Stumptown Mundo: Portland's Home for the Yuba Mundo Utility Bike

The drought is over: 1-, 6-, and 18-speed Mundos are on the way.

Joe Doebele — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:52:01 +0000

We’ve sold out of the Mundo four times in 2008, so this time we finagled as many as we could get our hands on. They arrive in mid-November with some nice bonuses: some 18-speed kits to better tame the hills, the Mundo’s long-awaited first line of bags, and sets of three lightweight, super-durable walnut decks made in Portland from locally grown stock.

You can see it all at the new Joe Bike showroom at 3953 SE Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland (97206), opening also in mid-November. Contact us for more information.

Fresh Mundos Just in from Germany!

Joe Doebele — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:05:29 +0000

The Mundo is back! We were able to snag a few single-speed (red) and 6-speed (blue) Mundos before our US distributor quickly sold out once again. They’re en route to Portland this week. If you’d like to experience the world’s most capable utility bike, send us a message using the handsome Contact button above.

We’re Sold Out!

Stumptown Mundo — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:19:49 +0000

That’s right, thanks to overwhelming response we have sold our entire fleet of Yuba Mundo bicycles. While we have a bunch of Mundos happily cruising the streets of Portland, our customers came from all across the country. We’ve shipped Mundos to happy customers in Washington, Texas, Arizona, Ohio, Hawaii and beyond! As soon as our next shipment arrives in early August, we’ll be ready to once again offer unbuilt kits and fully built Mundos for immediate delivery! If you’d like to test-ride or pre-order a new 6-speed Mundo, please contact us.

FAQ: How do I add a top-deck to my Mundo?

Stumptown Mundo — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:14:33 +0000

So you’re interested in adding a top-deck to your Yuba Mundo? You’re not alone! The Mundo’s top-carrier offers an impressive amount of real estate and addign a nice deck over the tubing enables passengers to ride in comfort and keeps loose cargo well managed -especially if you use nets to secure your cargo. If you’re relatively handy and have access to a small collection of power tools, it’s quite easy to build a super-solid, basic, affordable cargo/passenger top-deck for your Mundo.

Top-deck with net and stoker set-up

We recommend using a single 1/2 inch thick piece of beautiful kiln-dried fir. Kiln-dried wood is lighter than air-dried wood (due to minimal moisture content) and therefore better resists shrinking, warping and flexing. Kiln-dried wood also ensures that the timber isn’t dipped in pesticides and fungicides, like its air-dried counterparts. When selecting your wood, make sure to look for a plank that has very straight grain from one end of the board to the other. This will ensure uniform expansion and contraction throughout the life of the deck. The dimensions of the deck that we use is 7.25 inches wide by 29 inches long. We love the width of the top-deck as it enables us to keep the deck in place while utilizing the top-carrier’s tubing for bungees, straps, tie-downs, etc. After cutting the deck to size, we recommend hand or machine-sanding the edges, then finishing all surfaces with marine-grade rosewood oil (or similar, low-VOC, high-UV protecting and waterproof coating).

Unfinished fir top-deck

To attach the deck to the Mundo’s top-carrier, we use 1/2 inch, double-hole plastic conduit clamps, held to the deck using flat-head, 10-24 x 1.5 inch machine bolts, recessed nicely into the top of the board. SImply mark the holes where you want to mount the clamps and drill through the board. The machine bolts then slide down through the board and into the mounting holes in the plastic conduit clamps, which then wrap around the top-carrier’s tubing. The plastic conduit clamps are designed to handle relatively harsh temperature variances, so they should weather well.

After you finish the deck, simply add rubber padding above the top-carrier tubes where the top-deck rests.

FAQ: Where do I get touch-up paint?

Stumptown Mundo — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:44:09 +0000

Every bike suffers nicks and scratches… especially when you really put your bike to work. Cargo bike frames are designed to take a beating, whether carrying heavy or awkward loads, or simply handling Portland’s weather. Regardless, they still need a little cosmetic love after the work is done. Momma’s gotta look good when she punches out at the end of the day!

Fortunately, owners of blue 6-speed Yuba Mundo utility bikes have ready access to delicious blue touch-up paint. For every customer that purchases a Mundo from Stumptown Mundo, we offer a complimentary jar of perfectly color-matched, hard-coat touch-up paint. This should help you service small nicks and scrapes with ease.

As the paint is enamel, you should first thoroughly clean and sand the surface very lightly before application. The paint coats and spreads very nicely. If you need more or didn’t purchase a Mundo from us, you can pick up this paint at most any sign/auto-detailing supply house. The paint is 1-Shot Lettering Enamel, which comes in the exact same color (Reflex Blue -paint code 155L) that Yuba spec’d for the Mundo. You can find your local 1-Shot Lettering Enamel dealer at the manufacturer’s Web site.

Sunday Parkways

Stumptown Mundo — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:18:10 +0000

I took a bit of time to recount my experience with Portland’s Sunday Parkways, the city’s first experiment with closing down city streets to automotive traffic. This is a big thing for any city, no matter how small the step may seem. Keep the faith that Portland’s experiment will spread like wildfire. Sometime the land has to burn before new, beautiful growth can spurn forth.

