, I'll just use the qr to pull the dropouts together or put the axle converter on the inside of the dropout rather than the outside.

Using a 10mm qr axles with a bmx 3/8" to 14mm axle adapter required a bit of dremmeling, as 10mm qr is larger than the inner diameter of the converter (mfg by profile), but only a thin layer needed removing. Because the yuba has a diagonal dropout, I had to tighten the qr as much as possible to keep it from slipping. Despite doing this, with a heavy enough load and in the granny gear, I'm confident the axle will slip. Perhaps the only solution is to replace the qr axle with a solid one, but I don't have the time at the moment, and the super tight qr is sufficient for 95% of conceivable loads.


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

*1.25 inch stoker stem*

My Yuba V4 frameset is on it's way and I'm looking forward to building it up with wheels and transmission from my xtracycle.

One issue I've realised is that the seat post is 1.25 inch size (I have a Yuba one coming) and I'm having trouble sourcing a 1.25 inch stem to use as a stoker stem. I could get the Yuba stoker kit of course, but was hoping to get a stem cheaper. An alternative would be to use a more common 1.5 inch stem and a 1.5 inch to 1.25 inch reducer.

But neither the 1.25 inch stems or 1.5 to 1.25 reducers seem easy to come by. Does anyone have any pointers?


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## GuruAtma (May 17, 2004)

I looked for a long time to find a stem that would fit on the fat Yuba seat post. I ended up just getting the Yuba one. The closest I could come was clamping on some aero bar extensions I had laying around, but they were kind of awkward.

Now I'm looking for a longer back sweep handle bar so that 2 kids on the back can both hold on to it.


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

I've given up looking and done the same


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

My plan to make a "stoker" handlebar is to get a 0 rise stem that takes 31.8 bars, which will clamp to the seatpost. Then I'll find an old used 28.6mm seatpost and cut it down to a reasonable width and remove the head and use it as a large diameter handlebar. presumably with a little elbow grease a rubber grip will go on, but if not, bartape will be easy. Hopefully I can find a nice symmetrical stem so everything is good and centered.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

If I could only find my bluetooth dongle, I'd post pictures.

Usually I do a 6.30 group ride on tuesdays. Because I carry a laptop and a bunch of other crap to work with me, I usually ride my commuter to work and then leave early so I have time to ride home, get my mtb and stuff and then ride back to the shop (which is close to my work). I waste about an hour just going back and forth, meaning I never get as much done on a Tuesday as I should. 

But this tuesday, I put my front wheel in the sideloader of my yuba, wrapped a couple of bungie cords around, threw my camelbak and shoes on top of the rack, 2 panniers with laptop, rainjacket, tools, etc on the other side. I'm sure it looks insane to people driving by, but I'm stoked on saving an hour and I'm sure the guys at the shop will get a kick out of this contraption. Another benefit is that Instead of 7 miles of asphalt riding on my 29er back and forth from home to group ride (unnecessary wear on expensive tubeless tires), my back tire is barely loaded cruising the same distance. I can barely tell that I'm carrying more weight.

This is a revolution for me!

and like chongoman, my bikes match nicely, black on black.


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

*V4 forks*

So I've just received my V4 frameset and am looking forward to building it up and getting on the road. On unpacking the frame looks much better than the V1 I had when they first came out. Whilst I know blade shaped forks seem to be in vogue it doesn't have the same sense of sturdiness as the rest of the package. It's an aheadset fork which means it will be compatible with stems and bars I already have. Then I came across this;
Endless-sphere.com • View topic - Warning to Yuba Owners - don't use large rotors

Now straight away I notice that the failure was with a 203mm rotor and Yuba recommend a 160mm max, but all the same I now have that nagging doubt.

At the moment I'm considering partnering the frame with a Big Dummy fork for peace of mind. I'd be interested to hear from the voices of experience here.


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

Looking into a BD fork as a possibility reveals this from Surly;

.... It should be noted that using the front brake only could cause the fork or frame to fail under heavy load conditions. Use both brakes and keep your speed under control .....

So this could be more a general issue with cargo bikes than specific to Yuba. I don't know about all the physics stuff but I imagine that not only does the extra weight often carried on cargo bikes mean the brakes have to work harder and in turn potentially stress the fork / frame more, but also the extra weight means the brakes *can* work a lot harder because it enables the tyres to grip for longer before skidding.

I guess the front end always has to work harder than usual, regardless of cargo carried, as the rider weight is more loaded on the front wheel than on a standard bike.

Do V brakes give forks an easier time as they operate equally on both sides?


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

On front vs. rear braking and cargo bikes: 

A normal bike on pavement will lift the rear wheel before the front wheel skids. That means you can stop in the shortest possible distance ising only the fromt brake. Long wheelbase bikes like cargo bikes and tandems can/will skid the front tire before the rear lifts. This means that the rear brake on such a bike is far more important. On a long wheelbase you need both brakes for maximum stopping power. Using only the front brake to make a hard stop risks skidding the front wheel which is almost certain to cause a crash.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

andyh2 said:


> So I've just received my V4 frameset and am looking forward to building it up and getting on the road. On unpacking the frame looks much better than the V1 I had when they first came out. Whilst I know blade shaped forks seem to be in vogue it doesn't have the same sense of sturdiness as the rest of the package. It's an aheadset fork which means it will be compatible with stems and bars I already have. Then I came across this;
> Endless-sphere.com • View topic - Warning to Yuba Owners - don't use large rotors
> 
> Now straight away I notice that the failure was with a 203mm rotor and Yuba recommend a 160mm max, but all the same I now have that nagging doubt.
> ...


I have a BD fork laying around, but seeing this, I think I'll replace my yuba fork soon. The forks do look a notch below the rest of the bike!


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

One thing I noticed on my Xtracycle is that when riding with 2 x 35kg passengers in our hilly town I regularly have the brakes on fairly constantly to keep the speed down to what feels safe enough in traffic with side junctions. Since I'm getting a new rear wheel built for my Yuba I think I'll use your approach Pretend Gentleman and have V brakes front and rear with a rear Sturmey XRD-C drum brake that I can use with an old style thumbie as a drag brake. The XRD-C is 135mm so I shouldn't need any super human rear dropout widening 

My frame (inc side loaders), forks, headset, seat clamp weigh in at a shade under 25lb. A standard steel frame, fork and rack would be around 10lb so a 15lb weight 'penalty' seems pretty good for all that extra utility.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

My second attempt to carry pallets. This time it was much easier to get them on and off b/c I brought plenty of tie down straps rather than a bunch of bungie cords. 









Here you can see that I've put a big dummy fork on mine since I had it laying around. I think it looks a good deal better than the stock fork.









This sort of happened on accident, (flat items on the right side tend to interfere with the dereailleur as it tries to move outwards to drop the chain to the smallest cog) as the right pallet leaned in to meet the left one, allowing a full range of shifting.


















the kickstand is doing a great job of holding these pallets up as long as I'm on nearly flat ground from side to side and mostly flat ground from front to back.









it looks naked now









my two inertia designs dryback panniers. The hooks fit right over the rack and I use horizontal tightly stretched bungie cords to catch the bottom hook.









I found this bag for $20 at harbor freight. wheels help keep it on the bike, interferes with derailleur if on the right side.


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

PG, the BD fork is a little longer. about 1cm I think, than stock, did you notice any handling difference or does it feel fine?

Bike looking good by the way


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

andyh2 said:


> PG, the BD fork is a little longer. about 1cm I think, than stock, did you notice any handling difference or does it feel fine?
> 
> Bike looking good by the way


If anything the fork feels like it turns a bit quicker. The difference is definitely subtle. The steerer tube on the yuba is an inch or two longer, so my stem ended up dropping some at the same time as my fork changed.

Thanks! I just need to get around to hooking up the rear drum brake. This bike has been a blast so far. I'm using it as my daily commuter so I'm ready to carry whatever I find along the way.

There have been a few surprises. I initially was thinking, " 440lbs weight limit, I can think of a gazillion things I want to move that weigh less than that", and then I've slowly come to realize that many things, like an 8' piece of lumber, don't fit on the back of the bike very easily if at all. It would seem that more cumbersome items need a big trailer.


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## motorman (May 30, 2011)

For those of you running fat frank or hookworms, how much room is there between the tyre & chain in 1st gear? Is there any room for a bigger tyre, such as a 26x3"? with the stock gearing?


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## dbpetrol (May 4, 2012)

Hello!

I bought a Yuba Mundo in June 2012. I love it so far! My kids love it to :thumbsup:

At first I used a trekkinghandlebar but it was a bit to narrow so I changed it for my old Kona Ute handlebar.

















Now my bike looks like this:








I've used plasticairhose to protect the paint.

The Avid BB7 (200mm front, 180mm rear) works perfect!

My kids rides in their seats. I can use one or two seats. They are fast to mount on the bike.









After reading in a forum about borken forks I was worried my fork would snap so I've bought a Surly Big Dummy fork instead. As you can se in the picture it locks much sturdier than the yuba. The yuba looks very cheap and I had to bend it a bit to make the wheel and brake fit when it was new. The yuba fork bends flexes when braking and I'm scared every time I have to brake hard. I use the rear brake most of the time. With the extra weight in the rear it's quite effecitve.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

whoa, surly must have really lengthened the big dummy fork steerer tube! Mine was like 2" shorter than the yuba fork, but my dummy fork is also ~6 yrs old.

I didn't get what you meant about using hose to protect paint. Can you explain?


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## dbpetrol (May 4, 2012)

I use it on the rack to prevent the childseats rubbing the paint. I cut it open and put it on the rack with zipties. Look at the picture below. (excuse my bad English. my language is Swedish)


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## GuruAtma (May 17, 2004)

I've noticed my Yuba fork flexing like crazy. I take 2 kids to school every day on it, so I think i'll get a Big Dummy fork as well. 
Question: The Yuba fork seems to sweep forward a bit. Does the Big Dummy fork do that too? If not, does it affect handling a lot? Or is the BD fork a bit longer so that it makes up for the lack of sweep?


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

I did a bit of measuring with my Yuba fork and reckon the rake is 59mm. The BD fork axle to crown is 425mm and Yuba 418mm so the it's only just over 1/4" longer, but the rake is 43mm compared to the yuba's 59mm.

Plugging the numbers into a trail calculator the std yuba would be 54mm trail and with a BD fork 73mm. Which seems like quite a difference. And would imply it would be less stable. I wonder if this would be exacerbated with more of a front load?

On the other hand Yuba + BD fork gives the same trail measurement as my rigid MTB and perhaps the long wheelbase provides plenty of stability anyway.

Those running the BD fork seem happy with it, which is the important measure I guess.

It is a shame as the frame really looks like it's up to the job, whereas the fork just doesn't. Kicking myself for not jumping at an unused BD fork that came up on ebay recently!


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## motorman (May 30, 2011)

How long is that BD fork steerer? I have an uncut pugsley fork waiting to be fitted to my yuba when it arrives, but it looks a lot shorter than that?

Edit - Answered !


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## GuruAtma (May 17, 2004)

motorman said:


> How long is that BD fork steerer? I have an uncut pugsley fork waiting to be fitted to my yuba when it arrives, but it looks a lot shorter than that?
> 
> Edit - Answered !


So are the steerers about the same?


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## owenfinn (Nov 14, 2011)

Two upgrades that really improved the ride quality of my v3 were Salsa Gordo rims and the Surly BD fork. I went from hating the the stock 2.125" Kendas to having no problem with them at all after changing to the Gordos.


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## owenfinn (Nov 14, 2011)

Want to post a picture.


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## owenfinn (Nov 14, 2011)

10 posts - now I can!


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## motorman (May 30, 2011)

Here is mine coming together :thumbsup:

Full fat coming soon


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## alanm (Sep 2, 2009)

Lookin' good 

Al


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

That looks very good. And I feel suitably ashamed that mine is still a frame in the shed !


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Hi, I bought a Yuba Mundo v4 bike a week ago. The bike is great, I love it 
I have done few rides on it and - what is not good - there are already some scratches  The first group of them is from the chain. On a rough road, the chain bumps up and down and damages the frame  I think this will be solved by a transparent sticker.
Other scratches are on the outer parts of the frame, mainly on the tube which serves as a footrest. Bicycle parking in my work is along the wall, so sometimes the bike touches the wall ... Maybe some wrapping of the outermost parts will help.
Do you also have these problems? How did you solve them? Thanks.


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## motorman (May 30, 2011)

Helicopter tape is your friend.
I have put this on all the high wear areas of my bike including to top tube where I keep scuffing it when I get on. Paint on the Yuba is not the best tbh....


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

Agree that the paint is the bikes worst feature. Powder coating would be a huge improvement. But that takes expensive powder, and energy to run the oven, yuba uses cheap paint applied by cheap labor.


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## trapperjohn (Oct 11, 2006)

My new Mundo at first test-ride!


Unfortunately it was hard to get it built up this far:
- the disc tab was not in line with the disc
- finding a disc adapter was tough...
- the rear wheel always moved within the dropout
- the chain touches the frame very often (on top and bottom)

But at least I got most of the problems solved so far and could start a first ride ....

Next I'll add some fenders, a chain guide, a child seat and some boxes or bags. And possibly a skateboard deck on top of the rack.


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## ThundaCrymz (Oct 22, 2012)

These look very nice, hopefully I can take a trip to Galveston,tx and check some out at the Island Cycle Co., I'd like to build one from the ground up as well and use up some spare parts.


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## motorman (May 30, 2011)

Hi Guys, I need a little help 
I am not near my bike right now & I need to know if fork with a 210mm steerer will work on the Mundo??
Can someone please measure up the headtube pretty please :thumbsup:


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## trapperjohn (Oct 11, 2006)

The headtube of my V4 is 17.5cm. So 21cm should work (assuming a threaded fork).


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## motorman (May 30, 2011)

I have the newer v4 with threadless...? The fork might be a bit short?


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## trapperjohn (Oct 11, 2006)

It's definitely too short for threadless.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*nice build*

:thumbsup:Looks nice. I like the choice of tires.



trapperjohn said:


> My new Mundo at first test-ride!
> 
> Unfortunately it was hard to get it built up this far:
> - the disc tab was not in line with the disc
> ...


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## rlbruski (Oct 21, 2012)

My wife has lots of health issues and can't pedal her own bike, so we picked up a Mundo this summer and have had an absolute blast with it!! With her on the back, it is our to the store, to the microbrewery, out to dinner, church on Sundays, you name it......all-around vehicle.
We have it decked out with the stoker bars, soft spot cushion for her rear, bread basket front rack, running boards, a soft trunk with panniers on the rear rack (for hauling goods and serves as a back rest for my wife). Once I have enough posts to post pics, will do so.
We absolutely love this bike and it's capabilities.


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## trapperjohn (Oct 11, 2006)

Did you buy the electrified version?


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## trapperjohn (Oct 11, 2006)

Yesterday, the first longer ride with my daughter - I think she really enjoyed it!


IMG_20121028_101054 von nochancetogetacoolname auf Flickr

Compared to riding with the kiddy trailer it feels a lot quicker and more agile and we have much more contact and can talk to each other (although its often rather a monologue than a real talk considering the few words she can speak actually  )


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## rlbruski (Oct 21, 2012)

*Mundo Mania*



trapperjohn said:


> Did you buy the electrified version?


No, we have the Ron-powered version. 
There have been a few hills we have hit that I wished for a little "boost" but overall I prefer pedaling for my own health benefit.


