V3 Mundo Cargo Bike

The Mundo’s chain guard mounts to a steel bracket that is between the drive-side crank and the bottom bracket. To keep the box small, this bracket is rotated 90 degrees so that it is parallel to the ground. Before installing the drive side crank, this part must be rotated so that it is perpendicular to the ground. The second image shows the correct orientation.

The Mundo rear carrier includes a plate on which you can install a rear-light. The fork has a plate where a dynamo can be attached. Fenders also.

The Mundo frame and fork comes standard with fender eyelets. You will need fenders wide enough to accept 2.3″ tires.

If you’re like a lot of Rock the Bike readers, you’ve been building up a base of stength in your legs over the course of 5, 10, or even 20+ years. Sure, you may not measure your electrolytes or enter the local Sunday morning races, but you’re certainly an athlete, and you can’t be blaimed for wanting to show off now and then. We all do.

So what to do with your legs of steel? You could get a nice light bike and go fast, or you can get a heavy duty utility or sport utility bike and dazzle your friends as you ferry them around town. Carrying passengers is one of the beautiful win / win activities. You get the appreciation of your passenger and admiration of onlookers. Your passenger gets a ride from the train station or to the picnic. And you get a little workout as you spin up hills or cruise the flats.

Passenger-carrying is fun and social — you can talk as you cruise — and definitely sends out the bike vibe. It’s also one of those activities that looks harder than it is. It’s not unreasonable for a strong cyclist to carry a passenger 5-10 miles. The speeds will be noticeably slower on hills, but not on the flats.

The build of the V3 is quite easy and would take a bike person with medium bike mechanic skills 45 minutes to an hour and a half.  Whereas the previous model has a rear rack that bolted to the main frame, the V3′s rack is totally welded -  making the build much faster and the [...]

The Mundo comes with a 48-spoke, tandem-strength rear wheel that has a 14mm axle. Most mountain bike wheels, internally geared hubs. To adapt these smaller axles to the Mundo’s frame, you can use an axle adaptor. Veteran Mundo rider and mechanic Mike Cobb writes: BMX kids often use 3/8″ (9.525mm) axles in 14mm dropouts by [...]

The Mundo can be shipped 95% assembled. The tools required are basic: allen keys and an adjustable wrench. You are required to complete the last few steps of assembly: Straighten handlebar — 5 minutes Install pedals — 5-10 minutes Install rear carrier — 10-20 minutes. Please note that we charge a $80 build fee in [...]

A few Mundo riders have successfully used front wheel electric assist systems and they seem to be quite happy about them. We recommend the eZee hub motor: light weight, high torque, 400 watt motor kit with lithium battery.

At this time we won’t be selling the Yuba frameset. We would encourage you to start with the stock parts and upgrade as you see fit.

The Mundo is 50 CM (22.5″) wide, with the rear side racks. The side racks are removable.

The 5-speed option for the Mundo will probably not be available in 2008 in either the US or Europe, based on our conversations with the manufacturer. While we’re on the topic of internally geared hubs, here are a few pieces of info you might find useful. Even with an internal hub bike you still have [...]

The Mundo’s rear carrier doesn’t have pockets. It’s just a chassis that’s ready for you to customize for your carrying needs. In order to carry small things like notebooks, fruit, toothbrush, etc., you’ll need to bring a backpack or messenger bag and strap that to the Mundo using cam straps or bungees. One of the [...]

With its stout frame and tandem-strength rear wheel, the Mundo can carry over 400 pounds (rider weight included.)

One of the key questions to ask yourself about purchasing a long-wheelbase bike is whether you need a true cargo bike, or whether you’re in need of a solution for bike commuting, or something in between. You probably have certain images in mind of what you’re going to do with your long-wheelbase bike. If your [...]

Source: Bike Hugger, January 29, 2008 The Yuba’s an integrated longbike style cargo bike, promising lateral stiffness and lots of capacity (220 kg total load). Built in horizontal racks for hauling the stuff that won’t fit in a pannier or two. Nice touches: chain guard, choice of kickstands, bikes in Africa. The Yuba is rolling [...]

Utility bicycles are the pickup trucks of the cycling world. Newsweek Utility bikes are the pickup trucks of the cycling world. Made to carry big loads that would normally require a car, they are popular abroad and are now catching on here. Imported from the Netherlands, the Bakfiets brand is like a pedal-powered minivan for [...]

