Ideal Boat Bike?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by newhaul

That's why I love my area near Seattle Washington. One of the most bike friendly places in America.
Been happily riding mine to the stores and bus stations( the various transit systems here all have bike racks on them.) Makes even hundred mile distances viable .

Yeah, same here in Northern Europe. Bike infrastructure is excellent; there are not only bike lanes separated from car traffic, but even entire bike highways, even between towns. One advantage -- a big one -- of folding bikes is that you can easily pop them into the trunk of a taxi or carry them onto even non-bike friendly public transport.



Infrastructure makes a huge difference in the value of bikes as transport.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Briis

Personally I'm very tired of the dirty chain bicycles (as I am of chain-driven motorcycles). Everything eventually becomes oily in the rear unless you clean it very often (and re-oil accordingly, not to let it dry out) and very noisy. With foldable you touch it with your hands, i.e. grab from the rear rim and bah, oily hands, then trousers, etc. Plus everything get's glued on to it if you ride in rain, mud or that sandy beach ride we sailors like to do - horrible grinding noises starts then (...and another cleaning, oiling in a dirty-mess-job follows).

Hence I'll look into Beixo shaft drive foldables. Chainless (also beltless) or in other word shaft drive bicycles are ultra-rare but after I bought full-sized Brik shaft driven bicycle couple of years ago I'm sure it'll be the correct choice for me vs any chain driven bike, even the premium ones like Brompton. They're still dirty chained bikes for me, ditto the belt drive that takes sand and mud inbetween open and exposed mechanics.

Made in Holland, hence very high quality:

https://beixo.com/

Enclosed, clean, neat and elegant design. Requires almost no maintenance. Also has that Shimano premium enclosed hub gears built-in that some mentioned here. Other thing I like about them is they run completely silent, almost like an assassin bike (no wonder why some of the military used only shaft-driven bikes in many countries for scouting runs). On my full sized chainless bike I can only hear tyre contact noise on a very smooth tarmac, otherwise a whisper-quiet ride to enjoy all the sounds surrounding you, unlike that awful "GRRRR" noise on most chained bikes when freerunning.

I assume Beixo is similar and hopefully next year I'll order one of those Beixo foldables for the boat use and will let you know. I'll then have 3 shaft-driven bicycles by then - just shows you how much I prefer them over chained bikes

Looks nice, but heavy, heavier than my outboard, so not for slinging into the dinghy, and bulky with 20" wheels. Electric would be nice but I can't deal with that kind of weight on the boat.

[TeddyDiver]

i've been looking for a small electric scooter. They take less room thus easier to stowe away and handle in a dinghy..

[5BTM]

When I take the wheels and the seat off my DeVinci Cameleon4, it is not that much bigger than a folded Dahon.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by 5BTM

When I take the wheels and the seat off my DeVinci Cameleon4, it is not that much bigger than a folded Dahon.

Except the ( my own ) dahon goes from stowed to riding in about 10 seconds or 30 if I'm moving slow.

[5BTM]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Except the ( my own ) dahon goes from stowed to riding in about 10 seconds or 30 if I'm moving slow.

Maybe, but I will pass you in less than two minutes without even raising a sweat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0

[mikereed100]

We recently had to replace our ancient 26" mountain bikes. We looked hard at folding bikes but were put off by the lack of load carrying capability and performance. We ended up with Trek Roscoes (29" hard tail mountain bikes). With racks and panniers they can easily carry 2 weeks groceries on provisioning runs. The 2.8" tires smooth out the bumps and the 29" wheels make pedaling easy. We think nothing of 10 to 20 mile excursions and they handle any terrain. The pedals and wheels are easily removed and the seats are on dropper posts so they store easily in an unused v-berth and fit in the dink for trips ashore. Not for everybody but as avid mountain bikers we couldn't be happier with them.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

i've been looking for a small electric scooter. They take less room thus easier to stowe away and handle in a dinghy..

There are dozens of electric scooter models and you can buy them anywhere.


Some will collapse and fit in a bag, and this would certainly be a great solution in terms of space.


But a scooter is not a bicycle -- can't be used on anything rough, and much worse for carrying anything. I use rental scooters a lot (since I haven't had a bike on board in a while) and it's a lot better than nothing. But it's not a bike.

[Dockhead]

Funny this thread has been reactivated because I've just come back to the topic.


I've decided on one of two variants -- either Brompton, or Dahon Curl. Probably Brompton since it's so much more available over here. I'm looking at used ones on EBay.


If I were really into it, I could pimp a cheap old Brompton with a Rohloff hub and a Taiwanese titanium frame. At reasonable cost.



Would be fun but I doubt I'll find the energy for that, at least not this year.

[gonesail]

i like something with full size tires. something you can put 5 or 10 miles on. folding and all stainless metal. chain is always the problem. good luck finding it

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

There are dozens of electric scooter models and you can buy them anywhere.


Some will collapse and fit in a bag, and this would certainly be a great solution in terms of space.


But a scooter is not a bicycle -- can't be used on anything rough, and much worse for carrying anything. I use rental scooters a lot (since I haven't had a bike on board in a while) and it's a lot better than nothing. But it's not a bike.

Well I used the rental ones in Reykjavik to carry food to 12persons on board. Good enough to carry a couple of bags and a backpack total for 10kg easily. You can't take much on a bike either, I'd say less to be still comfortable as standing on a e-scooter it's easy to have a backpack.

[thomm225]

I think a normal 10 speed bike is best.

Once you see one partially disassembled in a carrying case you will understand.

My last 10 speed which was a Litespeed Vortex Dura-Ace 59 cm titanium bike with carbon fiber front forks and Mavic Rims came in the mail in a cardboard box the size of a normal $400 carrying case.

With handle bars, seat, wheels, and pedals removed.

At $3,300, the bike cost me more that my Bristol 27 cruising sailboat. You can get a standard Trek 10 speed for much less though.

https://www.backcountry.com/evoc-bik...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

Well I used the rental ones in Reykjavik to carry food to 12persons on board. Good enough to carry a couple of bags and a backpack total for 10kg easily. You can't take much on a bike either, I'd say less to be still comfortable as standing on a e-scooter it's easy to have a backpack.

Well, to each his own. If you feel good on a scooter, then go for it. They are a dream to store compared to any bike.


I also recently provisioned a boat on a rented electric scooter. In Annapolis. Full backpack on my back, one heavy bag slung on each handlebar -- for balance . And quite a distance to go including on regular roads, since there isn't any supermarket at all in the historic part of Annapolis.


I would have been more comfortable on a bike. But -- to each his own.

[Gone Gypsy]

Has anyone tried the Kwiggle folding bike out of Germany? The compact size, light weight and ‘marine’ materials are the lure. The 12” tires are the catch. The 20# ultra-compact folded size make me think I can find a spot for a pair of these on our monohull AND actually use them. They should be a breeze to lift out of storage, get in and out of dinghy and back. Anyone ridden one?


https://www.kwigglebike.com/en_US/klappfahrrad

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Gone Gypsy

Has anyone tried the Kwiggle folding bike out of Germany? The compact size, light weight and ‘marine’ materials are the lure. The 12” tires are the catch. The 20# ultra-compact folded size make me think I can find a spot for a pair of these on our monohull AND actually use them. They should be a breeze to lift out of storage, get in and out of dinghy and back. Anyone ridden one?


https://www.kwigglebike.com/en_US/klappfahrrad

No but I did have an early dahon that was on 12 inch tires . Great to store and carry on transport like busses and it even fit in the overhead on a 747. But any speed over about 15 mph got sketchy and over 20 was borderline crazy to do.