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## motorman (May 30, 2011)

Here is mine now prepared & ready for winter. Using 3" tyre on the back now so that I can use all the gears...:thumbsup:










70mm, so, ok, this is now a half fat, but now I have all gears again *;D



















Trying out the pogies & front rack added










Pretty much sorted for bikepacking duties *;D


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## rlbruski (Oct 21, 2012)

Motorman,
What is that 3" knobby you put on the back of the Mundo?


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## motorman (May 30, 2011)

The tyre is a Duro Leopard 26x3"


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## trapperjohn (Oct 11, 2006)

If anybody is still looking for an inexpensive stoker stem for the Yuba:

FSA OS120 Road Stem

This is a 1 1/4" Stem so it fits the 31.8mm seatpost of the new Yubas just fine!


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## Fresno (Jul 11, 2011)

Great build. Thanks for paving the way for me.

Is this list complete?

1. Stock Mundo
2. Surly Moonlander fork
3. Surly Clown Shoe and BFL tire
4. Dura Leopard 26x3
5. Front disc brake


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

Depending on which generation Mundo you have, you may also need a new headset. At the back you may have a hard time shifting to low gears, so a longer bottom bracket axle or a different rear hub may be needed (take a look at my Yuba at the beginning of this thread.


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## Fresno (Jul 11, 2011)

fox1965 said:


> Depending on which generation Mundo you have, you may also need a new headset. At the back you may have a hard time shifting to low gears, so a longer bottom bracket axle or a different rear hub may be needed (take a look at my Yuba at the beginning of this thread.


It is a version 4 (2011). Any difference between the Moonlander or Necro forks? I think they are the same except for paint.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

You have to look at these fork characteristics - axle to crown distance, width, offset, trail (trail is a result of fork-frame-wheel combo, so you will not find it). Both Yuba and Surly should be able to tell you other data. Then choose an offset and the axle-crown distance closest to your current fork. My old version Surly fork came pretty close. It put the bottom bracket a bit higher and gave my Yuba a livelier feel, which I find as a good think in the end. Good luck and post the picture after you are done.


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## andyh2 (Mar 8, 2008)

Fresno check out Motormans Fat Mundo thread for some more detail of his build.

Some fork comparison numbers;
Yuba standard v4 fork axle to crown 418mm, fork offset 59mm
Surly Pugs fork axle to crown 447mm, fork offset 43mm
Surly Big Dummy fork axle to crown 425mm, fork offset 43mm

I imagine that the higher than usual fork offset if the Yuba is designed to give a more stable ride. I don't know, but that it might be more important if using the big front rack loaded? 

When I put the numbers through a trail calculator putting a BD fork on gave the same trail numbers as my rigid MTB, which is probably why folk with that set up report it feeling more nimble. I guess it also makes it feel more normal.

The Clown shoe rim and Moonlander fork are probably overkill unless you have a specific purpose. 

If you go with the Pugs 100mm fork you could use the standard rim or perhaps a standard front wheel with a 42mm - 50mm.

It's worth considering the effect of much larger tyres and longer forks raising the BB. Good for off road clearance, but harder to control the loaded weight when starting and stopping


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

My Yuba has two months and around 800 km. It serves well and during its operation I am identifying things to improve. One of them is the gear ratio. On my way to the downtown there is a long, moderate descent. On my road bike I use to go there around 60 kmph. Yuba has a 24/34/44 chainwheel and that in the combination with the 14 rings on the smallest freewheel means, that the bike is slower in the traffic. (I realized this when I tried to overtake the bus leaving the stop: we were going side by side around 200 meters and I was not able to go before it, pedaling as fast as I could.  )

A solution could be changing the chainwheel to something like 22/39/53. I don't need small differences in the possible gear ratios but I still need light ratio to go uphill with a loaded bike.

Do you have some experiences in changing the front chainwheel? Should I expect any complications?

Thanks


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

I would not recommend switching to a much bigger chainring. Since Mundo's wheels are further apart than on a regular bicycle, it's bottom bracket (and the largest chainwheel) is relatively lower to the ground when riding over bumps on a changing slope off-road. Would a 13 tooth freewheel fit over the rear axel? Or next time ride behind the bus and overtake it while it stops to un/load passengers


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Jozo said:


> My Yuba has two months and around 800 km. It serves well and during its operation I am identifying things to improve. One of them is the gear ratio. On my way to the downtown there is a long, moderate descent. On my road bike I use to go there around 60 kmph. Yuba has a 24/34/44 chainwheel and that in the combination with the 14 rings on the smallest freewheel means, that the bike is slower in the traffic. (I realized this when I tried to overtake the bus leaving the stop: we were going side by side around 200 meters and I was not able to go before it, pedaling as fast as I could.  )
> 
> A solution could be changing the chainwheel to something like 22/39/53. I don't need small differences in the possible gear ratios but I still need light ratio to go uphill with a loaded bike.
> 
> ...


I'm not sure what kind of cranks the stock mundo has. If the rings are removable, you could get a 48t chainring and maybe a 50t if you're lucky, assuming 4 bolt 104mm bcd (bolt circle diameter).

The more pricey but easy option would be to get a road triple crank and chainring setup, such as a sora or tiagra one. (it's 9sp but that won't matter, worst case scenario, you might need to upgrade the chain too, I don't know what the stock yuba has and can't tell from pics on their site, 8sp chain will work great as upgrade)
I google it and found one for <90, but you can probably do a bit better looking around
Shimano 2011 Sora 9-Speed Triple Road Bicycle Crank Set - FC-3403 : Browse All Products
(edit: just noticed this one doesn't include the necessary hollowtech II bottom bracket, look around as I think you can find a road triple for around this price that does include bb.)
Sugino makes a nice forged square taper crankset that *might* work with your current bb, but this depends on its length and once again, can't tell this spec from the yuba site (though no manufacturer gives this detail)
here's the sugino: Sugino XD600 26/36/46 Triple Crankset in Tree Fort Bikes Cranks (cat119)
and you might need to buy a new bb too, but you won't know until you measure the old one (spindle length[~100-125mm range]) and compare it to what the sugino requires.
Once you have 5 bolt 110mm bcd you have a lot more chainring options. I have a cheapo steel 50t 5 bolt ring I got for nearly free from a shop that does used bikes.

The complication is that your front derailleur should roughly match the curvature of the big ring for good shifting. If you go substantially bigger than what you have now, your derailleur might be sub optimal, but you can probably live with that. You just have slide it up the seat-tube until the derailleur cage clears the big ring.

I'm not sure about how small of a gear you can have on the rear wheel, as this is an unusual wheel, but you do have the option of putting a regular cassette w/ 3/8" to 14mm axle adaptors and then you can go up to 10sp and down to 11t, though changing the number of gears would require new chain, shifters, etc. Replacing your cranks would be the cheap place to start.

Regarding Fox's comment, yes high bottoming will be more problematic in off-road situations, so this could be applicable, depending on where you take the bike.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*Xmas Tree*

Xmas Tree


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

fox1965 said:


> Xmas Tree


Nice. Unfortunately, we have an artificial christmas tree, so I can't make this type of transport with my Yuba. But maybe someone from my relatives will need a tree, I must ask them, if they need a transporter


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Does anybody have a child seat for larger child (5+ yrs) mounted on a Yuba? I hope my daughter will ride her own bike as much as she can, but for longer rides or for travelling through the dense traffic and with no child-safe bike routes the seat is necessary.

The only applicable product that I have found so far is the GMG Classic 911 (sorry, I can't post link here :nono:, you must substitute dot for .: www dot rijwielreus dot nl/yepp/1351-kinderzitje-achter-911-met-voetsteun-8715362002075.html). I am not sure about the mounting. Can be the seat mounted to the rear carrier as is delivered, or some special adapter/DIY work is needed?

Is the width between the seat's leg supporters sufficient for Yuba? 
Sometimes it can be useful to have only the child seat without the leg supporters (for a big box or Go-getters mounting) - is it possible to remove the supporters? I have found a picture (again, I can't attach the picture :nono: www dot senselife dot co dot uk/GMG/GMG_911_underside_2500.jpg), it looks like the horizontal part of the supporters can be unscrewed, but what about the vertical one?

Perhaps there is another child seat like GMG Classic 911, you can recommend it to me


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Jozo said:


> Nice. Unfortunately, we have an artificial christmas tree, so I can't make this type of transport with my Yuba. But maybe someone from my relatives will need a tree, I must ask them, if they need a transporter


There's absolutely no reason you can't give your artificial tree a ride around the block!


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

The Bionx was fun for awhile but I ended up selling it. Having the drive wheel up front meant my bike was actually two wheel drive. I am going to have some 65mm rims on this bad boy soon.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*heavy bulky load*

Just brought home two shoe cabinets, about under hundred pounds each on the loaders. The bike handled just fine. Cabinets seemed to be easier to carry when tied on the bike in the tall position and forward rather than low and partly beyond the rear axle. Looks like getting the center of gravity higher is less of a problem than moving it backwards. Happy new year!


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

fox1965 said:


> Looks like getting the center of gravity higher is less of a problem than moving it backwards.


Good to know, I am planning to buy new kitchen cabinets. But in my case, the taller one will be over 2 m high, so placing it vertically will be a real challenge


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

I tried to load them both vertically and horizontally. Horizontally placed boxes sucked, there was too much load behind the rear axle. Vertically placed boxes were surprisingly easy to carry. But those boxes were only 4ft tall. Good luck and post a picture!


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Yes, placing something behind the rear axle is really tricky, when my wife and daughter sit on the rear carrier (without child seat), the daughter sits in front and it can be seen on the bike maneuverability. Inverse order of passangers is impossible, my wife serves also as a backrest for the child


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Jozo said:


> Yes, placing something behind the rear axle is really tricky, when my wife and daughter sit on the rear carrier (without child seat), the daughter sits in front and it can be seen on the bike maneuverability. Inverse order of passangers is impossible, my wife serves also as a backrest for the child


This is why having a solid front basket/rack can be especially helpful. When weight is unavoidable behind the axle, you can make the bike a lot safer by adding weight to the front wheel so you still have proper handling and good steering traction.

I just use a cheapo rack that mounts to the fork, but hope to eventually get the yuba frame mounted one or find someone to fabricate one for me. Even with only modest weight behind the axle, I am more confident with some weight up front balancing things out. for example, when I put 40lbs of groceries evenly distributed across the rear rack, I like to strap a 12 pack to the front rack. It shows the world my fine choice in beer as well.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

PretendGentleman said:


> This is why having a solid front basket/rack can be especially helpful. When weight is unavoidable behind the axle, you can make the bike a lot safer by adding weight to the front wheel so you still have proper handling and good steering traction.
> 
> I just use a cheapo rack that mounts to the fork, but hope to eventually get the yuba frame mounted one or find someone to fabricate one for me. Even with only modest weight behind the axle, I am more confident with some weight up front balancing things out. for example, when I put 40lbs of groceries evenly distributed across the rear rack, I like to strap a 12 pack to the front rack. It shows the world my fine choice in beer as well.


My last commuting bike was a 20 years old one additionally equipped with a front rack ("L" shaped Steco with 25 kgs load capacity) and it was really addictive to have a large storing area at hand. I am missing this on my Mundo. In fact, I also bought a front carrier with my Mundo (mounted to the frame but not the bread basket), but it is still not on the bike. The main reason is limited parking space in my flat, the bike is parked between doors and a wardrobe with the front wheel turned right 

On the previous bike I used to ride with a "front loaded" bike, I have two boxes, which can be alternitively attached to the carrier. The bigger one has dimensions 60x40x30 cm and when fully loaded, the bike had a center of gravity on the handlebars. So it was another extreme


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*how to park your Yuba Mundo*

Where space is limited, Yuba Mundo should be parked on its tail. If you are not confident about its stability, bungee-cord it to a screw in the wall or furniture.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

fox1965 said:


> . Cabinets seemed to be easier to carry when tied on the bike in the tall position and forward rather than low and partly beyond the rear axle. Looks like getting the center of gravity higher is less of a problem than moving it backwards. Happy new year!


Not sure if it is still there, but the Yuba site used to have a video where Ben is using a Mundo to deliver two more Mundos to the shipping office, carrying them tall-wise as you found works best.

Carrying weight low makes the bike easier to manage when stopped and/or parked. Carrying weight high, as long as it is secure, actually makes the bike more stable when moving, because it tends to fall over slower, giving more time for the bike or rider to steer the wheels back under the load.

Carrying weight behind the rear axle is bad for several reasons. One that many do not appreciate is that when you steer left, weight behind the axle actually moves to the right before the whole shebang starts moving to the left. This is the wrong direction for balancing. You can carry _some_ weight back there, but it needs to be more than offset by the weight of the rider, bike, and loads carried well forward.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Does somebody have Yuba Go-getter bag in silver/gray version? (photo). 
I would like to buy this bag (preferably in black/orange colour), but at the local bike shop they have only the grey version and I am afraid that it will be very dirty after some time. Is it so?


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

gumby_kevbo said:


> Carrying weight low makes the bike easier to manage when stopped and/or parked. Carrying weight high, as long as it is secure, actually makes the bike more stable when moving, because it tends to fall over slower, giving more time for the bike or rider to steer the wheels back under the load.
> 
> Carrying weight behind the rear axle is bad for several reasons. One that many do not appreciate is that when you steer left, weight behind the axle actually moves to the right before the whole shebang starts moving to the left. This is the wrong direction for balancing. You can carry _some_ weight back there, but it needs to be more than offset by the weight of the rider, bike, and loads carried well forward.


I disagree with some of your ideas. while having the weight high does make tipping slower, it also means you have to do a lot more to keep the weight up there; you just have more time to do it. Practically speaking, a lower center of gravity on a cargo bike is almost always going to make the bike easier to handle, which might include tipping faster, but nobody cares if your 100 lb load on a fifty foot tall pole tips over slowly.

To me the big thing about loads behind the axle isn't what direction they go when I turn, but that those loads can unweight the front wheel Having a good bit of weight on the front wheel is extremely important so that you get good traction during turns and braking. This is why I wouldn't want to ride an unloaded bakfiets down a big hill and try to stop quickly...not enough weight on the front wheel (or at least I suspect, but never actually tried this).


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Yestarday I was going to work on my older bike and had some technical difficulties during ride, so I had to leave it locked halfway near a shopping mall.

In the evening I came with my Mundo and for the first time tried towing. The second bike (with a front carrier and a box on it) was attached to the left side, all lights turned on and the ride could start. The bikes were perfectly ridable, only minus was the weight (both bikes had almost 50 kg together) and it was slight uphill from the mall to my home - I feeled it like a steep uphill in fact. Streets were empty at that time. Fog, no pedestrians, only few cars, but their drivers were looking curiosly and surprised, like the did not believe their own eyes 

*Before action*







*Ready to go*







*Mission completed*


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

Jozo: What was the "technical difficulty?"


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Problem with the freewheel after long winter with lack of servicing  I was planning to put it to service next week, but unfortunately it did not last so long


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Jozo said:


> Problem with the freewheel after long winter with lack of servicing  I was planning to put it to service next week, but unfortunately it did not last so long


Reasons like this are why I avoided the complete. Fortunately, you can get bmx-style 3/8" to 14mm axle adapters and use a modern cassette hub. rear qr axles are 10mm and 3/8" is ~9.5mm, so you have to file out a bit of material, but it works well with a very tight qr (275 lb load plus my 190lb). Modern cassette hubs tend to be much longer lasting than multi-speed freewheels. and you have a wider range of gear options such as a 9sp 11-36t slx cassette.

