UPDATE MY BLOG HAS MOVED TO Bike4Heck.com Please comment on this on the new site!
Which Tools do you need?
I
recently replied on a blog post by Lindsay of the blog "You Ain't Got Jack". I really like the fact that Lindsay has taken it upon herself to
get healthy by riding a bicycle. This is the same reason that I originally took up
cycling again. My reply to her post was about the need to carry a spare locking cable
for the Yuba Mundo inside the giant Go Getter Bags. This is an idea
that hatched like a new born baby chicken with the incubator set in overdrive when I realized on a grocery run that
I didn’t grab the key chain with the key for the U-lock that lives on my Yuba.
So I rode over to Home Depot and bought a combination cable lock which now makes its
place in my go-getter bags. I figure any lock is better than none in my low
crime area.
So
on to helping a fellow cargo biker:
A
basic budget minded tool kit (what I carry on my bike):
$1 Small Adjustable Wrench (that fits the Yuba's rear axle bolt and front bolt)
Just be careful you don't damage the inner-tube's nozzle thingy filling it up (it can get cut on the rim if you don't support the pump while airing up the tire)
For the reason stated above, I sprung for the CO2 Air pump and I carry 1 extra CO2 Cartridge for good measure. The CO2 route cost usually between $25-$60 depending on the model and you will have to shop at a bike shop to get these.
$1 of spare cheap-o AAA Batteries as back ups to my lights.
Get what fits your needs and I like cheap-o non-alkaline batteries are because cheap and most importantly they are very light weight.
I like the kind that fit together for storage (more compact)
Hank Repairs My Yuba Mundo Cargo Bike
So the grand total comes to $38 to $41 for the basic pump set up and $51 to $86 for the option with the CO2 Pump which will not make your arm fall off when installing a new tube, and it gets you back on the road faster. Plus you want to have a $20 bill tucked away in there too as well as a couple of band-aids.
In researching the options out there I saw some things that I liked that could form the basis of a kit, personally I think that an extra inner-tube is a non-negotiable item.
With the Bell kit you are still going to need that adjustable wrench for the rear axle on the Yuba.
For home use I'm more advanced setup with a Park Tool Bicycle Repair Stand, Turing Stand, and a Tool Kit from Performace Bicycles. Perhaps I'll a blog on that later... I was able to completely rebuild an old cruiser with those tools.
My Blog has moved to Bike4Heck.com Please comment on this on the new site! Please comment, Share on Facebook, +1, Tweet, etc... -Matthew
Monday, March 12, 2012 was the first official off of work for Spring Break of 2012. I’m a third grade teacher and my wife, Tina, is a 7th
grade English teacher. This school year has been a crazy year for my wife and I.
That is thanks to budget cuts, larger class sizes and pushed emphasis on the new
standardized test the State is pushing out and other stuff! So this Spring Break was
one we were looking forward to. On this day we decided to make a date day via
bicycles. We started at from the Blue Star Arts Complex and our first stop was only a few tenths of a mile
away at Tito’s Mexican Restaurant on S. Alamo. We had never eaten there before,
but were very impressed. The salsa and tacos al carbon were mighty tasty! We had to park our bikes and lock up on to the rails of the porch because the on street bicycle parking stand was removed due to some red tape glitch.
Tito's Mexican Restaurant- Notice the black rectangle where there was once on street bicycle parking.
While sharing tacos with my beautiful bride of the past 6
years, I learned she hasn’t ever been up in the Tower of Americas. I had to solve that, so that was our next
stop. It was nice to see some bicycle
parking next to the tower entrance although three of the four racks we saw weren’t
fixed to the ground. Tina and I hitched the iron horses to the rack that was
bolted down. We enjoyed looking down on the city and planning where we would
ride next. We spotted other cyclists from above and a new red public art statue
on the other side of the interstate and made it a point to ride over there.
