Yuba
Boda Boda

Uh, more like Best Best.

I live just a couple miles from my office but often took my car because I knew I’d have packages to bring home or would need to swing by the grocery after work.

NO MORE.

As a matter of fact, last week we had a little cook-out at the office where I grilled hot dogs for about 65 people. I was able to load up 6 dozen dogs, 6 dozen buns and the required condiments in the ‘Bread Basket’ on the front with enough room on the back for two bags of charcoal and a small propane canister.

LIFE CHANGING.

I haven’t commuted in a car in the three weeks since picking up my Boda Boda.

We recently purchased a Yuba Boda Boda (Green, Step-throught Cargo Bike) non- electric, and we love it!!!

Prior to our purchase, we test drove every single cargo bike we found in the Bay Area (CA), and both my husband (6ft) and I (5ft) felt in love with the Boda Boda because we can both share it and ride very comfortably! Our precious cargo feels very secure and we have now decided to fully replaced our car with our new bike!!

+ Fits rider of different height,
+ Comfortable straight/relax posture when riding,
+ long enough tail to haul a whole bunch of cargo while keeping the frame size compact,
+ affordable compare to other brands and high quality,
+ stylish looking!!

PS: We got so many complements from stranger on our first ride alone!!!

I had been using a high-quality folding bike to commute in Bangkok, Thailand almost daily for several years. But then I saw the Boda Boda at a local bike shop, I had to try it. The handling, versatility, and ruggedness make it perfect as a commuter. Now I use it most of the time for commuting to work unless I know I need the portability of a folding bike.

Purchased a Boda Boda (Step Over) for my retrogrouch husband, he is 6’2″ and strong, so not a small guy. His history with bicycles is to significantly challenge their sturdiness, at 225 lbs and his propensity to prepare like a boy scout, we needed plenty of payload capacity. His research and preferences for our price range narrowed the field substantially, either a touring or cargo bike and basic time tested components. Hopefully this overbuilt yet simple strategy pans out in the long run, yielding a sizable margin for reliability.
We are both in our 40’s and are in no rush, so not speed demons. But since we are middle aged now it is time to take cardio seriously (he got me a Kona Coco), and boy are we seeing gains (it is very much helping with endurance at the climbing gym too). Our state park has nice roads with long’ish flats and steep hills, so the low gearing is necessary and welcomed. He insisted on mountain triple chain rings for both bikes (mine was modded during purchase), and I can say it has worked out very well (I’d be walking up the hills without it). He started on the bike unloaded and straining up hills in low gear (though never stopping to rest unlike me), now he climbs most hills in the middle ring (but needs the reserve for cargo and trails). Although he may change to a 34t cassette to better cover heavy bike glamping. He wishes the cranks had replaceable chain rings (they are riveted, so no experimenting), it is disappointing that when they are worn out, that is it and a new chainset must be purchased; I wish bike companies would boycott that stuff, it doesn’t mesh environmentally with cargo biking at all.
He loves the handling of the bike; tracks straight as any bike could at all speeds and maneuvers precisely at low speeds. It is just super easy to control, he is always doing these really tight turns circling back to me on the hills while I’m huffing and puffing (so we can bike together or merely showing off, both?); I’m not ready for that myself yet. He wishes the front brake was more powerful (though is happy with mechanical); at his weight or anybody with sizable cargo, he doesn’t think he is at all close enough to braking loose on the pavement, which means throwing way too much braking potential. Adapting a larger disk upfront is certainly in his future.
He has swapped out a few user interface components so far to get the fit just right. The saddle is a really good starter, gives a great first experience, but if your big the comfort cushion feel might be short lived, was for him (he went with a wide leather touring saddle, super happy with that, it’s some French thing he got for me I didn’t like, so he took it). He kept playing with the handlebars forever, initially comfortable, but started bothering his wrists (I like sweptback bars, but they didn’t work for him); he went with a mountain bar with slightly more bend than average (good now). Long armed larger riders may need the extra cockpit room (an inexpensive modification). He’s got Ergon’s and separate barends for comfort/variety now, and a barend mirror (I love mine). He also got some clipless shoes and beefy pedals, they look like normal sneakers; he feels safer in wet weather now and generally faster.
We really got the bike for the super stout frame and he says it doesn’t disappoint, clearly a ton of effort went into it, way more involved with welds and fittings than a normal bike, you can’t buy a rear rack like that either. Good for customization too, he very neatly mounted a plastic milk crate with the top bolts and some spacers/washers, super cute. Still room for a small lunch cooler between the saddle and crate too. The overall length of this mid-tail bike is quite manageable too, it is far from encroaching on tandem territory, and a variety of carriers will fit it vs larger models. One downside is the non-standard pannier bar sizing, to my knowledge no other but Yuba’s fits, we happen have some nice Arkels that would’ve worked otherwise (2 on each size even, a bit of a letdown). All considered, he says he would go touring with it, so the frame and fit must be up to snuff. Once you add the racks and bits to a touring bike, the weight differential ain’t that much compared to this cargo bike, and you end up with far less points of failure and a basically no flex frame (those properties would sticker shock you with most brands).
Although this bike is fun in stock condition with no accessories, it really is just the start of your Yuba budgeting, so plan for plenty of cargo add-ons, since you won’t be carrying anything without them. And don’t expect third-party options outside of the Yuba umbrella, unless you DIY. I wish they made a cargo box for the Boda Boda. I do think that the frame (less so the bike) is such a good value that it somewhat offsets the price of the closed and costly cargo setup, I just wish we could meet in the middle on pricing; sales volume probably makes this tough. I will say that the accessories (basket & bag at least) are very well made.
I bought it online from REI for the discount/membership benefits, any potential shipping damage issues and easy pickup. They were like “why do you want this”, even though I already bought it. They seemed annoyed by its existence, and my husband had to deal with several assembly oversights after I got it home, but that doesn’t impact this review. Contrary to REI’s bike snobbery, we’ve gotten several compliments and plenty of onlookers, this red Radio Flyer looking thing drips of nostalgia and exudes fun. We didn’t buy it to turn heads, it is quite unsolicited, it was for practical reasons (exercise, Mama Chari, etc.), but we’ll reluctantly accept it, if for no other reason than visibility to motorists.
All and all it has been a positive experience, and has given us some great time together (and I’ve historically avoided exercise, no more, riding with hubby is fun), and when he gets way too fast I’ll sneak some more weight aboard.

Wow-what a fun and practical bike! I have been riding my Boda Boda from the day I picked it up from the shop. This is my new grocery getter and cruiser. I can carry my 40 lb. Border Collie when we are in an area he cannot run; he loves to ride and watch things go by. I can also haul a week’s worth of groceries, two growlers, and milk no problem. I replaced a cargo trailer and cruiser with the Boda Boda and find the Boda Boda much easier to handle in town and on the Green Belt. I am sure I will be hauling a bunch of stuff with this bike as well as just cruising around on it. Thanks, Yuba for a fun and practical bike.

My new favorite bike! I love being able to take my kids along for a ride when it’s just a little too far for them to bike. This bike is the perfect fit for our family. I added the money bar attachment and the kids can’t wait to go for a ride.
When I asked my son why he wanted to take the bike for errands he said “Its fun and we get free air conditioning”
So much fun for the whole family!!
Comfortable ride when cargo is on the bike also! Rides great and handles perfectly. I recommend the bike to everyone with kids or who want to haul anything.