Our eldest daughter just turned 5. She's had a 12-inch BMX-style Giant for a couple of years now. It's been good, apart from being unbelievably heavy. It's getting a bit small, though, so it's time to upgrade. We got her a second-hand one, which I made a couple of upgrades to.
Her requirements:
- a stand
- pink
- streamers on handlebars
Our requirements
- front and rear brakes, one lever-operated and compatible with little hands.
- decent tyres (ie not the ridiculous faux knobblies that seem to come standard round these parts)
- decent rims (not steel)
Light would have been nice, but 99.99% of kids' bikes are BMX-style (complete with stickers warning against riding them offroad or using them for stunts), so not much chance of that.
We picked up a second-hand one off eBay. Luckily enough, it had a front-mounted V-brake (although a cheap and nasty one), so we had a really good base. It even had aluminium rims, so using a hand-operated brake wouldn't be a complete waste of time.
I put a better V-brake on the front (some Tektro thing I had lying around for some reason), tidied up some cosmetic stuff and regreased the bearings. I've not had much truck with cheap cheap V-brakes (these were made of pressed steel(!)), but cheap cheap brakes in general are a no-go area for me anyway. I wanted something easy to adjust that wasn't too grabby. It worked well with the existing lever, which seems to have been aimed at little hands. The good thing about a fork with cantilever mounts is that you have a range of more or less powerful brakes to choose from, from cantilever up to extra-long V-brake.
We picked up some semi-slick tyres for reasonable money too (made by Cheng Shin, as I recall). The theory there is that they should last better than the knobbly kind and roll and grip a bit better. They were also slightly smaller, which means slightly lower stepover (good) and slightly lower gearing (also good).
Gearing is an interesting one. I took up track cycling about a year ago and this may have coloured my perspective a bit, because track cyclists talk an awful lot about gearing. Talking about what gear you're on is the rough equivalent of talking about the weather or something. I'm leaning to the view that it's important for kids too. In particular, I think lower gearing is a good thing for little kids (they'll struggle less on hills at the cost of going slightly slower on the flat). It's easy peasy to change the sprocket on a coaster brake hub too (although http://sheldonbrown.com/coaster-brakes.html has a couple of helpful hints I wasn't aware of), so I think I'll scare up a bigger rear sprocket and see how it goes.
It's been a good step up; our daughter's done pretty well picking up some new skills (like dealing with a higher saddle and using a hand-operated brake). In some ways I'd rather do away with the coaster brake (it makes starting off harder than it has to be) but it's what she's familiar with from her old bike, so it's a good transition. She's ridden it to school, both solo (and supervised) and attached to mum's bike (in which capacity it works better than her old 12"). Her little brother insisted on riding it back home. Who said pink's only for girls?
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Bobike mini - headrest and windscreen
So we decided to get some accessories for the BoBike Mini. We got a handlebar, which is really a headrest and a windscreen. I think they are popular; it's hard to tell, cause the young 'un thought the old getup was just great:
Here's a photo of the new gear. It makes the bike look even more, um, distinctive:
The black bit is a kind of curtain which hangs over the child's legs.
The headrest has been road-tested (sleep-tested?) and did pretty well. She fell asleep without it, so I assume that comfort wasn't an issue, but if nothing else I like her having somewhere to rest her head. I like the way the windscreen fends off low-hanging plants and (I assume) insects. Overall, we're very pleased with it.
We got the accessories from www.moruyabicycles.com.au, who seem to be running them out at about half price for some reason - a good time to pick up a bargain.
Here's a photo of the new gear. It makes the bike look even more, um, distinctive:
The black bit is a kind of curtain which hangs over the child's legs.
The headrest has been road-tested (sleep-tested?) and did pretty well. She fell asleep without it, so I assume that comfort wasn't an issue, but if nothing else I like her having somewhere to rest her head. I like the way the windscreen fends off low-hanging plants and (I assume) insects. Overall, we're very pleased with it.
We got the accessories from www.moruyabicycles.com.au, who seem to be running them out at about half price for some reason - a good time to pick up a bargain.
Monday, 12 December 2011
Rudy Project Zyon Review
Every so often, I have some random thing bounce off my head, much closer to my eyeballs that I'd really like. Generally it's suicidal insects or angry (I'm assuming) birds. I've worn the odd insect in my eye, which a fairly unpleasant sensation, never mind the bad things it does to your concentration. I'm totally sold on protective eyewear for cycling. This probably sounds all wowserish or something. Well, maybe, but even the merely annoying insect-in-the-eyeball stuff was no fun at all. Avoiding that is reason enough for me, never mind the really nasty stuff. I've seen enough of opthalmologists to last me quite a while. I used to have a pair of sunglasses for daytime and a pair of sunglasses for nighttime. Nowadays I have a pair of photochromic sunglasses, which are way better.
Photochromic lenses seem to be quite popular with people who need prescription lenses. I can understand why; two sets of eyewear is a drag. I think they have a lot going for them even if you don't need prescription lenses; a set of safety glasses that automatically darken when it's bright is actually really really handy.
I have a pair of Rudy Project Zyons, which are hands-down the best, most comfortable sunglasses I have owned. Mine have a clear frame and photochromic lenses that fade to (more or less) clear. Aesthetically, they're like most technical eyewear, which is to say that the best you can hope for is looking like some Germanic killer robot (think: original Terminator movie). The clear lenses do not enhance the aesthetic experience; you move down the from pitiless cyborg to someone fresh from some eye-threatening process in some lab or Satanic mill. So they're probably not the sunglasses you want if you're all about looking cool.