Traffic Trivia

Stumptown Mundo — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:36:28 +0000

In 2003, traffic congestion delayed people world-wide for 7 billion hours and wasted 5 billion gallons of fuel.
Emissions from cars far outweighs that from power plants. Vehicles contribute to an estimated 60-70% of urban air pollution.
60% of the pollution created by car emissions happens in the first few minutes of operation.
The United Nations estimates that about 180,000 people are added to the urban population every day; by 2050, an estimated two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas; the personal automobile is not the solution for moving these people from point A to point B.
Bicycling burns 500-700 calories per hour. Driving a car burns 5-20.
Bicycling promotes healthier lifestyles, strengthens family bonds, provides a recreational outlet for youth, and builds closer-knit communities.
50% of car trips are less than 2 miles in total distance

A 4-mile journey in Central London takes 40 minutes by car, yet only 22 minutes by bicycle.
7 to 12 bicycles can be parked in one automobile parking space.
Car emissions produce 60-70% of urban air pollution. Bicycles produce 0%.
Auto commuters waste 2.3 billion gallons of fuel annually in traffic jams. Bicycles waste 0 gallons.
Many cities are raising the bar on a new standard for commuting by bike: in the Netherlands, 25% of the population commutes by bicycle; in Boulder, Colorado, 21% of the population commutes by bicycle; and in London, bike commuters don’t pay the congestion charge.

Sources: Trek Bicycles; Union of Concerned Scientists; The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Cost of Automobiles

Stumptown Mundo — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:53:50 +0000

• Amount of Oregon’s carbon emissions that come from transportation: 53 percent
• Average time U.S. parents spend behind the wheel every day: 72 minutes
• Average time spent with their children daily: less than 35 minutes
• Average number of hours Portlanders spent stuck in traffic in 2005: 38
• Average number of hours Portlanders would spend stuck in traffic if transit service were discontinued: 46
• Average cost of owning a car in the U.S. per year: $7,823
• Average cost of one lane-mile of new urban highway: $300 million
• Cost of one lane-mile of bicycle infrastructure: $2,000
• Average price of a new car sold in the United States: $28,400
• Cost of one fully built Yuba Mundo utility bicycle with fenders and a Hebie bi-pod kickstand: $975
• Number of people killed in motor vehicle related crashes in the U.S. every year: 42,000
• Odds of death due to being in a traffic crash as a pedestrian: 1:63
• Odds of death due to being in a traffic crash as a cyclist: 1:41
• Odds of death due to being in a traffic crash in a motor vehicle: 1:26
• Frequency of pedestrian deaths in the U.S.: every 110 minutes
• Frequency of pedestrian injuries: every 9 minutes
• Children raised within this distance of a freeway have increased chances of severe lung problems: 0.3 miles
• Rate of childhood asthma in the U.S.: 7 percent
• Rate of childhood asthma among kids living in Portland’s I-5 corridor: 13 percent
• Amount by which motor vehicle emissions can be reduced by eliminating 1 percent of automobile trips: 4 percent
• Amount by which allowing commuters to exchange their free parking for cash has been shown to reduce automobile trips: 13 percent

Sources: Towards Carfree Cities; Texas Transportation Institute; Sightline Institute; The Lancet; Victoria Transport Policy Institute; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; American Road and Transportation Builders Association; ODOT; AAA; National Safety Council; National Automobile Dealers Association; Coalition for a Livable Future

Hours: June 10-30

Stumptown Mundo — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:15:32 +0000

We sometimes open our garage to the public so you can drop by and inspect/ride a Mundo. This being said, June is a very busy month for us as we’re prepping Mundos for public showings at numerous events and rides, so we’re not going to have any set public hours for the remainder of the month.

We love to present the opportunity for folks to take the Mundo for a spin. As always, if you’d like to setup a time for a test ride, simply contact us and we’ll do our very best to accommodate your schedule –and evening and weekend test rides are fine by us!

Subscribe to the RSS feed for this category to get the latest updates fed to your favorite RSS reader or browser. Ride on!

Hours: June 2-8

Stumptown Mundo — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:58:02 +0000

Our garage will be open to the public so you can drop by and inspect/ride a Mundo. Don’t bother coming to the front door; feel free to stroll right up the driveway and come back to our garage. Directions to the garage are posted on our contact page. When visiting by automobile, please do not park in the driveway as this impedes bike egress. We’ll be open during the following times, the week of June 2 - June 8:

Monday, June 2: By Appointment
Tuesday, June 3: By Appointment
Wednesday, June 4: 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 5: By Appointment
Friday, June 6: By Appointment. Also, see the Mundo at Breakfast on the Bridges, on the Hawthorne Bridge from 7-9 a.m.
Saturday, June 7: 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Sunday, June 8: By Appointment

If these times don’t work and you’d like to setup a time for a test ride, simply contact us and we’ll do our best to accommodate your schedule. Subscribe to the RSS feed for this category to get the latest updates fed to your favorite RSS reader or browser. Ride on!