The large panels not only waterproof the load, but allow advertisements on this delivery vehicle. -Ken of Portland Pedal Power May 4, 2009

Here are a few more Mundo shots for you.

It’s about two miles to the coffee shop and a little bit of a grade. I was very surprised at the speed of 12mph I was able to travel with relatively little effort. [My girlfriend] was surprised that she could keep up with me on a bike that outweighed hers by 35 lbs. She later rode it and loved it.

The Mundo has been great for towing other bikes. Riding with the tandem rack on the back was pretty awkward. For regular bikes, I can just attach the front tire and let the rear tire track behind the bike. This is the best (but not good) shot I have so far of the technique www.flickr.com/photos/gregraisman/2583440115/ in/set-72157… I've brought bikes to people who needed to borrow a bike or to bring to a bike shop for repair. I also rode my city bike to pick the Mundo up originally, then towed my old bike home with my new bike. Actually, the photo above is from my trip home from picking up the Mundo. You can see I picked a couple of other things up along the way on that trip. Pretty sweet.

Here’s a few from my 3-day outing.

It is easy to categorize the Yuba Mundo as a cargo/utility bike, but what founder Benjamin Sarrazin and others involved in the production of the Mundo remind us is that this is, in fact, an expression of the elemental functionality of a bicycle.

The load, at 80 lbs, was quite a bit heavier [than the last photo I sent]. I was just thinking about the possibility of putting some high friction tape or coating on the rack so that stuff would be a little less prone to shift around.

This is the Mundo loaded down with approximately 150 lbs of samples. Notice the long roll on the top too. You can’t see the bag in this pic but it’s packed full.

Solid, simple execution of the cargo-bike concept.

Mike sent this picture of a nighttime cargo run

Stuart Harrod, 44 of Frankfort, sits on his cargo bike during the second annual Going Green: Frankfort Climate Action Festival on the Old Capitol lawn Saturday. The bike has an electric motor attached to the front tire and is used for picking up groceries and running errands around town, Harrod said. The motor helps along the hills and it is good exercise, Harrod said.

Cargo or sport utility bikes are an emerging category. These two-wheeled pickup trucks feature oversized, reinforced racks and an extended wheel base for strength and stability. “Cargo bikes allow you to carry heavy loads without starting your car,” says Benjamin Sarazin, founder of Yuba Bikes in Sausalito, Calif. The fledgling company sold out its first [...]

Brad of Sustainabuilt tricks his Mundo with Bamboo running boards.

Brad installed wooden running boards and a seating surface on his 6-speed Mundo.

Check out the ‘zip deck’, our new passenger deck. The painting was done for the benefit of my three girls, who are my usual cargo. The wood was originally part of a very old Javanese dowry chest that I have disassembled and repurposed in a variety of ways. lots ‘o good karma there. Link to [...]

absolutely loving the ride.
Most comfortable bike I think I have ever ridden.

(The Mundo is) a benchmark product, especially for the heavy-duty end of the longtail market. Here you have a heavy-duty hauler, which really can carry loads and people in a way that was previously simply beyond a normal bike at all costing under £500. And that’s quite some achievement. Velovision The Yuba Mundo was developed [...]

Hope you are all having as much fun with your Yuba Mundos as I am.

Yesterday my 76 year old father and I took it for a spin and
came back commenting how light it was to ride.

exceptional for carrying all types of loads

Take the “car” out of cargo. Rock the Bike has been selling, customizing, and designing Cargo Bikes and Sport Utility Bikes since before we began in 2002.  We noe focus on three models of cargo bikes, and we can help you find the best one for your needs. We currently offer the V3 and V4 Yuba Mundo, the Mundo 500 (electric cargo bike and generator),  and the Xtracycle FreeRadical, which you can use to convert your existing mountain bike or city bike.

What’s Great About Our Cargo Bikes?

Carry large loads and passengers.
 

Offer handling, stability, and comfort superior to standard bicycles thanks to the long wheelbase.

Highly Customizable to the needs of your family, business, or project.

Body Position Analysis: We fit your bike to you at our shop, give you a test ride, and make adjustments as needed.
When you carry heavy loads, you can put more stress on your knees and back. Let's avoid those problems from the start and set up your bike to be ergonomic. Every sale includes a body position analysis in which we look at the handlebar height, seat height, angle, and fore / aft position, and also your posture. We also share tips such as how to pull your bike on and off the kickstand with minimum strain on your hands.