For me, the fact that they actually fit more than makes up for their limitations as a fashion item. I have no end of trouble finding sunglasses that fit. The ones that do tend to be fashion sunglasses, with things like glass lenses, so-so eye protection and less-than-stellar durability. The Zyons have an adjustable nosepiece (which seems to be critical to getting sunglasses to fit me) and arms that can be bent into place. I can make them sit just right on my face and stay there. Considering that most sunglasses I try on annoy me in about 30 seconds flat, this is pretty impressive. They can be moved as close, or as far away from your face as you want, within reason.
The lenses are good too. They don't seem especially prone to scratches. I ride around with them on at night and it works fine. Maybe it's the placebo effect, but I find they aren't bad at cutting down the glare from fluorescent lights either. They get dark enough during the day. I wouldn't mind if they got a bit darker on really really bright days, but I'll gladly trade that off for the fade-to-clear thing.
They're tough; I trod on them (gulp) without any ill-effects apart from having to pop a lens back in.
One drawback is that wearing them in the rain drives me *nuts*. I suspect this would be the case with most any eye protection. Oh, and they fog up if I exhale on them, but I've hit on a solution to that problem: don't do it! The other thing, which is in the nature of most photochromic sunglasses, is that they work off UV light and so fade to clear if you're behind glass. This means they're no good as sunglasses for driving, but that's a minor thing when their role in life is as eye protection.
AFAIK they don't meet any of the common safety-glasses standards, nor do they do anything exciting with blue light. Me, I'm more worried about the flora and fauna that barrels towards my eyeballs every so often. A physical barrier that blocks UV light is fine with me.
They aren't cheap; RRP is (from memory) about $400AUD. I got mine for about $160 delivered from www.erudy.com.au, who often have specials on this kind of thing. That's not cheap, to my way of thinking, but it's well and truly worth it. These are hands-down the best sunglasses I've ever owned.
Photochromic lenses seem to be quite popular with people who need prescription lenses. I can understand why; two sets of eyewear is a drag. I think they have a lot going for them even if you don't need prescription lenses; a set of safety glasses that automatically darken when it's bright is actually really really handy.
I have a pair of Rudy Project Zyons, which are hands-down the best, most comfortable sunglasses I have owned. Mine have a clear frame and photochromic lenses that fade to (more or less) clear. Aesthetically, they're like most technical eyewear, which is to say that the best you can hope for is looking like some Germanic killer robot (think: original Terminator movie). The clear lenses do not enhance the aesthetic experience; you move down the from pitiless cyborg to someone fresh from some eye-threatening process in some lab or Satanic mill. So they're probably not the sunglasses you want if you're all about looking cool.
For me, the fact that they actually fit more than makes up for their limitations as a fashion item. I have no end of trouble finding sunglasses that fit. The ones that do tend to be fashion sunglasses, with things like glass lenses, so-so eye protection and less-than-stellar durability. The Zyons have an adjustable nosepiece (which seems to be critical to getting sunglasses to fit me) and arms that can be bent into place. I can make them sit just right on my face and stay there. Considering that most sunglasses I try on annoy me in about 30 seconds flat, this is pretty impressive. They can be moved as close, or as far away from your face as you want, within reason.
The lenses are good too. They don't seem especially prone to scratches. I ride around with them on at night and it works fine. Maybe it's the placebo effect, but I find they aren't bad at cutting down the glare from fluorescent lights either. They get dark enough during the day. I wouldn't mind if they got a bit darker on really really bright days, but I'll gladly trade that off for the fade-to-clear thing.
They're tough; I trod on them (gulp) without any ill-effects apart from having to pop a lens back in.
One drawback is that wearing them in the rain drives me *nuts*. I suspect this would be the case with most any eye protection. Oh, and they fog up if I exhale on them, but I've hit on a solution to that problem: don't do it! The other thing, which is in the nature of most photochromic sunglasses, is that they work off UV light and so fade to clear if you're behind glass. This means they're no good as sunglasses for driving, but that's a minor thing when their role in life is as eye protection.
AFAIK they don't meet any of the common safety-glasses standards, nor do they do anything exciting with blue light. Me, I'm more worried about the flora and fauna that barrels towards my eyeballs every so often. A physical barrier that blocks UV light is fine with me.
They aren't cheap; RRP is (from memory) about $400AUD. I got mine for about $160 delivered from www.erudy.com.au, who often have specials on this kind of thing. That's not cheap, to my way of thinking, but it's well and truly worth it. These are hands-down the best sunglasses I've ever owned.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
BoBike Mini - review
This is a front-mounted child seat. There is a clamp which goes around the stem (or the steerer tube if it's a threadless headset) and the seat locks onto it. Your child ends up behind the handlebars.
Ours was bought second-hand; supposedly it's about 5 years old. No dramas there; it's been looked after, but for all I know there have been changes and/or improvements since (current models have a "+" in the name. I have no clue whether ours is a "+" or not).
