Bicycles

Hello All,

As an ernest newbie, I am looking at all angles.* One of which is ground transportation.* All things considered, for me, I think a bicycle would work best.*

Of course just like boats, all bike types are some form of compromise.* It seems like a bike with detachible*rear saddle bags (panniers) would be ideal, either a foldable or not.* But it seems like all of the bikes with any age on them are quite rusty, due to salt air.* Of course less so with exclusively fresh water boats.

Does someone make a bike that can accept a pannier rack that has stainless steel components?* Or do you just let 'em rust and eventually replace them?*

Mike

They do make aluminum panniers, but I prefer the cloth, like this:

http://www.jandd.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamCat=3&iLevel=2&subcat=11*

We love our Montague folding bikes. *They do have steel components, but I keep them sprintzed down with WD 40 and we don't really have any rust. *They are stored forward in a dry locker and that no doubt is a very great help.

Get cheap bikes, hose them with your choice of oils/corrosion blockers, etc. When they fall apart deep six them and buy a couple more at a garage sale.

Or go for the gusto and get a good road bike. Either Aluminum or carbon frame, forks, etc, only the chain has to be steel, and with oil on it, no rust. easier riding ( low weight), you will use it more, be fit.

Far more important than a bike is a folding shopping cart you can pull .

Liquids ( BEER!) and propane are heavy as are most groceries.

A half mile walk to the store is no big deal, IF you don't have to hand carry your stuff back to the dink.

I'v got a couple of Dahon folding bikes that cost about $350 each. We do not store them aboard the boat. They will rust but coating them with wd-40 or something similar of course will help. These are cheap bikes good for occasional use. We've biked 20 miles in a day with them and they were fine. They came with a bungee cord attached to a carrying rack over the rear wheel. With a little resourcefulness you can carry quite a load.*

Like anything else if you take the time to care for them they will last. Store them on the fore deck and you may get a year out of them.*

When we do our loop cruise I plan on getting cheap bikes, spraying them to protect them as long as practical, then tossing them.

I'll get them or add a rack and some bungees, etc for hauling.

FF wrote:
Far more important than a bike is a folding shopping cart you can pull .

Liquids ( BEER!) and propane are heavy as are most groceries.

A half mile walk to the store is no big deal, IF you don't have to hand carry your stuff back to the dink.

Click to expand...

*Agreed, a long hike with poorly bagged groceries is one of the ultimate pains. *Wally World, Home Depot, Lowe's etc., all stock folding handtrucks that work well for this purpose too as long as the one with big wheels is purchased.

I talked with a guy a month or so ago who had two very strange looking folding bicycles on his boat. They folded up into a very small package and a magnet held the wheels together. It took about fifteen seconds to unfold them into a useable bicycle. Instead of a chain, they used a kevlar belt for a drive system. No rust, no grease.

The down side is, they cost over $600 each.



-- Edited by rwidman on Tuesday 29th of November 2011 09:55:03 AM


-- Edited by rwidman on Tuesday 29th of November 2011 09:55:55 AM

Riding a folding bike is balancing on the head of a pin. Very touchy and they will throw you. We darn near gave our Dahons away after an 11 month cruise.

On our last extented cruise (2007) from SW Florida to Baltimore we used a couple of cheap (under $100) aluminum bikes from Wal Mart. They are light weight and easy to toss aboard. Now they have rusty handle bars and pedals but we still ride them every day.

For hauling groceries we used removable wire baskets hanging on the front handle bars. Now the dog rides there for his daily outing.

Folding bikes are great to have on the boat. I found a couple of Dahon D7 (7 speed 20 tire) bikes on Craigslist for under $300 each and they look like new. These have fenders (important around puddles) and a rear carrying rack and weight about 28 lbs. There are others that are similar by Citizen and Bazooka and West Marine.
*
*
All of these bikes measure about 12 W by 24 H by 30 D when folded. I was originally going to carry them on the sun deck protected in plastic; however, I discovered they fit easily in the engine room between the water heater and the engine underwater muffler. In this location, they should stay dry and like new.
*
These bikes are very easy and stable to ride, for example you can ride no hands steering by leaning with no problem. Plus it takes less than a minute to fold and unfold them.