If the freewheel is just siezing, a penetrating or other thin oil dripped in from the back side (best choice is to do this with freewheel removed from hub to avoid washing out hub bearing grease) will often make it happy for many more miles.


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## KK89 (May 21, 2013)

Wow! I really like the idea of full fat yuba! Must have took all the tractor abilities from both worlds! :thumbsup:

I like the idea of fat bikes and I also like cargobikes. This could be such crazy thing I would do myself if got the coin for it.


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

I finally completed my fat Yuba. I used an old Surly fork with Surly tire in the front and NuVinci360 hub and Remerx Jumbo rim and Surly Endomorph tire at the back. The rear cog is 22 teeth Surly with the original Yuba crank and 42 teeth in the front (I could go as low as 40 teeth). This allowed me to move the chain enough to the right that it does not rub the tire. I had to keep the derailleur to keep the chain properly adjusted. The ride is perfect, you sit higher and kids at the back are happier (more cushioning from 4 inches of a tire). Suddenly the curbs are no obstacle to this monster. Snow, mud, grass, rock gardens - no problem!


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*clearance between chain and tire*

clearance between chain and tire


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Fat Yuba in the house!!!!!*

Very nice Fox! How do you like the Nuvinci so far? I am building a Nuvinci360 wheel for mine too, just waiting on a hoop to come into stock. I dont know what those wheel skirts are but they look perfect on there.:thumbsup:


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

*Sand transport*

Transporting a sandbag remaining after Danube flood


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## Moby P (May 31, 2013)

Made a back deck.


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## OldschoolReloaded (Nov 20, 2012)

Anyone ever mount a Rohloff IGH on their Mundo? If so I would love to see pictures.

OS RL


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

The shifting range of NuVinci is smaller than a traditional set up but it allows for an unlimited clearance of the rear tire. The wheelskirts are a leftover from BoBike Junior Child Seat. Post a picture after you are done.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Fat Yuba in the house!!!!!*

I got my Fat Yuba done and am loving it! I got my Nuvinci laced up but am not using it because I found something better! Single Speed!!!! 32/22 I posted pics on the Fatbike forum. here is the link: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fat-yuba-house-866802.html


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*Nuvinci Hub with 65mm rims*

What the heck happened to the Pictures on this website! They changed the way pics are uploaded again and now it sucks! Why cant a box open up that lets me choose pics from my computer? why does it have to be a stupid URL?:skep::skep::madmax::incazzato::incazzato::sad::bluefrown::???:ut:ut::shocked::rant::smallviolin:

Computers are stupid, I'm going to go ride my bike!!!!!


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

*failed attemp at posting photos*

Message Failure


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

Hi, anyone has an idea why pictures I posted on 06082013 do not show up anymore? They were visible for about two month and now this site only gives a message Attached Thumbnails-


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

All my pictures are gone too. WTF!


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

There is a sweet Yuba Mundo postsed on Ebay right now. It looks like it comes with all kinds of good stuff.


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## ThundaCrymz (Oct 22, 2012)

Just checked it out :O Dang how can i make that much money ASAP LOL ?


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

Finally got around to installing lighting I had purchased some months back. Seldom have the Mundo out after dark, but when I have I always cursed myself for not putting good light on it. That problem is now in the past.

Power comes from a Nordlicht bottle dynamo. I like hub dynamos a lot, but the Mundo wants a HD front wheel, lots of fat spokes, etc. which adds more cost and sourcing hassle beyond what is usual when adding a hub dynamo.










I fabricated a crude bracket from 1/8x1-1/2 Al. It mounts to the fork via two 5mm threaded braze ons Yuba conveniently put inside the left fork leg. I guess this might be for a torque arm on the electric assist version.








I made a couple light bends in the bracket to roughly match the radius of the fork blade. A couple layers of road bike tire soak up the difference. I had thought I might need to tie into the brake stud above the bracket, but it feels plenty solid without the added complexity. The braze ons stand proud of the surface of the fork. It is important that the tire layers are thicker than the shoulders of the braze ons, and have clearance holes large enough to clear the braze ons.

The headlamp is a Phillips Saferide. These are significantly better than the next best thing, and cheaper to boot. A pain to get, though, as Phillips doesn't import them to US.

Another hunk of Al and a couple of P clips secure it to the front of the basket.










No photos of the rear light. I am not real happy with how I mounted it. I can only claim that it works. Will update when I have done it decently.

Seems to work well. The bottle does add just noticeable drag, but nowhere near what I recall of the cheap stuff I had as a kid. I can hear some whine, but it is not all that loud. The Phillips lamp gives plenty of light. Seriously, you owe it to yourself to give one of the lights a try.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Today I was transporting new tires using my Mundo, two pictures:


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## gmats (Apr 15, 2005)

Sweet! Love it!


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## rsolti13 (Apr 23, 2012)

What is the widest tire you can run without modification and being able to use all gears on the V4 front and rear?


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

All I can tell is that Surly Endomorphe tire is too wide for a regular setup. 2.3" tires fitted just fine, fenders included.


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

I ran 2.5 hookworms with just a tiny bit of rub in the lowest gear.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

I have Yuba Mundo with the "one leg" kickstand. It does its work but there are some problems when I am loading heavier things. I have two 50 liter boxes on the bike and the best way to load them is to put the heaviest things to the center of the gravity of the bike. Thats theory. But when I load the left box, content slides to the right side (and away from the center of the gravity) and sometimes also the whole bike falls to the side (but only a few, because the box itself blocks it ). The content of the right box slides to the desired side (to the frame) but when I put into it too much, the whole bike tends to fall- and on this side there is no stand to block it from this. So the whole process of the bike loading seems much more like acrobacy than like normal cargo bike usage 

I am thinking about buying the Stand Alone Kickstand (Stand Alone Kickstand | Yuba Bicycles, Mundo Cargo Bike, Boda Boda Bike) which should grant horizontal position of the bottom of the boxes. One leg stand is rather stable when pressing the bike to the left side. Is it the same with the stand alone kickstand?

I saw some video where a man stood on the sideloader and the bike was stable. Is it really so? I have a daughter which now knows that she can only go to the rear carrier from the left side (with no risk of the bike falling on her).

What does the front wheel with the stability of the bike? Is it necessary to have some deflopilator to fix it in a stright position?

Thanks for responses.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Jozo said:


> I have Yuba Mundo with the "one leg" kickstand. It does its work but there are some problems when I am loading heavier things. I have two 50 liter boxes on the bike and the best way to load them is to put the heaviest things to the center of the gravity of the bike. Thats theory. But when I load the left box, content slides to the right side (and away from the center of the gravity) and sometimes also the whole bike falls to the side (but only a few, because the box itself blocks it ). The content of the right box slides to the desired side (to the frame) but when I put into it too much, the whole bike tends to fall- and on this side there is no stand to block it from this. So the whole process of the bike loading seems much more like acrobacy than like normal cargo bike usage
> 
> I am thinking about buying the Stand Alone Kickstand (Stand Alone Kickstand | Yuba Bicycles, Mundo Cargo Bike, Boda Boda Bike) which should grant horizontal position of the bottom of the boxes. One leg stand is rather stable when pressing the bike to the left side. Is it the same with the stand alone kickstand?
> 
> ...


I'm happy with the stand alone kickstand, but you can still tip the bike over. When carrying two shipping pallets home, I'd have to lean the bike against a wall after putting one on, since it would tip the bike without the other. The deflopillator seems like its important. If the load is big, you don't want the strange instability that comes when your bars suddenly turn. I can't say for sure and you could figure out a way to keep the bars facing forward just while loading the bike for the same effect.


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## normonster (Jan 12, 2008)

Get the StandAlone Kickstand. It definitely helps with loading. My kids are crawling all over the bike with it down. With most of the weight on the back, doesnt seem the deflopillator does much, but I have one anyway....


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## peterw_diy (Sep 1, 2013)

The StandAlone makes the bike quite stable, and level side-to-side. The parked bike does tilt back a bit (front wheel raised a couple inches) unless you have weight on the front (e.g. in a Bread Basket). With enough weight up front, the rear wheel will lift (and front wheel touch the ground) but the bike remains stable. At half the price of Xtracycle's kickstand, Yuba's StandAlone is a bargain. I do wonder how much weight it will support -- did the folks in North Carolina with that video of the 400-500 pounds of bananas use the StandAlone to keep the bike upright while loading it? If so, then you should have no worries about load in front of the wheel pushing down too much on the StandAlone.

My complete included the deflopilator, and I like how it keeps the bars straight when the bike is parked. I have not tried to see how the front end would behave without it. It does seem to interfere a little bit with really low-speed tight turns (like trying to turn around when straddling the bike), but it's not too bad, and I think I would probably not want the front end to turn too quickly in those situations anyway.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

During this season I had a front carrier attached to the fork and the handlebars. I unmounted it few weeks ago but I think this carrier could be too heavy for the deflopillator. Luckily I have also another front carrier which mounts to the frame.

I see only one problem with the deflopillator - I park my bike in the apartment with the front wheel turned to the side (there is a limited space for the bike - just between one door and the wall). I think its not a good idea to have the deflopillator stretched all the time. Is it possible to easily release it from the frame/fork to turn the wheel to park the bike?

Another possibility is to have the Mundo with the fork/handlebar attached carrier. Advantage of this is that bigger box can be mounted in front (I rode also with a 50 liter box in front), which is impossible with most of the frame mounted carriers - there would be a conflict when steering - handlebars would hit the box. Does somebody have this type of front carrier in combination with the StandAlone? How does it behave when parked? Does the use of the deflopillator make any sense?


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## peterw_diy (Sep 1, 2013)

Jozo said:


> I see only one problem with the deflopillator ... Is it possible to easily release it from the frame/fork to turn the wheel to park the bike?


No, it's not easy. The deflopilator kit basically puts eyelets on the fork crown and downtube, and the spring hooks into those eyelets. But the spring is under significant tension even when the fork is pointed straight, so it's not easy to undo the deflopilator by hand. If you wanted an undoable one you'd have to tweak it, and IMO probably ought to just build your own. Hey, it's just a spring. 



Jozo said:


> Another possibility is to have the Mundo with the fork/handlebar attached carrier. Advantage of this is that bigger box can be mounted in front (I rode also with a 50 liter box in front), which is impossible with most of the frame mounted carriers - there would be a conflict when steering - handlebars would hit the box.


Cable housing, too. And since it's frame-mounted, you can't hang panniers from Yuba's Bread Basket the way you can some fork-mounted porteur racks. So it's pretty limited in terms of the volume it can carry. But, especially with the liner, it's very handy and better for casual loads than some of the minimalist porteur racks that pretty much require you to bungie a separate bag to the rack if you're carrying anything small or floppy or that has straps, etc. I like that, even without the deflopilator, loads in the Bread Basket don't flop around when the bike is parked.

With both fork and frame mounted front baskets, you need to think about headlight placement. With Bread Basket, I moved my battery-powered light out almost to the grips so that it would sit another inch or two higher and be less likely to be obscured by the front load. I'm considering mounting it on the front of the Bread Basket somehow.


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## DoubleEh (Dec 30, 2013)

My wife has had our 24 lb daughter in a Yepp Mini on the front of our Mundo (v4 frame) for about 7 months, but it's time to relocate her to the rear. We have a used Yepp Maxi EasyFit that I bought on Craigslist that I'm trying to install.

I removed the bamboo deck from the rear rack and used two of those screws to secure the front of the Easyfit carrier to one of the cross bars on the rack. For the rear connections of the EasyFit carrier, I'm trying to use 2 of the "w-shaped" metal clamps (which I believe originally came with the Easyfit carrier) to clamp it to the side rails of the rear rack. Unfortunately, the clamps are not quite long enough and/or the slots in the Easyfit carrier are not quite wide enough to reach both side rails. By shifting the Easyfit carrier slightly to one side, I can clamp one side but not both.

Has anyone else solved this problem? I got the clamps from a local Yepp dealer. Perhaps there are wider ones available or a newer Easyfit adapter would have slightly wider slots? Any ideas or suggestions are much appreciated! Thanks.

Edit: you can see the clamp in Pic 2 of the Easyfit mounting instruction manual: http://www.yepp.nl/cms/files/Mounting instructions EF_Carrier_UK apr2012.pdf


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## marlonbostik (Oct 15, 2011)

marlon's bike blog: Fat Yuba Mundo is done.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

I have Yuba Mundo v4 with V-brakes. I want to replace them with (perhaps mechanic) disc brakes, but I don't have any experience with this type of brakes. Do you have disc brakes on your Mundos? Which brakes are the best choice for a longtail cargo bike?


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## fox1965 (Dec 21, 2010)

*brakes*

I had original V-brakes on my Yuba. After my frame cracked and I was sent a new frame from Yuba as a replacement, I used Avid bb5 mechanical disc brakes for about over a year. They were pain in the neck, since I had to fine tune them all the time. I ended up installing the cheapest Shimano hydraulic brakes with 180 mm discs and I did not have to tune them nor deal with them in any way for over a year. My bike is used every day by me and my wife to haul our kids (11 and 8, close to 170 lb together), shopping etc. We have no car and Mundo has already been on a 100+ mile ride in one day. My Yuba is a home-altered-NuVinci-hub-snowbike-tires-equipped bicycle you can see in my earlier posts.


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

Jozo said:


> I have Yuba Mundo v4 with V-brakes. I want to replace them with (perhaps mechanic) disc brakes, but I don't have any experience with this type of brakes. Do you have disc brakes on your Mundos? Which brakes are the best choice for a longtail cargo bike?


Hi Jozo,

I've been using Avid BB7 mountain versions and are happy with them. You need to use 180mm rotors for your front wheel. 160mm in the rear is fine but 180 is better. Also, please make sure you get the right adaptors for the calipers. I suggest call Yuba tech support and they will also give you info on the exact parts that you need to fit the brakes well. Thanks.

FBJ

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Thanks for replies. I also asked Yuba tech support and now I have new mechanic Avid BB7 brakes on my Mundo.

Rear brake:








Front brake:








Whole bike:


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## peterw_diy (Sep 1, 2013)

Jozo - are you pleased? Did you need any special parts, shims, etc? Is that a 180 in back?


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## rlbruski (Oct 21, 2012)

I think disc brakes is the next investment for my Mundo.
Look like a great way to go!


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

peterw_diy: The brakes were mounted in the bike shop, so I don't know exact details but yes, there are some shims  and the seller looked like it was a lot of work to successfully do it (some shims, small recentering of the wheel and so on) . But they managed it and breaking is now better than before  Both rotors are 180 mm.

One more pic:


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## bluesoleli (Feb 17, 2014)

Planning to look into project Yuba Mundo again on my end after finishing building up my electric Giant bike. 

Probably gonna end up selling the Giant (minue e bike kit) after this semester of university and get a Mundo... the Giant blends into the other bikes at uni, riding a Mundo is going to cause too much attention, of course after I graduate next semester I can finally ride a Mundo.

So I have encountered a few things in my early stage of research.

Is the bottom bracket 68mm? Been looking at some Sunrace & Shimano BB cartridges, hoping these are threaded the same as what's on a Mundo?

The steerer/headset/fork, is it a 1 1/8" threadless system on a V4 (4.3) frame?

I'm gonna be a cheapskate and get Shimano tourney components for the drivetrain since it will be electric for most part anyway, may go with Altus if I have spare change.


