Yuba Mundo Lux vs Bakfiet

I've ridden and owned both bikes now so I thought that I'd put up my thought.

Bakfiet

This is a fully imported bike from the Netherlands. We literally traded a Hyundai Exell for it. All up it cost us $4000, with the aim to ride everywhere locally. I can say for four years this is what we did. The bike had everything. Electric power assist with a 180 kW motor. Power assist meant you had to peddle for the motor to kick in. Eg no throttle. It also had a rain hood which protected the kids in rain. There were a few times when we where even caught in thunder storms which the kids found very exciting. All up the bike was beautifully made. Everything had its place and purpose. One thing I like was the internal hub. A Shamano 8 speed. What was great was no derailer trouble. Changing gears while stationary, which was great when stopped in traffic and you faced an incline.

Riding was somthing you had to get used to. It had a wide turning circle. The other thing was this bike liked weight. Two kid and groceries the Bakfiest handled purfectly. It was when there was nothing in the tray at the front the bike would bounce around.

The children loved the bike. You could put them in the tray watch them and not worry. The could just do there thing be it reading a book, playing with dolls or get absorbed with the ride.

It was heavy, the electrics helped. The way I would describe it was that with the power assist on it felt like I was putting the equivellant effort as a road bike.

 

Yuba Mundo Lux

 

This is type of bike called a long tail. The children sit on the back, and panniers on the back if you have extras like groceries.

For what we paid for I think we should have got more. We looked at the demo and it looked fine, it wasn't till you have the bike for a while you notice the difference. The mud guards, are actually a flimsy plastic which looks like aluminium. The Bakfiest had, marathon schwable tyre these where bullet proof. It looks like the Yubas are quite cheap in comparison. The guards for the wheels to protect little peoples fingers also seem flimsy.

Riding is also interesting, with no weight the bike handles well, it reminds me of a mountain bike. Yet the more weight you put on the less stable it seems. The front starts to bounce around and while loading up you really need to be straddling the bike to keep things stable.

I did like the way the bike is modular and can grow with what you need to do, such as an attachment to tow bikes, or surf board etc. I also went with a Nivinci internal hub, similar in ratio to the Shimano.

If I was to do things again I would have just brought a yuba mondo frame and added everything myself, I think you would find you could build a much better bike. Better components for the same price.

In some ways I regret selling the Bakfiet, yet the kids seem happier getting onto the Yuba. So my objective of still riding everywhere is completed.