Bicycles

[Jammer]

Do you carry one? Folding or not?


I've seen posts from people who say they're wasted space because they can be borrowed, rented, or bought locally. And I've seen posts from people who say leaving theirs at home was their biggest mistake.

[BlackHeron]

We carry two folders, one for each of us. They fit into bags no larger then one of our spare jibs. If you stay only at large expensive marinas maybe you can always find a loaner bike. Most of the places we have anchored out at we have not seen rentals cheap or readily available to borrow free.

Maybe if one is staying for a long time a cheap bike or two can be found on Craigslist and then flipped when you leave. Most used bikes are junk IMHO, as a former bike mechanic myself. I would not want the bother of needing to overhaul it to make it not a dismal drudgery to ride. I hate BSOs (Bike-Shaped Objects.)


Our folderss are marinized models from SoloRock. So far no rust issues at all, they still look brand new. While not Bromptons or Bike Fridays, I am pleased with them in the whole. I used to run a small hobby bikeshop rebuilding quality British vintage bicyles and building bespoke custom touring bikes. These folders meet my high standards of quality, especially at this price point. They are not BSOs by any means.

These guys go to many boat shows and sell many bikes at a good discount right from their booths. You can even test-ride them right there. Catch them at the end of the show for the best last minute deals.

Highly recommend.

https://solorock.ca

[Pegu Club]

Bicycles are a viable option to bring with you if you have ample interior storage space available. Leaving them on the deck in the salt spray is going to turn them into a corroded mess that you will find quite expensive to be rectified. If you have the room bring them, you’ll be happy you did.

Fair winds,

[Lake-Effect]

I bought a modest but decent aluminum folding bike last year (~ US$250 new), tuned it up a bit, and even on our puny boat, it's nice to take along on a daysail to a park island. I also picked up a steel folding bike at a yardsale, but it's kind of heavy, so if my better half wants to bike more, I will get a second aluminum one.

Besides being easier to stow on a boat, folding bikes are also easier to take on public transit, or trains, or flying.

If you like bikes and intend to use often, it's nice to have your own, set up just like you want.


PS - I've seen the Solorocks - they're nice.

[Scott Berg]

As some mention, if you bike now you will bike as you cruise. If not, you won't. I am a lifelong biker and carry a Brompton that I love. While heavy, it is stable, well built, and has a bit of a "big bike" ride. It meets my needs perfectly. For serious riders it's hard to imagine something better than the even more expensive "Bike Friday." I like the Brompton's internal hub gearing as the one thing I'm always fixing on friends Dahons is a bent rear derailleur! If you ride take a bike; you'll love it

[WanderingStar39]

I walk.

[psk125]

We had a Swiss boat come by that stowed their bikes underneath the Master cabin double berth. Four or five of them, (hard to count). Each kid had his own, except for the baby, who rode in a trailer behind mom or dad. After arriving at a harbor, they trekked inland to go mountain climbing.

[Cheechako]

We carried two Dahon small bikes. They were priceless for us. When staying aboard for months in Ft Lauderdale, I would ride all over, long trips too; West Marine, Boat yard, Dania, etc all the time. Ditto other places like Ft Pierce.
In Trinidad, same thing, as well as long excursions to remote places. They were just 20" bikes with pedal brakes so no cables to catch on things trying to move or store them.
I previously had big folding mountain bikes. We seldom used them due to size and difficult storage.
When we returned to the US after Trini we gave them to the boat yard boys who really liked them.

[sguerrero1971]

We purchased two after being in Key West for a month, you can get almost anywhere on foot, but by bike is quicker. We looked into rentals but they get expensive if you stay for any length of time and we also checked into the used bikes which are junk you have to overhaul to make worth anything. We did splurge a little and got folding electric bikes, but they weren't too much more than other folding bikes and with the peddle assist it makes getting going easier and longer distances nice. They are aluminum and they store on our aft desk really well, they didn't come with bags, but the plan is to make bags out of an old blown out sail. We are in Marathon now and we use them all the time.

Here is a link to what we have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[JPA Cate]

We've had a "push bike" as they're called here, my full size Raleigh. We bought it for me for physical therapy after my first bilateral knee replacement. It lived in one of the aft cabins underway, a real effort to stow without scratching varnish or paint. It was not a folder. Even with a large RIB, it was a nuisance in the dinghy, and had to have a raincoat if we didn't want to squeeze it below decks, and we tried to work with it because I wanted bike time.

I found that my balance was no longer infallible, and of course, one is told to not fall after such surgery, and I did, a few times, but mainly it was because of the hassle of getting it to somewhere I felt safe riding , into the RIB and back onto the boat, it did not work out for me. I had it from April to December. It might have worked out, with a pair of folding mountain bikes, so that we could have ridden together, but my experience was unsatisfactory. The problem, also, was the one time we rented bikes in a foreign country, before we went riding, we had to fix them first, and the fixing time really cut into the day's rental kilometrage! So, never convenient. Also, most of our exercise from then was swimming and snorkeling.

So, for us, it was an attempt that didn't work, and we sold it on, for a Christmas present for a friend's sister.

Ann

[cj88]

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

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by cj88

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

I have two URB-E scooters, very expensive things and work well, 25 mile range and 15 mph I think.
However the Wife doesn’t like it, I think she feels like she looks silly on the the thing, and they are a little squirreley so they are now in storage. The are harder to ride than a bike, takes a little more attention.
We bought two Dahon Mariner’s in Jax and two really good bags on Amazon for them. We use them occasionally, by the time you put them into the dinghy and off etc, then back in and back in the bags and stow them, it’s pretty much just easier to walk.
However if there are roads and you want to cover some distance, a bike will cover vast distances compared to walking.

If you go the folding bike route, be sure to get good, thick padded bags for them, it saves both the bike and the boat from damage.

[cj88]

I used to have GoPeds back in the day so I'm used to riding powered scooters. I find scooters easier to take places and to stow. Bikes are nicer to ride and you can carry more on them but it's a space issue for me. I haven't committed yet but I'm investigating. Everything's a compromise.

[RaymondR]

I returned to biking when I went to live on my boat in the Port City of Fremantle in 2001, it was fantastic and one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life and I would not be without one now. I prefer non folding as the most practical. On my previous boat I just hung the bike from the solar panel mounting with a small block and tackle as that was the most convenient way to handle it to and from the dingy. The new boat has a davit and I have designed the bike storage into it.

I used to go through a bike in about two years until I discovered shaft drive bikes and the latest one has lasted about five years. Gates also makes a belt drive which would also be less of a problem than chain drives.

I would not be without my pushy.

[IslandHopper]

I prefer a full size Mountain Bike and couldn't pass on the Paratrooper, i love getting of the well beaten track and this is brilliant at it....

Paratrooper Pro folding full size mountain bike