Folding Bikes

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Teknishn

Well, this is certainly a timely post as I was thinking about this earlier today.

Like Dockhead, I as well used to cycle competitively (criteriums and long distance) many years ago and appreciate a quality bike.

My boat is much smaller than most who have posted here (27-feet) and was wondering about bike storage onboard.

I absolutely do not want a folding bike for reasons already cited and the wheel diameter severely limits the range unless one is going for the Ironman record on small wheels.

The areas that I plan on mooring next year in the Chesapeake Bay are fairly remote with supplies being located 6-13 miles away from most landings or marinas so a bike is necessary. Also a bike with a rack or two.

I am looking at mid-range mountain bikes at the moment. Cheap enough to be disposable in a year when they corrode to pieces, yet solid enough for carrying loads of groceries, parts, etc.

My issue will be storage while sailing....Bike rack on the transom? Ha! Don't think so. Stowing down below? Possible, but difficult to secure in a small space and still allow access to the head and opening sole hatches. Still thinking this one through....

You should try a decent folder with the bigger (20") wheels, before you rule them out.

20" wheels definitely do not limit range. They only limit downhill speed. Like I said, I can knock out 60 miles, even with hills, with no problem -- 2 1/2 to 3 hours before lunch, 2 1/2 to 3 hours afterwards . I'm pretty sure that a full sized road bike would not increase that range. A mountain bike would definitely be less. In my youth, a "good long ride", morning to night, was 100 miles. These days, 60 seems to take about the same effort.

Storing a non-folding bike on a boat your size will only work on the rail, which will be in the way, cause windage, look like carp, and the bike will rust apart in weeks. A folder in a bag can probably be kept somewhere below, or at least, in a locker.

I would definitely try to make a folder work, in your case. The better ones are every bit as rigid as a normal road bike, and the geometry is fine, too. The only downside is that they are a bit heavier, because of the folding mechanism and extra reinforcements.

[a64pilot]

I'm telling you guys, try a Bike Friday if you can, you will change your minds about folders and small wheels.
Bike Friday has been building high end bikes I guess for 20+ years that I know of, perhaps longer.
I don't have enough room to make bikes work, I would need more boat. I plan on if we are staying somewhere for a decent amount of time to buy cheap ones and donate them when we leave. You know the kind without investment cast drop outs, the kind they smash the tubes flat to fit the wheels, and use nuts not skewers

[zeehag]

have you ever ridden 30 miles round trip with a load of groceries on a 16 inch or 20 inch wheeled bicycle??
try it before you buy.
i researched folding bikes long and hard before i left san diego without one. i even owned a 16 in wheel dahon folder and then a 20 inch wheel dahon folder with 5 speeds.
aint going to cut it for reprovisioning in isolated towns in nowhereville.
the option i went and still going with has been -- normal bicycle, aluminum frame, bought in sd many years ago--when it rusted together and stuck tight i gave frame to a friend who has daughters size of my bike frame. i was thanked. the thankyou prompted me to buy a used bike in each place i visit to use until i leave, at which time i give away to the most helpful or most needy local person and find another in the next place.
as eveyone here rides bikes there are plenty to be had. choice is awesome.
the sincerity of the thanks given for something unaffordable is heart warming. i practice this wherever i am visiting.
i have yet to find a cheap tossaway foldable--but i donot look for em as i do ride many miles each way to provision my boat. terrain here warrants a mountain err all terrain type bicycle.
i find my tossaways for 80-100 usd for a GOOD one. i paid 110 for a mix frame ALUMINUM frame, which sells new for over 7000 pesos. (18 to one usd, peso at the time)

for the record, it took 7 years of marine environment to destroy my aluminum frame bike i started with. it only froze up because i failed to oil it with the frequency it desired. (i got lazy)

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Folding bikes, or bikes in general, are they useful and worth having or more trouble than they are worth?

Let me clarify that I wouldn't store my bikes outside on the boat as I have lots of room inside the boat. Sure they will still rust, everything rusts but I see no reason to expect a bike to rust any faster than anything else on the boat. I'm not expecting speed, just a way to get around that is better than around on a set of knees with torn meniscuses. Most places along the coasts probably aren't hilly so don't need a bunch of speeds. If every 3-4 years I have to get ones that's the way it is.

So the question is just - is having a bike worth it?

BTW - I owned a bike shop for years, I can fix a bike!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by zeehag

have you ever ridden 30 miles round trip with a load of groceries on a 16 inch or 20 inch wheeled bicycle??
. . .

Yes, I have! Do it regularly.

I carry the groceries in a backpack plus sling a couple of bags over the handlebars. This sucks as a way to carry them.

What you really need is a light folding trailer, for the groceries, or at least, some panniers.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Let me clarify that I wouldn't store my bikes outside on the boat as I have lots of room inside the boat. Sure they will still rust, everything rusts but I see no reason to expect a bike to rust any faster than anything else on the boat. I'm not expecting speed, just a way to get around that is better than around on a set of knees with torn meniscuses. Most places along the coasts probably aren't hilly so don't need a bunch of speeds. If every 3-4 years I have to get ones that's the way it is.

So the question is just - is having a bike worth it?

BTW - I owned a bike shop for years, I can fix a bike!

YMMV, but as far as I'm concerned, the answer to your question is YES.

Caveat, however, is that bad knees are as bad on a bike as they are for walking.

With bad knees, you might want something electric.

