Bicycles

[Moody46CC]

We have two Dahon Mariners. Keep them in Dahon bags and lashed to the pulpit when underway. The storage bags (some sort of nylon) have handles so someone on deck can hand them to the person on the stern swim platform then into the dinghy for a run to shore.

In their place on the stern, lashed to the pulpit, they get more rain than spray, They seem to hold up well. I'll take them home over the winter when the boat is laid up and do a service--lubrication, etc. That is all they need.

When the grocery store or chandler is more than a mile from the dinghy dock, they are a godsend.

[Kenomac]

Brompton.

‘Nuff said.

[roverhi]

Have a Bike Friday New World Tourist. bikefriday.com. They are customized to your measurements and ride like a real bike. Not cheap but if you like to ride way more comfortable than the Chinese folders.

Really like riding the bike and have put a lot of miles on it. Bike has 27 gears so can take on the toughest hills if you are fit or just not kill yourself when you're tired. Quick folds into a bag for transportation in a dinghy or suitcase which I use to stow it onboard in the forepeak at sea. Can be checked in as luggage on airlines without a huge cost penalty of shipping a full sized bike. Bike has 27 gears so can take on the toughest hills if you are fit or just not kill yourself when you're tired.

Bike has been great to have on and around the boat. Saved me a fortune in rental car expense in Alameda, CA getting boat ready to sail to Kona. Our older son's family lived in San Ramon, CA and would ride the bike to the BART Station and then ride to their house.Biked all over Hilo when I got there. Bike is now in Carlsbad, CA and use it to ride to my other boat in Oceanside, CA. It's stored in its suitcase in the storage area of our Condo when we aren't there. Bought that boat in Alameda and used the bike extensively on the delivery down the coast at stops in Monterey and Morro Bay

[laika]

Have a dahon mariner but no longer onboard. If buying a new one I would spring for the higher end of the market as the dahon hasnt held up well to the salt.

Depends also on where you cruise. For cayes like Bahamas or Belize they probably won't see much service.

You can certainly always make due without!

[Freedom45]

I had a foldng Dahon, with full size wheels. It was great around town where there were bike paths.
I debated buying another for wife before we left.
Decided to sell it, no regrets. I made a mental note while cruising the Pacific, not too many places to ride, crummy roads, dangerous to mix with cars, no roads, etc.
So it all depends on where you go, cities with streets with room for bikes or not.

Cheers.
,

[willpep]

2 Bromptons

We bought them used. Travel to NYC where they are in abundance. Paid about 1/2 price as new. Ditto what has been said about about big bike feel and compact. We also like the fact that we can transport 2 bikes and 2 people in the dink easily.

Cheers

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by cj88

I have a couple of folders but now I'm leaning towards eScooters.

I have a couple of Dahon folders too. Would like to know which eScooters work well for cruising. I like the concept: space savings, portability. But I’m 67 and though I’m agile I dread falling at speed. Never used a kick scooter either and those small wheels don’t look practical. I would think one with larger air filled tires would be safer and smoother. Would like to know more from people with experience.

[sailorboy1]

I had folding bikes. Got rid of them as they took up too much room, were too much trouble to take ashore, and rarely were used. Now if I'm going to be somewhere long enough that a bike is useful I just go buy a couple and sell them to some other cruiser later.

[Davy J]

We carry two folding bikes and a folding Schwinn Day Tripper cargo wagon.

As far as the bikes, we went the cheap way with two six speed models from Camping World. $300.00 for both. They're going on four years old now, however they have needed to come off the boat and be completely lubricated a few times. Also, naval jelly really works well, if you let them get a little rusty.

The wagon makes carrying a ton of groceries and two cases of beer easy.

[ranger58sb]

We have two folders, one from West Marine (no suspension, derailleur) and one from Downtube (front suspension, internal hub). Both have storage bags. Both have sturdy racks in the back for carrying important supplies (and we augment those with backpacks).

Usually I unfold mine (Downtube) and leave it open for the season, usually covered. Wifey seldom uses hers. The folding hardware in both tend to be to weak spots for rust... and I think I could live with a non-folder because of that (given we usually have the space).

-Chris

[thomm225]

You'd be surprised how small your average 10 speed road bike can become. I have a rather large bike at 59 cm (Litespeed Vortex 10 Speed) but it will still fit in a 47" X 9" X 34" bike bag. So if you happen to already have a 10 speed, you may be set

https://www.google.com/search?q=lite...1V_8sBqc9YeGM:

https://www.amazon.com/International...reation&sr=1-3

[Bill O]

Interesting idea to take my bike and break it down into a bag. Being 6'3" most of the small wheel folding bikes do not adjust to my height. Some of the fuller sized folding mountain bikes looked acceptable w/a 20 or 21" frame size but were pricey.

Wonder how long it would take to assemble/disassemble? And would one want to do it all the time if you were on the hook?


Bill O.

[BlackHeron]

There are downsides of disassembling a full-sized bike and storing on a boat If one is disassembling a full-sized bike be aware that the frames can be easily damaged at the dropouts when the wheels are removed if special spreaders are not installed instead of the removed wheel hubs to keep the dropouts from being smooshed together as thr bike is stored and moved around. It doesn't take much force at all to bend these.

Steel can be rebent easily but the forks may never track properly after this, pulling the steering to one side or the other as one rides. If they are not bent back perfectly using a special fork alignment jig -which most bike shops will not even do these days due to liability, the bike will not ride well except in circles.

I own such a fork alignment tool and know how to use it but tool manufacturers such as Park Tools do not even offer one for sale any more. Most newer bike shops won't even have one and will only sell you a brand new fork. The rear dropouts need to be aligned correctly too or the wheel could be off-center, causing the brakes to drag on one side.

