We drove all the way up to PDX to test ride this bike. After about a month of back-and-forth emails with our friend, Kidical Mass co-creator, and Haul-a-Day beta tester/consultant, Shane MacRhodes, I had some pretty high hopes that this bike could help fill the gap in transportation needs--a multimodal cargo bike. Being able to take the train or bus with the children and still have a way to get around when we arrive would be incredible. Our big summer adventure is coming up and there's still the issue of getting to our starting location and getting back home at the end. To take the Mundo on Amtrak would mean totally stripping the bike of everything removable so that it would fit in the generously-sized box AND be under 50 pounds. Also, with the local tours I'm planning for my starting business, my trips don't always start in Sacramento. If I could take the train or light rail to begin the trip, I'd be much happier and not feel like a big fake by driving to the starting point.
So without further ado, the big reveal:
So without further ado, the big reveal:
Midtail Haul-a-Day with Bike Friday's version of a half-Hooptie. I love this design!
Shane's personal Haul-a-Day longtail. It has a standard Xtracycle deck on the back, usually equipped with a full Hooptie for his three wee ones. A new addition is the custom Burley Piccolo mount on the back.
This blue HaD has a frame mounted basket in front like the Mundo's Bread Basket.
And the action shots:
Rez tried to explain the frame-mounted basket to me. He didn't realize I was already a pro :)
Little Brother got a ride and cackled the entire way. He definitely gave it a thumb's up!
Little Brother followed the two-hand rule and didn't even take his hands off to wave at the camera.
My thoughts:
This bike is great! It's light and easy to ride. Unloaded if feels like a standard bike, loaded it's even more stable. The little front wheel takes more attention than I'm used to and it felt a bit wiggly. The ride was an upright, comfortable position but that can be adjusted with the OSATA telescoping tube. The blue bike was closer than I would choose. The standard gears are just an 8-speed cassette and although that would be just fine for Sacramento riding, for longer tours, I'd want a double or triple chainring added. I did notice that riding around the shop and the little hills I encountered were fine to pedal through at the highest two gears, even with my little passenger. It was nice to have a low deck that Little Brother could climb up and down off of but the kickstand wasn't stable enough to allow him to sit unattended.
The standard build up comes with a rear disc brake but only a front v-brake, I'd probably choose to add a front disc as well. The Bike Friday handlebars were very comfortable for upright riding and I noticed a range of widths so they're probably easily customizable. I like that it includes a flag mount for my usual pinwheel flag. The side bags were on the small side on the midtail whereas the longtail would have the Xtracycle freeloader bags. I think if I were to get the bike, I'd have to get another set of Carsick Design slings to fit. Sadly, the Mundo's would be too long. The midtail deck also fits an Xtracycle deck and all the accessories. It would be interesting to see how it would work because the deck would hang a little over the back of the frame.
To continue the fantasizing, I would probably need to add their half Hooptie design and a Yepp Maxi for Little Brother. I think that I'd be able to fit the seat directly onto the new Xtracycle deck with the optional cutouts. I'd also want to get the stationary front rack since that's been such a bonus with the Mundo. One of the bikes also had a couple of quick releases mounted near the rear axle that turned out to be a new towing mount. They still haven't done much testing but it's possible that it could be a trail-a-bike option to allow for a second bike and pedaler. If it even just tows a bike easily, that would be great because with the Peanut Shell on the back of the Mundo, it keeps me from easily towing regular-sized bikes or adding a trail-a-bike. One final addition that I might consider would be a trailer hitch since my dad has a couple of Bike Fridays and a suitcase trailer. That would solve my one worry that a midtail would be too little space for our touring. We could add soft, bulky gear in the trailer without feeling cramped on the bike.
This all leaves me with so many things to consider. The bike would fill a great void in our fleet but I would feel a bit excessive having the two big cargo bikes already. I'm not sure if I'm ready to totally give up the Mundo but I'm happy that it's being used and loved at the moment. One option would be to keep both cargo bikes and add the Haul-a-Day but allow for one or two of the cargo bikes to be rented out for the bike tours or borrowed by visitors and friends. The other option would be to sell the Mundo and add the Haul-a-Day so I don't feel so greedy. The other option, of course, is to not get the midtail at the moment and see how often we miss out on bike riding opportunities because we end up having to drive or leave the bikes then decide if it's something we really need. We'll be heading over to Bike Friday tomorrow on our way back home to follow up and chat about options and pricing, hopefully getting an extra test ride or else how will I fit in a day of riding for 30 Days of Biking?
What would you do?
This bike is great! It's light and easy to ride. Unloaded if feels like a standard bike, loaded it's even more stable. The little front wheel takes more attention than I'm used to and it felt a bit wiggly. The ride was an upright, comfortable position but that can be adjusted with the OSATA telescoping tube. The blue bike was closer than I would choose. The standard gears are just an 8-speed cassette and although that would be just fine for Sacramento riding, for longer tours, I'd want a double or triple chainring added. I did notice that riding around the shop and the little hills I encountered were fine to pedal through at the highest two gears, even with my little passenger. It was nice to have a low deck that Little Brother could climb up and down off of but the kickstand wasn't stable enough to allow him to sit unattended.
The standard build up comes with a rear disc brake but only a front v-brake, I'd probably choose to add a front disc as well. The Bike Friday handlebars were very comfortable for upright riding and I noticed a range of widths so they're probably easily customizable. I like that it includes a flag mount for my usual pinwheel flag. The side bags were on the small side on the midtail whereas the longtail would have the Xtracycle freeloader bags. I think if I were to get the bike, I'd have to get another set of Carsick Design slings to fit. Sadly, the Mundo's would be too long. The midtail deck also fits an Xtracycle deck and all the accessories. It would be interesting to see how it would work because the deck would hang a little over the back of the frame.
To continue the fantasizing, I would probably need to add their half Hooptie design and a Yepp Maxi for Little Brother. I think that I'd be able to fit the seat directly onto the new Xtracycle deck with the optional cutouts. I'd also want to get the stationary front rack since that's been such a bonus with the Mundo. One of the bikes also had a couple of quick releases mounted near the rear axle that turned out to be a new towing mount. They still haven't done much testing but it's possible that it could be a trail-a-bike option to allow for a second bike and pedaler. If it even just tows a bike easily, that would be great because with the Peanut Shell on the back of the Mundo, it keeps me from easily towing regular-sized bikes or adding a trail-a-bike. One final addition that I might consider would be a trailer hitch since my dad has a couple of Bike Fridays and a suitcase trailer. That would solve my one worry that a midtail would be too little space for our touring. We could add soft, bulky gear in the trailer without feeling cramped on the bike.
This all leaves me with so many things to consider. The bike would fill a great void in our fleet but I would feel a bit excessive having the two big cargo bikes already. I'm not sure if I'm ready to totally give up the Mundo but I'm happy that it's being used and loved at the moment. One option would be to keep both cargo bikes and add the Haul-a-Day but allow for one or two of the cargo bikes to be rented out for the bike tours or borrowed by visitors and friends. The other option would be to sell the Mundo and add the Haul-a-Day so I don't feel so greedy. The other option, of course, is to not get the midtail at the moment and see how often we miss out on bike riding opportunities because we end up having to drive or leave the bikes then decide if it's something we really need. We'll be heading over to Bike Friday tomorrow on our way back home to follow up and chat about options and pricing, hopefully getting an extra test ride or else how will I fit in a day of riding for 30 Days of Biking?
What would you do?
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