It works pretty well. There's more room for my knees that with the WeeRide that we've also tried. I still have to pedal in a slightly (more) wierd way than usual, but nothing too terrible. We use it on our Yuba Mundo, so (1) it's about the least twitchy bike I've ever ridden and therefore doesn't mind 8-10 kg perched over the front wheel and (2) there's plenty of weight (ie the other two kids) in the back to balance things. I wouldn't try it on a race bike, mind you, but I expect that something with fairly relaxed steering would be fine.
Assembly is pretty easy - clamp the bracket onto your stem and away we go. Supposedly it works the same if you have an Aheadset system with 25mm of spacers. It worked fine on a 1/1/8" quill stem, FWIW. There's some other attachment device that has to do with mountain bikes, so it should work with most sane bikes. My smokin' hot installation tip: a tap spanner (I think that's the term - a long tubular socket) helps no end: the bolt sticks out too far for a regular socket spanner and there's not enough room to turn an open-ended spanner very far.
Once the bracket's on, it's about a 5 second job to take the seat on and off. You pull out a split pin and slide it off. Putting it on again is just about as easy.
The back doesn't stick up far enough to get in the way of a helmet, which is a good thing, what with helmets being The Law here in .au. Our little one (ca 9 months old) falls asleep on it, helmet and all, which is a ringing endorsement of its comfiness. It'd be good if she had something to rest her head on. I gather there's an accessory for that which is on the wish list.
Getting on and off is a bit of an experience. There's not quite enough room between saddle and BoBike, so I need to be able to touch the ground while seated. I also have to lift my leg over the top-tube; trying to swing it over bars or back wheel isn't going to work. Fitting three kids on a bit is pretty easy, but it's not quite trivial.
Ours was bought second-hand; supposedly it's about 5 years old. No dramas there; it's been looked after, but for all I know there have been changes and/or improvements since (current models have a "+" in the name. I have no clue whether ours is a "+" or not).
It works pretty well. There's more room for my knees that with the WeeRide that we've also tried. I still have to pedal in a slightly (more) wierd way than usual, but nothing too terrible. We use it on our Yuba Mundo, so (1) it's about the least twitchy bike I've ever ridden and therefore doesn't mind 8-10 kg perched over the front wheel and (2) there's plenty of weight (ie the other two kids) in the back to balance things. I wouldn't try it on a race bike, mind you, but I expect that something with fairly relaxed steering would be fine.
Assembly is pretty easy - clamp the bracket onto your stem and away we go. Supposedly it works the same if you have an Aheadset system with 25mm of spacers. It worked fine on a 1/1/8" quill stem, FWIW. There's some other attachment device that has to do with mountain bikes, so it should work with most sane bikes. My smokin' hot installation tip: a tap spanner (I think that's the term - a long tubular socket) helps no end: the bolt sticks out too far for a regular socket spanner and there's not enough room to turn an open-ended spanner very far.
Once the bracket's on, it's about a 5 second job to take the seat on and off. You pull out a split pin and slide it off. Putting it on again is just about as easy.
The back doesn't stick up far enough to get in the way of a helmet, which is a good thing, what with helmets being The Law here in .au. Our little one (ca 9 months old) falls asleep on it, helmet and all, which is a ringing endorsement of its comfiness. It'd be good if she had something to rest her head on. I gather there's an accessory for that which is on the wish list.
Getting on and off is a bit of an experience. There's not quite enough room between saddle and BoBike, so I need to be able to touch the ground while seated. I also have to lift my leg over the top-tube; trying to swing it over bars or back wheel isn't going to work. Fitting three kids on a bit is pretty easy, but it's not quite trivial.
Friday, 28 October 2011
Review - Byk250
The Byk250 is marketed as being different to other kids' bikes. Our son (the middle child) has had one since about age 2.
They claim that's it's lighter; the frame is aluminium and not steel. That's undoubtedly true; I reckon it's a kilo or two lighter than a typical kids' bike. They claim it's easier to pedal, presumably because it has narrow slick tyres. Hard to say for sure, but I can believe it. It has slightly bigger rims that usual along with the skinnier tyres, so the overall diameter is about the same as on a standard 12". The rims are aluminium these days, which makes a nice change from steel.
I gather it has shorter crank arms than normal. I don't quite know what that's all about. They have apparently done all funky stuff with the geometry. The seat tube is quite short, which means low stepover. This is a good, good thing for small kids. A lot of 12" bikes won't let smaller kids' feet touch the ground.
It's got a hand-operated front brake, which could come in handy as they get older; coaster brakes aren't ideal for speed control.
The seatpost bolt is quick-release; that's a nice touch. It comes with a detachable handle too, which is good; you will be called on to push.
It's not cheap, unfortunately, at about 250 AUD. I'm reliably informed that bikes can be had from the tip shop for $3 if you don't mind fixed gear bikes with solid plastic wheels and solid tyres. The idea of a 2yo on a brakeless fixie doesn't thrill me, though.
In some ways, a trike or a pushbike is a better idea. Trikes are stabler and lower-geared. Pushbikes are better for teaching balance, plus they cope better with uneven ground. These are criticisms of the general concept, though; the Byk is a very good example of a small kids' bike.
The ultimate test: what's the rider reckon? He loves it.
They claim that's it's lighter; the frame is aluminium and not steel. That's undoubtedly true; I reckon it's a kilo or two lighter than a typical kids' bike. They claim it's easier to pedal, presumably because it has narrow slick tyres. Hard to say for sure, but I can believe it. It has slightly bigger rims that usual along with the skinnier tyres, so the overall diameter is about the same as on a standard 12". The rims are aluminium these days, which makes a nice change from steel.