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

yes, v4 has threadless 1 1/8 fork. Shimano BB will also work. Go mid drive if you can for your electric assist, best for cargo bikes.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

Last Wednesday I bought a new two leg stand and the Bagutte for my Mundo. The stand is great, much better than the former with one leg. Now I can comfortably sit on the rear deck while waiting for my wife :thumbsup: I planned to buy the Gogetters bag but they were not on the stock so I took the Baguette. This one is smaller but for everyday commuting is satisfactory for my needs. But I think I will buy also the bigger one for longer trips .








New equipment in front of Heavy Pedals bike shop in Vienna.








On the bank of the Danube in Bratislava.


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

looking good Jozo. The bags for perfect. I think they are good sized for daily commute.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


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## normonster (Jan 12, 2008)

*Tubeless?*

I'm dreading the day I get a flat on the Mundo.

Any suggestions for going tubeless w/ the stock rims?
Ghetto tubeless or Stans kit work?


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## GuruAtma (May 17, 2004)

A flat on the rear is a pain. I carry two wrenches (front and back use different sized nuts) taped under the rear seat pads. I also got slime tubes--they've worked really well. Pulled several thorns out of the tires and I could see the holes seal up instantly.


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

ghetto tubeless will work. Use the 1" wide gorilla tape from Home Depot. They are nice and thick. STANS goop, tubeless valves and you are good to go.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

I got a flat tire on the rear wheel two weeks ago (first time on this wheel after 18 months I have it). The repair was not much more time consuming than on normal bike. The only one problem was that I didn't have the right size wrench but luckily I had variable size wrench. It was a little bit unconfortable (the wrench was constantly widening) but worked. 
Perhaps I should replace my tires, they look like they deserve it


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## wwrivers (May 8, 2006)

I am very interested in getting a Yuba for hauling my kids to school and elsewhere, and for running to the grocery store. Because I have two kids I am driving more than riding now, and it is driving me crazy. How does the bike handle with 2 kids on the back (90 and 45 pounds)? I tried another brand's bike and once the kids were on the back the bike spontaneously did a wheelie and both kids fell off. Once I got on I could keep the front wheel down but it was very difficult to control with that much weight on the back. 

Also, how does it handle on windy trails? I'm not planning to do any real mountain biking, but we have a lot of dirt paths in town here and some of them wind around trees, and up some short hills.

Thanks for any advice!


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

it's great, you will not regret getting one. my kids are heavier and the bike still handles great. One thing I like the most is the frame stiffness. Heavy loads and heavy kids don't affect the handling, doesn't feel flexy.


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## bluesoleli (Feb 17, 2014)

So the Yuba plan is still on the back of my head after many months. I now have an idea especially with my nephew and niece which want to come out for a bush bike ride with me. They're like 4 and 5, so the Mundo with extra rear seats should work for me.

Anyway, I have a Mongoose Tyax MTB which I never use these days ever since going motorbike... so I suppose I'll move everything from that frame over to the Yuba frame (minus Suntour XCT forks) and it should work on the flat gravel trails with some fat tyres...?

No electric assist however. Just pure pedal power so I actually LOSE weight.


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## normonster (Jan 12, 2008)

My kids are 9 & 11 so a bit heavier than yours too. It's definitely a little shaky when starting up from a complete stop. Easy going for sure on straights. Gets a bit tough when doing sharp turns. I'm about 150, so it would probably help if I had more weight up front. But I havent noticed any problem with wheelies...



wwrivers said:


> I am very interested in getting a Yuba for hauling my kids to school and elsewhere, and for running to the grocery store. Because I have two kids I am driving more than riding now, and it is driving me crazy. How does the bike handle with 2 kids on the back (90 and 45 pounds)? I tried another brand's bike and once the kids were on the back the bike spontaneously did a wheelie and both kids fell off. Once I got on I could keep the front wheel down but it was very difficult to control with that much weight on the back.
> 
> Also, how does it handle on windy trails? I'm not planning to do any real mountain biking, but we have a lot of dirt paths in town here and some of them wind around trees, and up some short hills.
> 
> Thanks for any advice!


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

wwrivers said:


> I am very interested in getting a Yuba for hauling my kids to school and elsewhere, and for running to the grocery store. Because I have two kids I am driving more than riding now, and it is driving me crazy. How does the bike handle with 2 kids on the back (90 and 45 pounds)? I tried another brand's bike and once the kids were on the back the bike spontaneously did a wheelie and both kids fell off. Once I got on I could keep the front wheel down but it was very difficult to control with that much weight on the back.
> 
> Also, how does it handle on windy trails? I'm not planning to do any real mountain biking, but we have a lot of dirt paths in town here and some of them wind around trees, and up some short hills.
> 
> Thanks for any advice!


I've carried two adult men on mine and it handles great. totally stable and getting going wasn't bad.

I also use mine for trailworks sometimes and will load it up with tools and ride it on the trails, so handling is great. It's a long bike, so obviously tight turns can be an issue and pushing it up hills with the side loader rails is tough, as they get in the way. I'm thinking about taking off the side loader rails and just using a big bag on each side. It's just tough to store this bike in my limited space.


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## wwrivers (May 8, 2006)

Thanks for the info everybody. I'm picking up a lux model next week! Can't wait to try it out.


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## primooz (May 20, 2010)

Kindly asking if someone can provide approx. weight of Mundo Frameset?
So, weight of frame + fork. And how does it compare to Big Dummy frameset weight

Thanks in advance


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## bluesoleli (Feb 17, 2014)

I was going to put money down for a Yuba frame today... but I then heard it was Hi-Ten steel.

My bikes stay undercover... but is it going to rust badly?

I know the side loaders and the fork is chromoly and that doesn't rust much... but what about the Hi-Ten steel frame? Anyone had rust issues at all? Primarily say around the bottom bracket where water usually likes to hide on my bikes?


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## XJaredX (Apr 17, 2006)

primooz said:


> Kindly asking if someone can provide approx. weight of Mundo Frameset?
> So, weight of frame + fork. And how does it compare to Big Dummy frameset weight
> 
> Thanks in advance


It doesn't matter. I mean, I don't know, but also, it doesn't matter.


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## Fatboy Joe (May 10, 2007)

Nice Fat Mundo! I was thinking of doing something new to my V4 frame with my mid drive kit. Your Fat Mundo is cool!



fox1965 said:


> I finally completed my fat Yuba. I used an old Surly fork with Surly tire in the front and NuVinci360 hub and Remerx Jumbo rim and Surly Endomorph tire at the back. The rear cog is 22 teeth Surly with the original Yuba crank and 42 teeth in the front (I could go as low as 40 teeth). This allowed me to move the chain enough to the right that it does not rub the tire. I had to keep the derailleur to keep the chain properly adjusted. The ride is perfect, you sit higher and kids at the back are happier (more cushioning from 4 inches of a tire). Suddenly the curbs are no obstacle to this monster. Snow, mud, grass, rock gardens - no problem!


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## normonster (Jan 12, 2008)

*Shopping*

I had big shopping weekend. The lady in the window didnt like my setup, but I just told her, "Its Fine!"


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

One older photo:


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

*Solar Augmented Electric Yubas*

Just completed a 5,000 km tour on these, up the east coast of australia.

Total weight for each rig (without rider), 130 kg's
All batteries, 26 amp hour LiFePo4 (for electric motor on bike) and batteries for computer and mobile phones, recharged by the solar.

Interesting to read some of the posts on this thread re Yuba frame alignment problems, more on this soon.....

Andy


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

I have also been to IKEA here in Philadelphia a couple of times to get some chests of drawers. Took a while to get everything strapped in but it was fine and one does feel quite bad-ass riding home like that.


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

*Modding for speed in the city*

*Modding for speed in the city*

This is a first of a number of posts I have been planning for a while on how in I chose to updgrade and mod the Yuba Mundo for my purposes.
I wanted the updates to make the bike faster but also wanted to keep it safe as I am doing 80% of the rides in the city (Philadelphia) with one or two kids on the bike. 
I will post pictures soon (can't yet).

First update: *Gears*

When you get the bike you get all excited and feel that you max out on speed rather quickly and wish you had more gears. 
The best solution in terms of bang for the buck is to swap out the freewheel with the 13-28T version (look on Amazon for "Shimano 7-Speed Tourney Bicycle Freewheel - MF-HG37"). It costs around $15. You will need Park Tool FR-1 and a chain whip.
Why a new freewheel and not a bigger chainset? Because by going from 14 to 13 in terms of the smallest sproket on the freewheel you will get more speed (i.e. feet per pedal rotation) compared to going for a larger chainset (unless you for a 52 or 53). It is also much cheaper. Don't believe me? Then go and play around with the gear calculator Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator

Second update: *Tires*

1) As I am in the city the biggest annoyance is to get a flat. The best solution is to add Mr Tuffy Bicycle Tire Liner to my tires. It's a thick plastic strip that goes between the tire and the tube. You will probably need the brown version (Mr Tuffy are color coded for size.). I added them a year ago and had no problems anymore and believe me Philly roads are a nightmare.

2) Want to go faster? Want to avoid bent wheels and punctures? Pump up the tires to max. Based on info on the Schwalbe webpage you want to add rather the reduce pressure when you carry more load. Given my and my kids weight I am now and the max permissible.

More to follow. Comments and reactions welcome.


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

gauguin said:


> *Modding for speed in the city*
> 
> This is a first of a number of posts I have been planning for a while on how in I chose to updgrade and mod the Yuba Mundo for my purposes.
> I wanted the updates to make the bike faster but also wanted to keep it safe as I am doing 80% of the rides in the city (Philadelphia) with one or two kids on the bike.
> ...


here're a few thoughts based on my experience

the 14mm axle and freewheels sytem will always be problematic for gearing and durability. A modern cassette works great. I used profile bmx 3/8" to 14mm adaptors and had to grind out a small amount to get them to work with the 10mm axle. With a cassette hub, you can run an 11-36 cluster and the axle is stronger than the 14mm axle due to the placement of the drive side bearings.

*Often running max tires pressure is too high. I recommend trying different tire pressures and find the right one for you and the load you are carrying. When tires are too hard, you get a bumpy ride and have to work harder. Too soft is worse, but the right pressure is best.

*Mr tuffy tire liners are inferior, in my experience, to high quality tiers that are flat resistant. I've seen it over and over again where a tube gets a flat from the edge of the MR tuffy rubbing a hole in the tube.


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

PretendGentleman said:


> here're a few thoughts based on my experience
> 
> the 14mm axle and freewheels sytem will always be problematic for gearing and durability. A modern cassette works great. I used profile bmx 3/8" to 14mm adaptors and had to grind out a small amount to get them to work with the 10mm axle. With a cassette hub, you can run an 11-36 cluster and the axle is stronger than the 14mm axle due to the placement of the drive side bearings.
> 
> ...


I saw your post before re adaptor to add regular cassette. Could you please (!) post a link for the adaptor you used and perhaps a pic of what the final product looks like.

I agree on having better tires is superior to Mr Tuffy - but honestly two new Schwalbe Marathon Plus were quit a bit more expensive than Mr Tuffy and I have been riding them for over a year and had no flats. The tires the Mundo came with however were not great as the side walls deteriorated rather quickly (I keep my bike outside all the time plus ride in the winter). So I now swapped them out for Schwalbe Marathons (the regular ones) with Mr Tuffy inside.

Yes, getting the pressure right is crucial. Not sure why higher pressure means more work though. It makes ride more bumpy for sure but the rolling resistance is lower.


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## Velo Celt (May 11, 2015)

First time poster/new member of MTBR. It's interesting to see this thread steadily trucking along (pun intended) after so may years. I'll chime in with a more thorough posting about my own Yuba experiences pretty soon. I built my bike from a bare frame, bought from Yuba through a LBS. I chose to go all custom to get exactly what I wanted on the build, also because I have numerous parts to use that were much higher quality spec than a stock Yuba.

What I'm really curious about is the set up on those two Yubas posted by Mechandy, and those trailers and how they're hitched up. I really hope he comes back and posts a follow up, but it looks like he's just got the one post and that was two weeks ago.

I can make an observation regarding tires though. I built mine originally with the Maxxis Hookworms in mind and found almost immediately that they were hands-down the WORST tires I've ever owned. They're incredibly sluggish, making the bike hard to pedal like you're riding through quicksand or something, not to mention the tread compound is so soft they can be easily shredded by tiny pieces of sharp gravel. We're not even talking glass here, just bits of really coarse sand that would eat their way into the tires and just shred the tubes. Also, even with a 127mm bottom bracket and a 2mm spacer on the drive side, I was getting rubbing in the lowest gears against the 2.50 tire sidewall.

Fed up with the repeated flats, chewing-gum-on-a-hot-day consistency tire tread, and ultra-sluggish feel, I swapped the Hookworms (26x2.50) out for Schwalbe Big Apples (26x2.35) and noticed massive improvements across the board. The tires are pretty much puncture-proof, rolling resistance is way lower than the Hookworms, and gone is that sluggish high-effort pedaling.

I'm going to be posting a full build of my Yuba on my blog at velocelt.blogspot.com which will have many photos and will detail everything I selected component-wise and why, and how things changed over the intervening weeks since I first finished the build. I've been riding my Yuba now for almost two months and approximately about 800 miles, so I think I've fine tuned almost everything at this point. There are a few little tweaks left to do but for the most part I'm calling the build finished.


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

Hi Velo Celt, you can check out the Yuba / Solar Trailer build on my Flickr site link below. They were taken when the project was nearly complete (the trailers still needed wiring tidy up and power outlet / fuse boxes fitted), back in late 2013 about a month before we set off on the journey. We loaded them up with all the gear we were taking on the trip, and went to the local farmers market for a test ride. Will check out your Yuba project on your blog shortly, cheers Andy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mechandy/sets/72157637703626494


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

*your experience and recommendation for best front disc breaks*

I am looking to upgrade my front breaks. I never felt that I lacked in stopping power with the breaks that came with the bike given I change pads every 2-3 months but I am starting to feel anachronistic plus my two kids are getting heavier so I might benefit from the additional stopping power (unless there aren't any given I am a road-rider).

What break-rotor combination did you have the best experience with?

I was thinking of getting the Avid BB7 given they are mechanical. 
What is the best rotor and rotor-size for them?
Any other suggestions you have would be most appreciated.


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

Hi Gauguin, I went with the Avid BB7 on the front but stuck with the V Brake rear, mostly because the disc brake lug alignment on the Yuba frame is notorious for being 'out' and this would have added more headaches to the build, especially as I fitted a Rohloff to the rear. We descended a number of 18% gradients on our trip (very slowly!) and the brakes held up well. We had to stop a few times on those descents (to let the brakes cool down), but then again, each rig weighs over 200 kg, rig weight plus rider. We did have an issue with the Velocity rims splitting uniformly (on both of the bikes rear wheels) around the full circumferance, at the bottom of the V Brake braking surface, but this was due to a combination of issues, weight, heat and tyre pressure. I'll post a pic of the split shortly......


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

Thank you mechandy.
what rotor size do you have on them? 160 or 180? 
Did you keep the break lever or change it to a different lever?


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## Velo Celt (May 11, 2015)

Mechandy - thanks for posting the update with the flickr link. That looks like a really nice setup. Was that a cello in the big case on one of the bikes, and is there some sort of instrument in the black case on the other? Were you busking your way along on that trip? What model of mid-drive motor is that? So far, my Yuba is human-powered only, but I've already decided a future upgrade will be a mid-drive motor of some sort. Currently I'm trying to learn as much as possible about the various options available. I also like your use of the motorcycle mirrors. I'm currently making do without mirrors on my bike, but during a brief period of owning a recumbent I grew to like the handlebar mounted mirror. Right now though, I need to carry my bike up and down two short flights of stairs each day so a mirror would probably be getting knocked out of alignment all the time. More hassle than it's worth at this I think. 

