Cargo bike comparison

[jrenaut]

Just got back from Bicycle Space. We did some cargo bike test riding. I think we’re deciding between a Yuba Mundo and an Xtracycle Edgerunner. The Yuba is cheaper, but the Xtracycle has the small rear wheel that lowers the center of gravity for the cargo, which in my case will generally be my children and sometimes groceries. The Xtracycle also comes with disc brakes.

Anyone have specific preferences? I rode both, and I LOVED the Yuba, but the Xtracycle was too small for me, so that certainly affected the ride. They’re supposed to get a large in and I’m going back to try it out.

Mechanical vs hydraulic discs – worth the extra money for hydraulics? The Yuba doesn’t come with either, but it has the frame/fork mounts so I could upgrade.

I also didn’t like the plastic wheel guard on the Yuba – there’s no way to get at the brakes or really remove the rear wheel without taking it off, which is not trivial. The Xtracycle uses bags as a guard so it’s not such a big deal.

I’m really excited. I took the kids for a ride around the block and they loved it. I took them to soccer this morning in the trailer, and having them on the back of the cargo bike was so much nicer. I didn’t do any hills on the cargo bike, though.

Topic

[brendan]

@peterw_diy 83679 wrote:

Xtracycle IP: true. They’re MySQL/Oracle, not Caldera/SCO.

Oh great. Now my bike is going to trick me into installing the Ask Toolbar when I’m not paying attention…

B

[jrenaut]

So, front tire was inflated just right, rear maybe a little overinflated. Would that possibly be causing my issues? It’s also possible that my pump pressure gauge is off.

I have to say that, unloaded, it’s a pretty comfy ride. I was remarking to my friend/coworker with a custom cargo bike that riding down 14th Street was a breeze on those big tires. He said his cargo bike rides like a couch. The hill up 15th wasn’t much fun, but my time was 70th of the 108 times I’ve Strava’d that hill, so I’ve definitely been slower on a lighter bike.

I’m kind of frustrated – I can’t carry my kids on a bike that I can’t stop from wobbling. And I’m not sure what else would be causing such a drastic wobble.

[brendan]

@jrenaut 83691 wrote:

So, front tire was inflated just right, rear maybe a little overinflated. Would that possibly be causing my issues? It’s also possible that my pump pressure gauge is off.

I have to say that, unloaded, it’s a pretty comfy ride. I was remarking to my friend/coworker with a custom cargo bike that riding down 14th Street was a breeze on those big tires. He said his cargo bike rides like a couch. The hill up 15th wasn’t much fun, but my time was 70th of the 108 times I’ve Strava’d that hill, so I’ve definitely been slower on a lighter bike.

I’m kind of frustrated – I can’t carry my kids on a bike that I can’t stop from wobbling. And I’m not sure what else would be causing such a drastic wobble.

That was a picture of an xtracycle Radish, right? a) if so, then it’s not a one piece frame, but a standard xtracycle bolt-on extension (which is slightly wobbly by nature) so it might be worth checking to see if the bolt-ons are torqued-on correctly or b) maybe it’s just the nature of the non-one-piece xtracycle long-tails and riding an edge-runner, sun-cargo or big dummy might be different?

I originally got the radish and the next year they released an updated one that was “more stable”. What year is this radish?

(forgive me if I’m confusing threads)

B

[dasgeh]

@jrenaut 83691 wrote:

So, front tire was inflated just right, rear maybe a little overinflated. Would that possibly be causing my issues? It’s also possible that my pump pressure gauge is off.

I have to say that, unloaded, it’s a pretty comfy ride. I was remarking to my friend/coworker with a custom cargo bike that riding down 14th Street was a breeze on those big tires. He said his cargo bike rides like a couch. The hill up 15th wasn’t much fun, but my time was 70th of the 108 times I’ve Strava’d that hill, so I’ve definitely been slower on a lighter bike.

I’m kind of frustrated – I can’t carry my kids on a bike that I can’t stop from wobbling. And I’m not sure what else would be causing such a drastic wobble.

Where was the heavier kid? Did you play with distribution of weight?

When we test rode the Mundo with me behind the oldest kid behind the youngest kid, it was hellawobbly. I’m told it would have been better in reverse.

[jrenaut]

It is an older Radish, but I’m not sure how old.

I had the heavier kid in the back. I didn’t try anything else because we were going to be late to school and then by the time i got home from work it was raining. Hopefully I can give it another try tomorrow, but I’m not optimistic about the weather. And honestly, the weight difference between is between 10 and 20 pounds – seems unlikely to make a ton of difference.

I’ve been inspecting the bike and haven’t found any obvious wobble, but I might have missed something.