We know commuting, take our bikes on Public Transit and can offer specific tips on how to fit a load-carrying bicycle into your lifestyle, and enhance it! Read Paul’s analysis of taking a Mundo on BART or using a BART elevator to get the Mundo to Berkeley.

We focus on cargo bikes.

Most bike shops focus on ‘performance’ categories like road biking and mountain biking. We focus on load-carrying bikes, always have. We are constantly attaching loads of various sizes, riding in the rain, testing, improving, selling, customizing, and sharing our Cargo Bikes. We use them to make our deliveries. We use them to haul our gear to our Pedal Powered Stage music events. A shop that sells all styles of bikes won’t know the particular strengths and weaknesses for each and will speak from brochures.  We use our products and speak from experience. 

We got skill.

- We recently hired a dedicated mechanic, Spencer, in 2011
- We offer all customers a tune up 30-days after purchase, and you can always stop by to make adjustments on your bike
- If you choose to convert the bike you already have into a Sports Utility Bike by buying the Xtracycle FreeRadical, our build includes a tune up on the donor bike.
- Get your creative juices are flowing, let’s customize your cargo ride!

We’re part of the community.

• Rock the Bike includes a co-founder and the lead product engineer of Yuba since 2007, and we’ve been part of the Xtracycle community since 2000.
• We co-founded the Bicycle Music Festival, which uses cargo bikes to transport all music and festival gear.
• Regularly suggest and test new features for Yuba and Xtracycle products
• We’ve been part of ground breaking bike tours, such as the Pleasant Revolution Tour
• Founder Paul Freedman was a co-founder of Worldbike.org, an international nonprofit developing low-cost cargo bikes for developing countries.

So You Want A Cargo Bike … Please ask yourself a few questions:

If you simply imagine carrying a laptop and lunch to work, then a cargo bike is overkill for your needs. We can share options and accessories for regular city bikes with a rack and panniers. If you imagine yourself dropping off two kids at school, then a long-wheelbase bicycle is a must. Both the Xtracycle and Mundo are good options at this point. Cost may be the deciding factor.  The Mundo is a cheaper solution if you are looking for a complete bike. The Xtracycle FreeRadical is less expensive if you already have a mountain bike or city bike you are willing to convert.

above: Surfing on a Mundo and XtraCycle SUB

When investigating our Cargo Bikes, here are some of the many things to consider:

• The loads you’ll be carrying
• What type of use: Daily commuting? Distance touring? Deliveries? Vacation use?
  
• Terrain. What does your local terrain look like?
• Body issues: Do you have any special considerations like back pain, neck pain, that we should know about?
  
• What’s your bike parking situation like where you live, work and hang out? Will you be lifting this bike alot, carrying it up stairs?
• Do you already have a bike that fits you well? If so, can you bring it with you when you visit Rock The Bike?
  
• Color. Have you checked out the colors available on the bikes we sell? 

The Mundo’s long wheelbase and low top tube allow riders of all sizes to enjoy the ride. Most mountain bikes can’t accomodate a wide range of riders, because they tip backwards on hills when a tall rider extends the seatpost. However, the Mundo’s long wheelbase allows tall riders to set the seat height where they like it. When you ride this bike hard, even on steep hills, you can’t pull the front wheel off the pavement, because the rider’s weight is distributed between the wheels. This also makes the Mundo a safer bike, as your front wheel, the steering wheel, always has enough weight on it to make safe turns.

Smaller riders, down to 5 feet, will appreciate the low standover height on the Mundo’s frame.

If you’re like a lot of Rock the Bike readers, you’ve been building up a base of stength in your legs over the course of 5, 10, or even 20+ years. Sure, you may not measure your electrolytes or enter the local Sunday morning races, but you’re certainly an athlete, and you can’t be blaimed for wanting to show off now and then. We all do.

So what to do with your legs of steel? You could get a nice light bike and go fast, or you can get a heavy duty utility or sport utility bike and dazzle your friends as you ferry them around town. Carrying passengers is one of the beautiful win / win activities. You get the appreciation of your passenger and admiration of onlookers. Your passenger gets a ride from the train station or to the picnic. And you get a little workout as you spin up hills or cruise the flats.