Since I built my Yuba from the bare frame up, I used a much more robust set of wheels than the stock ones. My rims are Sun Ryhno-lite 32 hole downhill/free-ride/enduro rims that are eyeletted, and are double-walled and triple-boxed in construction. They're 27mm wide and I use them with 26x2.35 Schwalbe Big Apple tires. 

Gauguin - I use Avid BB7 brakes front and rear on my Yuba. My frame is the latest v4.3 and I had no issues with how my brake mounts were. I could see how maybe there is some individual quality control, but I had no problems. Yuba requires a 180mm rotor in the back and a 160mm rotor in the front. I used Avid Speed Dial brake levers as well because they offer the best option for tailoring the feel of the brakes, whether you like a spongier feeling lever or a harder lever. I prefer a very hard brake lever so I was able to set mine up to have similar feel in both levers. Typically with such a long cable run to the rear brake you'll have a spongier feeling rear brake than the front, but at least with the Speed Dial levers you can have similar brake lever feel, even if the stopping power is a little spongy because of the long run. You can get slightly better modulation by using a compressionless segmented housing, but they're pretty pricey.


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

Hi Velo Celt,

thank you. this is very helpful. I am all sold on the BB7 but I am still wondering if it is worth spending another $50-70 more for a stronger hydraulic system? Any opinions? I think for all intents and purposes the BB7 should be strong enough, right?


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## Velo Celt (May 11, 2015)

gauguin - all you'll get from hydros is better modulation. Stopping power will pretty much be the same, especially if you spring for higher quality housing. Also, with hydros you'll need to get a longer hose for the rear, at least from what I've heard. The stock hose won't be long enough for the run to the rear brake. That means before you've even set up the brakes you'll be needing to drain and bleed them. Personally, I prefer the simplicity of mechanical discs. The other thing to consider if you have hydros is every time you remove a wheel to patch a tube or something you need a special spacer to go into the caliper so the pads don't close up, preventing you from getting the rotor back in. With mechanicals this doesn't happen.


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

Agree with everything Velo Celt has said re hydraulics versus mechanical, much more simple. In the case of the special spacer, this is only required if you accidentally squeeze the brake lever whilst the wheel (and disc rotor) is out of the frame (caliper). If you do not squeeze the brake lever, the pads will stay in their original position, enabling you to get the wheel and rotor back in place. As a qualified bike mechanic, I work on hydraulic systems regularly, and I do not use a spacer. BUT, if you are concerned that you may accidentally squeeze the brake lever with the wheel out, by all means, get the spacer!


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

*Yuba Quality Control*

I wrote in a previos comment that I'd be posting more about Yuba quality control. I've owned a version 1 blue 'tank' and now, a version 4. The quality control of Yuba manufacturing is improving, and I have to say that the Yuba is a great bike, it has enabled us to do many things that would have been impossible on most other bikes. They are tough, sturdy and cruzy to ride, and it is not easy to find another bike that will handle the punishing 130 kg cargo weight that we carry. The quality control issues that I list below, are simply for others to consider and check out. The distributor for Yuba here in Australia has been great, any QC issues we've had, have been quickly fixed with replacement parts.

1) Frame

The photo below shows the misalignment of the rear dropouts, on one of the V4's. The frame was replaced free of charge by the Yuba distributor in Australia. There are two spirit levels in this pic, one showing the floor level and the other the rear dropout level, from both a distance and above (spirit level bubble) shot. This bike also had front fork issues, one fork longer than the other, resulting in a skewed wheel.















2) Rims

It is rare for most people to remove the rim tape from their wheels, unless, you are trying to work out why the rims have cracked around the nippless, or, because the rim tape needs replacing. What I found, once the rim tape was removed, is that the automatic spoke tension machine, used during manufacture of the Yuba rims, had damaged the outer wall and removed a big proportion of some of the nipple heads. Again, Yuba in Australia were more than happy to replace these, but since we were installing Velocity Cliff Hanger rims, we didn't take up their offer. Apologies for the blurred photo's below. You can though, see the rim damage and the Brass of the nipples heads, after the chrome coating has been chewed off, by the spoke tensioning machine.









This is not a 'complaint' post, Yuba have been very good in responding to these issues, but you might want to check out your own Yuba's, just in case......


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

*Yuba Electric Assist*

Hi Velo Celt, yes that isa Cello on the back of my travelling companions bike! She's a Professional Musician / Composer who tours around Australia performing at venues. The black case on my bike is for my Mandolin, but I'm only just learning to play it so I'd call myself a 'hack' at this stage! The motor set up I designed and manufactured myself. It's a stock standard electric bike / scooter motor with a reduction gearbox. The gearbox and the cog ratios enable us to get the maximum torque out of the motor and a nice easy cadence. For the attachment of the motor to the seat post, I manufacture a metal plate for the motor base and this is then attatched to two 'Stauff' hydraulic hose clamps, which clamp around the seat post. Many years ago I worked in the hydraulic and pneumatic industry designing control equipment for manufacturing companies. The Stauff clamps are widely used for clamping hydraulic hoses and can withstand considerable forces (in many directions) without losing grip of the hose. They are UV stable, oil, petrol and harsh environment resistant, often used on offshore drilling rig applications. I came up with the idea to use them when I discovered that they are made in a size that perfectly fits the Yuba seat post diameter! An added bonus is that because they are made out of a plastic material, they do not damage the paint or steel tube when clamped tightly on.

Most of the other drivetrain components, including the left hand crank cog, freewheel, bottom bracket bearing kit and adaptors, longer BB spindle, I sourced from Staton Inc in the USA. (link below). The motor chain tensioner I made myself using an old V Brake arm and a rollerblade wheel. A recess for the chain can easily be created in the wheel, by inserting a bolt through the rollerblade wheel bearing, inserting the bolt into a drill chuck, and whilst the drill is running, using a small sharp wood chisel, simply cutting a groove about 5 mm deep.

Home

Yep, the motorcycle mirrors have been great! No vibration, so you can see everything clearly and the left hand mirror is very handy when crossing motorway or highway on ramps! I can certainly understand though how they would be a pain when needing to carry your bike up a couple of flights of stairs!........


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

*Rims for heavyweight touring*

Here in Australia we are pretty limited in choice of range when it comes to bike components, if you want anything decent, going overseas is the only choice. We had a limited time-frame for the Yuba builds outlined above, before we hit the road, and some components just had to be ordered locally to get everything done. The Velocity Cliff Hanger rims, were the best we could get at short notice, but they lasted only 3,500 km's, before this happened,









The rear rims on both bikes split uniformly around the entire circumference on both sides, the only thing holding the rims together, was the rim tape.

A number of factors caused this. The weight of the rig plus rider, the tyre pressures, ambient temperatures here in Australia, rim temperature due to braking, leading to an overall increase in temperature, which increased tyre pressure.

We had been running our tyre pressures at pretty much max, due to our load, but when riding 4 to 5 hours per day, almost everyday, in hot conditions, and using the brakes, the air pressure inside the tube / tyre can increase enormously. This places considerable strain on the rims.

So how did we fix it? Firstly by reducing tyre pressure. Secondly by fitting Ryde Andra 30 rims (although, as Velo Celt suggests, the Sun Rhino's would be equally as good). The good thing about the Ryde Andra 30's, is that they have an option for the spoke exit angle to be drilled specifically to suit the Rohloff internal geared hub, a big plus for us.

We had to order them from Europe as there is no distributor for them here in Australia. At 735 grams each, they also weigh a lot, but they are built solid as. Here's the link.....

Products | Ryde


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

Velo Celt said:


> gauguin - all you'll get from hydros is better modulation. Stopping power will pretty much be the same, especially if you spring for higher quality housing. Also, with hydros you'll need to get a longer hose for the rear, at least from what I've heard. The stock hose won't be long enough for the run to the rear brake. That means before you've even set up the brakes you'll be needing to drain and bleed them. Personally, I prefer the simplicity of mechanical discs. The other thing to consider if you have hydros is every time you remove a wheel to patch a tube or something you need a special spacer to go into the caliper so the pads don't close up, preventing you from getting the rotor back in. With mechanicals this doesn't happen.


Velo Celt,
Sorry for the slow reply. Too busy arguing with car drivers here in Philly who park in the no stopping areas of bike lanes....

I ordered a BB7 for the front and can't wait to install it!


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

*Modding your Yuba Mundo for speed in the city (part two)*

Hi,
part two of what I did as an amateur. I am just sharing what I did and the following might not be for everyone plus it is dangerous to do unless you are confident and proficient.

*Replacing bearings
*

I park my Yuba outside and also drive in the winter. With the weight plus the wheel protectors on them the rear wheel brearings can get dirty or dry.
You can get new wheels if money is not an issue or you can take the wheel to a shop for new bearings but I decided to do it myself.


When to change bearings? 

Turn your bike around or lift the rear wheel. One indication is if there is play: can you easily pull the rims to and fro even though the bolts on the axle are tightened? Another indication is scraping noise when the wheel is turning. For this slowly spin the wheel with the pedal and listen. Just spinning it by hand may cause you to mistake scraping of the plastic cover behind the freewheel to the spokes with the noise from bearings.


Supplies 
I bought mine here. They are cheap and work for me. You are welcome to spend more but the branded will most likely use this bearing plus a brand on it
https://www.jsbgreatbearings.com/bicycle-bearings-c-96/
This is for stock wheel. You can double-check on your bearings. The numbers are on them.
Front: 6001-2RS
Rear: 6902-2RS


How to do it 
To get you started watch some videos,e.g. this one 




- Remove the rear wheel and the freewheel (with Park Tool FR-1 and chain whip)
- Remove all the bolts, spacers and washers keeping note of the order. Clean those parts and lightly oil/grease them to prevent rust.
- Now take a wooden hammer or use a light touch and hit the axle from the DRIVE-SIDE. You want to hit the axle out of the wheel like this

HAMMER=> <----DrivesideAxle-Wheel-Non-drivesideAxle--->

This will hit the axle out and will take one bearing with it. TAKE NOTE on which way the axle was in the wheel as you have to insert it correctly later.

- look into the "axle-hole" in the middle of the wheel. I hope it is nice and shiny. If not you may want to get a new wheel as this is an indication that even with bearings this is not tight. Wheels are not that expensive on the Yuba page.
- look into the whole at the center of the wheel from the NON-drive side. You can see the other bearing as its inner diameter is smaller than the diameter of the "axle hole". Lay the wheel onto the DRIVE-side on a soft surface or some wood. 
Now take the axle (or any other metal rod) and start tapping the bearing out from the inside. Gently hit it at 0[SUP]0[/SUP], 90[SUP]0[/SUP], 180[SUP]0[/SUP], 270[SUP]0[/SUP], etc until the bearing falls out. Be gentle but determined. Don't worry about damaging the bearing but you want to get it out in one piece. To explain another way: the bearing is like a thick ring stuck inside a pipe and you want to get it out of the pipe - o.k. not sure if that is clearer now. Ask me if not clear.
- Wipe everything clean then grease or oil lightly where the bearings sit.
- install the new bearing. You can't push it in by hand. Don't even try as you will hurt your finger or damage the bearing. Also don't hit it in with a hammer unless you have very good control of the hammer but even then you won't get it fully seated that way. You can get bearing installation tools ($$$) or go to the LBS and ask them to do it. Instead I just used the parts in front of me. This is how I did it.
i) get two wrenches big enough for the axle-bolts. 
ii) insert the axle into the whole. just the axle but make sure it is the right war round. The drive-side is the one where there are more threads.
iii) put the new bearings onto both sides of the axle.
iv) put the old bearings on top of the new bearings. This is so that you push in the bearings by pressing as much as possible on the outer race of the bearing (the outer rather than the inner ring of the bearing).
v) put the washers and bolts onto both sides. Hand tighten making sure that the new bearings sits evenly on the whole where they need to go in AND the old bearing sits perfectly on the old bearing. This is the order on the axle

bolt-washer-oldbearing-newbearing-WHEEL-newbearing-oldbearing-washer-bolt

Now tighten both bolts at the same time and watch the magic unfold in front of you as you smoothly push the new bearings in. Make sure the old bearings sit perfectly on top of the old bearings (see above).
vi) You will notice when the bearings are all the way in. Then turn just a little more but do not force it as otherwise you will damage the bearing.

Now remove the bolts and the old bearings.
Install all the washers, spacers, and the freewheel back on the axle.
Install the wheel back onto your Yuba.

I think it is totally worth it especially after a long and dirty winter. Plus you will feel cool about being able to do it. 
Now hit me with your comments, reactions and questions!

Ride in peace!:thumbsup:

Gauguin


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

On a tangent, a quick look shows that the Yuba Mundo is one of the only, if not the only, cargo bikes that can use v-brakes instead of disks on the rear. I have a Heinzmann electric hub with no rotor mounts that a 20" rim built onto it. I can rebuild the wheel into 700c, but I like the idea of 20" in the rear for strength. There are a few manufacturers that make cargo bikes with 20" rear wheels, but all I have found use a disk brake. 

Is there such a thing as a Yuba Mundo with a 20" rear wheel? Or, any other cargo bike with a 20" rear that can use v-brakes?


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

honkinunit said:


> On a tangent, a quick look shows that the Yuba Mundo is one of the only, if not the only, cargo bikes that can use v-brakes instead of disks on the rear. I have a Heinzmann electric hub with no rotor mounts that a 20" rim built onto it. I can rebuild the wheel into 700c, but I like the idea of 20" in the rear for strength. There are a few manufacturers that make cargo bikes with 20" rear wheels, but all I have found use a disk brake.
> 
> Is there such a thing as a Yuba Mundo with a 20" rear wheel? Or, any other cargo bike with a 20" rear that can use v-brakes?


Not an answer to your question but according to Sheldon Brown and other pro cyclists the main breaking should be on the front. So the rear break need not be that strong but mainly functions as a back-up.

Braking and Turning Your Bicycle


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## Velo Celt (May 11, 2015)

gauguin - I agree with St. Sheldon on most things, but when that article was penned(? typed?), cargo bikes were not as prevalent as they are now. I would argue that on a cargo bike that is heavily loaded, especially with weight on the rear, braking force is probably more evenly distributed in terms of stopping power. There is still undoubtedly more braking force on the front wheel, but the rear clearly contributes significantly to braking force. I think if you want the best braking performance on a longtail cargo bike then you need to do whatever you can to increase the braking force to the rear and improve modulation in any way you can. The best way to do this is with either installing hydraulic disc brakes, or alternatively mechanical discs with rigid brake cable housing going to the rear brake. I run BB7s and my rear brake has a somewhat mushy feel to it because of the long cable run. One of my next upgrades will be a truly compressionless, armored type cable housing for the rear brake.

honkinunit - there is in fact a Yuba with a 20" rear wheel. I just came out and is called the Yuba Spicy Curry and is sort of Yuba's answer to the Xtracycle Edgerunner, however unlike the Edgerunner the Spicy Curry is purpose built as an e-assist bike and has a bottom bracket that accommodates a mid drive motor. 
Spicy Curry | Cargo Bike, Cargo Bicycle, Electric Bike Cargo, Family Bike

Mechandy - I know AUS dollars aren't the same as US dollars, but do you think you saved an appreciable amount of money by custom-building your mid drive motors using the scooter motors and gear reduction, versus buying a complete unit like the Bafang 8Fun mid drive or something similar by another company like Stokemonkey or EcoSpeed? I'm doing my research, and frankly the cost of setting up an electric motor is pretty daunting. Many of the options for mid-drive available here in the US are easily $2500 or more. There are certainly some much MUCH cheaper Asian mid-drive motors but I don't know just how much I'd trust one of those, especially the electronics like the throttle, speed/assist selector, brake lever cutoffs, etc. It comes back to that old adage you know - "you get what you pay for."