I gather it has shorter crank arms than normal. I don't quite know what that's all about. They have apparently done all funky stuff with the geometry. The seat tube is quite short, which means low stepover. This is a good, good thing for small kids. A lot of 12" bikes won't let smaller kids' feet touch the ground.
It's got a hand-operated front brake, which could come in handy as they get older; coaster brakes aren't ideal for speed control.
The seatpost bolt is quick-release; that's a nice touch. It comes with a detachable handle too, which is good; you will be called on to push.
It's not cheap, unfortunately, at about 250 AUD. I'm reliably informed that bikes can be had from the tip shop for $3 if you don't mind fixed gear bikes with solid plastic wheels and solid tyres. The idea of a 2yo on a brakeless fixie doesn't thrill me, though.
In some ways, a trike or a pushbike is a better idea. Trikes are stabler and lower-geared. Pushbikes are better for teaching balance, plus they cope better with uneven ground. These are criticisms of the general concept, though; the Byk is a very good example of a small kids' bike.
The ultimate test: what's the rider reckon? He loves it.
Friday, 7 October 2011
Yuba Mundo - first thoughts
The latest addition to our cycling-with-kids fleet is a Yuba Mundo v4. We've had it for a little more than a week. Here are my thoughts so far:
Spec
The specification is well-thought out. The drivetrain is 7-speed, which I don't mind at all. It has SRAM shifters and derailleurs, which work pretty well. Indexed front derailleurs aren't my cup of tea, and this one is no exception. Shifting onto the big chainring can be unreliable. OTOH I haven't had any trouble getting onto the small ring, which is arguably more important; not getting a bigger gear just slows you down, while not getting a smaller gear can mean coming to a grinding halt.
The gearing is good too - I believe the bottom gear is around 20" (22x28), which is touring-low. There are some hills where I live, so the low gearing comes in handy. I like low gears - I know a lot of people don't go in for that sort of thing, but better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them. The fact that it doesn't have a coaster brake, like some cargo bikes of my acquaintance, is a good thing because it means you can set the pedals when starting on hills.
The V-brakes are interesting - they have longer-than-standard arms. I'm not sure why that is - perhaps to clear the big tyres and mudguards? The brakes pull the bike up well and modulation is okay, maybe a little bit grabby. No big deal with such a long, heavy bike. It's not like you're going to endo or anything. I upgraded to Kool Stop brake pads and I'm glad I did. The standard brake pads already had little shards of aluminium in them after less than a week. To be fair, this is not the first bike I've owned that comes with underwhelming brake pads - this seems to be a fairly popular thing to economise on. They're easy to replace, and fairly cheap, so this is more of an observation than a criticism.
The adjustable stem is a nice touch on a one-size-fits-all bike, as is the quill stem, which allows for more adjustment than the modern threadless variety. The swept-back bars work well on the bike - they have all the leverage I need. The grips and saddle are okay. I'll probably end up tweaking this stuff, but Yuba have provided sane defaults, which is fine with me.
Fit and Layout and Stuff
The riding position is pretty upright - no bad thing. The only wrinkle I've found is that the relatively short top tube doesn't play well with a WeeRide. I need it to be further forward. Shorter people may have better luck, but I think we'll be going with a handlebar-mounted seat for kid number 3. She's a bit little for that sort of thing (7mo), so that'll keep for now. The claimed 5' - 6'3" range of adjustment is plausible. I'm a touch under 6" and have about 60mm of seatpost left to play with. Well, I would if I hadn't sawed 60m off it to get it low enough for Tanya. BTW, she likes the paint job. We went for what I would describe as the electric baby blue. I like it too.
The Rack
It's proper big. Yuba claim it'll carry about 200kg. That's more than I have any intention of carrying; I suspect I'll be the limiting factor, not the bike. Two kid seats fit on with zero drama and there's room for some backpacks and whatnot with a bit of judicious occy-strapping. I haven't noticed any flexing or anything like that.
Wheels and Tyres
Thought has gone into this. The tyres are nice and big, which means you can run reasonably low pressures even with a loaded bike. This makes for a nice smooth ride. Some thought has gone into the rear wheel. It has a thicker-than-standard axle (14mm) and plenty of spokes (48). I've bent axles and broken spokes enough to be well and truly over it, so I appreciate the thought that's gone into configuring it. As for the front wheel, I took the rim off it and laced it onto a dynamo hub, so I can't say too much about it. Oh, both the front and rear hubs are disc-capable. It's nice to have an easy upgrade path available.
Assembly
It's delivered 85% assembled. They recommend getting a bike shop to finish the build, but there's nothing too hectic involved - you don't need any special tools or anything. It's easy enough to do yourself if you're into that sort of thing. I had a bit of a struggle getting one bolt in but meh, it all came good.
The Ride
Well, it's like riding a bike. It's very much a sit-and-spin kind of bike. I didn't find getting out of the saddle to work too well for me. It's easy enough to get a lower gear and stay seated, so I just do that instead. As you'd expect from something built to carry 200kg, 35kg or so of kids doesn't bother it in the least. Sure, hills slow me down, but that's okay. I just spin and take my time and I'm fine. I feel it when the kids move around on the back and that's unnerving at first, but it doesn't push the bike off-line or anything scary/dangerous like that. It's nice and stable on the move, and stable when stationary too. The front wheel hasn't looked like coming off the ground, which can be a drama when you have a heavy load on the back of a regular single bike.