Passenger-carrying is fun and social — you can talk as you cruise — and definitely sends out the bike vibe. It’s also one of those activities that looks harder than it is. It’s not unreasonable for a strong cyclist to carry a passenger 5-10 miles. The speeds will be noticeably slower on hills, but not on the flats.

The Mundo rear carrier includes a plate on which you can install a rear-light. The fork has a plate where a dynamo can be attached. Fenders also.

The Mundo’s chain guard mounts to a steel bracket that is between the drive-side crank and the bottom bracket. To keep the box small, this bracket is rotated 90 degrees so that it is parallel to the ground. Before installing the drive side crank, this part must be rotated so that it is perpendicular to the ground. The second image shows the correct orientation.

Thanks to the fans, roadies, bands, Market Bar, and the city’s Neighborhood Empowerment Network.

El Arbol had its Pedal Powered Stage debut. My cousins were crawling all over it. Here my 220 pound cousin Jonah and a girl pedal power stereo right while two other girls play on other parts of the tree.

Five of us handled the late afternoon gear haul mission. Jeff and Geoff high fiving on 3rd. It was a pretty easy haul. No real hills.

Hauled the pedalometer on a newly fiberglassed El Arbol.

Roadie and bandleader Justin Ancheta’s helped me with the flberglassing alot over the past week so that the Arbol would be in shape for the gig.

Loading up Guella’s gear at Audio Box studio.

Rock The Bike roadies Kai, Geoff and Jeff, and Guella’s lead singer Dave on the way to the gig.

Setting up the gig at Market Bar. Photo: Kai.

Guella rocking out under pedal power. Two of our best generators, the Electric Mundo and the Electric Fender Blender Pro (at stage left) powered all of the band’s instruments, the mixer, one JBL PRX, and lighting.

Big ToDo puppeteers treated us to a bike rap!

Late night gear return mission. Aufdencamp surfs in the distance as Leif tows two Fender Blender Pros behind a Mundo.

We had a blast last night at the Urban School, pedal powering their first dance of 2010. Thanks to Lucy, Lucas, Catherine and all the students and teachers.

As with any Rock The Bike event, we invite people at the event to pedal. The kid in the foreground is pedaling the Choprical Fish, which is powering the lighting at the dance.

Justin’s pedaling the Mundo 1000 during the sound check, one of our two bikes equipped with our Grasshopper generator system.

Despite their abundance of energy for gogo dancing and freaking, the Urban School students were a bit hesitant about joining in the pedal power effort. I felt good that we had shown up with a 6 person crew, including Adam, Masha, Hugh, Justin, and Ally.  But we were doing 90% of the pedaling. Normally, the GP (general public) does more like 40-50% of the pedaling. I tried pulling students in and there were a few cool students who kept pitching. But honestly the freaking on the dance floor was so prolific, that it was obvious that’s where their minds were. So after a while, I stopped walking out into the crowd using a Down Low Glow like an airport landing guide, and just pedaled. I thought back to David Butcher and how he holds it down at festivals, pedaling away on the Prime Mover. I found new time trial position I liked on the Fender Blender Pro, and entered a crank, sprint, lactic acid! cycle. Out of saddle sprint! Lactic acid. Two students get on, both girls. I adjust the seat for one of them and the indicator on our inverter already drops into the red.

“Pedal hard! Go for it. ”

I look around for crew and don’t see any one. The LED is floating in the red, occasionally hitting blinking red. I know I’m going to need to save this party. I hate having to be intense with the pedal power coaching, but I was yelling, “Pedal, Pedal, Pedal!” every time I saw that blinking light. I was trying to get in a hamstring stretch, but I kept having to coach the girls on the bikes. And my communication with the DJ wasn’t to the point where I could make eye contact with him. He was killing it anyway, and I liked the fact that we were driving the PRX hard. Screw the stretch. I tap out with one of the girl and go into another sprint on the FB Pro.

Justin’s back! The other girl taps out and we bring the LED back to orange, and green. It was kind of like that all night. Three electrics would have helped, but really we just needed more from the students. I think some type of introduction would have helped. The students probably didn’t know what the function of the pedal power bikes was, other than to climb all over them and have a blast. No, they knew, but the hormones were too strong. Freaking trumped!

Rock The Bike has left the building.

We only brought one of our PRX speakers this time. The other is in the shop on a pedal power integration project.

See more photos from the night on Flickr.