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

*Is it really worth upgrading the rear wheel brake?*



Velo Celt said:


> gauguin - I agree with St. Sheldon on most things, but when that article was penned(? typed?), cargo bikes were not as prevalent as they are now. I would argue that on a cargo bike that is heavily loaded, especially with weight on the rear, braking force is probably more evenly distributed in terms of stopping power. There is still undoubtedly more braking force on the front wheel, but the rear clearly contributes significantly to braking force. I think if you want the best braking performance on a longtail cargo bike then you need to do whatever you can to increase the braking force to the rear and improve modulation in any way you can. The best way to do this is with either installing hydraulic disc brakes, or alternatively mechanical discs with rigid brake cable housing going to the rear brake. I run BB7s and my rear brake has a somewhat mushy feel to it because of the long cable run. One of my next upgrades will be a truly compressionless, armored type cable housing for the rear brake.


Hey Velo Celt,

I think hydraulic breaks are sweet and great to have and in the future we should all have them but by the sheer physics of bike-braking (I would be glad to have some nerd correcting me on this one) I question what difference they will make on the rear wheel even with the added weight as this is not a trailer but just your bikes "behind". Yes, better breaks with better modulation will help no question but here is my situation and I would value your input. 
I still have the original Promax TX-125 V breaks on front and rear. Recently I upgraded the cable and housing. Nothing fancy, just went to the LBS and got the supplies I needed from the helpful guys there and also got some new breakpads for $10 a month ago. Even with these brakes I can lock/modulate the rear wheel. I tried it last night again making some emergency test breaks. I also had a recent close encounter on the trail (asphalt surface) were a runner with headphones decided to suddenly cross in front of me. I was going at 30km/h (19mph) and I slammed the breaks and locked/modulated the rear break no problem.
Nevertheless I am now upgrading the front to BB7 - that is a no-brainer to me now - but for the rear I am not sure it is worth it. How much more breaking power can I get given that I can lock/modulate the rear wheel already? (By "lock/modulate" I mean that I can break to lock and easily let go a little to keep it just below locking.) Is it worth the $100-200 (depending on set-up) plus the fun of installation and maintenance on the rear wheel?

Thank you for your input.:thumbsup:


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

Hi Velo Celt, great questions! To me, it all comes down to 'application'. What do you want to do and where. Our 5,000 km tour over 10 months, was only one tour out of the 54,000 km's we've toured over the last 6 years. Our experiences have taught us much over that time. The planning for this last tour took well over 9 months, and everything worked perfectly, apart from the rear rim failures. As you can see from my previous posts re the Yuba's, every detail had to be taken into account. The main reason for this, is that here in Australia, it is not unusual to find oneself in very remote country, where food and water, let alone bicycle spare parts, are impossible to find. We have cycled our way through areas where food and water is not available for 400 plus kilometers, so the engineering of the bikes, has to be right. This is why I designed the system myself. Everything, right down to the wiring, which can lose its ability to move amperage current under extreme heat conditions, had to be calculated and sourced. Each bike, complete with Solar panels, LiFePo4 batteries, charge controller, Rohloff Hub, and various other upgrades cost just over AUS$7,000. Thats excluding the cost of the Yuba's. The system I designed also enabled us to recharge mobile phones, computers and complete the 5,000 km's entirely off the sun, we did not have any recharge capability from mains power outlets.

Luckily, the rim failures occurred in a place where we could easily get replacements, we learnt a lot from that experience. I have built many of these mid drive systems for customers over the past 8 years, and therefore have come to trust the motors I use and the system I designed, not only through our own touring, but also from the reliability my customers have gained. That said! If your application is not as demanding as the one I've outlined above, there are many other options available. BUT, I agree with you wholeheartedly, steer clear of the cheap Asian options!


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

mechandy said:


> (...) We have cycled our way through areas where food and water is not available for 400 plus kilometers, so the engineering of the bikes, has to be right.


Wow, that sounds so awesome. It must be such a mixed-emotion feeling of empowerment but also of trepidation to be out there and taking on so much responsibility for yourself and others.



mechandy said:


> BUT, I agree with you wholeheartedly, steer clear of the cheap Asian options!


Here in Philadelphia we see many of those cheap systems being used by the Asian food delivery guys. Clearly for them the risk of failure is not a big problem as they are never far from their home-base so the cost-advantage dominates. Plus it's great to see them being used more and more around here. This was only made possible quite recently due to a change in city street regulations permitting stronger E-bike systems.


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

*My big bike of fun*

:thumbsup:


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

*Modding your Yuba Mundo for speed in the city (part three)*

Hi,

I am back for some more from me to share with you on what I did to my Yuba Mundo bike given I wanted to ride fast and safe in the city.

*Chain lubrication*

I often ride with trousers as I am commuting and getting them dirty from the chain is always a burden. So I went out to look for a solution (other than changing the chain monthly) on how to lube the chain to minimize dirt and friction without breaking the bank. Is that even possible? It turns out it is. The solution is to coat your chain with paraffin wax. Yes, good old candle wax.

Someone actually did a very sophisticated test on it with reports on Bikeradar. In terms of friction it is the best out there. 
Friction Facts publishes UltraFast chain lube formula - BikeRadar USA
Here are some handy instructions on how to do it:
Lubricating a Bicycle Chain using Paraffin

Make sure to first thoroughly clean, degrease and dry your chain. I coat my chain in a double boiler: big can with paraffin in it standing in hot water. Wait for it to melt then submerge the chain and wait a few minutes. Note: do NOT boil wax directly in a pot. Always use a double boiler. All you want is the wax to become liquid. Be safe: there is a risk of spontaneous combustion when you boil wax.

If you can't find pure paraffin at your local store you can buy some very big candles at your department store but make sure to peel off the hard outer wax coating if there is any and remove the string by pulling it out from the bottom with some pliers.

Once your chain is coated with wax, take it out with a tool and lay it on paper towels to cool. It should not be that hot but better be safe. The chain might be a little hard and inflexible at first but that is just the excess wax which will peel of quickly on the bike. If not then you did not clean the chain well at first (see above).

This works best on a new chain.

You may need to recoat your chain every month or two depending on how much you ride but it is worth it. Clean trousers and legs plus low friction at a very low price. :thumbsup:

Questions, comments, and reactions welcome!


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

Hi gauguin, yep, it's a great feeling being in the middle of nowhere and making it through, after several days riding, to somewhere......

My comment re the cheap Asian systems is related to the fact that I have to repair them in my workshop. There are now literally hundreds of cheap brushless hub motors available, and when they are pulled apart, it is not hard to see why they fail. Coils are poorly wound, Hall Effect Sensors are badly positioned and easily get chewed off and there is often little consistency in the colour coding of the wiring for the motor phasing. I totally agree that it is great to see the uptake of electric bikes, especially for hauling cargo, but in our 'throwaway' society, where it's easy and cheap to go buy a replacement if something goes wrong, rather than paying for quality that lasts, to me at least, this is wasteful. I cannot repair badly wound coils that 'short', (because it's uneconomical to attempt to) and so I often have to send these cheap motors to metal recycling, in most cases, in less than a year after someone has bought one......

I'm very interested to hear more about the changes in the city street reg's for electric bikes in Philly. We have a legal limit of 200 watts (250 watts if it incorporates a Pedelec system) here in Australia, which is pretty low. We run 350 watt motors on our rigs (yes, we break the law!) but we are quite prepared to stand up in Court and argue our case, if it comes to that. I've heard that Stateside, motor size reg's are far more liberal, is this correct, or does it change from one place to another?

Cheers
Andy


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## normonster (Jan 12, 2008)

Would there be difference if that same situation of the runner cutting you off happened on a downhill and the mundo was loaded on the back and heavy? I cant quantify, but would guess a disc on the rear would help more in that situation. Who here can enlighten us on this?


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

mechandy said:


> I'm very interested to hear more about the changes in the city street reg's for electric bikes in Philly. We have a legal limit of 200 watts (250 watts if it incorporates a Pedelec system) here in Australia, which is pretty low. We run 350 watt motors on our rigs (yes, we break the law!) but we are quite prepared to stand up in Court and argue our case, if it comes to that. I've heard that Stateside, motor size reg's are far more liberal, is this correct, or does it change from one place to another?


Legislation varies by state and sometimes within state.
Electric bicycle laws - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for Pennsylvania, up until recently there was ambiguity in that E-cyclists at times received citations by the police as they thought E-bikes needed to be registered and ensured like motorcycles.
Proposed Pennsylvania law would allow electric bikes without insurance, registration | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The law now is here
Electric bicycle laws - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As you can see we are permitted to use up to 750W (!) with top speeds of 20mph.

If you can spare a moment it would be valuable for the community to read how you think one should convert a bike to an E-bike. Perhaps you wrote about it elsewhere in which case posting links would be great.

Gauguin:thumbsup:


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## Velo Celt (May 11, 2015)

Mechandy - I'd also like to know more specifics about the brand of motor you selected, batteries, controller, etc. I'm still quite a ways off from my own e-assist system but I'd like to know more about what you did in case it ends up being a viable option for me, maybe keeping costs lower versus buying a complete mid-drive system from someone else. Is your system designed to be pedal assist, as in you can pedal at the same time the motor is running or is it a system where you don't pedal while the motor is running? I've read about both types and think I'd rather have pedal-assist. Also, almost any touring I do would allow for plugging in to recharge at mains, but I'd also like to figure in maybe using a solar panel to try to recharge batteries while I'm out on the road. Currently I have a small external battery pack that can recharge itself via its own solar panel and it's adequate for recharging a cell phone a couple times at least. Also, I have a dynamo and front light setup that the light has a USB plug on it and will also recharge small electronics while the bike is rolling. I've looked at some portable solar panels that I could unfold and strap to the back of the Mundo which could help recharge a larger battery while riding as well.


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

*Yuba in the city: shout or ring bell to get noticed?*

Time for a bit of fun laced with seriousness.

What do you do to get noticed on the Yuba bike in the city? My approach is to assume that nobody saw me unless I established eye contact and also to be more understanding of the challenges of car drivers and pedestrians - after all they need to drink a latte, check their Facebook updates, AND navigate traffic. Being zen like that keeps me safe and calm.
Yet at times I need to alert people of my existence. Cursing makes me angry so I avoid it as much as possible. Instead I often scream "wait!" which works better than "hey" or "bike". 
Ringing the bell does little until I installed a dingdong bell like this pretty one
Kids Jumbo Bike Bell : Target

or use two bells at the same time. I think the unusual sound gets more attention.

What works for you? Please share ...


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

gauguin said:


> Hi,
> 
> Make sure to first thoroughly clean, degrease and dry your chain. I coat my chain in a double boiler: big can with paraffin in it standing in hot water. Wait for it to melt then submerge the chain and wait a few minutes. Note: do NOT boil wax directly in a pot. Always use a double boiler. All you want is the wax to become liquid. Be safe: there is a risk of spontaneous combustion when you boil wax.
> 
> ...


I've been dipping my chains in hot wax for 2 years now. First, t*hey are very rust prone,* as wax turns out to be an exceptional degreaser. Second, it works fine on used chains and really gets them clean.

I use a cheap plastic crockpot from a thrift store as a double boiler. I reuse the same wax over and over again, and i drop all my chains in every couple of weeks or so. On a mountain bike, which is where i use wax the most frequently, I find that in dry riding, the wax works well for ~50 miles and in wet muddy weather, it will not last long, but even when caked in mud for 20 miles, your drivetrain is much much smoother than any alternative. Every 12 to 18 months, I buy a new middle ring (maybe others too) 4 new chains, and a new cassette. Then I rotate the chains every ride or 2 and after a couple of weeks, all the chains go in the wax.

All the dirt falls to the bottom of the hot wax, so you can let it solidify, and scrape the dirt off the bottom. You also don't want your chain to sit in the bottom with all the dirt, so I made a little cradle from wire mesh to hold my chain above the bottom of the wax pot.


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

Hi PretendGentle,

do you clean your chain before re-waxing? It sounds like you just pop it in the wax and let the dirt sink to the bottom.


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

I'm looking at a mundo 4.3 frame build. I have no fat tire experience but would be using the bike mostly for running errands with kids or wife running errands since she cant fit on my surly karate monkey..... that I have kid racks on front and back.... and a bob.
We live were it's paved flat bike path for three miles then a very friendly bike town. 
We will use it on bike camping trips/ dirt road easy trails
I will electrify the front with a 48 V hub when the budget allows it, or mid frame. 
I know nothing of internal hubs but love the idea
I can build the wheels... my DT swiss wheels on my KM are 12 years old and still run great.
It will be used instead of driving
I love you can tow the kids bikes along if needed. 
I like mechanical disc's 
I've been told by my neighbor his mundo did much better with a DH headset... his goes 30 MPH... mine wont! At least not right away, and I will set it up to run at 20 MPH Max with assisted pedaling 
any tips APPRECIATED !


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

Sorry


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## gauguin (May 9, 2015)

beoutside said:


> I've been told by my neighbor his mundo did much better with a DH headset... his goes 30 MPH... mine wont! At least not right away, and I will set it up to run at 20 MPH Max with assisted pedaling
> any tips APPRECIATED !


I don't quite understand: how can a different headset give you an additional 10 mph. Is it much lower for better aerodynamics?


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## mechandy (Apr 26, 2015)

Hi Gauguin and Velo Celt,

Gauguin, many thanks for the feedback re the electric motor reg's in the States, 750 watt, wow....... I can only dream!

Re some more info on the design and manufacture of my pedal assist system, I'd be more than happy to share that info with the community here. I haven't written about it elsewhere, mainly because our application is very unique and not what most people are looking for. I have sold less than 10 of these systems over the past 8 years and they have all been to customers looking to do the same as us, shift a lot of weight up some steep hills. Most people I come into contact with are interested in 'speed', the system I designed is not fast, it is built to extract the maximum amount of torque out of the motor at its peak RPM torque range. Over the 5,000 km's we travelled last year, our average speed was somewhere between 12 and 14 kms/hr, slow!

At 130 kg's, our bike, cargo and solar trailers weigh the same as the lightest 250cc motorcycle available here in Australia. That motorcycle has a 32 Horsepower motor and our bikes have a 0.47 horsepower motor. We do a lot of pedalling! This is why torque and gearing become critical, especially when you are trying to get up 10 or 11% gradients. In planning our trip, we knew that we would have several of these kinds of gradients to climb. The other factor we had to consider, was whether there would be any flat ground for us to stop on these hills (to rest and let the motors cool down). A small amount of flat ground would enable us to easily start off again, without it, starting off on a 10% plus gradient, with this kind of weight, is damned near impossible. We had one hill, a 10%, 80 meter ascent over 800 meters with nowhere to stop, once we got on it we had no choice but to keep going. 800 meters doesn't sound like much, but at a speed of 4 km's per hour, pedalling hard and trying to keep the heavy load balanced (you can't peddle standing up), it feels like an eternity!

Another hill we ascended had two sections, the first a 10% gradient over two kilometers, the second 11% over 3 km's, luckily the second section had several places for us to stop, with flat ground where we could start off again. You can see that flat ground in picture number 65 in the link below. It is a photo taken from the top of a safety ramp that trucks, going downhill, that lose their brakes, can use in an emergency. You can see the bikes at the bottom.