Parking is fine too; much easier than bike+trailer. Just bear in mind that tight turns aren't its strong point. If your local council thinks hairpin bends on narrow footpaths are a bright idea, you may have a little trouble. Mine does, and I did. It's no picnic on a single bike either, mind you. It got through way way better than our two-seat trailer ever did, so I'd say it does pretty well at this sort of thing as 2-3-kid-carrying devices go. The double leg stand is excellent for lifting children out and whatnot. It handles fine unloaded too - I commuted to work with it and it was fine. It fit into a standard bike rack too, it just stuck out a bit further. Way way easier than a trailer in the same situation.
Tanya had a go too and is pretty positive.
Bike + Trailer - comparison
Bike+trailer is inherently more stable, no two ways about it. It wins at low speed, and when powering out of the saddle. OTOH, it's pretty terrible in confined spaces, as I mentioned above. The Mundo wins out there. The trailer has more luggage-carrying options and more weather protection (shade, waterproofing, whatever). Parking the Mundo is way easier. There's probably more growth in it too - I can't see the trailer being an option for our eldest for too much longer. Both have their place, but I think the Mundo is much more convenient day-to-day for us. Dropping kid(s) off and going on to work always seemed too hard with the trailer. I've tried it with the Mundo and it's just fine.
Accessories
We got two rear-mounted child seats (the "Peanut Shells"). So far so good - our 18-odd kg kids fit into them fine. No compaints so far.
Double-leg stand. This is just great. I'm not a bike stand guy, but this works superbly. I wouldn't care to have to look for something to lean this sucker against, then getting kids out.
We got the "Deflopilator". As advertised, it stops the front wheel flopping around. This is handy because when the bike's on the stand, the front wheel is on the ground. It's made no difference to the handling AFAICT.
Running boards - good for clambering, good for occy-strapping luggage to. Nice and easy to fit.
Coroplast things. I got my foot chawed in a bike wheel when I was a kid, so these are a Really Good Idea to my way of thinking. Easy to fit on (they use some of the numerous bolts on the rear rack and some cable ties).
Tweaks
I've mentioned some of these above, but here's a list of the things I've changed so far:
- fitted three child seats (two Peanut shells, which work well, and a WeeRide we already had, which is a no-go. No biggy, it can go on a single bike instead.). Update: we got a BoBike mini, which goes on the front. More room for knees - yay. We'll report when the young 'un's a bit bigger and stronger...
- sawed off the seatpost.
- fitted Kool Stop brake pads.
- fitted an adjustable rigid brake noodle to the rear brake. The original one was some flexible thing, which is a new one on me. I'm casting about for one to go on the front too.
- built an dynamo hub into the front wheel.
- fitted front and rear lights. There is a wrinkle here: none of the three dynamo rear lights I have will fit onto the Mundo's rear light mount. The tubing is too thick and the bolts aren't long enough. I'm planning on a workaround, probably involving a piece of metal. No drama, I've just thrown a battery light on for now.
We didn't get the bags because they don't work with two child seats.
We got both the bike and most of the accessories from http://www.cargocycles.com.au/, who were helpful and friendly to deal with. Delivery was pretty quick too.
In summary, so far so good. 40kg of kids and luggage is nothing to this bike. No flexing, no twitchiness, just a bit heavy going uphill, and there's appropriate gearing to help with that. It's fun for the kids (and the adults too). I don't know that it'll replace the car entirely, but for local kid transport I think it'll work really well.
Spec
The specification is well-thought out. The drivetrain is 7-speed, which I don't mind at all. It has SRAM shifters and derailleurs, which work pretty well. Indexed front derailleurs aren't my cup of tea, and this one is no exception. Shifting onto the big chainring can be unreliable. OTOH I haven't had any trouble getting onto the small ring, which is arguably more important; not getting a bigger gear just slows you down, while not getting a smaller gear can mean coming to a grinding halt.
The gearing is good too - I believe the bottom gear is around 20" (22x28), which is touring-low. There are some hills where I live, so the low gearing comes in handy. I like low gears - I know a lot of people don't go in for that sort of thing, but better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them. The fact that it doesn't have a coaster brake, like some cargo bikes of my acquaintance, is a good thing because it means you can set the pedals when starting on hills.
The V-brakes are interesting - they have longer-than-standard arms. I'm not sure why that is - perhaps to clear the big tyres and mudguards? The brakes pull the bike up well and modulation is okay, maybe a little bit grabby. No big deal with such a long, heavy bike. It's not like you're going to endo or anything. I upgraded to Kool Stop brake pads and I'm glad I did. The standard brake pads already had little shards of aluminium in them after less than a week. To be fair, this is not the first bike I've owned that comes with underwhelming brake pads - this seems to be a fairly popular thing to economise on. They're easy to replace, and fairly cheap, so this is more of an observation than a criticism.
The adjustable stem is a nice touch on a one-size-fits-all bike, as is the quill stem, which allows for more adjustment than the modern threadless variety. The swept-back bars work well on the bike - they have all the leverage I need. The grips and saddle are okay. I'll probably end up tweaking this stuff, but Yuba have provided sane defaults, which is fine with me.