Bicycle Parking at the Tower of Americas
View from Tower
Public Art Downtown
From the Tower of Americas we headed
over to the Alamo Dome then Sunset Station. Sunset Station was a bust with
nothing going on there except for a fire truck racing though, so we decided to
search down the red statue we spotted from the tower and it was only a few blocks
away. From the statue we rode down the bike route on Mesquite St. to the Hays
Street Bridge. We stopped on the bridge and rested as it was now about 80
degrees and sunny and a rest was in order. While there we took some photos and
noticed someone fitted the bridge with a helmet. (picture below) It really is funny how when
you sit and rest for a while your body will tell you of its other needs, like thirst.
We didn’t take water along and since the tower was charging $3.00 a bottle, we hadn’t
had a sip of anything wet or cold since Tito’s which was a few hours ago at this point.
Hayes Street Bridge
We decided to ride on over to the VFW hall and get some
refreshments. On first Friday rides, the VFW has been anti-bicycle, meaning
they will not even let you put you bicycle on their property, but today we rode right
into the parking lot without incident. We didn't catch any grief from anyone at
the VFW hall and they weren't that busy, so I doubt they even noticed the two bicycles
there. Hopefully, someday their official policy toward bicycles will change. For a place that is meant to honor those that fought for our freedoms
they sure don’t like to let cyclist or even motorcyclist be free in where they
park.…enough of that soapbox. We did enjoy our sodas as we sat along the San
Antonio river listening to the music playing.
Next, we decided to
ride over to the remains of the San Antonio Better Block Project and see what
was left. We took some photos of the Better Block and rode past the San Antonio
Fine Art Museum. From there we rode past Central Catholic High School and to
the City Auditorium which is undergoing remodeling. I was
ready to chill by the Vietnam Memorial on a nice lush green hill of grass when
Tina said, “Let’s go people watch at Main Plaza.” I have to give my wonderful
wife credit; she knew where the party was. At Main Plaza there was a live band playing and
what I was most excited about was that the fountains were back on! They had
been shut down for so long due to the drought water restrictions that I had forgotten
they were there. It was relaxing to sit with my wife and listen to music while we watch people. People watching it really fun and if you haven’t
done it before I highly encourage you to give it a try someday. We saw a teen age couple making out on the steps
of the Central Cathedral which is kind of funny place for Public Display of Affection
(PDA). We also saw a woman with four or five others come up and sit on a bench with
a clay sculpture and looking at the cathedral they added to it… we never
figured out what they were doing, but we had fun trying to guess. We watched the Segway tours roll through the plaza and
concluded that cycling looks more fun than those two wheel contraptions. We saw
another cycling couple who looked so cute, and like they were having fun
together. Tina said, “That’s cute. We should do that. Oh, look. We are!” Tina
had been trying to incorporate this day into her self portrait project. I made
her laugh and thwarted her efforts, but the pictures ended up being kind of
silly and fun.
Silly Face Self Portrait at Main Plaza
After sitting for a hour or so, we decided to ride to Schilo’s
Deli and get some good German food. After riding to Schilos's we locked the bicycles up at a pole near
the Deli and went in to eat some tasty food. Once done eating we rode over to the Alamo
and decided to people watch there. At the Alamo we saw many things like a
college aged couple that obviously was fighting with each other, a thug looking
man with a Carpe Deim t-shirt eating a blue snow cone, etc. We talked with an older female park police
officer who admired Tina’s bicycle about riding along the river walk.
Apparently we can ride the entire main channel along the river. So we will have to do that sometime soon.
We ended the night by riding to The Friendly Spot Ice House. Their bike
rack was full when we got there, but we still watched several other cyclists
roll in as the night progressed. As we sipped our fruity drinks, and listened
to drunken hooting and hollering over the Spurs game while Jupiter and Venus
huddled over our heads in the night sky, we reflected on how this day was the
most fun we’d had in far too long. If we had not ridden our bikes, we would
have missed out on the smells of the mountain laurels in full bloom, and the
sound of the ducks squawking on the river below. .. a sensory buffet...