On these kinds of hills, we are pulling close to 17 amps through the motors, which have a maximum current draw of 18.7 amps. This can only be done over short distances, otherwise the life of the motor will be severely reduced. The motor therefore has to be very good quality. Also, at 17 amps, we pass the peak torque / RPM range of the motor and when this happens, the motor torque starts to drop off rapidly,then you have to pedal much harder!

The difficulty in designing any system like this, is getting the perfect or as close to perfect combination of gearing, torque, RPM, cadence, for the 'application' you have in mind. Understanding the formulae for moving a specific mass up a given gradient over a given distance is critical in the design process. Whilst it is possible to design a system that will do pretty much what you want it to do 80% or more of the time, as we found on the few hills outlined above, one quickly understands the limitations.......

Vagabond Tour - 2014 - Kristin Rule

Cheers
Andy


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

Sorry multitasking at this end , his Ebike yuba mundo can do 30 and he wore out a xc headset two facts that may or may not be related


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

I just bought a mundo to build up and am looking for tips from people building them up to be used with a Ebike kit .


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

gauguin said:


> Hi PretendGentle,
> 
> do you clean your chain before re-waxing? It sounds like you just pop it in the wax and let the dirt sink to the bottom.


exactly. At the end, I pour the wax and water from crockpot into a pan and put it between two pieces of wood to insulate it a bit. I figure the slower it cools the better, as most of the dirt and all the water sink to the bottom. I just scrape off and discard the dirty wax after it cools.The "clean" wax does turn a greyish brown over time, but I don't think it makes a big difference. My drivetrain is very smooth, even for all the wear it has.

If I take someone else's supposedly "clean" chain (i.e., a chain with some wear that has been conventionally lubricated (wet/dry/drip-wax) and cleaned fairly thoroughly) and drop it in the wax, I can pretty much always see tons of black gunk flow out of it. My chains are never like that, even after dirty rides.


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

I just found a bionix set up laced in a rolling Daryl wheel with a 350 w motor and xl lithium ion battery ... Thoughts ? We live in a flat bike path area and I would be carrying two kids and groceries mostly over 10 miles tops. Not sure if it with fit the 14 mm drop outs waiting to hear from seller.


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

Marc from yuba has some adapters but they will only work with the older hub motors .


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

Any tips on the best chain set up? I'm hoping to run 11/32 in the rear and 22/32/4? Up front with a bionix rear end


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## seneb (Sep 30, 2006)

*Mundo v5*

I called my local shop to have them order a Mundo v4 for me, then just saw this video and had to call them back. The v5...






It has the features I wanted in the v4 (and more) and would have had to upgrade. Cromo frame that is 5 pounds lighter, 1-1/2" headtube, lock tabs, Yepp easy fit mounts, 10mm axle dropouts, hydraulic disc brakes, maybe a cassette instead of a freewheel, and Shimano components.


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## Velo Celt (May 11, 2015)

Yeah, I was a little aggravated that the new lighter Mundo came out a mere four months or so after I built my hi-ten steel v4.3 Mundo. The only thing I don't like is the paint. I'd prefer the option for a satin black like my current Mundo, as I've never been fond of bright showy colors for frames. Visibility is kind of a "meh" argument, especially in the daytime. Reflective surfaces, both in the daytime and at night make a lot more different I think than frame color. The shop where I bought my v4.3 frame wasn't even aware that the v5 was coming out, and thus had no idea what the price was going to be. I think my two biggest grips about the v4.3 frame was that they cut the steerer tube for their style of stem (wasn't enough height for me, as I had to install an extender), and the paint is really crappy and thin. They really should've powdercoated the frames. I use Ortlieb panniers and where they attach and rub against the frame, the paint has already come off. I'm going to have to repaint those bare frame paint rubbed areas then cover them with a heavy duty frame saver tape.


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## Velo Celt (May 11, 2015)

Mechandy - I was trying to revisit your information about how you built your motor setups and can't seem to find any decent photos of the finished product. I wanted to see if I could find a good photo that shows most of how you set your rig up so that I could just save it to one of my files on mid-drive motor setups and design. I've been looking at a lot of commercially available stuff and am still not sure I like what I'm seeing. It looks like lots of mid-drive kits eliminate the ability to keep a triple or even double chain ring setup. I've been considering removing my largest chainring as I pretty much never use it but would like to retain my 38/28 chainring setup. Also, I like how your motor was mounted behind the seat tube and above the bottom bracket unlike most mid drives the Bafang which place the motor in front of and below the bottom bracket. I want to maintain as much ground clearance as I can, for future off-road adventures, so getting the motor into that dead area above and behind the BB seems like the best option. So, anywhere that I can find a link to good pics of your motor setups? Thanks.


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## Velo Celt (May 11, 2015)

Another question for Mechandy - since you installed Rohloff hubs, you only have a single front chainring, correct? Would a system such as yours still work with a double front chainring and an 8/9/10 rear cassette, or is the design of the motor and gearing reduction based on using only a 1x drivetrain setup?


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

I'm thinking about improving front light on my Yuba. Now I only have battery light. Bad thing is that its batteries have to be charged every day or two. That is sometimes really annoying. Also for bike touring for few days or even weeks accu light is not the best.

So I would like to improve my front wheel with a new dynamo hub. I have disc brakes and I also want to have the sturdy wheel as I have now (heavier spokes).

Can you recommend me some disc brakes ready dynamo hub suitable for Yuba Mundo? Can be there some problems?


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## seneb (Sep 30, 2006)

You could try sending Yuba an email to see if they will sell the wheel that comes on the new V5 Mundo. I've only had mine for a week, but it's been great so far. It powers front and rear LED lights.


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## seneb (Sep 30, 2006)

*A few shots of my V5*


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

I have emailed Yuba about recommended hub dynamo right with the answer in this forum. I'm waiting for an answer. But it's a good point with the new wheel from v5, I will surely ask.

Did you tested the front light on the new Mundo in the night? Is it sufficient?

BTW, I am not seeing the pictures in your second post. (I'm getting message: Invalid Attachment specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator)


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## lewke (Apr 14, 2004)

Has anyone modified a Hooptie to work with a V3?


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## lewke (Apr 14, 2004)

lewke said:


> Has anyone modified a Hooptie to work with a V3?


Since no one replied and Yuba confirmed the Hooptie was a almost 2 inches too short I decided to just make one from PVC....also added foot pegs via old handle bars and hose clamps......


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## KMA (Jan 19, 2004)

*Yuba Mundo v5 in Green*

I've been riding the Green Mundo v5 for about a month + now. My 4 year old and I love it. The tow tray has allowed my little kid to go for longer bike rides now knowing that he and his bike can get a ride/tow back home. Our recent ride to the skate park was a blast. Carving the bowls on the Mundo is like a massive long board on two wheels  The Mundo has been to the grocery store, errand runs, work commutes, snow rides, and country gravel road rides. Can't wait for the summer to try a short camping trip with the family. I really enjoy the front basket as it allows quick access to items instead of getting off the bike and rummaging through the panniers. I made a few modifications. At first I used some pedal power straps I had in the garage. Now I'm using my spd pedals. Also swapped out the seatpost for a black one I had purely for aesthetics. I also put on a narrower saddle. Lastly, I took out the rail on the monkey bar closest to the saddle as it was hitting the back of my thighs. Monkey bars still work and glad I got them as my wild child likes to surf and spin around backwards to wave at traffic from behind. Fun and functional ride! I've attached some pics ...


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## pwhallon (Feb 12, 2016)

Hello,

I am very seriously considering the purchase of a Yuba Mundo with the NuVinci Hub.

I have ridden a Novara Gotham with the NuVinci and it seemed, with the 700c wheels, NOT to have very good low "gearing". 

I'm wondering, with the 26" wheels will the Nuvinci be alot-better on the "hill Climbing" setting?

Thanks, Paul


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## KMA (Jan 19, 2004)

pwhallon said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am very seriously considering the purchase of a Yuba Mundo with the NuVinci Hub.
> 
> ...


You can always fine tune the Nuvinci hub to your liking with different cogs and/or chainring sizes. Check out this Nuvinci conversion thread on mtbr ...

http://forums.mtbr.com/internal-gear-hubs/nuvinci-n360-conversion-766464.html

There's a nice Nuvinci spreadsheet someone created on this thread comparing 700c to 26", cog/chainring sets, gear ratio, etc ...

Hope this helps and have fun building up your bike!


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

*monkey bars*

Nice roll bars ! I use the yuba monkey bars but need to modify them so they do not hit the saddle . I do like the fact I can remove them in teo minutes for adult riders headed to town! 










lewke said:


> Since no one replied and Yuba confirmed the Hooptie was a almost 2 inches too short I decided to just make one from PVC....also added foot pegs via old handle bars and hose clamps......
> View attachment 1015359


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

*pics electric assist yuba mundo*

Also someone posted the bontrager cargo bags on close out for 60 bucks each, I can't find any reviews but for 120.00 for a pair ..... going for it !







Sweet I did a similar build in orange but added an BMC electric assist rear hub


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

*Getting the bugs out of my electric asist cargo build*

Still working on a aluminum battery box but its getting there! Thinking of getting a set of bontrager cargo bags since they are on close outs. 
Donny

Anyone tried the bontrager cargo bags, you can get a set shipped for 120 right now .


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## lastplace29er (Apr 29, 2012)

My brother's new Mundo. He carts his 2 kids all over NYC.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

gauguin said:


> Not an answer to your question but according to Sheldon Brown and other pro cyclists the main breaking should be on the front. So the rear break need not be that strong but mainly functions as a back-up.
> 
> Braking and Turning Your Bicycle


I'm a bit late to the party on this, but you might want to read what Sheldon said about braking on tandems, which have a lot in common with cargo bikes. The TLDR version is that rear braking is much more useful and important on these bikes.

Point 1:
With both a tandem and a loaded cargo bike, there is enough weight at the back, and the CG is low enough, that it is possible and even likely that you can skid the front wheel before the back wheel lifts. This is essentially impossible on most solo/non-cargo bikes. (on dry pavement anyway) That means that for minimum stopping distance, the rear brake on a tandem/CB must contribute, and it is safer to rely on it quite a bit, because it is rare to skid the front wheel without crashing. If you are skidding the rear wheel, you are using too much rear brake, if not, you could maybe use a bit more and stop quicker.

Point 2: 
Both tandems and cargo bikes can be quite heavy for the amount of aerodynamic drag they suffer. This means they can build tremendous speed when coasting downhill, and braking will frequently be required to keep speed within safe/comfortable limits. The weight means that the brake(s) will be creating gobs of heat. Tandems are frequently equipped with special drag brakes for this purpose, but I have never seen such on a cargo bike. As an alternative, the cargo bike rider can use the rear brake to control speed on descents, keeping the front brake in reserve as needed for actual stopping duties. If a rear rim should overheat to the point of blowing the tire off, you are far more likely to be able to "ride it out" without crashing than if this happens on the front.

Incidentally, the second point argues in favor of aerodynamically "dirty" cargo bikes, but that won't seem so nice in a headwind!


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

*Warning regarding fork on older Mundos*

EDIT: I see post 169 of this thread beat me to the punch. I guess it can't hurt to repeat the warning, and perhaps my engineer's eye added something to the discussion.

For discussion and photos of failed forks, see this thread on Endless Sphere:

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40902&hilit=yuba+mundo+fork

Yuba is using round cross-section forks on the new bikes. I know of no problem with these.

The issue is with the tear-drop cross section forks used on older bikes. Especially if disk brake is installed.

The teardrop cross section has poor resistance to the torsional load that exists where the fork blade transitions to the crown.

This area is further weakened by the distortion/slight collapse of the tubing that occurs as it is bent into shape. This is quite obvious on the fork I replaced, though I have no paint chipping or other signs of imminent failure.

The disk brake caliper reaction puts increased load on the left blade. Rim brakes still put substantial load on both fork blades due to braking forces. Contrary to the title of the ES thread, the load on the fork does not depend on disk diameter. If you can almost skid the wheel, you are putting maximal stress into the fork. A larger disk will do that with less lever force, and less fade, but the reaction at the caliper mount on the fork will be identical.

The teardrop cross section resists flexing of the straight section in the fore-aft direction with loads from bumps and braking, which concentrates stress at the crown bend.

Even though the "kid" I haul on my mundo has four legs, rather than two, I felt this was a very serious problem, and replaced my fork post haste. To be clear, I experienced no problem with the fork over more than a thousand miles...almost all on pavement, but with the usual curbs, bumps, potholes etc. I'm a Clyde, and the mudo is a hauler, so there was a substantial load for all of those miles...a 15# dog in the front basket most of the time as well.

Yuba has new, beefy round section forks available, listed at $80 I do not know what concession they might or might not be willing to make.

Surly Big Dummy forks are available at ~$100 and work fine. That is the option I chose. They come with a bit longer steerer, and I am tall. Maybe I'll get it painted orange to match at some point, but for now black is the new black.

Round section unicrown forks have a decent track record on MTBs. I don't worry about that.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

Oh, and on another Yuba Mundo topic: I have added a StokeMonkey kit to my Mundo.
Here is my build thread on Endless Sphere:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=86255


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## GuruAtma (May 17, 2004)

I called Yuba about this problem and they sent me the new fork free of charge. They were kind, helpful and speedy


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

GuruAtma said:


> I called Yuba about this problem and they sent me the new fork free of charge. They were kind, helpful and speedy


Good to know. That is consistent with all my dealings with them. For those that don't know, selling bikes is how they support their mission to provide bikes to impoverished areas of the world. The Mundo has horizontal dropouts because they send single-speed versions for hauling freight on dirt paths.


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## rikjurcevic (Apr 9, 2017)

*Mounting Rohloff axle and disc brakes on my Yuba*



mechandy said:


> it all comes down to 'application'. What do you want to do and where. Our 5,000 km tour over 10 months, was only one tour out of the 54,000 km's we've toured over the last 6 year ... Rohloff Hub


Hey mechandy, I like the sound of all your touring. Before I took a break for my (soon to both be adult) kids I car toured all over Australia with a school comedy & poetry solo show and I'm thinking about ebike touring it in a couple of years, so I'd love to hear a lot more about your experiences.

Meanwhile, while not performing, I just bought a Yuba to deliver produce for my little Sydney organics business. It's already zero waste and I want to get to zero carbon too. I mounted a mid drive Bafang with no problems but I'm not sure about how to mount my Rohloff hub and hydraulic disc brakes, because of the size difference between the 12mm Rohloff axle and the Yuba's 14mm drop outs. I saw one messy solution online, but even if I could do it better, I'm not sure how it would go with the brake mount (which I'm also unsure of).

Also, because I'm new to bike's, Rohloffs and disc brakes and because the learning curves were steep I made a few new errors like not picking up on the Rohloff four bolt rotor mount thing, so I bought a Deore XT Ice-Techset up for front and back. My first thought is to just to replace the Ice-Tech with the 4 bolt, highly praised, Magura or maybe the Rohloff rotors (less likely because I can't find any reviews).

Being new to disc brakes though, I wonder if I really should exchange the entire (yet to be opened) Ice Tech sets, for the full Magura (or some other) sets.

I also plan to have a 180mm up front and a 203mm in back, putting more brake power in the back because I've seen quite a lot of posts warning against too much brake force in front because of heavily loaded Yuba fork failures.

I'll be carrying some very heavy loads down some steep inclines, so braking reliability is supremely important but maybe my ignorance is causing me to be over-cautious.