[dasgeh]

Having read far too many reviews of long tails recently, 10-20 pounds may make a difference. Worth a try. Also, the older Radishes definitely got more “wobbly” reviews. And longtails generally are reviewed to be “wobbley at the start but fine once you get going”. So maybe find some safe place and try to get going?

[peterw_diy]

@brendan 83694 wrote:

That was a picture of an xtracycle Radish, right? a) if so, then it’s not a one piece frame, but a standard xtracycle bolt-on extension

Maybe that’s it. I don’t think I ever understood that Radish wasn’t an integrated frame. Reviews generally find Mundo to be noticeably more stable than any FreeRadical builds and some integrated X bikes like Big Dummy, though some seem to think EdgeRunner is as stable as Mundo.

dasgeh – right. Wives must not sit behind the rear hub. Know your place!

[jrenaut]

@dasgeh 83703 wrote:

Having read far too many reviews of long tails recently, 10-20 pounds may make a difference. Worth a try. Also, the older Radishes definitely got more “wobbly” reviews. And longtails generally are reviewed to be “wobbley at the start but fine once you get going”. So maybe find some safe place and try to get going?

Yeah, that might be all I really need. Not sure. It might have to wait until Bicycle Space gets a bigger Xtracycle in stock.

[peterw_diy]

@dasgeh 83703 wrote:

Having read far too many reviews of long tails recently, 10-20 pounds may make a difference. Worth a try

Bah. Two grade-school kids should be no problem. The Mundo and EdgeRunner test rides were fine, right? Just don’t buy your friend’s Radish!

[jrenaut]

@peterw_diy 83710 wrote:

Bah. Two grade-school kids should be no problem. The Mundo and EdgeRunner test rides were fine, right? Just don’t buy your friend’s Radish!

Haha, good point. But now I can’t remember for sure if I actually put both kids on at once during my first test rides.

That’s what I thought, though – while my kids are definitely on the large end of the range (my wife and I both grew early, I was basically as tall as I am now at 13), they still won’t be 4 and 6 until September. They don’t weigh THAT much.

[peterw_diy]

@jrenaut 83711 wrote:

while my kids are definitely on the large end of the range (my wife and I both grew early, I was basically as tall as I am now at 13), they still won’t be 4 and 6 until September. They don’t weigh THAT much.

Mine are now 3 and 6 and together weigh 90#. Neither my wife nor I have any trouble, except maybe when, as you say, the 6yo is “trying to kill Daddy”. Gotta keep a good hold on the handlebar then (and appreciate the MTB shifter/brake lever setup).

[jrenaut]

I’ve been talking to another Radish owner who says her husband finds the bike “squirrely” while he has no trouble hauling three kids on the back of his Big Dummy. So maybe I’m still really just having fit problmes.

[brendan]

@jrenaut 83714 wrote:

I’ve been talking to another Radish owner who says her husband finds the bike “squirrely” while he has no trouble hauling three kids on the back of his Big Dummy. So maybe I’m still really just having fit problmes.

I’m always reluctant to recommend the big dummy due to the price tag, and I know it’s not on your list.

But it’s a hell of a bike. Can’t ever see loving a ride quite like this one. It just goes…

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[jrenaut]

I don’t object to a Big Dummy, but I’m not sure that’s really what’s best for my wife. If we were getting TWO cargo bikes, I’d probably get a a Big Dummy and she could get a Mundo or Xtracycle. And I’d like to build it up from the frame so it’s exactly how I want it. And while I’m wishing I’d like a pony and a bowl of ice cream and world peace and protected cycle tracks criss-crossing the city…

[brendan]

@jrenaut 83725 wrote:

I don’t object to a Big Dummy, but I’m not sure that’s really what’s best for my wife. If we were getting TWO cargo bikes, I’d probably get a a Big Dummy and she could get a Mundo or Xtracycle. And I’d like to build it up from the frame so it’s exactly how I want it. And while I’m wishing I’d like a pony and a bowl of ice cream and world peace and protected cycle tracks criss-crossing the city…

That’s a bike fit conundrum. I don’t think Erin or I would be happy having to share a bike. We’re just too particular collectively about bike fit and/or bike needs. And perhaps more importantly, we’re much different sizes. If you two are closer in size, it might be worth both of you test-riding a dummy.

Our primary bikes are now the Disc Trucker (+ortlieb bags) and the Dummy, respectively, as our commuter/everyday bikes. The O Street Market Giant checkout folks think we’re mad mad mad… (usually after our response to asking if we need our parking passes validated).

Kids might lead to bike changes…but I wonder how much? Addition of a trailer option on the trucker and reconfiguration of the back of a dummy to make it kid friendly?

B

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