Rock The Bike

Checked Flickr and found we’re not the only ones carrying other bikes on the Mundo.

MundoItalvegaTowTruckP1020664.JPG by macpaulster.

Photo: MacPaulster.

Being able to quickly improvise a towing or carrying rig that gets two bikes across town with one rider is one of the Mundo’s unsung features. This is one of those features that you might read, and say to yourself “I’d never do that.” But then you find yourself in a situation where, you know, it would just come in handy. This is a lifesaver on social rides. If you’re the bike person in your group of friends, you can bring an extra bike to the start of a ride. Or, say someone gets a flat on their front tire, but you’re only a mile from home. Might be simpler just to tow that thing than bust out the patch kit.

towing bike and flowers2 by gregraisman.

Above: Greg from Portland tows a bike and flowers.

IMG_2950 by Jeremy Towsey-French.
The Stumptown Mundo crew Mundo towing a mundo for delivery to a customer.

mundo towing xtracycle
Mundo towing Xtracycle, courtesy: Cycle9

Carrying a stumpjumper to the shop to convert to a blender
Not towing, carrying, in this photo. With the Mundo’s steel chassis as stiff as it is, all you have to do is strap the frame of the silver bike to the Mundo in a couple different places using cam straps. Then I used scraps of cardboard as separators to keep the paint job intact.

By the way it’s a 1983 Stumpjumper. I was bringing it to the shop to convert it to a blender, see the finished product here: www.https://rockthebike.com/node/1618

IMG_2947 by Jeremy Towsey-French.Stumptown Mundo crew towing a townie.

IMG_2951 by Jeremy Towsey-French.
A closeup of the Stumptown Mundo rig. Two bungees and a U-lock, y’all!

Greg from Flickr carrying his recumbent

Greg from Flickr carrying his recumbent

Dave’s new Bionx installation. Looks like it was made for it, huh?

Dave gave me a chance to test the Bionx on his Jai Bike prototype. It has four assist settings. Even on the lowest one, “1”, I felt a very solid boost.

“4” just made me laugh. It was so different from regular bicycling, I didn’t know what to make of it. But Dave’s analysis (and Todd’s from Clever Cycles) is that the electric assist is more for carrying heavy loads up hills than ‘cheating’ on the flats.

The problem is that once you have the 18 pound Bionx system installed on your rig, it will feel, well, 18 pounds slower unless you use the boost. So you’ll probably end up boosting all the time. The battery is easy to remove, but not the hub motor, obviously.

I’ve now ridden the Bionx, the Stokemonkey, and my friend Sean’s home brewed electric rig. I’ve enjoyed each test ride, but they don’t stick with me. I don’t wake up, ever, saying to myself “I need one of those.” I’m glad it’s out there as a car-trip-replacer, though.