If the frame/fork is aluminum then rebending is not a safe option. If removing wheels a spacer is a very good idea to protect the frame while the wheels are out. They are not very expensive and can be found on Amazon. There are many different sizes so measure your bike for the "Over Locknut Dimension" before ordering them. Modern road bikes and mountain bikes tend to have different OLD these days, usually 130mm and 135mm respectively. Older road bikes may be smaller yet.

Also with modern road bikes with indexed shifting the alignment of the rear derailleur is very sensitive and if the derailleur hanger is bent even a fraction of a degree the derailleur will not track correctly and the chain may skip and shift poorly. The slightest bump and they can get all out of whack and require a visit to a real bike mechanic. There is yet another specialty bike tool to check and adjust this alignment, but all bike shops will have one of these at least. Adjusting SIS or indexing shifting seems to be a bit of a Black art amongst non bike mechanics, so be very careful of that delicate derailleur just hanging out there once the rear wheel has been removed. Again, on steel frames the hanger can be rebent to get the derailleur to track true again, and on aluminum frames there will be a replacible hanger that bolts onto the rear dropout which needs to be replaced when it is bent.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by BlackHeron

There are downsides of disassembling a full-sized bike and storing on a boat If one is disassembling a full-sized bike be aware that the frames can be easily damaged at the dropouts when the wheels are removed if special spreaders are not installed instead of the removed wheel hubs to keep the dropouts from being smooshed together as thr bike is stored and moved around. It doesn't take much force at all to bend these.

Steel can be rebent easily but the forks may never track properly after this, pulling the steering to one side or the other as one rides. If they are not bent back perfectly using a special fork alignment jig -which most bike shops will not even do these days due to liability, the bike will not ride well except in circles.

I own such a fork alignment tool and know how to use it but tool manufacturers such as Park Tools do not even offer one for sale any more. Most newer bike shops won't even have one and will only sell you a brand new fork. The rear dropouts need to be aligned correctly too or the wheel could be off-center, causing the brakes to drag on one side.

If the frame/fork is aluminum then rebending is not a safe option. If removing wheels a spacer is a very good idea to protect the frame while the wheels are out. They are not very expensive and can be found on Amazon. There are many different sizes so measure your bike for the "Over Locknut Dimension" before ordering them. Modern road bikes and mountain bikes tend to have different OLD these days, usually 130mm and 135mm respectively. Older road bikes may be smaller yet.

Also with modern road bikes with indexed shifting the alignment of the rear derailleur is very sensitive and if the derailleur hanger is bent even a fraction of a degree the derailleur will not track correctly and the chain may skip and shift poorly. The slightest bump and they can get all out of whack and require a visit to a real bike mechanic. There is yet another specialty bike tool to check and adjust this alignment, but all bike shops will have one of these at least. Adjusting SIS or indexing shifting seems to be a bit of a Black art amongst non bike mechanics, so be very careful of that delicate derailleur just hanging out there once the rear wheel has been removed. Again, on steel frames the hanger can be rebent to get the derailleur to track true again, and on aluminum frames there will be a replacible hanger that bolts onto the rear dropout which needs to be replaced when it is bent.

Wow, I've treated my bike really bad for years (bought in 2005) and never had any trouble. (it's titanium w/carbon fiber forks) I usually at least remove the front wheel every time I move the bike in my vehicle.

Sometimes I just lay it in the back on its side or in the past, the forks fit on the car carrier on top of my jeep and lock there

Btw, I paid more for my bike than I did for my boat!

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by BlackHeron

There are downsides of disassembling a full-sized bike and storing on a boat If one is disassembling a full-sized bike be aware that the frames can be easily damaged at the dropouts when the wheels are removed if special spreaders are not installed instead of the removed wheel hubs to keep the dropouts from being smooshed together as thr bike is stored and moved around. It doesn't take much force at all to bend these.

Steel can be rebent easily but the forks may never track properly after this, pulling the steering to one side or the other as one rides. If they are not bent back perfectly using a special fork alignment jig -which most bike shops will not even do these days due to liability, the bike will not ride well except in circles.

I own such a fork alignment tool and know how to use it but tool manufacturers such as Park Tools do not even offer one for sale any more. Most newer bike shops won't even have one and will only sell you a brand new fork. The rear dropouts need to be aligned correctly too or the wheel could be off-center, causing the brakes to drag on one side.

If the frame/fork is aluminum then rebending is not a safe option. If removing wheels a spacer is a very good idea to protect the frame while the wheels are out. They are not very expensive and can be found on Amazon. There are many different sizes so measure your bike for the "Over Locknut Dimension" before ordering them. Modern road bikes and mountain bikes tend to have different OLD these days, usually 130mm and 135mm respectively. Older road bikes may be smaller yet.

Also with modern road bikes with indexed shifting the alignment of the rear derailleur is very sensitive and if the derailleur hanger is bent even a fraction of a degree the derailleur will not track correctly and the chain may skip and shift poorly. The slightest bump and they can get all out of whack and require a visit to a real bike mechanic. There is yet another specialty bike tool to check and adjust this alignment, but all bike shops will have one of these at least. Adjusting SIS or indexing shifting seems to be a bit of a Black art amongst non bike mechanics, so be very careful of that delicate derailleur just hanging out there once the rear wheel has been removed. Again, on steel frames the hanger can be rebent to get the derailleur to track true again, and on aluminum frames there will be a replacible hanger that bolts onto the rear dropout which needs to be replaced when it is bent.

Ok, excellent points. The fork spreaders or some sort of spacer is reasonable and easy.
Are there any protective cages/cover for the derailleur? Also wouldn't the banging/alignment issue of the derailleur be the same for a folding bike w/indexed shifting??


Bill O.