Yuba Boda Boda - An Easy to Love Cargo Bike

The Yuba Boda Boda is a dashingly handsome cargo bike.

Full disclosure: this was my first experience aboard a cargo bike. The Yuba Boda Boda, affectionately named "Kermit" was loaned to me by Local Motion for a two-week period. There were no restrictions on use, and I was given a quick demonstration on how to use the two-legged kick stand. I used my own lock and helmet. Kevin, who knows I regularly ride a bike, sent me out Local Motion's door, wishing me good fun. I would just have to get the hang of riding Kermit all by myself!

As was explained, the Boda Boda is classified as a mid-tail cargo bike or as Kevin liked to put it "cargo light", which means the bicycle is a shorter version of the long-tail style, yet still capable of hauling children and heavy bags. With an impressive 50 lb. carrying capacity up front, and 150 lbs. in the rear, the Boda Boda is very much a two-wheeled work horse!

I immediately felt at home aboard the Boda Boda. The bicycle sports large platform pedals, the exact same ones as on my Clementine, though in a nice shade of brown. Cream tires, cream bell, brown seat, and generally, a lack of black accessories altogether lightens the visual presence of this utilitarian bicycle. In fact, when I hefted the Boda Boda it weighed less than I would have expected. The bike has a very low step-over height, which attracted me from the get go. That and wonderfully curvy handle bars, easy click shifting, and good stopping power.

On the downside, I could tell immediately that 7 (or was it 8?) gears would not work well in hilly Burlington. Another oddity also: why would a frame maker put water bottle bosses on an inside curve? (See above photo) There is barely enough space to place a bottle rack, not to mention trying to use it! Because of the upright stance it would have been also incredibly awkward - and possibly dangerous - to reach that low.

Instead, I made do with a water bottle wedged inside the basket. Without other items supporting it though, the bottle tended to tip over, once spilling water. If I owned the bicycle, an easy remedy would be to attach a rack to the handle bars or on the outside of the sturdy basket frame.

Once I stopped staring at the basket, which moves with the frame and not with the handle bar (see above photo), and concentrated on the trail ahead, it became an intuitive and delightful ride. Kermit floats over bumps and I felt like a queen perched upright and high, tooling down the trail, ringing the ding-dong bell. The bell had a tendency to softly ding on it's own, but it wasn't so much annoyance as part of Kermit's personality, which made me chuckle. 

I had wondered if I should attach a mirror, but once I'd ridden Kermit a few days I realized that while a mirror might aid rear site line a tad more, sitting upright inherently caused me to be aware of my surroundings, especially peripherally, so I never felt like an automobile or bicycle might sneak up behind me without me noticing.

I rode the bike a few times after dark, easily attaching my super bright light on the handlebar and red light on a rear pannier.

The longer wheelbase, only a mere 10" more than my commuter bike, was enough to smooth out bumpy roads, paths, and sidewalks. In fact, I discovered the Boda Boda rode similar to my Clementine (and eerily both bikes are exactly 72" in length!). As stated in my first Clementine blog post, getting to know both bikes in tandem made me appreciate sitting upright while experiencing two different handlebar styles.

I loved the well-designed rear framework. Maybe this is not unique to the Boda Boda, and possibly all cargo bikes are decked out in this manner, but I felt there was versatility with whatever baggage I might strap on. There is thin horizontal tubing just below the rear seat that accommodates my Blackburn Shoppers Pannier, a bottom loop (not visible in above photo) that held a traditional hook and bungee pannier, and the lowest portion is where I presume a child's feet might cling, but in my case (see below photo) I attached cloth grocery sacks that were similarly supported. And of course, everything you might consider attaching was all protected from the spokes by the black plastic, and highly effective, "skirt guard".

While Kermit was in my possession, I had numerous compliments. He's a looker, that's for sure!

On my first trip to buy groceries, I felt liberated to shop without accounting for every item and where and whether each would fit on my bicycle for the return trip home. It helped to have brought my own grocery sacks and and some sort of attachment device to secure each bag to the frame. Had I owned the Boda Boda I would create open-top panniers so one could stow full grocery bags inside, and when not in use the panniers could be removed.

A note about parking a bike with double-kickstand: account for 12" of set back, something to be aware of when parking at bike racks. And if multiple trips are in order, accumulating goods and increasing the load, be extra careful, otherwise you may need to lift up the heavy bike, to adjust the bike closer to a rack. Using a cargo bike requires a slightly different mind set (think slightly wider turning radius and storage) but the benefits of having additional cargo space, the bike securely positioned and propped on "double feet" while loading heavy items, or the ability to carry children or even an adult, is certainly worth consideration.

The Boda Boda effortlessly handles weight.

I probably didn't lug more than 60 lbs. on any one trip, however, I made several trips within the designated two week time period of Boda Boda ownership. One adventure, as I like to call it, consisted of setting out from home with two sacks of groceries, work clothes, and enough belongings for the Labor Day weekend, hauling it all to work on Friday, then later setting off across town, arriving at our family camp. The toughest part was struggling with full armloads of gear across a parking lot, up the elevator and down a long hallway to my office. And of course the return trip to reload Kermit was equally strenuous.

Wide load!

Though I had slowed, considerably on the route to camp, it was satisfying to carry a weekend's worth of items without being concerned about what it all weighed. And fortunately, that journey was on flat terrain. I used only the 4 lowest gears during the time I borrowed the bike.

Makeshift attachments.

 I love the clean lines of this bike: simple chain guard, metallic green paint, flat crank exterior,

My usual method of watering flowers at the cemetery is a bit precarious. I hang one full gallon of water on each handle bar end in a semblance of balance, however, this renders both brakes useless. Then I glide down a slight downhill, steering into the grass to slow down, with an awkward running dismount, sometimes backtracking because I overshot where I meant to stop. But with Kermit, the basket easily accommodates extra water without batting an eye.  Kermit makes the whole process so easy.

My son used Kermit to haul a few belongings for the 6 mile ride to camp.

If I owned Kermit, I would want lower gears. And in fact, I put off searching Yuba's website because I feared the Boda Boda wouldn't offer this option outside of adding electric assist and cost at least $2000 - what I'd expect from a bicycle of this caliber - effectively putting a cargo bicycle out of reach as a second transport option.

Surprisingly, the V2 model I test rode, starts at $1000 plus $180 for a Bread Basket. The V3 model comes with triple chain ring for $1600 (is the price difference worth it?). The bamboo deck is included but padded seat adds $40. As mentioned, I would eventually put on a front fender, a water bottle rack, and detachable rear bags. And for comparison, I could outfit a V2 model for the same cost as my Clementine.

And yet, even without any modifications, I wouldn't hesitate to borrow Kermit again in the future. Indeed,  I was reluctant to return the cargo bike as I enjoyed having it as an option in our garage. And in reality, the Boda Boda is a stylish, approachable and versatile cargo bike, capable of hauling everything I'd ever use it for.

Riding Four Different Bikes in One Day

This is a first: riding four different bicycles in one day, all for transportation! It was purely unintentional - I was transferring both the borrowed Boda Boda and my Clementine from our family's camp the 6 miles back home, and unwilling to try both long frames on our vehicle's bike rack, over the course of the day I ended up riding 4 bikes.

It went something like this: rode Boda Boda home, returned on Peugeot (my husband riding with me), retraced route on Clementine, then a while later, I rode my commuter Ross, sporting lights, loaded with a few belongings - enough to stay overnight - stopping for a few groceries en route, arriving in darkness back at camp. As I rode the last leg, it occurred to me that all four bicycles had platform pedals.

Have you ever ridden several different bicycles in one day?