Fit and Layout and Stuff
The riding position is pretty upright - no bad thing. The only wrinkle I've found is that the relatively short top tube doesn't play well with a WeeRide. I need it to be further forward. Shorter people may have better luck, but I think we'll be going with a handlebar-mounted seat for kid number 3. She's a bit little for that sort of thing (7mo), so that'll keep for now. The claimed 5' - 6'3" range of adjustment is plausible. I'm a touch under 6" and have about 60mm of seatpost left to play with. Well, I would if I hadn't sawed 60m off it to get it low enough for Tanya. BTW, she likes the paint job. We went for what I would describe as the electric baby blue. I like it too.
The Rack
It's proper big. Yuba claim it'll carry about 200kg. That's more than I have any intention of carrying; I suspect I'll be the limiting factor, not the bike. Two kid seats fit on with zero drama and there's room for some backpacks and whatnot with a bit of judicious occy-strapping. I haven't noticed any flexing or anything like that.
Wheels and Tyres
Thought has gone into this. The tyres are nice and big, which means you can run reasonably low pressures even with a loaded bike. This makes for a nice smooth ride. Some thought has gone into the rear wheel. It has a thicker-than-standard axle (14mm) and plenty of spokes (48). I've bent axles and broken spokes enough to be well and truly over it, so I appreciate the thought that's gone into configuring it. As for the front wheel, I took the rim off it and laced it onto a dynamo hub, so I can't say too much about it. Oh, both the front and rear hubs are disc-capable. It's nice to have an easy upgrade path available.
Assembly
It's delivered 85% assembled. They recommend getting a bike shop to finish the build, but there's nothing too hectic involved - you don't need any special tools or anything. It's easy enough to do yourself if you're into that sort of thing. I had a bit of a struggle getting one bolt in but meh, it all came good.
The Ride
Well, it's like riding a bike. It's very much a sit-and-spin kind of bike. I didn't find getting out of the saddle to work too well for me. It's easy enough to get a lower gear and stay seated, so I just do that instead. As you'd expect from something built to carry 200kg, 35kg or so of kids doesn't bother it in the least. Sure, hills slow me down, but that's okay. I just spin and take my time and I'm fine. I feel it when the kids move around on the back and that's unnerving at first, but it doesn't push the bike off-line or anything scary/dangerous like that. It's nice and stable on the move, and stable when stationary too. The front wheel hasn't looked like coming off the ground, which can be a drama when you have a heavy load on the back of a regular single bike.
Parking is fine too; much easier than bike+trailer. Just bear in mind that tight turns aren't its strong point. If your local council thinks hairpin bends on narrow footpaths are a bright idea, you may have a little trouble. Mine does, and I did. It's no picnic on a single bike either, mind you. It got through way way better than our two-seat trailer ever did, so I'd say it does pretty well at this sort of thing as 2-3-kid-carrying devices go. The double leg stand is excellent for lifting children out and whatnot. It handles fine unloaded too - I commuted to work with it and it was fine. It fit into a standard bike rack too, it just stuck out a bit further. Way way easier than a trailer in the same situation.
Tanya had a go too and is pretty positive.
Bike + Trailer - comparison
Bike+trailer is inherently more stable, no two ways about it. It wins at low speed, and when powering out of the saddle. OTOH, it's pretty terrible in confined spaces, as I mentioned above. The Mundo wins out there. The trailer has more luggage-carrying options and more weather protection (shade, waterproofing, whatever). Parking the Mundo is way easier. There's probably more growth in it too - I can't see the trailer being an option for our eldest for too much longer. Both have their place, but I think the Mundo is much more convenient day-to-day for us. Dropping kid(s) off and going on to work always seemed too hard with the trailer. I've tried it with the Mundo and it's just fine.
Accessories
We got two rear-mounted child seats (the "Peanut Shells"). So far so good - our 18-odd kg kids fit into them fine. No compaints so far.
Double-leg stand. This is just great. I'm not a bike stand guy, but this works superbly. I wouldn't care to have to look for something to lean this sucker against, then getting kids out.
We got the "Deflopilator". As advertised, it stops the front wheel flopping around. This is handy because when the bike's on the stand, the front wheel is on the ground. It's made no difference to the handling AFAICT.
Running boards - good for clambering, good for occy-strapping luggage to. Nice and easy to fit.
Coroplast things. I got my foot chawed in a bike wheel when I was a kid, so these are a Really Good Idea to my way of thinking. Easy to fit on (they use some of the numerous bolts on the rear rack and some cable ties).
Tweaks
I've mentioned some of these above, but here's a list of the things I've changed so far:
- fitted three child seats (two Peanut shells, which work well, and a WeeRide we already had, which is a no-go. No biggy, it can go on a single bike instead.). Update: we got a BoBike mini, which goes on the front. More room for knees - yay. We'll report when the young 'un's a bit bigger and stronger...
- sawed off the seatpost.
- fitted Kool Stop brake pads.
- fitted an adjustable rigid brake noodle to the rear brake. The original one was some flexible thing, which is a new one on me. I'm casting about for one to go on the front too.
- built an dynamo hub into the front wheel.
- fitted front and rear lights. There is a wrinkle here: none of the three dynamo rear lights I have will fit onto the Mundo's rear light mount. The tubing is too thick and the bolts aren't long enough. I'm planning on a workaround, probably involving a piece of metal. No drama, I've just thrown a battery light on for now.
We didn't get the bags because they don't work with two child seats.
