Yuba Mundo is here!
This is a serious load carrying bike. Originally designed as part of the WorldBike project, this has now hit the USA, and we at Cycle 9 have been fortunate enough to get our hands on a few for testing and for customers.
We'll have more hints, comments, and observations as we further experiment with the bike.
Available now in our online store, or in our Chapel Hill store.
News from China
But car use is on the rise. Here there are many car ads, and cars are seen as a wealth and status symbol - a sign of the good life.
Every society seems to go through an evolution with cars - in the first phase with cars being a luxury item only for the rich, in the second phase cars being something the middle class aspires to have to show wealth and status, in the third phase, society reaching saturation where the number of cars is so large that it puts strains on the system, causing health problems, air pollution, and traffic congestion. There also appears to be a fourth stage, where countries realize the detrimental aspects of cars, and work to reduce their usage, replacing them with age old solutions like bikes, public transport, and walking. My perception is that China is still in stage 2 - the broad middle class acquiring cars as part of the rapid growth of wealth here. But already traffic problems are great - and so are pollution problems. In Bejing, it is gridlock during rush hour - and that with only 1 in 3 people owning cars. Also, there is an almost constant a haze over the city, which during my stay, only broke after some heavy rain.
When I was in the city of
Shenzhen, I inquired with several locals about
bicycle rental. I love to see new cities by
bicycle, because I can see more on bike than on foot,
yet it is still much more intimate than in a car.
It is also good exercise, to offset the extra
eating I tend to do when visiting new places.
However, when I inquired with one of the young
students, she said, "Why would you want to bike?
Shenzhen is a modern city!" The implication was
that in a "modern city" nobody would bike. She
seemed dumfounded that anyone would prefer to ride a
bike, especially a "rich westerner". She viewed bikes
as a contrivance only for the poor.
Ultimately, countries like China will continue the
evolution to more and more cars, until the problems
start becoming so apparent that there is a push to go
back to other modes of transportation for the masses.
If oil prices continue to rise, this may happen
sooner rather than later.
Morgan
Yuba Mundo
There's a cool new utility bike on its way to us, the Yuba Mundo.
Assuming that initial testing goes well, we'll be carrying this in two configurations, the singlespeed version for around $749, and the 6-speed version for around $799.
This cargo bike can carry up to 440 pounds of payload!
That's 2-3 adults.
or 900 bananas
or 10 kayaks (whitewater variety)
or 25 lightweight racing bikes
or a baby cow
or way more tofu than you care to eat in a lifetime, unless you really like it a lot.
Also, we already have some Xtracycle Freeradical units in stock, which is a way to convert your own bike into a sports utility bike.
Either of these bikes can be paired with an electric assist kit like the Crystalyte or the eZee to give you the ultimate sports utility bike experience (we'd love to carry the Stokemonkey, but those aren't available at the moment).
Email us, or keep an eye out for our shopping cart, coming soon.