Here’s a very clear demonstration of the technique.

See how the calf muscle hooks the front of the saddle? That’s how you control the bike. The rear foot plants forward of the axle.

Of the three in our crew that can surf Mundos only Adam Pastana has the sense of foundation that allows him to dance while surfing. We were on our way from the SF Bike Expo to power the Genie and yours truly at Baobab Village last night.

My parents have told me to take this off our homepage and focus on selling the Down Low Glow.

I think it’s rolling street theater and an absolutely stunning breakthrough in rocking the bike (lowercase). It’s inspiring to me, so I hope that, despite the obvious safety considerations, it’s inspiring on some level, to you too.

Besides that, this brief video shows three of our most important products in action: firstly the Mundo, which we already knew was stiff as a tree trunk and danceably strong, is apparently a great handling surfing bike too. A bike this rigid and predictable is going to be reassuringly stable when you carrying a passenger or a serious load.

Adam’s not only surfing the Mundo, he’s also carrying 30 pounds on one side of the bike in a GoGetter bag while towing a 75 pound Electric Fender Blender Pro from one event to another. Two other bikers pass on the right, with the Down Low Glow providing excellent Side Visibility; one is towing a racing bike on a Mundo.

So you see, it’s not just a video, it’s how we put our gear to the test, week in, week out. If you want to buy your bike products from some place where they all drive to work and click the mouse all day, go right ahead. But if you’re looking for people who ride, who push the envelope, who break and fix things, people you can trust with gear recommendations, you’ve found the right place.

Welcome to Rock The Bike.

Yuba releases its all-new V3 Mundo Cargo Bike, with numerous upgrades and usability improvements, making this already beloved bike a true tool for mobility, fitness, and community. Stylish, tough, and highly customizeable, the V3 Mundo stands at the ready for all sorts of missions. The new 21-speed drivetrain and the impressive weight savings — 9 pounds lighter than the original V1 Mundo — mean more riders can enjoy a true cargo bike, in more terrains, with no sacrifice in the Mundo’s legendary stiff ride quality.

Above: 36-spoke front and 48-spoke rear wheels with sealed-bearing hubs mean fewer popped spokes and a stable ride when carrying passengers and heavy cargo.

With a max payload of 440 lbs, the Mundo is still the heavyweight of the long-wheelbase cargo bike world. Riders have raved about the predictability and surefootedness of the frame, which become all the more apparent when the bike is loaded down. The 48-spoke tandem-strength rear wheel with its new sealed bearing hub and oversized axle, is a big part of why the Mundo feels so stable when hauling loads.

Above: 4 strap guides keep straps from slipping, and 24 threaded customization points make it easy
to mount running boards, locking equipment cases, custom equipment racks, and Mundo accessories.

The chassis-style loading system has evolved, with welded strap guides, ensuring your straps won’t slip from road vibration. The Mundo is now easier to customize to your unique cargo applications. Threaded braze-on points positioned throughout the cargo rack allow customers and businesses to integrate specific cargo racks, signage, tools, etc. Yuba’s huge and water-resistant GoGetter Bag is a great way to carry smaller and softer loads like food.

Rock The Bike uses Mundos to haul music equipment to their Pedal Powered Stage events.

Above: Yuba’s Peanut Shell childseat installed on the rear rack. There’s still room for picnic supplies or a second child seat.

Families will appreciate that the new Mundo’s rack accomodates up to two standard child seats. Yuba’s new Peanut Shell is the simplest choice, as the mounting hardware have been chosen to match the rack.

Adam dropping his girls of to school with a Mundo in San Francisco.

Bigger kids can sit directly on Yuba’s top deck, and rest their feet on the bags or the Side Loaders. The Mundo’s new customization points make it easy to add full-length running boards to the Side Loaders for a stylish and secure footrest. And as the kids grow up, they’ll be able to ride the same bike mom and dad used to drop them at school. The Mundo’s low standover height and long seatpost accomodate riders from around 5′ to 6’3″, and the adjustable stem can be positioned to give the desired room in the front.

For mixed terrain, the Mundo now comes stock with a 21-speed drivetrain, including Shimano Acera front and rear derailleurs, Shimano shifters, and lightweight forged alloy cranks. The frame accomodates fat tires, up to 2.75″, meaning that riders with potholed or offroad routes can get the suspension and control they need. For those in wet climates, the stock fenders and disc brake tabs will enable them to get the best performance in the rain. The standard V-brakes have gotten many positive reviews from Mundo customers.

