I have logged over 10,000 miles (!) riding a Yuba Spicy Curry cargo bike. Big shout-out to this 2016 blog post “Joys of the Yuba Spicy Curry”, from an early adopter in Wisconsin who rode 2,000 miles on his 1st-gen model. It helped convince me to take the plunge on mine in 2017.
I rode the 1st-generation model until I wore it out, borrowed my neighbor’s 2nd-gen for a few hundred miles while I weighed my options, then bought my 3rd-gen and now have 5,400 miles on it and counting. Over that time Yuba has improved the design in ways big (that blogger notes how the rear wheel could loosen on the 1st-gen, now there are terrific thru-axles) and small (the frame lock location, the chain guard). I think for my needs the Spicy Curry is still the best bike out there, though I’d like to hear if you think there’s a better one. I haven’t ridden the 4th-gen yet.
Over the years I’ve developed some tricks for getting the most out of this specific model of bike. One I shared already is the DIY Upholstered Seat Cushion that I made. I have at least three more good ones. The DIY bike carrier I designed is the best but it will take me the longest to write.
This one is simple and works for any Yuba bike where the Monkey Bars are mounted. Just remove the inner rail on each side. That leaves more room for larger passengers, which is why I did it. But it comes with a bonus: it leaves the inner bar’s mounting sockets exposed. These are perfect attachment points to hang stuff of of!
If your kid’s backpack has a sturdy hanging strap at the top – most do – it’ll hang neatly off the back. A friend with a Spicy Curry who saw me doing this said that hanging two backpacks off the back of the Monkey Bars was a game-changer for their school commute.
I hang reusable grocery bags off the back of my Monkey Bars. When the handles are long and the bag would hang too low, I wrap the handles around the rear bar once, then hook it on. This lets me transport two additional full bags of groceries home the store.
On a typical commute to work, I have just a single canvas bag, which would fit in the 2-Go Bags on the sides of the bike. Even then I hang it. Suspending the bags in the air protects them against bumps. This lets me transport items that might not survive banging over potholes on the streets of Ann Arbor, like a glass jar of soup or a potted plant.
Disclaimer: if I recall correctly, the Monkey Bars manual advises against removing this inner rail. They suggest that kids’ hands are safer from impacts if they hold the inner rail and that passengers could strike the exposed socket of the inner rail during a crash. I am using two curved end plugs that come with the Monkey Bars to make the front socket pieces less pokey in case of an impact; you could also use old tennis balls.
I realize this is a niche post with a very small audience but if I reach a few Spicy Curry owners, it will have been worth it!
