The Yuba Mundo was developed in Germany as a work bike versatile and affordable enough to appeal as a ‘longtail’ utility bike everywhere. The Mundo’s frame is neatly welded with a solid blue powder coat finish. The frame’s a textbook example of triangulation, and manages to achieve quite a smart and sporty look, in my view, despite its workbike origins. The low step-through main frame is useful for easy access when loaded, and also provides the ‘one size fits all’ adjustment capacity. The super-long seat post let the bike fit riders from not much over 5′ tall up to 6′ 3″ and more – it’s a good family machine.
The load bed measures around 22 x 80 cm, and the side rails extend another 15 cm or so each side for an overall width of 54 cm. A sticker on the frame has reminders of the load limits: 200 kg on the carrier, but with a note that only 50 kg should be behind the back wheel. The side carriers are rated for 50 kg each side. In practice, carrying people is the most likely way you’ll reach those limits.
Non-people loads are easier in a way – just strap them on and go. Depending on what you haul, some sort of baskets or boxes attached add a lot of convenience, and Mundo’s own accessories along these lines are eagerly awaited. As the pictures show, you can get a lot (of cargo) on the Mundo. I carried large computer boxes, the Dahon folding bike, various piles of magazines and groceries, and still didn’t feel I’d really pushed the Mundo’s abilities.
Overall the Mundo put in a very convincing performance as a heavy-duty workhorse, and even the cycle couriers were impressed at its robustness. (The Mundo is) a benchmark product, especially for the heavy-duty end of the longtail market. Here you have a heavy-duty hauler, which really can carry loads and people in a way that was previously simply beyond a normal bike at all costing under £500. And that’s quite some achievement.