The welded and reinforced rear rack offers chassis style loading for rigid objects like equipment cases.
Previous generations of Mundos had a bolt-on rear rack.

Bike shops and home mechanics who assemble the new Mundo will love the simplicity of assembly. The all-welded cargo system and full-size carton means the build is now well under an hour, with most key parts (derailleurs, brakes, cranks) installed at the factory and in need of only minor tuning.

The V3 Mundo starts at $1099, and includes fenders and a sturdy side kickstand. Most customers will add the $115 GoGetter bag, and a $16 pair of cam straps. A cargo-strength center-stand will be available in early 2010.

Late night Haunted Hay Ride on the Biker Bar, cruising down 18th from the Castro to the District, with five European tourists along for the ride.

Rockin’ Halloween colors on our way to Fair Oaks St. with a Masked Masha rolling a Mundo with the Down Low Glow. At sunset, yeow!

Whoah. Amazing weekend. So much gratitude to the crew, the people of Fair Oaks St., and the Yes Men!

Kai and Pastana showed up Saturday afternoon to help mod the Biker Bar into a Haunted Hay Ride.

Tara had texted me earlier to “try 6th and Bryant as a source for $15 hay bales.” Then on the way there I realized she was sending me to the wholesale flower market. Thanks for the tip, T! I pulled in and immediately saw a bale in a stall. One cam strap on the Mundo. Back to the house.

We reduced the hay to useful cushion sizes and cam strapped Kai’s birdcage to the Biker Bar.

Kai bringing Pooh into the mix.

Do you wanna go on a Haunted Hay Ride? Yes I wanna go on a Haunted Hay Ride? Do you wanna go on a Haunted Hay Ride? Yes I wanna go on a Haunted Hay Ride?  When you wanna to go on a Haunted Hay Ride? Hmm, I dunno, how about now?

We kept the dancing going for the big kids for another couple hours.

Sunday Afternoon. Do it again.

Heading to the San Francisco debut of the Yes Men’s touching and hilarious “The Yes Men Fix The World”

Adam practicing one of the building block skills for no-hands surfing.

The lucky recipients of three $4 million Survivaballs.

Escorting the Survivaballs from the Roxie to the closest Chevron.

The Yes Men used the march as an opportunity to tout the
benefits of the Survivaball. Rock The Bike supplied the mobile P/A and
later the Pedal Powered Stage for the rally.

We turned up the dance music, including an exhuberant “I Will Survive.”

After the Chevron protest, we kept the afterparty going.
The Mundo 1000 has been holding it down as our most efficient pedal power bike.

If you’ve read this far and you’re local, you’ll probably want to join our SF Cruisers email list, and come out Monday night to Dia De Los Muertos with the Rock The Bike crew.

Ever since Interbike we’ve been signing up some great new Dealers. Here’s a small profile of a few of them:

The Bicycle Chef, in Sacramento, CA

With their recent move to a spacious spot on N Street just outside Downtown Sacramento, The Bicycle Chef has redoubled its commitment to supporting commuters and lifestyle cyclists. Manager Whit told me that they actively support sustainability by encouraging customers to keep and repair old bikes. They make a lot of people smile that way. And it only boosts their reputation when people are rolling around town, psyched that they’ve got that good bike feeling again and all they had to buy was a pair of brakes and new tire. And now they’re going to be the Sacramento joint for Mundo test rides. They’ve got the affordable, bright red single-speed Mundo, perfect for flat cities like Sacramento.

Ken’s Bike & Ski:

This is the kind of shop you want to buy a bicycle from. Ken’s is huge in size but still owner-operated, and has been in business for decades. I could tell by the questions Ken was asking about the Mundo as he pondered it over, that this shop that supports every sale with superior service over the life of the bike, not just the first year or the 30-day tuneup. In other words, it means something to buy a bike from Ken’s.

I personally prefer not to test ride bikes in a parking lot, and conveniently, Ken’s is located next to a few good residential blocks where you can pedal hard and test the bike out. They’ve also got the bright red single-speed Mundo in stock.

