Cyclists boat bike - ideas wanted!

[mgronow]

Hi all
I live on a fairly small boat and I'm missing cycling like mad. I'm looking for a folder or disassemblable bike for fitness rides. Im looking for a cromo frame as I cant ride alu: it just wrecks my joints. 

Any ideas? I've been out of cycling of a while as it's not that compatible with living on as boat so any ideas would be appreciated. 


Cheers Martin

[diapason0]

Brompton?

[Si]

Im looking for a cromo frame as I cant ride alu: it just wrecks my joints.

Don't discount Alu as it is probably the most widely used material these days so you are discounting a lot of bikes and...

It's not Alu that makes a frame stiff, it's the way that it was designed/built. In a test some time ago it was found that a number of Alu framesets were more forgiving than a number of steal ones. It's just that there is this myth that all Alu bikes are harsh and so when we get on one we expect it to be so...

Furthermore, many folders incorporate some form of suspension into the pivots, thus any harshness that Alu may add is more than removed by the suspension.

[mgronow]

Hi that was my first thought too but a really fast fold isn't essential so i was wondering about alternatives. Maybe even couplings ona full-size bike...

[zoxed]

Depends how small you want to pack it: Brompton, Birdy and Dahon are well respect makes. Or Airnimal. Or a Moulton (separable rather that foldable). The Birdy and Moultons have full suspension if that helps your joints.

[mgronow]

Ive got a birdy (alu and suspension) which I can't ride far enough to be useful for a fitness ride. Well
not if i plan on getting up the next day....

[LollyKat]

There is an Airnimal advertised in the sales forum at the moment: viewtopic.php?f=40&t=56558. There are other models with larger tyres.

Bromptons come in various flavours including with drop bars.

[Si]

Ive got a birdy (alu and suspension) which I can't ride far enough to be useful for a fitness ride. Well
not if i plan on getting up the next day....

I would suggest that it's not the fact that it's made of Alu that gives you the problems, but rather the set up of the bike. Birdys have very soft suspension (assuming that you've the right elastometer for your weight) at both ends, so it can't be the harshness of the ride that is giving you problems- mine is like riding an comfy old arm chair and my steal bikes are all much harsher! One thing that I've noticed with a number of Birdy set ups is that the rider has the saddle too far back because they think that the seat post ought to be in the middle of the saddle rather than at the rear end where it was designed to be.

Anyway, good luck with the hunt, and as others have said, you can't go far wrong with a Brommie (assuming that you don't live in a mountainous area).

[DevonDamo]

If you want a full-sized bike that packs away, have a look for a Ritchey Breakaway or the Dahon version - the Tournado.

(I agree with the above posts about Alu not being the spine-jarring nightmare it's reported to be, but for what it's worth, the above bikes are cromo.)

[TonyR]

You could go Brompton as others have suggested but given your comment about enough miles to get fit, the Brompton is probably not best suited. You might like to check out the Bike Friday Tikit and Pocket Rocket bikes. The former is a smaller wheeled fast folder, the latter takes longer to fold but rides just like a full size.

[Nettled Shin]

Sorry to continue the tradition of querying whether what you have asked for is what you need, but could you hang a full-sized bike off the stern, perhaps on brackets, or fit a car roof rack bike carrier?

From the title, I initially thought you'd come up with some crazy scheme for a kayak with wheels!

[LollyKat]

You could go Brompton as others have suggested but given your comment about enough miles to get fit, the Brompton is probably not best suited.

Not so - over any given distance the Brompton will get you fitter than a road bike, as you have to work harder on it . Even thirty miles on a Brompton will give you a good work-out, especially if it is hilly.

[nez]

Inland or sea-going? I have a small yacht that I live on effectively for some of the year. I keep a folded Brompton aboard - cockpit when in port, lashed in forecabin when sailing. I also keep a large wheel bike in the marina, because I like to go for long rides and I can't ride the Brommie all day. But I've used it as practical transport in virtually every port in southern and eastern England and most of west France. If you have a canal boat I'd just get whatever bike you fancy and keep it on the coach roof or on the side-deck that's away from the towpath.

[mgronow]

The boat is a 32ft ocean going yacht. We live on board full-time so space is at a premium. It's interesting to hear the defence of Alu. Maybe I should revisit the birdy...although I'm liking the look of the moulton and the pocket rocket... Thanks for so many replies
Martin

[BigFoz]

Bob Jackson will S & S couple any frame - allows you to split the frame and fold down. It's an option on a new frame, so you could order a new frame and add on the coupling price and get a luvverly Bob Jackson steel frame that will come apart for storage! To quote their website Through use of the BTC System, a professional quality bicycle can be easily put in a yacht

http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/ss.php