We got both the bike and most of the accessories from http://www.cargocycles.com.au/, who were helpful and friendly to deal with. Delivery was pretty quick too.
In summary, so far so good. 40kg of kids and luggage is nothing to this bike. No flexing, no twitchiness, just a bit heavy going uphill, and there's appropriate gearing to help with that. It's fun for the kids (and the adults too). I don't know that it'll replace the car entirely, but for local kid transport I think it'll work really well.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Luggage - what to do?
So we have a cargo bike now. Hurrah! We even have a place to put the precious cargo (ie kids). In fact, we can manage all three. So far, so good. Now there's the small matter of the insane amount of support infrastructure that comes with kids. One of the kids' seats goes on the stem, so basket and bar bag are both out. I do have a little bag that straps onto the seat and a water bottle cage, which between them give the same luggage capacity as a carbon-fibre race bike. The keen Mundo-specific bags don't fit when you have two seats on the back. What to do, what to do? So far, I've got by with a couple of occy straps. That works for small backpacks and stuff. I'd prefer something a bit more, I dunno, tailored or something.
I'm contemplating this thing, which is basically a couple of bags sized to fit around the seats plus occy straps running through them. That way things aren't at risk of falling out.
That's one thing the Chariot was good for: it had a nice big boot. Bakfiets too would not have this issue. Swings and roundabouts...
Friday, 30 September 2011
Mundo Lights
To my way of thinking, you really really want lights on a ride-it-every-day kind of bike. Riding around in the dark minus lights is no fun at all. I've done enough of it, thank you very much. So when we got the Mundo, on went a dynamo hub(Shimano DH-3D30) and a set of dynamo lights; a B&M IQ Cyo N plus headlight and a Topline plus rear. The headlight's good; I can see and be seen at night. It's not a bike I ride every day, so not having to think about batteries is good. I don't know much about the rear light; it's hard to see when you're riding.
The standlight (where the light stays on while stationary) is a good thing. You can pay extra for a senor that will turn the light on when it gets dark. I didn't bother; I just leave the light on all the time. LEDs last for ages, so why not? Cabling was easy peasy. B&M provided a cable with the light. Naturally, it was to fit a standard bike, so I had to dig up some figure-8 speaker cable, make a quick trip to Jaycar for some spade connectors and find some heatshrink tubing. There was one little issue, which was that the rear light connectors on the Cyo where just little blades on the ends of short lengths of wire. The connectors bumped together and shorted out until I put heatshrink over the plugs.
Oh, and the bolts on the rear light were too short to fit through the rack on the Mundo. I bought some metal plates with holes drilled in them from the hardware store and that fixed that.
It's early days, but cargo bikes and dyno lights are a good fit. I really can't notice the drag, particular with the kids on the bike, and I really really like the always-there thing.
We got the lights and hub from Starbike; about $200AUD all up. I did the build myself and re-used the original front wheel.
The standlight (where the light stays on while stationary) is a good thing. You can pay extra for a senor that will turn the light on when it gets dark. I didn't bother; I just leave the light on all the time. LEDs last for ages, so why not? Cabling was easy peasy. B&M provided a cable with the light. Naturally, it was to fit a standard bike, so I had to dig up some figure-8 speaker cable, make a quick trip to Jaycar for some spade connectors and find some heatshrink tubing. There was one little issue, which was that the rear light connectors on the Cyo where just little blades on the ends of short lengths of wire. The connectors bumped together and shorted out until I put heatshrink over the plugs.
Oh, and the bolts on the rear light were too short to fit through the rack on the Mundo. I bought some metal plates with holes drilled in them from the hardware store and that fixed that.
It's early days, but cargo bikes and dyno lights are a good fit. I really can't notice the drag, particular with the kids on the bike, and I really really like the always-there thing.
We got the lights and hub from Starbike; about $200AUD all up. I did the build myself and re-used the original front wheel.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Life with the Chariot Trailer
I'm a fan. We've had our Chariot trailer for, from memory, about 3 1/2 years. We had a lot of fun with it. Maybe it was just me, but the kids' day seemed to start better when I dropped them at daycare on the bike, rather than in the car. It's done plenty of trips to various parks too. It has some other perks too, like the fact that I get to park on the lawn, right out the front of my eldest's kindergarten (I asked and that's where they suggested parking. No worries!). No looking for a park then walking down the street for me!
For rolling around on weekends, it's brilliant. You just pick a trailer-friendly route to the interesting place of your choice. Sorted! It works pretty well for shopping too. Two children and a week's worth of groceries is a bit ambitious, but it'll hold a fair few groceries. Commuting is a bit of a mixed bag. Probably the biggest issue is finding somwhere to park. If there's somewhere suitable (like the front lawn of the kindy :) it can work well. If not, it can be a bit of a drag. Going on to work afterwards towing a trailer? Pass.
The other thing that wasn't great was helmets and little (<2 years) kids. The trailer didn't seem to be designed with helmets in mind. I expect the designers felt that a metal cage and a 5-point harness was enough protection, and I can't say I disagree. It's the law 'round here, though, so there you go. I don't know if it was a head control thing, or the fact that the back wall didn't have enough room for helmets (I suspect a bit of both), or something else, but the helmet thing was pretty unpopular at first. It got better as they got older.