Solano Cyclery:

Located on Solano Ave. in the Berkeley/Albany area, Solano Cyclery was our host for the street party / Xtracycle rally on Solano Stroll. This fellow Xtracycle dealer has a great reputation for quality service and shop spirit. They picked up the Down Low Glow when they heard about its unique Side Visibility safety benefit. Another cool shop that cares about your safety and style. Definitely worth a visit, and they have the Down Low Glow in stock, which is more than I can say for Rock the Bike at the moment.

I’m sorry, we really should have told you sooner. Both the Down Low Glow and the 6-Spd Mundo are unfortunately out of stock.

It seems that whenever I tell friends in casual conversations that we’re backordered on the Down Low Glow, they usually congratulate me as if this is somehow great news for Rock the Bike. But I wish we could get all of our current orders out tomorrow. It’s just that we are unfortunately operating on a very limited stock of our rechargeable batteries. More are on the way, but by sea.

On the plus side, a limited by-air shipment will be arriving soon. And we are aiming to fill DLG orders placed now in time for Halloween. We will even offer free shipping to those who place an order before the 14th, if you do not receive your DLG by Halloween (US only offer).

Mundos are due in early November. The Mundo has simply been selling faster than we have anticipated. We’re fortunate that more Mundos are already on a boat approaching the Panama Canal, but we’re unfortunate that only 75 are on that boat. If you want one before Spring 2009, please order soon so that we can hold yours.

With such critical, mainline items out of stock, you may be wondering, what’s in stock?

The bright red “Ziegelrot” single-speed Mundo. Perfect for flatter terrains. Simple, strong, fun to ride, cheerful. We also have cool upgrades that fit the bright red Single Speed Mundo perfectly, like the yellow and red “Hazarea” Sweetskinz tires seen on our shop Mundo.

For Bay Area folks, please come to our Berkeley Workshop to test-ride and purchase fully-built Single Speed Mundos.

Bike Blenders. Both Fender Blender X and Fender Blender Universale (FBU, formerly B3 Mini) are in stock and shipping. Bike Blenders bring people together around bikes and fruit. What could be better? A great tool for growing the bike movement, teaching kids about healthy eating, and drawing a crowd at festivals.

Xtracycle FreeRadicals (and expert installations for Bay Area folks).

The Soul Cycle “In The Pocket” Head Unit. Our simplest Mobile Audio System.

And other good stuff like Righteous Kickstands, Incredibells, Sweetskinz, all good stuff.

We are hustling to get the Down Low Glow and Mundo 6-Speeds back in stock. We’ll keep you up to date.

When will my credit card be charged? Orders placed online will have their cards charged at the time of purchase. Orders placed over the phone will have their cards charged within a few days of shipping.

Skip ahead to 00:24:

This video gives a taste of the LiveOnBike performances we’ve been doing on SF Cruiser rides this summer. Joel Elrod, who had just finished playing a gig with Pleasuremaker, is drumming on a SPDS electronic drum machine. The signal from the SPDS is carried from the back of the Mundo to the front where it enters a DIT Head Unit containing a Rolls MX56c 4-Channel mixer and Shure Wireless body pack microphone, and DoubleWide Down Low Glow battery that powers the SPDS and a dual tube DLG system for 5 hours.

Skip ahead to 1:15.

The LiveOnBike rig also has a microphone seen in this video of Janaysa performing at the Bicycle Music Festival, but it takes longer to set up, so we haven’t been using it with Joel. The signal of the Shure body pack on the LiveOnBike rig is caught by the receiver on the backrest of the Choprical Fish. I select the tracks from an iPod on the control panel of the Fish. When I pick a new track, Joel listens for a few moments and then picks up the beat and improvises on the playing-card-sized rubber pads of the SPDS.

Both Adam (pilot of the LiveOnBike Mundo) and I have the ability raise and lower the volume level of the SPDS. When I was piloting the bike for Janaysa, I was able to set her vocals and keyboard levels independently using Channel 1 and Channel 2 of the MX56c. We were experiencing a very short range with our wireless transmitter that night, as you can hear in the first moments of the videos.

