Regarding boat bikes...

FlyWright said:

Hmmmmm....How fast can an alligator run?

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We live across the street from the lake and see these guys out on the bank all the time. If you're quiet and respect their space, they'll leave you alone. They do get a bit testy during mating season so best to keep your distance.

denverd0n said:

19.7 mph... Getting REALLY close to the legal limit there! I wonder if these are built with some sort of governor to keep the speed under 20 mph? Many states seem to have laws similar to Florida's where, if it is capable of going more than 20 mph, then it is no longer just an electric-assisted bicycle, but becomes a full-fledged "motor vehicle."

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Under the classifications used in California and adopted by many other states this would be Class 1 if there was no throttle and Class 2 if there was. Both Class1&2 are limited to 20mph maximum, but are allowed wherever old style bicycles are permitted.

Class 3 can have a throttle and is allowed a top speed of 28mph, these are not allowed on bike paths and trails, but are permitted on bike lanes on public roads. No insurance or license is needed for any of these classes of bicycle.

These rules have been in place for several years and seem to be working well, so look for more states to adopt them as well.

Florida does not differentiate classes. The law simply says that if it is CAPABLE of speeds greater than 20 mph then it is a motor vehicle. I think an over-zealous prosecutor might make the argument that it doesn't matter what the governor is set at, unless it is locked down and cannot be adjusted higher -- if it CAN be adjusted higher, then the bike is CAPABLE of going more than 20 mph, and therefore is a motor vehicle.


Of course, the odds of such a case ever getting to court are extraordinarily remote. Still, it doesn't hurt to at least be aware of these little technicalities since, as they say, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

We are down in the Caribbean and except for a very few exceptions, I would be afraid to ride a bike on the roadsides down here. There are no bike paths or any 'separation' zones for bikes.
Just a thought if you are leaving an area where those things are common.

OldDan1943 said:

I've had two. One a folding motor bike. Too heavy to get on and off the boat easily. Gave it away.
Had a expensive, light-weight, super duper folding pedal, non-rusting bike, wheels too small, 16 inch. I had it for about 5 years. Gave it away. They do not make a 20 inch wheels.

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Ah, but they do! We have a couple of Dahon Mariners - folding bikes meant for boaters. Most of the parts are very corrosion resistant, and it's not too hard to keep some Bo-shield or some other anti-corrosion spray on the parts that can rust. We had the Dahon Curves before, and I agree, the 16" wheels are a tad small to make for a comfortable ride. The 20" wheels on the Mariner, along with 7 gears (and a decent shifter), make it A-OK for my wife and me to ride 3 miles each way to the gym, 3 times a week. And I'm 60.

They weigh 32 lbs each (I think - maybe 34?), and we had Sunbrella bags made for them with a nice big strap handle, to make it easy to get them on and off the flybridge from the dock. We've had them for about a year, and they're doing great so far.

Boat Bike

I think you will be much happier (provided your boat has a lifting boom) with a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

We like our Dahon folders as well. 32 pounds 26” wheels 18 speeds and just switched over to some off road tires for the Bahamas.

we have a Bike Friday with an electric assist. They make a model called the PakIt which fits into a backpack, which can be had with or without electric assist. They weigh about 25 to 30 pounds with the electric assist They also can come with a carbon belt rather that a chain (less rust). These bikes can be put in a standard suitcase for air travel. They are spendy but excellent quality and compact. Ours traveled in a Mainship 400.
https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-bikes/product/bike-friday-pakit-compact-folding-bike

Ebikes

I had been looking for a folding ebike that would provide throttle plus assistance. I visited the RAD company in Seattle and test rode them. Great ebikes, but weight was the area that made the RAD mini not a consideration. I have been living aboard and cruising for over thirteen years. It is important that a lot of homework including test riding various folding ebikes (specifically weight) before considering which ebike is best for you. That include storage aboard and lifting your ebike out of your boats Lazarret or into your tender. I did find the right folding ebike for me, but it happened after a lot of research. If you are going to do long term cruising you will need a folding ebike that is light weight enough for you to safely pickup and handle that has all of the other bells and whistles .

Congrats on your new ebikes. Enjoy them. Ebikes are the best transportation one can have boating. Just saying.....?

