Best Boat Bikes?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

I have two folding Dahons. For what its worth, I would rather have purchased two kids used garage sale mountain bikes or other small fat-tire bikes. Replace the hubs if necessary with drop-outs & replace the seat bolt with a quick release. They get nearly as small and ride better.

Yep spend less and replace eventually. We often kept our on the stern pulpit.... even though they folded. The little ones get you a long way! We rode all over with them, 20 miles some times. If you see a red Dahon with chrome fenders in the boat yards in Chaguamas Trini... that's mine! gave them to the yard guys...

[dgoanne]

thanks for the welcome - I've been lurking for awhile now. Great community; great responses!

[dgoanne]

I forgot to say: This is for cruising on a 28' Corsair. We can store in an aft cabin accessible by a hatch, or in the ama(s) - hence the idea of folding. We are headed to Sea of Cortez this March for 4-6 weeks, then at other points to the Great Lakes, Keys, Chesapeake, etc.
Great suggestions below - thank you all!

[UNCIVILIZED]

I forgot this point earlier, but it'd probably be wise to coat all small fasteners on bikes with either Loctite, or Tef-Gel. As in for their whole length, after unscrewing them. And T-9's GREAT for chains BTW, it dries to a waxy film, & you just wipe off the excess.

Also, in my post above, I forgot to mention that my mentality when it comes to bike maint. is perhaps a bit different. As I had a paper route, growing up in the Midwest, & ran a bike with full derailleurs & gearing, plus racing brakes, in the worst weather you can imagine... year round. Literally through record breaking Winters.
Plus, I kinda' started early with the wrenching thing. Being the neighborhood bike mechanic by age 7, & tearing them completely apart & putting them back together.

When you're choosing a bike, also, keep in mind that parts for some of these exotic folders may be dang hard to come by, if at all. Even if it's just tires & tubes (let alone exotic drive chains). When you're off the beaten path. So more standard rides could have their perks on that one.

As to stowage, once you take of the wheels & pedals, the options open WAY up. From shelves over the foot of a V-berth, to dead space on the overhead or a bulkhead somewhere. Though for the most part, mine lived fully assembled, just back by the pushpit. Still leaving plenty of room for the traveler, a Big Chocolate Labe, & a nice custom helm seat.

[Celestialsailor]

For me, storage is a problem. My boat is 35ft. I notice most folks with the nicer/larger bikes have vessels 44' plus.
I have a Strida. For me it's perfect. It folds smaller than any other bike, is powder coated aluminum, has a belt drive and gets me around. In Mexico, doing 10 miles was a breeze. I've had many offers to buy it. Tells me they are desired.

[dgoanne]

very interesting design - how hard is it to learn to ride?

[Roy M]

I have had a Montague Paratrooper for some time. I love it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF_yMF5bC98

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by dgoanne

very interesting design - how hard is it to learn to ride?

They ride fine, no learning curve and adjustable seat height. You don't want to get the speed too high and I like that they have disc brakes also.

[ShaktisBoy]

Check out Downtube 9FS. Very nice riding afordable bike that doesnt look like a clown bike when your on it.

[RaymondR]

Gates manufactures a belt drive system for bikes, not sure if it can be retrofitted though.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by ShaktisBoy

Check out Downtube 9FS. Very nice riding afordable bike that doesnt look like a clown bike when your on it.

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Gates manufactures a belt drive system for bikes, not sure if it can be retrofitted though.

One of the bikes I mentioned earlier is my older Downtube, apparently no longer made. Ours uses a Sturmey-Archer internal 8-speed hub, but I think I heard Strumey-Archer was having some difficulties?

Anyway, IMO the 9FS isn't so great because it has a rear suspension... which in turn means (I think) difficulties with a load-bearing rear rack. Also the 9FS and the 9 Silver (latter is front suspension only, has a rear rack) both seem to use derailleurs...

So I'd instead suggest the 8H model might be a better boating option. Front suspension, rear rack... and I see it also includes the Gates carbon belt drive. (I've had no issues with our chain, though.) Looks like maybe powder-coated aluminum in places?

I've been reasonably satisfied with mine...

All that said, all the connecting hardware on ours -- rings crews and cam locks and so forth -- is mostly just normal carbon steel and will rust in a heartbeat if not looked after. Can't tell if newer models might be an improvement or not...

-Chris

[natraps116]

Hey everybody, if you buy a nice bike, BUY A NICE LOCK. We learned our lesson up got lucky!!

S/V Sea Wolf Episode-8 Catching the Bike Thief (P…: http://youtu.be/nMbjmqGFEPc


Sent from my D6616 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Kenomac]

Awesome outcome!

The last dirt bag who stole from us, we chased him down & put him in prison for 14 months... felt great.


I'm thinking about buying a pair of Brompton folding bikes, but worried about thieves. Going to check with our insurance company, just in case. The bad guys tend to leave our rusty old MTB boat bikes alone.

[natraps116]

This is what protects our bikes now. Nothing less

Sent from my D6616 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

For me, storage is a problem. My boat is 35ft. I notice most folks with the nicer/larger bikes have vessels 44' plus.
I have a Strida. For me it's perfect. It folds smaller than any other bike, is powder coated aluminum, has a belt drive and gets me around. In Mexico, doing 10 miles was a breeze. I've had many offers to buy it. Tells me they are desired.

We met a couple in Georgetown, SC who had a pair of those on their boat. They liked them and we were impressed.