There is no justification for having a Mundo or anything else if you don't have a need for it. The bike is pretty damn hot! I considered buying one long before I found a Ute at an exceptionally low price.

This is what's wrong with single speed. Here is my trip home from the closest grocery store, and the trip to the 2nd closest grocery store. Which single gear do you want me to pick?

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WAAAAAaaaa! WAAAAaaaaa!

Seriously. We are talking about a bicycle company having the option of a low cost, single speed, cargo bike. The vast majority of riders do not have commutes like yours. For most people, its great. For the rest, there is the derailleur option.

Actually I think that there are very few people that a SS cargo bike would be suited for. Even if there are no significant hills on the route, a variation in cargo can make for a desired difference in gearing - ie. going to the store on empty, and coming back with 100+ lbs.

But fortunately the choices are not only SS or derailleur - a 7-speed IGH is probably good enough for most, and of course a Rohloff would be luxury :)

"Suited for" could mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. All of the people in the pictures I linked obviously think their SS bikes are suited for the job they are doing. Ideal, maybe not. However, most Americans think it would be ideal to buy a Hummer to use for getting a gallon of milk and a tin of cat food from the market a few blocks down. ;)

That's a messed up analogy. Do you really believe that Americans and Europeans should shun gears on a cargo bike? We have the money to buy them, and repairs and replacements are readily available. I bet if he could afford them and repair them, the average Zimbabwean cargo hauler would LOVE to have some gears.

Da**it! I looked at the video and now I want one. :)

Well, it all depends on where you live. On this side of the Arkansas River, the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, you couldn't do a SS cargo bike. The hills are ubiquitous. But if you went 10 miles east from here, across the river it's flat river-delta land. SS cargo bike, no problem. The pics Zeppinger chose were from Shanghai, which appears to be pancake flat delta land, so they work.

But me, I loves my gears.

No I did not mean to imply that. All I was arguing against was the mentality from another poster that a cargo bike without gears was necessarily a poor design. DahonSteve wrote, "How can you ride a 50 lb bike while carrying a heavy load on a single speed?" This is all I was responding to and wanted to point out that in some/many situations a single speed cargo bike might be preferable. In Shanghai for instance, I doubt that every cyclists is riding SS out of economic necessity. You can by a derailleur in China for under 8$ and a whole full suspension, multi-gear bike for well under $50.

I`ve had a Mundo for a few months and have to say it is one amazing bike! It`s a blast to ride and obviously incredibly useful.

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Owenfinn, I had a look at your "Bike in Japan" album. Folders seem to be quite popular in Japan, or is this just your view of cycling in Japan? Also, the bike parking facilities are sensational. Are these common throughout Tokyo?

Folders are definitely popular here - I read recently in a cycling magazine that 1 bike out of 5 in Tokyo is either a folder or minivelo, but the range of bikes you see on the street (and on the sidewalk) everyday is really amazing.

There are indeed many impressive parking facilities all over Tokyo and Yokohama(where I live). There are attended facilities near the train stations, modern garage facilities near shopping with racks that lock automatically. When apartment hunting, real estate agents are expected to know about the condition and size of a buildings bicycle parking facilities. All of these, generally involve a fee so for a short stop, usually the best place to park in Japan is - anywhere you want! Free bike parking zones are simply created by the cycling mob in convenient locations anywhere and everywhere. Within reason, as long as you park out of the way of the pedestrian flow and don`t push it too much you are usually good to go!

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^ Very civilized! Sometimes I think I'm living in the Wild West having to lasso my bike to whatever I can... sometimes a tree :eek:

Our definition of "civilized" might, unfortunatelly, differ from most people's definition.