Shore transportation - Bikes

[Mark424]

Originally Posted by JoetheCobbler

Fuji made a folding 26" ,15 speed mountain bike with chrome Molly frame in 1996 for Marlboro company as a promotional program.
I've 2 of them and they are superior to the dahon folders which typically have 16"and20" rims that do poorly off road and are flimsy and poorly ergonomically designed as well as limited carrying capacity ( weight limits).
The Fuji's can typically be found used for about $75-100 us.
A Carry bag allows transport on busses or cabs they weigh about 30lbs.

Fantastic, great tip, thanks.

[Mark424]

A friend bought a Tern Vektron for his boat. Pricey, but high quality. He rides it on multi day adventures inland in Europe. Folds it up and takes it into the hotel or restaurant.

[gs41escapade]

We recently bought two "Song of Youth" folding ebikes via Alibaba. These are the exact same bikes that United City sells called "The One" which they claim they designed and make. Not true. They sell it for about 4 times the price we paid.

You do have to wait a while to get them from China via Alibaba, but they are worth the wait. Light, long range, comfortable, and reasonably fast. They have three levels of pedal assist: 1 - you pedal. Not like a 10 speed, a bit of work. 2 - medium assist. You still pedal, but easy. 3 - bike does all the work.

We also separately got some good ebike carry bags. they stow pretty easy. Just watch out to coat the exposed metal bits for corrosion.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by gs41escapade

We recently bought two "Song of Youth" folding ebikes via Alibaba. These are the exact same bikes that United City sells called "The One" which they claim they designed and make. Not true. They sell it for about 4 times the price we paid.



You do have to wait a while to get them from China via Alibaba, but they are worth the wait. Light, long range, comfortable, and reasonably fast. They have three levels of pedal assist: 1 - you pedal. Not like a 10 speed, a bit of work. 2 - medium assist. You still pedal, but easy. 3 - bike does all the work.



We also separately got some good ebike carry bags. they stow pretty easy. Just watch out to coat the exposed metal bits for corrosion.

These look great from a size & weight point. Thanks for the tip.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by gs41escapade

We recently bought two "Song of Youth" folding ebikes via Alibaba. These are the exact same bikes that United City sells called "The One" which they claim they designed and make. Not true. They sell it for about 4 times the price we paid.

You do have to wait a while to get them from China via Alibaba, but they are worth the wait. Light, long range, comfortable, and reasonably fast. They have three levels of pedal assist: 1 - you pedal. Not like a 10 speed, a bit of work. 2 - medium assist. You still pedal, but easy. 3 - bike does all the work.

We also separately got some good ebike carry bags. they stow pretty easy. Just watch out to coat the exposed metal bits for corrosion.

What are the chances that are made by Union City and the Chinese bike is a direct copy. I know they did the same with the Strida.

[gs41escapade]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

What are the chances that are made by Union City and the Chinese bike is a direct copy. I know they did the same with the Strida.

A fair question. It is very clear to me that in this case it's the other way around. The Song of Youth seems to predate The One. I feel sure they just buy them from China and relabel them.

[wmgysi]

Bikes stored on deck with or without cover won't last long, usually 2 years if offshore sailing. Chain and cables will seize if not heavily sprayed with oil and that is the problem inside the cable sleeves.

[SeanPatrick]

Originally Posted by wmgysi

Bikes stored on deck with or without cover won't last long, usually 2 years if offshore sailing. Chain and cables will seize if not heavily sprayed with oil and that is the problem inside the cable sleeves.

Indeed. But getting lubricant inside the housing isn't that hard. If you detach the end of the cable from the derailleur/brake caliper (usually using a 5mm hex wrench), you can get enough slack to pull the housing away from the shift/brake lever. You can then apply some lubricant to the end of the housing and capillary action will draw it in. You can do the same at the other end of the housing.

Use a good lubricant, like Tri-Flow. The drip bottle with applicator tube is perfect for this task. If you can pull the cable at least partially out of the housing, the applicator tube will even fit inside the housing. And remember: WD-40 was designed to displace water, and it's effective at doing that. But it's not a good choice as a lubricant for time frames beyond an hour or so.

The first things to corrode on a bike exposed to the elements are usually the chain, cassette/freewheel (gears in the back) and/or chain rings (gears in the front). These surfaces are necessarily bare metal (usually steel) and will corrode much more rapidly than the aluminum parts ... whether or not the aluminum is painted/clear coated. Regular application of a good chain lube, such as Rock N Roll, will help to slow the drivetrain corrosion process.


Cheers!