My Mundo Re-Design 4.0 – Slimmer Storage w/ Insulated Cargo Bags, Costco-trip-certified!

 

Well, it’s been about 6 months since I overhauled the storage systems on our Yuba Mundo cargo bike, so–whether it’s a sign of my creativity or a symptom of my inability to leave well enough alone (probably the latter)–I have redone our blue beast, making it lighter and slimmer and (hopefully) just as useful.

The white IKEA plastic bag holders that used to be in back are now up front where a basket would be on a normal bike.  If this is your first time seeing these odd contraptions on a bicycle, then I will exhort you to get a pair of them, post haste.  They continue to be quite useful, no matter where they’re placed, especially with the children riding with me.  Sweatshirts, hats, snack cups, water bottles, bananas, Clif Bars, you name it–if you need quick access to something that’s not huge or heavy, then these long beauties are for you.  Plus, at $1.99, they’re the accessory that gives you the most bang for the buck.

The large pannier buckets I mounted at the rear of the running boards, under the peanut shell child seat (and–before that–up front under the handlebars where the top tube and downtube meet) are now gone.  I took them off when I took part in a 40-mile rac–with my girls co-piloting from the rear deck–a couple weeks ago (a post retelling the tale is forthcoming, as soon as I get some more photos).  I just wasn’t in the mood to put them back on after getting used to riding around without banging into things, especially the basement door frame.  By the way, look how casual my little guy is, taking in the view at Target…the crossed legs crack me up.

Here’s an average haul at Trader Joe’s for us, and it takes up about one of the new bags which, again, are INSULATED!

I realized that I sort of wanted a pair of slings, like the awesome Carsick Designs MONDO SLING (made here in Sacramento!), or something like Yuba’s own GO-GETTER saddle bags…but I’ve heard conflicting amounts of praise for the Go-Getters, and–even though I plan on one day investing in a pair of Mondo Slings–I’m not ready to put two slings on the bike while I still have the three kiddos climbing on and off so much.

So, in the back of my mind, I’ve been half-heartedly keeping an eye out for some large sturdy bags I can plop on and off of the running boards to see how I really like riding with my cargo in those spots, as opposed to up front or way back.

Then, when I had to run into a Whole Foods off the freeway in hopes of avoiding a potty-related accident with our little guy, I spied their large INSULATED MESSENGER BAG, and was sold.  It has a really sturdy strap, puffy insulated lining, and front and rear pockets good for water bottles, snacks and tchotchkes.  The big selling point, though?  They’re $7.49 each.  Yep…I got a pair for under $16.  If I got a pair of Go-Getter bags (and, granted, they have more features and are nice in their own right) I’d be out about $260.  So, I figure I can try these for the cost of 7 cups of coffee and avoid experimenting with something a dozen times the cost.

 

Since I took the big buckets off, I was riding at quite a cargo-carrying deficit for a week, which felt quite strange.  More than strange, though, I realized quickly that I needed to get that capacity back, because there’s just as much stuff to haul as ever with less room than before (as the kids continue to grow like very, very cute weeds).  I had gotten used to riding a bulkier bike (which was totally fine), but I was ready for a lighter riding experience and wanted to be able to just take my cargo and go straight inside the house without repacking things from the buckets or taking a couple armful loads back and forth from bike to home.  As much as I don’t miss driving my car into the garage every day, the simplicity of just going inside as quickly as possible with my bags and three small kids (especially in the cold or rain) was something I lamented a bit.

I took some wire shelving I had laying around the basement, bent it into an L shape and easily fastened it to the Mundo’s running boards with 2 nuts, bolts and washers.  This wire rack keeps the bag from sliding or falling off the running boards with minimal weight and drag.  I added a caribener to each rack as an extra little measure to keep each bag in place.  So far, zero problems with the bag moving.

 

Just in time for us to FINALLY get some rain, (long may it last!), it is nice to pop into the house quickly with my haul.  Also, it’s nice to bring one or both of the bags into a store with me, as needed, without having to repack out at the bike rack.

The first major test of the redesign has been passed: a run to COSTCO.  The other blue bag is, indeed, on the left side of the bike, but you can’t see it with the IKEA plastic bag holders and my tin can music amplifier hogging that side of the shot.  The bags held up great holding a decent-sized Costco load (although, having most of the rear deck free for a big box of stuff helped, too), especially since I had 3 large bags of organic frozen blueberries in there.

And even though (as the above photo can attest) gas is–for now–under $3 for the first time in a long time, I still prefer the $0.00 per gallon cost of riding my Mundo.

 

 

Too Much Cargo? Too Many Errands? Not with a Mundo

I had a small window of time and 3 errands to run, each involving a decent-to-large amount of cargo.

Decision-time:

Do I just take the car?