I am blessed (thank you Jesus) with good joints and strong, painless walking and swimming and riding, despite a lifetime of abuse.

[a64pilot]

Depends on where you are going and whether or not you like to ride.
If public transportation is plentiful maybe not so useful, if roads don't really exist, maybe not so useful.
Some places you go are very bike friendly, like Tarpon Springs. They came in real handy there, Dry Tortugas, not so much.
If you can keep them inside then corrosion ought not be an issue, and Dahon at least has bags, that would keep the greasy chain from getting anything dirty.

I never tried hauling them in the dinghy, that would be doable of course but likely more trouble than it would be worth for me.
I used to be a bicyclist, the wife never was, I bought the Screamer with the idea that I could do most of the work and mine has independent pedaling as both bottom brackets have freewheels built into them, turned out to be a waste of about $5,000.
Wife just isn't a cyclist, if yours is, then its way more likely that bikes would work out for you.
Her not being a cyclist is why I motorized one of my folders, that worked out better than the tandem did

[Kenomac]

We love our Bromptons. Easily stored inside the boat and transported via dinghy. You get what you pay for when it comes to folding bikes.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kV32HQqPYsM

[Teknishn]

Thanks for the input Dockhead, much appreciated. However, I'm in the school of thought with Zeehag on the full sized bike thing. I'm just gonna have to trial and error it in my case (and maybe toss a bike or two overboard until I figure out what works for me ).

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

You should try a decent folder with the bigger (20") wheels, before you rule them out.

20" wheels definitely do not limit range. They only limit downhill speed. Like I said, I can knock out 60 miles, even with hills, with no problem -- 2 1/2 to 3 hours before lunch, 2 1/2 to 3 hours afterwards . I'm pretty sure that a full sized road bike would not increase that range. A mountain bike would definitely be less. In my youth, a "good long ride", morning to night, was 100 miles. These days, 60 seems to take about the same effort.

Storing a non-folding bike on a boat your size will only work on the rail, which will be in the way, cause windage, look like carp, and the bike will rust apart in weeks. A folder in a bag can probably be kept somewhere below, or at least, in a locker.

I would definitely try to make a folder work, in your case. The better ones are every bit as rigid as a normal road bike, and the geometry is fine, too. The only downside is that they are a bit heavier, because of the folding mechanism and extra reinforcements.

Yep. We rode our cheap Dahon 20" folders all over. Rural trips, dirt roads, potholes etc. An 8" tire would have been a PITA for that stuff. Sometimes on day long rides. I actually prefer them.... as do BMX competitors!

[Polux]

No, I don't think in buying them. My wife will certainly not use one, we like to walk and we found out that in any small village we can find a small supermarket that delivers the stuff to the boat. Sometimes we take a cab or rent a car, a motorcycle or a scooter.

The price of two bikes would not compensate the very few times we would use them and that money can be better used on the rental of bicycles or scooters.

[barnakiel]

If your boat is big enough and if you like biking sure get a bike with you.

It does not have to be a folding one as any mtb or city bike can be undone and refit in 5 minutes.

My advice - go for light alloy or carbon frames and quality, light equipment. 20 lbs is already heavy these days.

You only use the bike if it is easy to move on and off the boat. Light things are a pleasure to bike and to move about.

b.

[Loredo]

We've got two Mobiky 16 inch bikes on board. Wouldn't want to be without them. Folding that bike takes 5 seconds. No rust after three years on board but I always store them inside. Very comfortable ride even with the little wheels.

Before buying them I had a Brompton on board. The main problem with that bike was that once folded it was too wide to fit through the door to the aft cabin where I wanted to store it. For this reason I went with the Mobiky. Folded it's higher than other folding bikes but is less than half the width.
Pricey but you get what you pay for.

[IdoraKeeper]

Probably useful but in Dons case not fast enough to evade Beaufort T Justice. Plus you could look like the Clampets if not stowed below.

[Kelkara]

I can't imagine living without a bicycle. For the last 15 years I haven't even bothered owning a car - I used it so little when I had one - preferring to ride a bike instead where possible ... so my opinion may be a little biassed.

If you are a cyclist you will be very happy riding a well designed folding bike ... if you're not a cyclist it's very tempting to blame the bike for why it takes so much effort to cover distance ... but it's just a bicycle.

If you're a cyclist you'll probably be fairly UNhappy with a badly designed or poorly fitting folding bike ... if you're not a cyclist you probably won't notice the difference between the good bike and the poor one ... it'll still take a lot of effort to go anywhere.

My Brompton has the same geometry as my road bike: saddle, handlebars, pedals and contact points between the wheels and the ground, all in the same geometry. Hence it is a very good ride for me, and I have put 1000s of miles on it on five continents. But folding bikes are a bit less customisable/adjustable than standard bikes, so it's worthwhile trying to get a test-ride to make sure the fit is good (or get a Bike Friday who will build it to order in your size).

The small wheels have no issues on pavement, but do slow me down a bit on gravel (but I've still put in 100 mile days on un-paved roads). It will carry a full touring load just as well as a big bike, so no problem transporting luggage. But it is only a 6-speed so it lacks really low gears for crawling up long steep hills - so I have to get off and push a little bit before my riding speed is down to walking speed, but that is the only real downside that I find ... of course it comes with the advantage that in less than a minute I can have it folded up, packed in a bag, and put on a taxi/bus/train/plane ...

... or even a boat ... which is exactly where it is at the moment ... happily stashed under the saloon table.

I love my Brompton folding bike