At 6'4' and 280 lbs, my back hurts just looking at the Dahons. I've think Delfin has the answer for us "big Blocks". A regular size bike for humans! They are just like the one I ride at home.

A friend called them "Circus bear bikes"
Steve W

Steve wrote:
A friend called them "Circus bear bikes"
Steve W

Click to expand...

*Hey, I resemble that remark

Buy cheap bikes with solidly mounted (but removable or that fold) bags or baskets (if you have the room). Folding bike don't take up too much less space than normal size bikes. The small wheels mean you go half the speed with twice the effort and the trade-off ain't worth it.

The small wheels mean you go half the speed with twice the effort and the trade-off ain't worth it.

NONSENSE

"small wheels mean you go half the speed with twice the effort"

I assume you did not mean this literally? Reducing the wheel radius from 13" to 10" and taking into account the gearing adjustments has little*effect on the energy required to pedal at the same speed. This is not a valid reason to avoid these bikes. Besides they are for sight seeing and shopping, not racing. A standard size folding bike is fine if you have the room, but they would not fit in my engine room.

GonzoF1 wrote:
Buy cheap bikes with solidly mounted (but removable or that fold) bags or baskets (if you have the room). Folding bike don't take up too much less space than normal size bikes. The small wheels mean you go half the speed with twice the effort and the trade-off ain't worth it.

The speed vs effort is determined by the bicycle's gearing and weight and your weight.* As long as the designer took the size of the wheels into account when determining the gearing, the size of the wheels is irrelevant.

The ability to fold the bicycle may make the difference between being able to store it in a safe, dry space or having to store it on deck where it will be exposed to salt water spray.* The one I posted (above) was really small when folded.

Click to expand...

*

Not being a physics genius, I actually did mean it. Allow me to back-pedal ( :-D ) so you at least understand where I am coming from, regardless of how stupid y'all enjoy making me feel. ;-)

Bess and I ride bikes pretty regularly (although not that much since we bought the boat) and own a few very nice road bikes. Folding, small-wheel bikes are a bad choice if you have any distance to cover, and as we all are well aware, provisions and destinations are not always right next to the marinas we visit. So, regardless of the amount of effort it takes to achieve terminal velocity, a full-size bike is a better choice. And when I say FULL SIZE, I am not talking about the difference between 10" and 13"... I mean and adult 24"-27" machine. Single-speed versions of folders are useless for anything other that tooling around the marina or from municipal docks to the nearest waterfront seafood place, that said, as you get into the world of folding bikes with derailers and complex folding mechanisms, you are well within the price point of an inexpensive full-size bike.

Like someone mentioned before, it feels a lot like being a bear on a clown bike. The small wheels and the weird front end geometry doesn't make me feel very safe or capable of getting out of a jam, especially if you manage to get yourself into a busy intersection or onto a busy road. I suppose that the plus side is that I could never fit a folding bike into my engine bay, but that doesn't make them very convenient to get to should the need arise, now does it? Would you use it that often if it's a huge production to get to? On Skinny Dippin' two full-size bike store nicely on the sundeck. Does that work for everyone? I suppose not, but it works great for us. Besides, a good layer of T-9 lube will make them last a good long time in the salt air. Anyway... that's my take.

Gonzo,

I certainly agree that everyone should choose the bike that fits their needs best. For you it is a full size on the deck and for me it is a folding in the ER*(where the hatch is directly adjacent to the PH door making it easy to reach in and get the bikes out).* Others will differ, of course.*

My comments were intended only to be sure*others weren't misslead by whether smaller bikes required significantly more effort.* Also, when I referred to 10" vs 13" radius, that*was the same as saying 20" to 26" diameter.* I should have stuck with the more commonly used dimension.*

BTW, these bikes have*7 speeds*and cruise comfortably at 10 mph. At home I own a couple of full size road bikes for exercising around the lake, and I agree they are the better choice for that use.*

For some of us, the ability to fold and store a bicycle in a small space may be the difference between having one (or two) on our boats or not.