Or do I add a 4th errand on top of the mix (getting exercise) and take the Mundo?

Seeing that I don’t also write a separate blog about driving my Mazda around town, you can probably guess what I chose.

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Long story short, here are my 3 hauls:

#1 – A cartload of assorted goodies and staples (including cat food) from Trader Joe’s:

#2 – A couple bags of fresh goodness (including 10lbs of apples, 10lbs of oranges, honey and eggs!) from the big Farmers Market under the freeway:

#3 – One 48lb bag of dog food for our furry little family members, courtesy of Smart’n’Final:

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So, I’m very glad I chose to ride this day.  It always helps my outlook to be on a bike, as opposed to being in the car, sequestered from my environment.  I even ran into a few friends at the Farmers Market, then made some new acquaintances when I parked my Mundo next to theirs.  Here’s a shot of my beast and their nice orange ride:

And here’s a shot of how the groceries fit (prior to the dog food plopping on top).  As I’ve mentioned in other posts, a regular wine box will fit perfectly in the Monkey Bars, and my big green bag is loaded with veggies in the Peanut Shell seat.  I’ve also got groceries in the plastic bucket panniers up front:

 

Front Frame Bucket Panniers–D.I.Y.

Our new cargo bucket panniers, though large, don’t extend the overall width of the bike (since they jut out as far as the handlebars).

Like most cargo bike riders, I gather, I’m on a perpetual quest for more carrying capacity.  The questions, alas, that always arise when a new basket or contraption is considered are:

– How bulky will this make my bike? 

– How much more weight will it add to our already considerable load?

– How will it affect the balance, steering and weight distribution of the bike? 

– How much will the new item(s) cost?

After trying a number of different homemade baskets, racks, and panniers (as cataloged on this blog), I decided to try something new.

My friend Seth, who has an awesome dutch bike he uses to expertly ferry his kiddos and cargo around town, offered to get me a pair of plastic buckets similar to his vertical rear-mounted ones (these are commonly known as Kitty Litter Bucket Panniers).  I said yes, enthusiastically, but didn’t quite know how I would mount them on our Yuba Mundo, or how I would deal with having even more weight on the back end of our already back-heavy ride.

Well, when Seth gave me the buckets, it just clicked–I can try angling them forward a bit and putting them up front!  The top tube and down tube of the Mundo already come with pre-drilled braze-on screw holes (to attach a BreadBasket front cargo rack) so much of the work was already done for me (which I always appreciate).

I just drilled 2 holes on the inside of each bucket after angling them optimally (for me, it’s about 45 degrees, but each bike, handlebar setup, and rider’s leg length will present a different choice), added a washer on the end of each screw for support, and voila!  Here’s a view of the inside wall of one of the buckets with screws in place:

I like the 45-ish degree angling of the buckets for a couple of reasons. One, it’s a bit more aerodynamic than having them completely vertical. Two, it keeps items safer from shifting and slamming up against the lid than if they were horizontal. Three, I feel it just looks a little cooler (granted, “cool” is a very relative term on a big industrial bike sporting large white plastic buckets).

Coolness aside, though, I must say that having a waterproof way to transport things is nice!

So far, I’ve ridden a fair amount with the boxes full, and I’ve been quite pleased!  Each one can hold 4 gallons. I’ve had large milk jugs and full coffee carafes in them, which are quite heavy.  A recent grocery haul of a bunch of bananas, a bag of green beans, 5 apples, some carrots, and a large container of yogurt took up about a quarter of the capacity.

I also drilled small holes on the top edge of each bucket and on the bottom edge of each lid and secured them with zip ties.  This way, the lids can be looser by sitting on top of the buckets (instead of being tightly wedged close) to make for easy opening and closing, while gravity still keeps them in place and the angling keeps them from blowing open.

The last things I added were these cardboard wine box bottle dividers, flattened, and tabbed together to form a kind of self-ratcheting tubular lining for the buckets.  These keep the contents from moving around too much (a necessity considering the sheer amount of easily-bruisable bananas I buy on a weekly basis).  It’s like a really, really low-budget compression sock for your groceries and miscellaneous items.  Also, like the buckets themselves, they’re recyclable!

Here’s the view from the saddle. My knees have just enough clearance, and–with two large white cubes at the front of the bike–our ride is now even more visable to oncoming traffic. Really, though, I just want to give you a sense of scale, here.

So, overall, I’m quite happy with these odd little contraptions.  To answer the questions I posed at the beginning of this post, they:

–Add little bulk, and no width, to the bike!

– Weigh very little (when empty, at least!)

– Help the balance and weight distrubution by shifting more weight from the overloaded rear to the front, all while not hampering steering (since they’re attached to the frame, not the handlebars or wheel), and…

– They cost almost nothing!