Yuba Mundos in Tanzania

http://www.b4hvictoria.blogspot.com

I love these photos. They couldn't even wait to fully unwrap the bikes!

Mama Nachibona enjoyed riding Mundo bike at Mtula!

BRC Sierra

Here are a couple of pics. Sorry for the poor quality. Stripped the bike down- first project is the forks.

Going disc brake all the way- want to keep the original BRC unicrown fork.

Traced out a disc brake tab on another fork and crafted this. Sparks will fly tonight!

Projects- Xtracycles and Boats!

Had a little left over energy last night. Hatched a plan to get a couple of projects going with this blog as motivation. I hope to document both of thes projects on a (more) regular basis.

Project 1)
I have had an Xtracycle up and running for some months now. Its setup on a white aluminum MTB frame. Rides awesome- but I am drawn to STEEL. Got a twenty something year old BRC mountain bike frame. (BRC = Boyes and Rosser Cycles) Some of their bikes were pretty well set up. Follow along as I shove an Xtracycle on it- including disc brakes. And its Black. Photos to follow.
Project 2)
A partly finished Cedar Strip Canoe. How much time will I have- or is this a new-years resolution? 18 feet at the water line and nicely making wake..........

Bicycles for Humantiy

Its happening. 447 Bikes in the container. Shipping details to follow! b4hvictoria.blogspot.com

I love it!

Sidney SkatePark

Haven't posted lately- working on the other blog here.

Out to the Sidney the other day with the bakfiets. Here's a pic.

Step Ladder by Bike

Lots of bikey activity of late. Mostly with the kids in the Bakfiets. We have been harvesting wild blackberries from a remote hedgerow. Works great- ride along the trail til you see a good spot. Stop, let the kids play, and pick a few litres of berries. I noticed, however, that there were SO many good berries just out of reach. I think some people thought it a bit odd, but it worked really well to take the step ladder by bike. Actually much more efficient than driving, parking, and carrying the ladder 3 or 4 hundred metres down the trail on foot. Just ride up and pick! As for riding with the ladder- easy.

Success

Well, its been about 2 weeks since the kids first took their Runners Bikes outdoors. Gosh they catch on quick. The other day they "paddled" their balance bikes through about a kilometre of trails in our local park. And they didn't want to stop! I was a little skeptical that children as young as 2 would catch on to the balance bikes- but at 27 months you can't stop them.

Bicycles For Humanity

No time to post lately.....what little extra time I have seems to get consumed by Bicycle For Humanity. "(b4h) Pushing hard with a few events. Quite a few bikes being donated and a bit of cash. Very close to our film evening at the Star Cinema in Sidney, B.C. Remember the motion picture Breaking Away? Check out B4H Victoria.

Xtracycle Freeloader Repair

Picked up a couple of used Xtracycle Bags the other day. Thanks North Park Bike shop!

Seems that any of these big bags can be prone to catching a strap somewhere and breaking a buckle. Fortunately they are easy to repair. I previously posted about repairing Kona Ute Bags here. I have since found an even easier way. The trick with these bags is the tail or running end of the strap is looped back onto the strap itself- a handy feature to keep the loose tail in check and to keep it from getting too long. I repaired the Freeloaders without stitching or loosing any length. Here is how:

Unthread the webbing from the buckle and slide a standard ladder fastener onto the webbing to replace your broken slider. Thread the buckle (or a new buckle) back on. It should look like this:

In the same vein as a "quick attach" buckle, saw a slot into the unused end of the ladder strap.

Work the stitched loop end into the slot you have cut in the slide. While this may not be as strong as original- it works really well and keeps your loose ends in check! Your finished product should look like this.

Using this trick it is very easy to replace all of the plastic buckles and slides on your Freeloaders in the field. I love things that are field repairable!

Bike to School

This is amazing!

Front Racks

In a previous post here I went over the Gamoh front rack instalation on the Mundo. The rack worked flawlessly and was very convenient. (including the bottle opener) Long and short- It made the steering feel "heavy" and took away from one of the Mundo's strong points. The Mundo IS a heavy bike, but doesn't feel that way. Perhaps I will try the Dutch style like Yuba reccomends here.

Level Ground

I took the Yuba Mundo over to Level Ground Trading (the fair trade coffee folks) and let them take it for a spin. We loaded it up with 2-60kg sacks of Tanzanian coffee beans. So that is likely a total load of at least 122 kg. Approaching 270 pounds! Here is a short video- amazing how easy it is to roll up and dismount! One can see why a bike is such a great alternative to walking for a farmer working a small plot in Africa.

Another Longtail

Taking form in the shop.

ChalkBoard Bakfiets

Well, the weather has improved and we have been able to get out in the box bike. I painted the box with chalkboard paint over the winter- fun- the kids love scribbling on it.

Another use for old bike racks?

Okay-these must have been all the rage at least 20 years ago-concrete bike racks. There must be a use for them, you literally could collect hundreds. A retaining wall?

Packing Bikes for Shipment to Africa

From another great charity, Africyle. This is how they prepare bikes for stuffing them into containers.

I am back.......

Back to the blog! Seems like at least one member of the family has been under the weather all winter. Watch for some updates on cargo biking- and be prepared to share my enthusiasm for Bicycles for Humanity. (B4H)