It's very well thought out with built-in waterproof covers and insect screens. Sun protection is pretty good too. We went for the non-jogger version, so plenty of room for stuff in the back. I sometimes kick the back even at a brisk walk, though. I'm easy with the non-jogger thing, though. Jogging isn't my thing at all.
So, it's been pretty good. Yet we have a cargo bike now. Why?
One, we have three kids now, so a two-seat trailer wasn't going to cut it on its own. Two, dropping kids off in the morning and going on to work was time-consuming because I had to go home and drop the trailer off first. It doesn't cope well with narrow paths or cycle-calming measures either. There are a few places around here where it's either difficult or impossible to get a trailer through. It's difficult or impossible to get a double stroller through either, so boo to the council there.
The cargo bike's a pretty new thing, but it looks to be better for day-in, day-out commuting. I can ride it to work afterwards, for example, which never appealed with the trailer. I still think the trailer will earn its keep on the weekends.
For rolling around on weekends, it's brilliant. You just pick a trailer-friendly route to the interesting place of your choice. Sorted! It works pretty well for shopping too. Two children and a week's worth of groceries is a bit ambitious, but it'll hold a fair few groceries. Commuting is a bit of a mixed bag. Probably the biggest issue is finding somwhere to park. If there's somewhere suitable (like the front lawn of the kindy :) it can work well. If not, it can be a bit of a drag. Going on to work afterwards towing a trailer? Pass.
The other thing that wasn't great was helmets and little (<2 years) kids. The trailer didn't seem to be designed with helmets in mind. I expect the designers felt that a metal cage and a 5-point harness was enough protection, and I can't say I disagree. It's the law 'round here, though, so there you go. I don't know if it was a head control thing, or the fact that the back wall didn't have enough room for helmets (I suspect a bit of both), or something else, but the helmet thing was pretty unpopular at first. It got better as they got older.
It's very well thought out with built-in waterproof covers and insect screens. Sun protection is pretty good too. We went for the non-jogger version, so plenty of room for stuff in the back. I sometimes kick the back even at a brisk walk, though. I'm easy with the non-jogger thing, though. Jogging isn't my thing at all.
So, it's been pretty good. Yet we have a cargo bike now. Why?
One, we have three kids now, so a two-seat trailer wasn't going to cut it on its own. Two, dropping kids off in the morning and going on to work was time-consuming because I had to go home and drop the trailer off first. It doesn't cope well with narrow paths or cycle-calming measures either. There are a few places around here where it's either difficult or impossible to get a trailer through. It's difficult or impossible to get a double stroller through either, so boo to the council there.
The cargo bike's a pretty new thing, but it looks to be better for day-in, day-out commuting. I can ride it to work afterwards, for example, which never appealed with the trailer. I still think the trailer will earn its keep on the weekends.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
About Us
I'm Peter. I've been a keen cyclist for a while, on and off. I think a bicyle is a wonderful way to see the world (I don't think I'll ever forget the smell of a gum forest I cycled through in Tasmania) and an efficient, enjoyable way to get around day-to-day. When we had kids, it threw up some interesting challenges, and some convenient pretexts to buy new toys :). This blog is about the challenges and the toys. Ahhh, the toys.
When our eldest daughter was a little under one, we bought a child trailer. Luckily, we bought a two-seater one; our son came along a little later. It fetched groceries, it took kids to daycare and it did a lot of trips to the park. The kids have had a succession of trikes, pushbikes (aka balance bikes) and pedal cycles. I love being self-propelled and I love sharing that feeling with my children. Recently, we bought a cargo bike (a Yuba Mundo) - that should be an interesting journey.
I'm Tanya. As a young person I cycled to school, then when I was 19 I took it up again as a mode of transport and to get fit. Sadly by the time I started dating Peter when I was 33 I no longer did any cycling or much other excercise for that matter and it showed in my weight of 120kg. Peters passion however was infectious and he got me out with him. I loved him so I grew to love the sport. We now have 3 childen Rianna turning 5, Daniel turning 3 and Chloe 7months. We are both committed to green transport or calorie buring transport depending on your motivation. Given the sedentary lifestyle so many kids tend to lead these days we are keen to make our family an active family and try to travel by self propelled methods when ever possible, be it it walking or riding.
The challenge is how do you avoid a car when you have a young family. Basically when they are really young your only alternative is walking.
When our eldest daughter was a little under one, we bought a child trailer. Luckily, we bought a two-seater one; our son came along a little later. It fetched groceries, it took kids to daycare and it did a lot of trips to the park. The kids have had a succession of trikes, pushbikes (aka balance bikes) and pedal cycles. I love being self-propelled and I love sharing that feeling with my children. Recently, we bought a cargo bike (a Yuba Mundo) - that should be an interesting journey.
I'm Tanya. As a young person I cycled to school, then when I was 19 I took it up again as a mode of transport and to get fit. Sadly by the time I started dating Peter when I was 33 I no longer did any cycling or much other excercise for that matter and it showed in my weight of 120kg. Peters passion however was infectious and he got me out with him. I loved him so I grew to love the sport. We now have 3 childen Rianna turning 5, Daniel turning 3 and Chloe 7months. We are both committed to green transport or calorie buring transport depending on your motivation. Given the sedentary lifestyle so many kids tend to lead these days we are keen to make our family an active family and try to travel by self propelled methods when ever possible, be it it walking or riding.
The challenge is how do you avoid a car when you have a young family. Basically when they are really young your only alternative is walking.
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