Greetings,
Welcome aboard!

I like it mainly because of the decent luggage rack that I could mount a big crate onto for lugging fresh vege and meat from whatever markets are nearby but $2 grand buys a lot of uber, car and motor scooter rental, especially in our intended cruising grounds.

I do have a couple of solid, Giant mountain bikes at the dirt house that I have considered retrofitting with electric wheels, seems you can get 1000+ watt for a few hundred dollars.
The "claims" sound impressive.

https://www.ebay.com.au/b/Electric-Conversion-Kits/177814/bn_16375062

Ebike laws

We got wheel chair handicap stickers on ours, so they are “power assisted mobility devices” under federal law, which trumps any state or local restrictions. They are legal on any public access trail or highway.

JohnEasley said:

We've been thinking ahead to when we get our next boat and start cruising in retirement (two years, two months, twenty-three days). We wanted a couple of folding, electric bikes. We settled on a couple of Radmini's and took delivery yesterday.

Pretty easy to assemble. Called the customer service line for advice on one thing, got right through to someone, and he had the answer immediately.

This afternoon, we rode them about four or four and a half miles. Mine hit 19.7 mph on full electric drive with no peddling. At the end of the ride, the battery meter hadn't even moved off of Full. They even come with a little bell on the handlebars.

I'm not affiliated with the company in any way, just a happy customer.

John

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We found these at Amazon and loved them...all Aluminum folding biles, very light but not electric. These have held up quite well in a salt-water marina environment, which really surprised me!! Less than $300 each!



http://a.co/d/a3coWyJ

Bacchus said:

May be true in most states but not in NY

"WHERE TO RIDE:

Electric bicycles may*not be ridden on any street, highway, parking lot, sidewalk or other in New York State that allows public motor traffic."

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In New Jersey you would not be allowed to recharge them yourself.

Dahon Folding bikes

I can't imagine loading 60 lb bikes into and then out of the dinghy onto a dock or back onto your boat.

This summer will be our 16th year with our Dahons - small wheels, 7 speeds. We've pedaled 22 miles in one day all over Martha's Vineyard. We have mud guards and racks on the back. The racks allow for easy grocery shopping and/or hauling 15 lb blocks of ice back to the boat. We can negotiate high hills including the hill from North Light on Block Island back to town with relative ease. Manual pedaling will help keep us in shape (hopefully) for many more years of boating. The bikes slide into bags (found on Amazon - MoBics) very easily. We find these bags to be easier to use than our original Dahon bags. The bikes ride in the galley and we bring them to shore and lock them up for the length of our stay at each anchorage. Any form of land transportation makes it much more of an exploratory adventure when you get to your new destination.

Happy Solstice, we are now officially on our way to the new boating season!!!

We went with Giant aluminum commuter bikes $300 or so....full size 7 gears ....can really cover a lot of ground. Starting year 3 and still working. Regarding corrosion I have become a bio shield believer....first day with bikes sprayed every inch of my bike....moved it down the dock to get the admirals and I heard a splash....you guessed it...mine had fallen in and was just able to grab part of the handle bar as it went under. Also added a waterproof bag for each from Yardstash....big help as they reside on the flybridge aft railing.

Dont forget to wear a suitable helmet. The 'nut shell' is not as thick as it used to be and we dont want the brain sloshing around inside the nut shell.

Any decent cruising boat should have the ability to load or unload several hundred pounds packages on or off... Ranging from bikes to refridgerators to transmissions to liquids to bikes/scooters.

Options are wonderful, limitations cause more stress when enjoyment is king./queen.

It it takes a few more minutes, what is cruising anyway?

I also plan on retiring and doing the great Loop. This will be my 3rd ?*. I miss the life and got 4 yrs left. I bought an e-bike from Citizen a year ago. Left it out doors, only taking the battery and computer indoors. I also bought the bike bag to stow outside. Same conditions it will face on the bow of my boat. I am glad to say I am still riding the bike and my top speed on it is 17.6 mph

came across this folding bike site yesterday. Looks interesting.
https://www.downtube.com/

KapnKarl said:

came across this folding bike site yesterday. Looks interesting.
https://www.downtube.com/

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I have a Downtube folding bike. It's OK. It's an 8H, IIRC, with front suspension... so the rear rack can be seriously loaded with something like a milk crate for carrying heavy stuff like big ice bags and essentials like beer.