Feedback regarding these matters would be hugely appreciated. So would some pictures.


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## rikjurcevic (Apr 9, 2017)

Geez Andy, what a trip. That Vagabond Tour footage is damned inspiring. I picked up an eleven month 50,000k remote, regional and urban Australian tour in 2004, through NSW, Vic, SA, WA and the NT and took my family along for what was a blast. Mostly though I was doing smaller NSW or Vic or SA tours (and a couple of Tassies) so, thinking about a return to touring, before electric bikes were so affordable, I was thinking about a bike and train tour. I still think I might include train for parts but maybe not. Either way I'd love to do some bike touring.

Have you read up on the Schlumpf drive.

"Schlumpf Speed Drive, High Speed Drive, Mountain Drive

The Schlumpf Speed-drive works like two chainrings with a large difference in size.

With the additional transmisson ratio of 1:1.65 the gear ratio of the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, when used in conjunction with the Schlumpf Speed-drive, will be increased to 868%."

Once I've mounted my Rohloff (speaking of which I forgot to ask you about tensioners) and got my produce box design finalised, and a better chain and a few other things, I want to look into them. 868% is a pretty attractive proposition, isn't it?

https://www.rohloff.de/en/service/faqs/


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## rikjurcevic (Apr 9, 2017)

Velo Celt said:


> The only thing I don't like is the paint. I'd prefer the option for a satin black like my current Mundo, as I've never been fond of bright showy colors for frames. Visibility is kind of a "meh" argument, especially in the daytime. Reflective surfaces, both in the daytime and at night make a lot more different I think than frame colour. ... and the paint is really crappy and thin. They really should've powdercoated the frames.


I agree all the way with you there Velo Celt. The Yuba paint job is the worst of any bike I've bought and it really lets it down. If I buy another Yuba it will be stripped and powder coated before anything else.


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## alshead (Oct 2, 2007)

Quick question: I have a Mundo that was originally the 21spd version. Is that hub body 7spd specific, or can I put an 8, 9 or 10spd cassette on there?


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

alshead said:


> Quick question: I have a Mundo that was originally the 21spd version. Is that hub body 7spd specific, or can I put an 8, 9 or 10spd cassette on there?


If it is the 14mm solid axle (21mm nuts) then it is a 7sp freewheel, NOT a freehub/cassette....so you can't use any sort of cassette without replacing the hub.


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## Jozo (Oct 7, 2012)

I consider buying a new wheel for my Yuba Mundo V4 with a hub dynamo (for winter commuting without need for every day battery charging).

Now I have the original Yuba Mundo wheel (without dynamo) for 5 years without any issues so I'd like to find something similary sturdy.

Yuba offers this one:
https://www.yubaeurope.com/bikes-add-ons/add-ons/mundo-v4-lux-vorderrad

Do you have experience with this wheel?

Are the rims and spokes (the width) the same quality as on the standard Yuba wheel?

Does the wheel impact (decrease) original load capacity?

Or is it better to use the old wheel? 

Thanks


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

I know its been awhile but how did the wrap around work..... be a great step up for my kids!


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## bugly64 (May 6, 2008)

*My Yuba Mundo*

Glad to see a forum to discuss Mundo's







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## Prof. Chaos (Oct 25, 2005)

do folks here think the CroMo version is worth double the "classic" with just steel? i there seem to be a number of other upgrades, involved, but i was thinking about going to a IGH anyway, so the drive train improvements are a bit of a wash. 
Also, on the Yuba website the Lux (new v5 i think) is stated as capable of hauling 440 lbs, while the classic is stated to handle 440 plus the rider. The less expensive version _can't_ have a _higher_ load capacity than the deLUx version, right? they just didn't mention the weight of the rider for the lux?

thanks to all for the great thread. Lots of info here. I am trying to decide between the Mundo and a Big Dummy (and trying not to think about the big fat dummy:nono so all this has been extremely helpful.


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## bugly64 (May 6, 2008)

*made a few upgrades to the Mundo*

I went electrical with Luna Cycle Bafang BBSHD motor coupled with Shark 52v battery. I replaced the Yuba go-getter bag with Carsick Designs Slingset bags. The ride was really harsh, so I went with a suspension shock.


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## gumby_kevbo (Dec 24, 2011)

Got a Big ol' basket so Maxwell can go too!


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## gingerchris (Aug 2, 2018)

Having been inspired by this thread, I'm going to look at a second-hand Mundo v3 tomorrow as a first cargo bike for carting around my little one. From the pictures I've seen it looks 'well used' - is there anything specific I should be looking out for that should make me walk away? Thanks for any advice anyone can offer


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

*yuba looking*



gingerchris said:


> Having been inspired by this thread, I'm going to look at a second-hand Mundo v3 tomorrow as a first cargo bike for carting around my little one. From the pictures I've seen it looks 'well used' - is there anything specific I should be looking out for that should make me walk away? Thanks for any advice anyone can offer


Mostly like any used bike, might need new drive train so factor that into to the cost plus test the headset for play.... I electrified mine so when I built it up just went with a downhill headset. The frames are bomber but check the places the chain might rub it down to the frame.... 
The accessories are spendy, so if it comes with any thats great !!


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## gingerchris (Aug 2, 2018)

Great stuff, thanks. I think it's a decent price so even if some replacement parts are needed it should be a goer.


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## wadahakawichief (Feb 7, 2015)

Hello all. My first post. 

I’m kind of old and don’t drive. I’m in Baltimore and I get around by bike and bus about 4 days a week. If everyone realized how well that works our buses would look like 3rd world city buses with racks and bikes all over them.

I recently bought a v5 mundo olive color frameset while it was $ 699 for a short time. Of course I won’t be able to use this meat wagon on public transportation but I don’t mind that. 

It now has a Nuvinci n360 with the very old style large marge 36 spoke rim and a Vee Rubber 26x3.0 fatty Trax on the back. There’s still room in the frame and at the chain for a fatter tire but this works well for me.

I figure I go only about 8 mph, I’d go 9 but my huge grin really catches the breeze.


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## wadahakawichief (Feb 7, 2015)

By the way, with fork and bare seatpost installed the frameset weighs right at 20 lbs. - not including the sideloaders bar which weighs an additional 3 1/2 lbs. 

If there’s any other info I can provide as I go, kindly just let me know.


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## bugly64 (May 6, 2008)

Took the electric off the bike and I am enjoying it much more.


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## bugly64 (May 6, 2008)

wadahakawichief said:


> By the way, with fork and bare seatpost installed the frameset weighs right at 20 lbs. - not including the sideloaders bar which weighs an additional 3 1/2 lbs.
> 
> If there's any other info I can provide as I go, kindly just let me know.


How about some pics?


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## bugly64 (May 6, 2008)

*Grocery shopping ride*

2019-04-27_02-40-28 by Bryan Bracy, on Flickr


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## PapaCheuk (Aug 22, 2019)

Love this thread (including the posts from the beginning).

I just joined the Mundo fam, acquiring a v4 last week. Now I am working on tricking it out to make it a good minivan replacement and wonder if you can point me to some good accessories.

You seem like a tinkering lot, and I aspire to join you. Any advice on avoiding the costly Yuba accessories. I like the look of Yuba's
1) bamboo boards and seat cushions (~$200)
2) handlebars / MonkeyBars for passengers/kids ($70-200)
3) panniers ($150+)
4) front rack
5) etc.
but the prices seem too steep. 

The bamboo boards and cushions are easy enough to DIY. But any ideas for other stuff---either DIY or other brands that will fit. 

I saw some mention earlier in the thread of a Dutch brand of a large front rack. I'm trying to track that down. Also it seems some people have gotten other bags that fit nicely. Looking for specifics like those!

I promise to post pix of my "final" set-up!


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## NotoTIP (May 15, 2017)

*Front wheel wobble*

Don't know how active this thread is anymore, but wanted to see if any of y'all had some advice for a problem I've noticed with my v5 mundo. Whenever I hit high speeds like on down hills or cranking it on flats, the front wheel/fork starts to get a pretty serious wobble. If you start hitting the brakes it gets worse, but there's no brake rub going on. I don't think the wheel is out of true, headset is tightened appropriately. I have a 2.8" beach cruiser tire on velocity rims with avid bb7 180mm disc brake set up on the front. One kind of unique and accidental thing I did was buy a thru axle (not thru bolt) hub, which I have mixed feelings about. It definitely seems sturdier but tightening it enough can be tricky. I'm wondering if this is an issue with the bigger tire and wheel that isn't designed for the frame or something else going on. I know the older versions had some weak front forks but the v5 has that heavy duty 1.5" steering tube. It's currently set up for cruising around town, but I do have some WTB rangers and can go tubeless, was thinking of maybe putting in a headset reducer and a dual crown suspension fork to turn it into a trail bike and felt that might be a more stable front fork situation, but there is probably an easier (and cheaper) solution. Anyone have some thoughts?


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## mikenvt (Mar 18, 2021)

NotoTIP said:


> *Front wheel wobble*
> 
> Don't know how active this thread is anymore, but wanted to see if any of y'all had some advice for a problem I've noticed with my v5 mundo. Whenever I hit high speeds like on down hills or cranking it on flats, the front wheel/fork starts to get a pretty serious wobble. If you start hitting the brakes it gets worse, but there's no brake rub going on. I don't think the wheel is out of true, headset is tightened appropriately. I have a 2.8" beach cruiser tire on velocity rims with avid bb7 180mm disc brake set up on the front. One kind of unique and accidental thing I did was buy a thru axle (not thru bolt) hub, which I have mixed feelings about. It definitely seems sturdier but tightening it enough can be tricky. I'm wondering if this is an issue with the bigger tire and wheel that isn't designed for the frame or something else going on. I know the older versions had some weak front forks but the v5 has that heavy duty 1.5" steering tube. It's currently set up for cruising around town, but I do have some WTB rangers and can go tubeless, was thinking of maybe putting in a headset reducer and a dual crown suspension fork to turn it into a trail bike and felt that might be a more stable front fork situation, but there is probably an easier (and cheaper) solution. Anyone have some thoughts?


Did you figure anything out yet? I too am interested in this because I'm building up a lux right now. I live at the top of a 26 degree hill so I'm definitely concerned about wobble down that hill.

Sidebar, what tires did you use? Looks good!


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## NotoTIP (May 15, 2017)

mikenvt said:


> Did you figure anything out yet? I too am interested in this because I'm building up a lux right now. I live at the top of a 26 degree hill so I'm definitely concerned about wobble down that hill.
> 
> Sidebar, what tires did you use? Looks good!


I tightened the headset a bit and then after our car camping bike tour in the Vermont mountains, we returned to flat below sea level New Orleans and the wobble wasn't really an issue. I was talking to my friend who has a rad wagon and they live in Tahoe area and they experienced something similar on downhills. I think it's just these long tails have a lot of flex, I can feel it shutter from the stem back through the seat stay. It's concerning but cool at the same time. In chromo we trust.

The tires are from across the pond in England, they're call "Ruff Ryders" and are 3x26". Excluding the name, they're great rubber. Have ridden road, gravel, and trail with them, never had a flat and don't remember the last time I put air in them. The tire may have been contributing to wobble as well, I think a slightly lower pressure has actually improved the ride.

I did get a dual crown. An old Fox 40. I haven't installed it yet, just got the new headset to go from 1.5" to 1 1/8th. I am mildly concerned at how much higher my front end is going to be, my steering may be significantly impacted, but I think that with the bafang I can push me and my 2 year old through some greens. The picture is deceiving. I have never had any downhill suspension situation before and the stanchions on this thing are massive, almost a full handful. We'll see if it ends up feeling like a more stable ride.


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## mikenvt (Mar 18, 2021)

Cool, thanks for the update. I think I'm going to build mine out with 3" tires for now and see how it goes... In the meantime I will be anxiously waiting for an update on this


NotoTIP said:


> I did get a dual crown. An old Fox 40. I haven't installed it yet, just got the new headset to go from 1.5" to 1 1/8th. I am mildly concerned at how much higher my front end is going to be, my steering may be significantly impacted, but I think that with the bafang I can push me and my 2 year old through some greens. The picture is deceiving. I have never had any downhill suspension situation before and the stanchions on this thing are massive, almost a full handful. We'll see if it ends up feeling like a more stable ride.


Very cool ?!


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## NotoTIP (May 15, 2017)

mikenvt said:


> Cool, thanks for the update. I think I'm going to build mine out with 3" tires for now and see how it goes... In the meantime I will be anxiously waiting for an update on this
> 
> Very cool ?!


Careful with the 3" tires. 2.6 or 2.8 is probably a better bet. I swapped the bafang for a normal leg powered bottom bracket recently after breaking a wire on the motor and developed chain rub. I think the bafang front cog was a little further out than the new one I have on so now there is contact with the chain and tire. I added an extra spacer on the chain tensioner (am now outside the recommended limits) and have cranked my rear wheel to be slightly off center (causing super squeaky rear braking) to get by for now, but it is definitely a temporary solution. Smaller tires would have made it much easier and really offered similar benefits.


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## cheerios2000 (Nov 1, 2015)

fox1965, I realize this is almost a 10 year old thread, but I was looking at the rear wheel guards on the Yuba and wondering who makes them.


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## bugly64 (May 6, 2008)

I bought mine off Ebay.


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## KareldeGrote (9 mo ago)

Hi there! Another member added to the Yuba family I'm the proud new owner of a Yuba Mundo lux in Olive green.
I hope there's still some life here

My planned set-up:
Mid-drive motor Bafang BBSHD, paired with a Rohloff E14 speedhub, Magura MT7 Pro Brakes front and rear.
It will also be towing a Croozer Jokke (Dog-Trailer) With my dog Lady. (About 30kg)
The bike is already fitted with the BBSHD right now, the brakes will probably come next month, and the Rohloff I'm waiting for an estimation on price/delivery date.
I use my bike for pretty much everything, riding to work daily, bike touring, groceries. (I don't own a car and don't want one anymore) This bike is perfect for that,
yes it's pretty long, especially combined with the trailer I'm about 3,5m long.. But the ride is very comfortable, I use a suspension seat post (Parallelogram) and upgraded the tires to Schwalbe Big Ben Plus (instead of the standard normal Big Bens) I've been riding these tires for a while in combination with Air Plus inner tubes, and I can't remember the last time I ran a flat tire.

I do run into some problems with the chain line until I get the Rohloff, I gues I'll just have to deal with that. I used to run 52T front, 11spd cassette in the back 11-46, but because of the wheel skirts (which i don't want to take off) the chain can't get high enough to get to the 5th (or lower) gears, so I switched to 44T, which gives me back some low end gearing, and the overall chainline is lower, which makes it possible to get up to the 3rd gear. I will try the original cassette, which is 9speed, tomorrow and see how that goes with both the 44 and 52T. (I am running a lekkie bling ring in the front by the way and never ever did the chain come off, I never snapped a chain, this is a real lifesaver for the BBSHD!) With my current settings the highest assist level puts about 1300 watts through the chain so, yeah!xD

(I'm from the Netherlands so mostly flat over here, which is why I can get away with not being able to use my lowest gears for the time being, it's not ideal of course but hey.)

I had to tape the speed sensor magnet to the crank and put the sensor beside the crank, because I didn't stop to think that the bike is longer....xD The original wire is not long enough of course, extension will arrive Tuesday so then that'll be fixed But this way I can at least just ride it for now.

If it turns out there are still people here and there's interest I can upload some more pictures with next post. Any tips, or questions are welcome!









See you on the road!🚲


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