If the heart of the question is "ground transportation", this is another vote for a $30 folding grocery cart. *It only takes about an hour to walk as far as a mile out and a mile back. *It's good exercise. *Most of the time, a store is closer than that. The cart is easier to store and get on and off the boat, especially if you are on the hook.

cheers,


-- Edited by Penny Lane on Wednesday 30th of November 2011 10:08:26 AM

I have one of these rolling carts with two stacking collapsable bins. Besides walking it to and from the store, I can ride my Dahon bike one handed while towing this to the other side. I'm thinking of putting some kind of cart handle hitch on the rear rack to simply the process.*

While gearing is important...tough to argue rolling resistance...it goes up dramatically as the wheel diameter decreases.* Seach bikes on wikipedia...

I'm with the philosophy of cheap auction or yard sales bikes...protect them for as long as you can and toss when they are too bad to deal with.* That also lessens your worry about your bike being stolen off your boat or off the sidewalk near the grocery store.*

If it's not something you use for 20-50 miles a day...then why put your money into an object if you need the money to upgrade your boat or improve your cruise?* And before anyone says their boat is perfect...I'll bet I could surveyyour boat and recommend changes that come to about the difference in a $25 yard* sale bike and a $300 plus folding bike.

rwidman wrote:
I talked with a guy a month or so ago who had two very strange looking folding bicycles on his boat. They folded up into a very small package and a magnet held the wheels together. It took about fifteen seconds to unfold them into a useable bicycle. Instead of a chain, they used a kevlar belt for a drive system. No rust, no grease.

The down side is, they cost over $600 each.






-- Edited by rwidman on Tuesday 29th of November 2011 09:55:55 AM

Click to expand...

*Do they provide the wig, red rubber nose, polka dot leisure suit and large shoes as part of the purchase, or do you have to buy them separately?

A talley so far indicates that while this is a small sample, the counts are fairly equal: 5 prefer folding bikes; 6 prefer full size bikes; and 4 prefer a cart.

Interestingly, there is strong criticism of folding bikes by some, as they are viewed as harder to pedal, less stable, and too expensive. Folding bike owners stongly dissagree and also believe the added cost is justified by being able to keep the bikes in good condition.*

Full bike riders claim better performance yet agree that their bikes most often have to be stored on deck and are*open to the environment and rapid deterioration. They advocate buying them cheaply and disposing of them*when required.

I vote for folders. Ever try to get one or two regular bikes in a 7.5ft Livingston dinghy to row them ashore for a ride? When your boat lives on a mooring buoy and you tend to anchor out a lot more than you stay dockside, folders (with carring bags) are the only way to go. The convenience outweighs the marginally less comfortable ride for day biking in the Gulf and San Juan Islands. They are safe and easy. Bought a nice rarely-ridden used one for $140 and a new aluminum-framed one for $260. Both are 6-speed.

"(with carring bags) are the only way to go"

Very important!!!

The bag is a great handle , as well as a carry all.

saturnaisland wrote:
I vote for folders. Ever try to get one or two regular bikes in a 7.5ft Livingston dinghy to row them ashore for a ride? When your boat lives on a mooring buoy and you tend to anchor out a lot more than you stay dockside, folders (with carring bags) are the only way to go.

Click to expand...

*This is a very valid "pro" for folders...without question.**

Great Laker wrote:
A talley so far indicates that while this is a small sample, the counts are fairly equal: 5 prefer folding bikes; 6 prefer full size bikes; and 4 prefer a cart.

Interestingly, there is strong criticism of folding bikes by some, as they are viewed as harder to pedal, less stable, and too expensive. Folding bike owners stongly dissagree and also believe the added cost is justified by being able to keep the bikes in good condition.*

Full bike riders claim better performance yet agree that their bikes most often have to be stored on deck and are*open to the environment and rapid deterioration. They advocate buying them cheaply and disposing of them*when required.

Another option is to carry neither and take a bus or taxi when you need to get around on land.* You can buy a lot of bus or cab rides for the price of a bicycle.

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