Could be better, with more use of stainless (at the folding mechanisms, brake fittings, etc.). The Sturmey-Archer internal 8-speed hub is better (in my mind) than exposed gears, but I think a belt drive would be better than a chain.

I tried to interest Downtube in making a "marine" version, without much enthusiasm. Likely too small a market...

When we bring the bikes out of storage, they can mostly stay above decks for the whole season... so the folding option isn't all that critical for us anymore.

Boatpoker mentioned the Trek District... I don't think it's made anymore, or at least not catalogued... but something like that but with an internal hub could be approaching our Nirvana.

-Chris

If I were building up a bike for the boat, I'd build it with belt drive and the 14 speed Rohloff internal hub shifter. Since it is a sealed oil bath, pretty much no corrosion on the inside anyway. The downside of belt drives is the frame must be made to take it - you need to break the chain stay to change the belt as you cannot break the belt.

A couple of years ago I built a pair of ebikes using Bikes Direct $300 single speed fat bikes and BBSHDs. A 3-speed Nexus 3 IGH laced into the stock rim reusing the original spokes at the same length. Mine were running 30a at 52v and I never pedaled preferring to ride them like motorcycles, on mountain trails with lots of climbs and descents I was able to get over 35 miles range while ghost pedaling. Top speed was limited by gearing to 20mph making them Class 1 compliant when the throttle was unplugged. A change of gearing and they would run in the mid thirty’s.

We decided not to bring them aboard, buying a Zuma 50 scooter instead for less money. One used scooter costs the same as a new ebike and will keep up with traffic, neither require a license, insurance or a helmet. We have a full power crane to put it onto the dock and we do not intend to ever use it when anchored and if we do will just drop it off at the dock when we pump out or fuel. It’s not hard to figure a way....

DDW said:

If I were building up a bike for the boat, I'd build it with belt drive and the 14 speed Rohloff internal hub shifter. Since it is a sealed oil bath, pretty much no corrosion on the inside anyway. The downside of belt drives is the frame must be made to take it - you need to break the chain stay to change the belt as you cannot break the belt.

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A single speed ebike chain on an IGH is about a maintenance free as any chain can be. They are cheap too.

Does anyone keep a real bike on board? As in something like a BMW G650GS with panniers secured in the aft open cockpit? Requires a topside crane but at around 450 lb it's doable, not too heavy for the dock and offers complete freedom of travel when in the destination marina.

Carbo Superlight E-Bike

Waiting for Carbo to start shipping in March!


https://www.ridecarbo.com/

MiltonP said:

Waiting for Carbo to start shipping in March!


https://www.ridecarbo.com/

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Nice looking bike and because it is carbon fiber, no rust. I am not sure how the motor and electronics will stand up to a salty atmosphere.

16 or 20 inch wheels?
(looks like 16)
If it is 20 inch, I am running out of reasons not to order one.

Looking at the prices of some of these ebikes I begin to think Uber.

MiltonP said:

Waiting for Carbo to start shipping in March!


https://www.ridecarbo.com/

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That's a pretty cool folding electric.

ranger42c said:

I have a Downtube folding bike. It's OK. It's an 8H, IIRC, with front suspension... so the rear rack can be seriously loaded with something like a milk crate for carrying heavy stuff like big ice bags and essentials like beer.

Could be better, with more use of stainless (at the folding mechanisms, brake fittings, etc.). The Sturmey-Archer internal 8-speed hub is better (in my mind) than exposed gears, but I think a belt drive would be better than a chain.

I tried to interest Downtube in making a "marine" version, without much enthusiasm. Likely too small a market...

When we bring the bikes out of storage, they can mostly stay above decks for the whole season... so the folding option isn't all that critical for us anymore.

Boatpoker mentioned the Trek District... I don't think it's made anymore, or at least not catalogued... but something like that but with an internal hub could be approaching our Nirvana.

-Chris

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I came across this: https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/thecoast

The one speed has no parts that can rust but the 3 speed has a Shimano gear box they make clear isn't rust proof.

We currently have Montague folding, but they have lots of bits and pieces that get rusty so I think we want something a bit more robust.