Ideal Boat Bike?

[MicHughV]

I tried carrying a bike on deck for a while, but found it generally to be a PITA. Getting it from boat to dink and reverse was a chore, and once on land I thought I had limited use of it. Carrying groceries was limited to two bags strung on the handle bars.
If there is more than one person aboard, a single bike has little value.
Despite my best efforts, rust soon found it's way most everywhere and I eventually left it behind.

[mikereed100]

The ideal boat bike will be different for everybody as it depends on several factors including:
How much storage space do you have aboard?
How will you get it ashore? Will it fit in your dinghy?
How will you use it? Puttering around the marina or long explorations? Provisioning runs?
What kind of terrain will you be riding on?

If storage is limited or your dinghy is small and you will not be going long distances a small folding bike seems ideal.
If you will be using it for long distance touring and provisioning a folding ebike would be great.
My wife and I are mountain bikers who use our boat bikes for provisioning and touring so we opted for full size, 29" mountain bikes, but we have a dedicated v-berth to store them as well as a 12' hard dinghy for transport. Once the wheels and pedals are off they store and transport fairly easily.

Horses for courses, as they say.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by newhaul

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.

So, pretty much unsafe. I wonder what happens if you need to tag the brakes hard it 15 mph, which is basically minimum speed.

I very seldom ride under 15 mph (just got back from a short 10 mile morning ride), unless up a considerable hill. 20-25 is more normal on the flat, and 40 mph down a hill mph is not sketchy. That is a real bike. I can also count on the brakes and don't fear pot holes or rough spots.

---

I carry bikes on a rack on the stern rail. Taking them below or folding into a locker would be more work. And folding bikes weigh too much. I have ridden several folding bikes. They are better than walking and perhaps your only choice on a smaller boat.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by thinwater

So, pretty much unsafe. I wonder what happens if you need to tag the brakes hard it 15 mph, which is basically minimum speed.

We did try a Dahon, rebadged Land-Rover, but if there are two on board, you need two bikes and then there is the problem of storing it. Sold it in the end.

We have just been given a no name folder with 16" wheels for free. Been stored on a boat, so needed a bit of TLC and the brakes adjusting. Then I took it for a quick spin. Really scary because the angle of the forks is nearly vertical so very sharp steering requiring a good grip with both hands. What happened to the days of riding sat upright with no hands on the bars for mile after mile, or am I getting old

I recon a Honda Express if you can find one could be fun but priced at £2000 in the UK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Express

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by thinwater

. . . I have ridden several folding bikes. They are better than walking and perhaps your only choice on a smaller boat.

There are folding bikes and then there are folding bikes. You might be surprised if you rode a decent one with 20" wheels and good components. Good ones have very stiff frames, and 20" wheels have some advantages.

I was very pleased with my Dahon Jetstream EX -- I rode it in cleats and could knock out decent days rides on it. It only weighs 12kg so it may not be as light as your ultra carbon road bike, but it's quite ok.

Unfortunately the fold mechanism is optimized for stiffness and not folded dimension and it was a bit too bulky for my boat.

So I'm going to try, I think, a Brompton for the boat.

I now keep the Jetstream at one of my land homes and ride it a lot. To supplement it I just bought a Riese & Müller Multicharger cargo bike. This is a car replacement bike (I haven't owned a car in 10 years). The Jetstream has a full suspension so no good way to mount a rack, plus it's just too small to hump a lot of stuff.

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

it's just too small to hump a lot of stuff.

It doesn't have to be big to carry a lot of stuff ... On leaving the airport I have a 30km ride to get to my boat ... sometimes the boat wants me to bring a lot of stuff with me ...

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kelkara

It doesn't have to be big to carry a lot of stuff ... On leaving the airport I have a 30km ride to get to my boat ... sometimes the boat wants me to bring a lot of stuff with me ...

Yikes!

I think that situation is why God invented rental cars . . .


You should be careful sharing such photos; someone might report you to the SPCB (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Brommies).

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

There are folding bikes and then there are folding bikes. You might be surprised if you rode a decent one with 20" wheels and good components. Good ones have very stiff frames, and 20" wheels have some advantages.

I was very pleased with my Dahon Jetstream EX -- I rode it in cleats and could knock out decent days rides on it. It only weighs 12kg so it may not be as light as your ultra carbon road bike, but it's quite ok.

Unfortunately the fold mechanism is optimized for stiffness and not folded dimension and it was a bit too bulky for my boat.

So I'm going to try, I think, a Brompton for the boat.

I now keep the Jetstream at one of my land homes and ride it a lot. To supplement it I just bought a Riese & Müller Multicharger cargo bike. This is a car replacement bike (I haven't owned a car in 10 years). The Jetstream has a full suspension so no good way to mount a rack, plus it's just too small to hump a lot of stuff.

That's my dahon cruise and carry 3 speed hub all stainless steel so great rust resistance and the rear rack can carry up to 50 pounds. I have ridden as much as 30 miles with a full mountaineering pack full of provisions not the best but it did the job just fine and fairly easy to store in my vee berth .
First is the red one with 16 inch wheels not for high speed.
The blue one is 20 inch wheels and 3 speed hub.

