bicycle?

[beau]

any recommendations for the use of bicycles for touring/getting supplies etc.
Pedal only with gears
Electric with batteries
or small petrol powered bicycle.

[Steve Rust]

I have a folding Montague CX mountain bike, 21 speed, full size with 26 inch wheels. Alloy frame and wheels, stainless steel spokes, etc so it will hold up in the marine enviroment. Just about to purchase a second one for my wife. They have several other models also, all folding type. They come in 18 and 20 inch frame sizes. Best price I have seen is at Bikesarecool.com - Dahon bikes and Montague bicycles are sure to please $439 with free shipping. They also carry the Dahon brand. The Montague CX is also available at West Marine for $519. Just noticed you are in Oz and Bikesare cool only ships within the U.S. Check their website at Folding Bicycles and Folding Bike Accessories by Montague for availability in your location.

[mudnut]

Hey beau,check this link out,MOTORISED BIKE ENGINE KIT PRODUCTS FROM Z BOX MOTORS AUSTRALIA ,$255 includes postage to Brisie.38cc complete kit for 26" or 24" bike.Mind you it might be considered increasing you footprint on global presure<LOL>Mudnut.

[dana-tenacity]

Best one I have seen was a cruiser who went to a garage sale and bought an old mountain bike for $20. Then he sawed it in half vertically. With quick release wheels he could stick it in his lazarette. When he arrived somewhere he would sleeve the two cuts with a piece of alloy tube and some wingnuts and ride off into town. When it died he went to a garage sale and bought another for $20.
Full size bike, good gearing, big wheels, cheap, stowed below deck, brilliant.

[coot]

I had two Dahon Mariner bicycles. One day, we went several miles for groceries, then came back and parked. When I tried to fold up one of the bikes, the hinge in the middle broke, leaving me with two halves of a bicycle.

The exposed metal on the edge of the pin in the center of the hinge looked like what you would expect from torquing a piece of metal until it broke, but I am surprised that I was putting enough torque in to break it. Not surprised that I could, but surprised that the force I was using (which didn't seem like much) broke it. There was some rust adjacent to the broken pin, but the pin itself was not corroded.

You can imagine the injury that would occur if you were riding at normal speeds when your bicycle broke in half. I figured that both bikes were likely in about the same condition because I bought them at the same time, stored both in same conditions, etc so I threw them both in the dumpster.

[muskoka]

I bought a Montague and love it. It rides like a proper mountain bike because the folding mechanism keeps the frame absolutely rigid.

It's quite clever in that the frame basically revolves around the seatpost when folding. I think that distibutes loads better than the hinged plates seen in the Dahon type bicycles (see Coots post above) - those hinges have always made me wary.

But a big plus is that the Montague is a full frame with 21" wheels. Bikes with smaller wheels just aren't that much fun to ride.

[northerncat]

get a little petrol powered skooter light weight portable and can go the distance on the smell of an oily two stroke rag
sean

[beau]

thanks Northern Cat.
I think I am going to buy a couple of petrol powered bicycles I think they are better than the electric ones which have a very limited range.
$499 plus freight semms pretty good.
I have been held up with building my boat. The boat builder is finishing of a large aluminium ferry for Heron Island and wants to delay the start of my boat by a week. All the aluminium is cut out and sanded ready for welding, plus I am getting over a couple of cracked ribs after getting too drunk and falling down the "stairwell" of Wallaby Creek in Bundaberg with Alan Phillips of "Around the world cruising guide" too much
home made Vodka.

[Sonosailor]

My wife and I enjoy cycling, but left the bikes home when we toured along the windwards and leewards. However, while hikeing each island, we'd ask whether we would rather have a bike on the island. In almost every case, we decided it would be too dangerous to bike the island. The small amount of road, the high speed traffic and the lack of respect for the bikes made it too uncomfortable. On some islands, we would fear the ditches, which were up to a metre deep with steep sides. On others, the steep, mountainous roads and long drops scared us.

We're going back, and again, we'll leave the bikes at home. I'm sure there are places worthy of carrying the bikes, but not the Windwards and Leewards for us. We'll stick to hiking.

We did enjoy renting bikes in the Spanish Virgins, and suggest that where biking is a possibility, renting may be more available as well.

Cheers.