Left to right: Sun Atlas Cargo, Yuba Mundo, Surly Big Dummy. All are available at Joe Bike.
Now that the low-cost, XtraCycle-compatible Sun Atlas Cargo ($679; $979 with disc brakes) is on the market, we’ve got three capable longtail utility bikes for families to ride and compare. The other two are the Yuba Mundo ($1099) and the Surly Big Dummy ($1800).
And the winner is:
To our surprise, the Mundo is outselling each of the other two by about a 10 to 1 margin. Why? We haven’t gotten around to conducting any focus groups yet, but the sidewalk consensus is, among both moms and dads, 1) it’s more stable and easier to ride under load than either of the other two, and certainly more so than a conventional bike modified with a bolt-on XtraCycle Free Radical kit; 2) it excels at carrying two or more kids; 3) its accessories seem better conceived and better constructed than those available for the XtraCycle-compatible Atlas and Big Dummy.
Size and weight have been factors before the test rides but not deciding factors after. The Atlas is a tad heavier than the Mundo. According to Sun, the Atlas is 54 lbs., and that’s without any add-ons such as WideLoaders, whereas the Mundo is a little over 50 lbs. including the frame-integral lower tubing that’s far superior to WideLoaders, along with the Mundo-standard top deck and fenders. The Dummy is noticeably lighter, but our experience in hauling 100 lbs. or so of stuff for Breakfast on the Bridges each month gives us a very clear preference for the Mundo because it’s just more stable. We’d put the Atlas in second place in the heavy-hauling competition (for stability), the Dummy or Trek Transport in third, Ute in fourth, and the Free Radical bolt-on kit in fifth. (Full disclosure: we do not sell the latter three. We do encourage test riding as many models as you can.)
High price has worked against the Dummy; add an appropriate kickstand and you’re instantly at $2000. And low price seems to work against the Atlas psychologically, particularly when people notice flaws, such as what’s either the grossly crooked weld or the grossly crooked piece of sheet metal shown in this top-down view of the cargo deck:
The Mundo also has bosses for the ultra-stable, frame-mounted front rack/basket called the Bread Platform. The other two have no such capability, while the Trek Transport unfortunately has a fork-mounted front rack.
We aren’t surprised that the Mundo has held its own against the competition, but we’re certainly surprised that it’s done so by such overwhelming margins. We’re also generally pleased with Sun’s entry-level competitor which, we hope, will improve with time.
Yes, the U-Haul truck in the background below is indeed a subliminal message. Or would have been if we hadn’t just liminalized it.
Above: The Atlas Cargo is compatible with the Yuba Go-Getter bag shown above. Unfortunately, it’s not compatible with the current generation of the Go-Getter.