[Mickeyrouse]

Originally Posted by newhaul

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.

I still have 2 Dahon 12”. A little heavy, but generally usable. Have not rolled in 22 years. My wife and I Looked like a circus act coming down the street. I know what you mean about top speed. Once in Marathon I was trucking along at a pretty good clip….and the bike folded. Literally.

[Dockhead]

For anyone considering an electric bike for the boat, I can share some recent experience, although this is not a boat bike.

I have been skeptical about ebikes since I prize the exercise I get from a regular bike -- feels good and is good for me. But to support my car-free lifestyle I decided finally to buy an electric cargo bike -- hauling heavy loads over long distances up and down hills on a regular bike didn't appeal.

I wanted a Tern HSD, attracted by the compact dimensions (20" wheels) and ability to store it on its tail. But I couldn't find one I liked. So I ended up buying a Riese & Müller Multicharger, which is less compact (26" wheels) and heavier, but with much better spec equipment, including the most powerful Bosch Performance CX motor. I got a good deal on a display model. I wanted a Rohloff hub but ended up settling for the one with the regular derailleur with 11 speeds.

I've now been using this bike for a couple of weeks, and a lot has surprised me.

First of all, I need not have worried about the exercise. There are 4 or 5 power settings so you can do as much work as you want. The way this works out is you set it up to give exactly the workout which feels good to you, and the motor does the rest, and shaves the heavy loads from hills. So this provides a great workout and feels just as good as riding a normal bike, while covering far more ground and never worrying about hills.

The power on hills makes it much easier to blend with traffic, as you are never stuck huffing in a granny gear up a hill going 3 mph.

On the downside, the regulations in Europe require the assist to be cut off at 25km/h (about 15 mph), if you want to use the bike on bike paths and other bike infrastructure. 25km/h is fine on bike paths, but mixing it up on a regular road, it would be great to be able to have the motor help you keep up 30 or 40 km/h. Maybe I will consider chipping this bike to allow that.

The range of this particular bike, with a 750w/h battery, is terrific. I have never even used the Turbo high assist mode; never felt I needed it. Using the lower assist modes, I am looking at about 100km or even 120km of range, and that's in sub-freezing temps. For a boat bike, a smaller battery (lighter, cheaper) would be fine.

The other downside is weight. This thing is massive. No slinging it over your shoulder to hump it up a flight of stairs. And so for me, personally, this rules any electric bike out for a boat bike, as weight and volume are crucial. But I can imagine that some cruisers might come out the other way on this. There are much lighter ebikes than this one -- compact bikes with the Bafong hub drives, for example. If you can store, handle, and carry it, you will be very pleased having electric drive, I think.

[Dockhead]

A word about efficiency: 750 watt-hours is 0.75 kWH, which costs about 10 cents where I am. So the energy cost is an incredible 0.1 cent per km. Compare to a Tesla car which uses average 139 watt-hours per km, or 24x as much as this heavy cargo bike. 750 watt-hours is the energy which is in about 80ml or 4 tablespoons (!) of gasoline. This kind of boggled my mind.



One reason for this incredible level of efficiency is, of course, the fact that your legs are still providing much or most of the power consumed.

[Loredo]

https://www.mobiky.com/
We have two electric assisted Youri 16" three speeds on board. Bought them in 2012 and they have been USED a lot. They're still in top shape. The one more used (wifey LOVES that bike) is on its third battery pack. The other on its second. What sets them apart is the way they fold and how they can be stored on a boat. Is it the perfect road bike? Surely not, yet for a dedicated boat bike it is more important how to store it. What is a bike for the boat good for if storing it becomes a PITA?


PS I got the storage bags for both bikes which are awesome for handling the bikes once folded.

[Kinkircating]

We have a pair of the GoCycle G4i’s and they are pretty amazing. They only weigh 37 pounds and have approximately a 50 mile range. The down side is they are a little pricey. But we use them all the time and love the quality and how easily they fold down.

[Loredo]

I've seen the GoCycle (never ridden one) and they look like really nice, a bit pricey though. What's the width of those once folded? Reason I ask, since I own a Jeanneau, the doors to the aft cabins are not wide enough to allow most if not all -frame folding- bikes through. They become wider than the doors. That's been the main reason for me do go with the Mobiky.

[MicHughV]

In bygone years, I had to transport a diesel cylinder head to a machine shop for valve work. The thing was bloody heavy and cumbersome to say the least.
In the end, I contrived to tie it (lash it) under the main crossbar behind the steering wheel of my bike. It was difficult for my feet to get to the pedals.
As I had no other option, off I went, a good 10 miles or so to my destination. My bike was a cheap version of a racing bike, ie, thin rubber tires, and after some time spent on the boat , rust was in evidence most everywhere.

It was clear that the cylinder head was not happy in this location and after a few miles, it became very obvious that something was about to break soon, so I pushed the bike the remainder of the way.

By the time I got to the machine shop my bike had given up the ghost and I was exhausted. I'm not sure what the machine shop was thinking about me as I approached. I think I heard the term " idjit" mentioned.

After this expedition, I came to the conclusion that having a bike onboard was of little further use to me.