So, if you’re looking
for a date full of fun and adventure, try heading out on the town on a bike!
Below are some more photos from the day:
Venus and Jupiter from The Friendly Spot Ice House
Kicking Back and watching people at the Alamo.
Strangest Bicycle Lock Ever... Shall I call the Number?
Skyline view from Hays St. Bridge.
Screen at Friendly Spot Ice House
The remains of the Better Block Project in San Antonio, Texas
Nearly full bicycle rack at the Friendly Spot Ice House
Get your Hippie on with a Yuba Mundo and a Drum Circle at San Antonio's 2nd Siclovia Event... go play in the streets. I drummed after checking out the community garden and then after drumming we checked out urban knitting and the one street (complete street) bistro. Hippie was oozing out of my chaco sandals today!
On Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, my wife and I decided to take a drive up to Austin to try out a Yuba Mundo cargo bicycle at Peddler's Bike Shop. I've been researching Yuba's online for about a month. At first I wanted the Sun Atlas Cargo, a new bike by Sun Bicycles that is xtracycle compatible. The Sun Atlas Cargo is new and so there isn't much out there on the net about them and I've yet to see one and I bet I never will. Currently I own two Sun Cruz 3 speeds that my wife and I have been using for trips to the grocery store with a front basket and panniers. The idea of a cargo bike seems like a good one. First off, I'm a big guy (260 lbs) so I'm already exceeding the weight limits on my Sun cruiser bike...add groceries to that and you can see why I'm nervous. Good news is I'm loosing weight by riding more (down 14 lbs).
Internet reviews can only take you so far and before I decide to fork over a huge chunk money (or even budget for a purchase in the future) on something I want to check it out in person. The nearest dealer was in Austin, TX. They had a nice orange Yuba Mundo on their showroom floor but badly covered in dust and scratched up for a new bike. The owner of the shop made my a very tempting deal of $1,200 out the door for the bike with every Yuba accessory he had in stock (child seat, wide loader deck, passenger bad, bags, deflopaltor)... but I was STRONG... I walked away knowing that I need to stick with our budget even if that means paying more later that purchase would have messed us up for a month. Sure they offer 0% 6 month financing but I'm trying to get rid of debt so it will have to wait and an offer like that is a credit card based offer. I wish more shops offered good ol' fashion layaway at no additional cost (something I could just work into my budget). So even though I hate to pass on a good deal I will. But man does it hurt.
The shop owner said that he just wanted to get out from under the beautiful but dusty Yuba Mundo because it wasn't selling like he hoped and hasn't as much attention as he'd hoped it would have. So I don't know what the future of Yuba bicycles is in Austin, Texas doesn't seem favorable at least at the Peddler's Bike Shop. It really sounded like the shop wouldn't carry any more once this one sold, sad considering my purchase would have to be after months os saving for it.
The shop owner told me he gave the Yuba people $1,000 for the bike and accessories and all they have done was take up room in his shop so he was just trying to get out making a small profit.
So what were my impressions of the Yuba Mundo?
WOW it rides like a dream! It is amazing how straight the long tail rides. I could comfortably let go of the handlebars and it was straight as an arrow. The weight wasn't that bad. The rear of the bike was heavy but I could easily lift the whole bike. (note: I'm used to the lugging around a 150lb 16" Meade Lightbridge Dobsonian Telescope). The weight while riding reminds me of the old springer fork Schwinn Cruiser Deluxe only the Yuba has 21 gears that makes that weight more than dote-able and I seem to recall the Schwinn feels much more heavy when lifting by comparison, perhaps the Schwinn is just more dense. The seat on the Yuba Mundo was very comfy, and riding position was very upright. The handlebars had plenty of rise but seemed narrow compared to my Sun Beach Cruz 3. The grip shifts were nice. I believe it was a V3.0 and it had Yuba's beefy single kick stand that was nice and sturdy. This version had V-breaks and it stopped just as well as any other v-braked bike I rode. I didn't ride the bike with any load on it (I couldn't convince my wife to hop on the back).