The DIT Head Unit uses the excellent 1-button KlickFix handlebar mounting system, and the wiring harness simply Velcros to the bike, so we can convert the Mundo from Town Hauler to Rock Star in only 5 minutes, and that includes mounting the SPDS and aTractor seat. I know that’s lot of names for you, but well, that’s how we did it.

well, finding this company was a bit of a god send; I’ve been looking into getting either a Trek 520 Touring, and new 2008 Ralliegh Sojourn (new touring bike w/ disk brakes) or simply a Surley Long Haul Trucker and more than likely adapting an Extra Cycle frame/bags.
Came out of the library 2 days ago, and saw the most interesting bike I’ve seen since the Dutch beer delivery rig crossed my sights, a mtn bike w/ this type of extension BUILT IN!
Then, after getting ahold of a retail shop by the same name (Fraser) I found y’all.
Has anyone tryed to mount a Burley D’Lite or Corsair XT trailer to one of these, and what were the limitations? I wld love to hear back on this.

Aaron, Da Hobo wit’da mojo

Some interesting scenes from the workshop this week, preparing for BMF. The musical part starts at 3:05. It was awesome to see the expressions on our neighbors’ faces as we cruised around West Berkeley with Janaysa singing and playing.

Folk / Soul singer Janaysa came by the workshop on Tuesday to test-ride the piano mount on the Mundo. She was initially ‘concerned’ but left on a high after a good try out.

We had a great practice ride tonight in the neighborhood around our workshop. The aTractor Seat and custom bamboo piano mount were both strong and comfortable, allowing her plenty of leg room. She practiced about 5 songs, giving me time to see how the bike handled. The handling was difficult but manageable. Even the slightest uphill made it noticeably harder to maintain a straight line, because her weight is so far behind the rear axle. The frame was up to the task, but the front end just felt light. I had to really maintain focus and keep my arm muscles tensed at all times.

The sound of her voice and piano playing made it all worth it, though. I’m really excited to bring her unique music to the streets at BMF, live!



The Mundo is fun at night. I added two headlights, Plush Red Down Low Glow, and a Cateye taillight.

Mundo with lighting

All I got to say is it’s been a long time since I’ve had a bright red bicycle and it rocks! This Mundo is a cheerful little guy. Kind of a cross between a monarch butterfly, a gazelle, and a hippo.

The single speed is great. On Wednesday I carried 100 pounds 1.4 miles up a gradual hill to town, and the ratio felt good to me. Not too hard, not too easy.

Then I rode to town today with about 60 pounds. Same solid feeling. Gear felt right. Then after dropping off the goods at FEDEX I was riding it down the hill unloaded, and it feels basically just as stiff and solid as when it was loaded down. The frame doesn’t budge. It’s kind of like riding a tree trunk. But as much as this bike doesn’t feel zippy, due to its weight, it’s reassuringly strong. Today I sprinted for a yellow light with the 60-pound load, and it felt really good. It had pickup. And the drivetrain is so positive that I know I can put 100% into each pedal stroke.

It’s our new townie. And we invite you to take a test ride. We’ll be at the Maker’s Faire this weekend running the Pedal Powered stage. Come take a ride, and pedal power a few songs while you’re at it!

Mundo waiting faithfully at the parking.

Hauled a Mundo and another box to FEDEX yesterday on Rock The Bike’s cheerful new utility bike.

When your new assembly and shipping employee has a hernia, and he’s carrying a heavy messenger style backpack with the used mountain bike frame you gave him strapped on it, and he’s on the cell phone with his father as you ride home to West Oakland BART together, telling his dad he has back pain that shoots down his left leg, and you know he doesn’t have health insurance and is fighting the system to schedule his surgery, you don’t just keep riding. You stop, take his pack, and strap it to your Xtracycle, even though you’re already carrying your own stuffed messenger bag, 8 DLG‘s, and a box of Schwalbe tires that the Ginger Ninjas need for their tour. Because you can.

And then, when you take a few pedal strokes, you ‘re surprised how good it feels, not the good samaritan act of helping your employee at the end of a long day, but riding the bike itself, and you say out loud, “Whoah, it’s even easier than before; I think the load is more balanced now. I must have been fighting it a little before.” When those types of this things happen to you, on a regular basis, you’re riding an Xtracycle.

OK, here’s another one. I was literally in the BART the other night and an attractive grad student pulled her face out of her text book to say “Nice bike. What do you carry on that?” And it’s not the first time it has happened.

I urge bike people who haven’t seriously considered getting themselves a long bike to let these anecdotes sink in. It’s only by experiencing magic scenes like these that you understand how transformative it can be to have a dependable, nimble, fun cargo hauling ride like the Xtracycle or the Mundo.

Rock the Bike presents this fast moving video touting the benefits of the Mundo Utility Bike.