Looking for boat bike ideas?

rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,369
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
A friend sent this video and I could not help but think that a lot of cruisers would love to have some of these bikes... Some don't really fit the cruiser profile but there are a few that pack up nice and tight that would make perfect cruising bikes.
 

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TomY

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,759
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Interesting design ideas! A few might work for cruisers, especially if you're at the dock in a city with bike paths.

When we cruised the coast to the Bahamas and back, we got a lot of use out of a couple of the smaller Dahons.

So we bought a couple of folding bikes a few years ago with bigger wheels (20" as opposed to 16").

As it turns out, most of our cruising area, coastal Maine and New England, isn't that well suited. And locally, much of the land we visit are islands. You'd think they would be perfect but island roads are narrow, often no shoulder, so it's a little dicey.

We love to bike and do quite a bit where we live (endless bike paths), on full sized bikes of course.

2, 20" folding bikes take quite a bit of space. If you have the space, get the biggest wheel that you can store.

Cockpit lockers 2 bikes (1 of 1).jpg
 
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BobH57

BobH57

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Oct 23, 2019
91
Hunter 410 Solomons, MD
I actually have a Schwinn Loop folding bike with 20" wheels that does pretty well. In black, it's around $300 on Amazon (other colors are higher).
 
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quadrille38

quadrille38

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Apr 11, 2010
947
Hunter 38 Whitehall MI
We bought a couple of these a few years ago.
www.greenzonebikes.com

Home

As Seen On TV NEW YEAR SALE! New Arrivals _____________________________________________ Folding Bikes Electric Folding Trikes Electric Bike Kits Extra Accessories/Parts
www.greenzonebikes.com www.greenzonebikes.com

Fold nicely, fit in the back of a mid size SUV, as well as down below on the boat. They come with a very nice storage / carry bag.
They have a few different models with different weights and prices.
FEDEX a delivered them to the house.
 
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dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,414
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
Head Sail said:
Electric folding bikes are the way to go.
Click to expand
These seem really good to me. But the decent ones are pretty pricey. I am very interested in this subject. I haven't figured out the best option yet.

In Holland, I recall one of the house boats had a small car that they loaded and unloaded off their live-board barge, but I sure don't have room for that on my sailboat!

dj
 
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G

gettinthere

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Nov 26, 2008
1,966
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
I bought a Citizen 24-7 folder. 24" wheels which make a big difference over the 20". Folded, it stands right at the top of my lifelines.
Handle bars swing down, seat drops, pedals fold in and frame folds in half.
But, I don't fold the frame. Tucking everything else in but keeping the frame together makes it narrow to keep my side deck walkable. Made a bag out of shelterite vinyl and it has held up very well for 5 years on the rail about 6' aft of the bow.
 
dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,414
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
gettinthere said:
I bought a Citizen 24-7 folder. 24" wheels which make a big difference over the 20". Folded, it stands right at the top of my lifelines.
Handle bars swing down, seat drops, pedals fold in and frame folds in half.
But, I don't fold the frame. Tucking everything else in but keeping the frame together makes it narrow to keep my side deck walkable. Made a bag out of shelterite vinyl and it has held up very well for 5 years on the rail about 6' aft of the bow.
Click to expand
What do you do for keeping the various bike parts from rusting? I've never seen stainless chain or sprockets used on bikes. Do they make even them?

dj
 
G

gettinthere

.
Nov 26, 2008
1,966
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
dLj said:
What do you do for keeping the various bike parts from rusting? I've never seen stainless chain or sprockets used on bikes. Do they make even them?

dj
Click to expand
This bike does have a SS chain.
Very little rust all around. Some of the fasteners show surface rust. There is a ball and socket mechanism that holds the bike together when folded and that has rusted.
Vast majority is aluminum. I sprayed the whole bike with Boeshield T9 when new, about 5 years ago, but have not done anything more since. Anything!

I had 2 20" folders prior to this
One was a cheapy and rusted a LOT
The other was a west marine and it rusted slowly and not terribly.
 
Bob S

Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,771
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
We have a pair of Dahon Mariners going on our 5th season and haven’t shown any rusting other than some screws. Very happy with them
 
rustydusty

rustydusty

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Mar 15, 2021
18
Rhodes 22 Chesapeake Bay
Back around the turn of the century, I was cruising extensively, and had a 26" 6 speed Dahon Mariner for transportation. I kept it strapped to the stbd stern rail and it had very little rust. A bit of a handful getting in and out of the dingy, but worth it on shore. I installed a rear rack with folding baskets on either side for carrying groceries, laundry or whatever. More recently, I converted my beach cruiser to electric for getting back and forth to our neighborhood marina, so I guess that makes it a "boat bike"?
20210222_204338.jpg
 
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dLj

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,414
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
What's in the front hub of that bike? Does this have some kind of electric assist?

dj
 
rustydusty

rustydusty

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Mar 15, 2021
18
Rhodes 22 Chesapeake Bay
The front hub is a direct-drive motor. The battery is in the rack on the back. This has a twist grip throttle, safety switches in the brake levers that cut off the motor when the brakes are applied.
1000w, 48v, 0-30 in about 8 seconds... lots of fun to ride!
 
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dLj

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
3,414
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
rustydusty said:
The front hub is a direct-drive motor. The battery is in the rack on the back. This has a twist grip throttle, safety switches in the brake levers that cut off the motor when the brakes are applied.
1000w, 48v, 0-30 in about 8 seconds... lots of fun to ride!
Click to expand
Man I could kill myself on this bike... and love every second of it!!!!

How did you charge the battery pack while cruising? Did you carry a spare battery pack?

When I lived in Southern France there was a local farmer that had a gasoline motor assisted bicycle. It was a tiny motor that hung off the handle bars, ran a rubber wheel that drove the front wheel of the bike. I bet that bike got hundreds of miles per gallon of gasoline... For a time I owned an old Mobilette model Campera while living in Spain. That thing was amazing. It was more motorcycle than bicycle but it was a lot of fun. I think it would get up to something like 30 or 40 miles per hour on the highway. One tank of gas would last a whole week of driving all over... Those would be a bit too big to carry on a sailboat but what great ground transportation!

I really like the idea of an electric assist bicycle but the pricing is a bit too much at this point and I'm not sure about keeping them charged while cruising...

dj
 
rustydusty

rustydusty

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Mar 15, 2021
18
Rhodes 22 Chesapeake Bay
Now that I have a have a 22 footer, I ride this to the boat (about a mile and a half) but don't carry it with me. It's range is around 30 miles...
 
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