Bikes on Board

[Nikki S]

Does anyone keep bikes on their boats to ride when they get to destinations?
How big a boat, can fit how many bikes? do you keep folding bikes or regular bikes? I'm wondering if fitting 2 adults bikes and 2 kids bikes onto a 44 ft monohull, along with all other provisions, is a realistic dream

[Sailagain]

Originally Posted by Nikki S

Does anyone keep bikes on their boats to ride when they get to destinations?
How big a boat, can fit how many bikes? do you keep folding bikes or regular bikes? I'm wondering if fitting 2 adults bikes and 2 kids bikes onto a 44 ft monohull, along with all other provisions, is a realistic dream

We don't go out for more than a week at a time. But we have a 34' - and fit two folding adult bikes just fine.

Good luck

[Bash]

Awhile back I posted the opinion that I didn't really want to compromise with folding bikes. The problem was the less expensive ones can't accommodate my 6'3" height or weight, and the ones that I can ride tend to cost upwards of $1,000, which seemed to be a lot to pay for a folder.

But we keep going to harbors where it would really be nice to be able to extend the range of what we can visit.

We finally bit the bullet and purchased a pair of Mezzo folders with four-speed internal hubs. According to reviews, these have the best riding characteristics of any folder, although the Bike Friday and the Brompton aficionados will argue that point. Regardless, we've been having a blast on them, and we find that having a bike handy makes some ports of call far more enjoyable. A folder still takes up a bunch of room: our two together take up as much room as a spinnaker in its bag. It's a quick way to eat up the space in a lazarette.

Don't let anyone tell you that a folder is no different than riding a regular bike. However, they can be a decent compromise for distances up to around ten miles.

We're going to have our canvass maker build some storage bags for them to help get them into/out of the boat without banging up the boat or the bikes.

[Cheechako]

there is a multi page recent discussion on this. still active a few days ago.

[Waterway Guide]

We love having bikes while cruising, and after one trip carrying mountain bikes, we have settled for cheap folding marine bikes (like the WestMarine specials). They get you around, don't take up too much space, get you some great exercise, and if they get stolen it's not the end of the world. Our's have held up very well after 2 years. Make sure you have the storage strategy and space to fit the 4 without always being in your way, and still accessible enough that you'll use them.

[Seahunter]

Originally Posted by Nikki S

Does anyone keep bikes on their boats to ride when they get to destinations?
How big a boat, can fit how many bikes? do you keep folding bikes or regular bikes? I'm wondering if fitting 2 adults bikes and 2 kids bikes onto a 44 ft monohull, along with all other provisions, is a realistic dream

Yes, we have 2 full size bikes. We strap them to the davits when underway and hang them off the side on Garhaur kayak racks when tied up.
Garhauer Marine Hardware -3423590

[Gregg F]

We had two folding bikes that lasted about three years before old man rust claimed them. Love 'em and will be getting replacements. They expand your range of exploration of any port incredilbly and makes getting provisions a heck of a lot easier. Storage inside the boat is best but external is the reality. There's lots of hardware out there in the biking world for securing to the boat. Enjoy!

[skipmac]

Cruised the Bahamas with bikes and loved it BUT our boat at the time was only 32' and with me, wife and daughter needed all the cabins below for berths so had to store the bikes on deck.

Best place for us while underway was on the after deck but still they were in the way and sometimes a pain. Would have been better if we had folding bikes but could not afford them at the time.

[Ironhorse74]

Originally Posted by Nikki S

Does anyone keep bikes on their boats to ride when they get to destinations?
How big a boat, can fit how many bikes? do you keep folding bikes or regular bikes? I'm wondering if fitting 2 adults bikes and 2 kids bikes onto a 44 ft monohull, along with all other provisions, is a realistic dream

I don't like the folding bikes. I am 6'4 and they are too little. I have found that taking the wheels off a regular bike allows them to be stored in just about as small a space. I had our canvas guy make zippered bags for them and store the bikes in my lazzerette.

Brad

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Waterway Guide

We love having bikes while cruising, and after one trip carrying mountain bikes, we have settled for cheap folding marine bikes (like the WestMarine specials). They get you around, don't take up too much space, get you some great exercise, and if they get stolen it's not the end of the world. Our's have held up very well after 2 years. Make sure you have the storage strategy and space to fit the 4 without always being in your way, and still accessible enough that you'll use them.

I couldnt agree more. Been there tried that with big mountain bikes (on a 47 footer!) The little folding bikes got used alot because they were convenient. Pedal brakes and one speed. No cables to rust or tangle when moving them around the boat.

[swagman]

We had two low cost folders on our 46 footer. They were called 'Bike in a Bag' and came in their own padded backpack - in fact we carried them out to Turkey that way by plane. Kept them below when not in use - and four years on they had minimal rust. Got a lot of use from them in bigger cities - for us a must have.
Cheers
John

[zeehag]

i pack a full sized mountain bike into my forepeak with me--is convenient -- a lil difficult to get back n forth to beach when at anchor but it works. i can go anywhere and i can buy foods and pack in my saddle bags on bike. tried the small fold ups-- they SUKK--cannot go ANYWHERE and ride up el faro in mazatlan.....

[Cheechako]

Heres the the last thread on this.... 65+ posts and pictures... How Do You Get Around when You Get There ?

[marytaylor]

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to make it to the recent TRB conference. But a few colleagues have come back from the conference bearing wonderful souvenirs, DVD-ROM discs packed full with details of the latest transportation research. As a budding bicycle planning nerd and an intern at a major transit agency, I’ve been happily searching through the digitally provided conference materials for bike-transit related research.

Kevin Krizek and Eric Stonebraker’s paper Bicycling and Transit: A Marriage Unrealized summarizes the latest trends on the issue, and reports that several studies suggest that recent growth in transit and bicycling modes may be in small part a result of synergy between the two modes. That marriage, still very much in its infancy, can work via at least five broad possibilities:

transporting a transit customer’s bicycle aboard (inside or outside) a transit vehicle (see photo above!);
using and parking a transit customer’s bicycle at a transit access (or origin) location;
sharing a bicycle (publicly or privately provided), primarily based at the transit access point;
using a transit customer’s bicycle at the egress (or destination) location;
sharing a bicycle (again), but primarily based, this time, at the transit egress point.
The authors focus on four factors that affect the mode share percentage of cycling-transit users (CTUs): 1) transport mode, 2) location in the urban fabric, 3) egress catchment area, and 4) trip purpose.

Their review suggests that transit services that quickly transport users relatively long distances—30 miles plus—with relatively few stops (i.e. commuter rail or express buses) tend to draw larger shares of CTUs than slower and shorter-distance routes. Catchment areas (the area that a transit stop serves) tend to shrink or expand depending on the speed of the transit mode, with bicyclists willing to ride farther for a faster service. Finally, research confirms the obvious observation that most trips are work- and education-related. As such, CTUs often bypass inefficient feeder systems, to save time, while also preferring fastest, most efficient transit services.

Krizek and Stonebraker round out their paper by naming some considerations for future research, highlighting some interesting case studies of “innovative iniatives to address capacity limitations,” which seems to be a primary consideration in marrying the bicycle to transit, and even laying out a cost-effectiveness framework that cities can use to help them better understand when, where, and how to promote bicycle-transit integration.

[Zydeco]

We took a pair of full sized mountain bikes to the Bahamas last year. We took the wheels off and stored them in the V-berth in bike bags. We enjoyed riding them but on our 38 foot boat they took up a lot of space. If we had more storage, they would be great but on our boat a couple of folding bikes would probably make more sense.