So I hopped on rode about 6 blocks away from the bike shop and I didn't even want to stop I could have rode it all day even though a bank we passed on our drive to the Bike Shop said it was 107 degrees outside! The Yuba Mundo was actually FUN to ride this bike. It it was set up every comfortable. I didn't feel like I was leaning over at all like a mountain bike. The gears on the Yuba Mundo were welcoming as I turned to go back to the shop as it was a slight up hill climb. It took a bit of switching gears but I found a gear setting I was comfortable with and I was off. I even rode past the shop a few blocks without realizing it as was having that much fun! I've venture to say it rode more comfortable than my Sun Cruz.
I don't know how I feel about the bright orange colored frame. On one hand I really like it, it's eye catchy and people notice you. On my short 7-9 city block ride I saw people looking at me. Other cyclists in the bike lane across the streets did double takes. I liked the attention and makes me feel that cars would notice you on that orange bike. On the downside the orange draws attention to the Yuba and when locking it up to do some shopping I'd prefer to have it not stand out saying "look at me". Currently the Mundo comes in Black, Orange, and Blue. As to what color I would pick... I don't know. Only time will tell, that is if I order one.
The rear axle on this bike it THICK... and the 48 spoke wheel in the rear make the bike seem like a tank (in a good way). It seems it can handle anything you could throw at it (or on it). A sticker near the bottom bracket proclaims "400lb weight limit on rear rack"... that isn't 400lbs for the bike... that is the rear rack! To give you an idea a fully loaded Yuba Mundo with me being the rider tops out a 400+260= 660 pounds. The owners manual of my Wife's Honda Element SUV says total cargo capacity is 600 pounds that includes the weight of the passengers and driver...so actually the Yuba can haul more than my 2004 Honda Element! We've carried way more that that in my Honda but that has been a critical area that comes up in reviews on Honda Elements.
The Yuba Mundo rode nimble, my wife was able to do a u-turn and even able to navigate around utility poles on the sidewalk near the bike shop.
The Yuba we rode was fine the way it was set up but on mine I'd prefer to have it set up with disc breaks to know for sure that I'm going to have the stopping power when it counts. I'm impressed with the Yuba Mundo and I'm going to consider one in the future especially if we continue our shopping adventures via our Sun Bicycle Cruisers the Sun Cruz 3 and if our budget allows.
UPDATE 8/6/11: Friday night I attended the monthly SALSA First Friday bike ride here in San Antonio, Texas. It's a social bike ride of 250-300 bicycle riders though downtown San Antonio. I took my Sun Cruiser with 2 trans-it panniers on the rear rack. Inside those panniers where 3 reflective vest, 13ft cable lock cable, a Lock for the 13' cable, a 6ft cable lock, an On Guard U Lock, one bottle of water, kit of basic tools, my friend's purse, cell phone, and my Canon DSLR. By Sun Cruz loaded up like that was way harder to lift than the unloaded Yuba Mundo, but it was manageable. That said I think that with the Yuba I wouldn't have noticed the weight of these extra items because the frame is more robust than my aluminum framed, internal 3 speed beach cruiser. Lastly on this Update I thought about the Front Bike rack that one can get for the Yuba and how I read that it doesn't move with the fork.... that is utterly brilliant because I know that I hate to ride my Sun Cruz with the basket if it has anything in it over 4-5 pounds... it just makes the wheel unstable!
In the Summer of 2010 my wife and I decided to purchase some comfort bikes... we came home with 3 speed aluminum frame Sun Cruisers from Britton's Bicycle Shop in San Antonio, Texas. Here are some photos of our rides:
