[gbm4th]

I am about to become the proud owner of a 31 foot sailboat that is 2.5 hours away on the Chesapeake, near Annapolis. I also enjoy cycling on the weekends. A fringe benefit to the cycling is that I have lost 50 pounds and my blood pressure, cholesterol etc. are markedly improved.

Does anybody sail with their bike? Where do you put it? How do you keep it rust free?

Thanks
George

 

[painkiller]

George,

I've been thinking about the same issue. I wonder, though, if just a weekend on the boat here and there will really cause any problems to the bike, especially if you wash it real good when you get home.

Two other options are:

1) Rent bikes. I know you can rent bikes in Rock Hall, St. Michael's and Annapolis. I'm sure you can rent them elsewhere. They'll be beat-up old comfort bikes, though.

2) You can get marine-grade fold-up bikes from West Marine. They're expensive, heavy, and the ride probably won't be anywhere near as good, but it's an option!

Another problem to think about is where you would put the bike. On deck? Tied to the mast? Lashed on the foredeck?

Dunno. I look forward to seeing the responses, too.

 

[Valiente]

You may find my discussion of this in my blog helpful. Your situation is a little different, but there may be some thoughts here you can use:

The World Encompassed: Two wheels good: To bring or borrow a boat bike

 

[tommays]

Well

Besides the space i would NEVER keep a good bike on a sailboat they have issues even being in a shed without a lot of care

Now i have plenty of 200 dollar bikes that i would not worry about BUT at the least you would need to give up a stern 1/4 berth to store them


If your willing to pull the wheels you can get a standard bike into a pretty small space and the also sell a lot of bikebags for airline travel that keep them real small

 

[JohnRPollard]

gbm,

Congrats on your (soon-to-be) new boat!

As an avid cyclist myself, I have had to deal with this issue too. Without a much larger boat, there does not seem to be a perfect solution to bike storage. But there are some imperfect ways to get by.

I sometimes bring my bike with me on Chesapeake cruises, especially if I know we'll be staying put for a few days in one spot on the Eastern Shore (an ideal destination for cycling, incidentally -- that is, if you don't mind riding on flat.)

How do I transport the bike? Well, we have mast pulpits on our boat. Since our boat is set up with all lines led aft to the cockpit, the mast pulpits really double nicely as bike racks. If we didn't have mast pulpits, I would probably rig some way to stow the bike off the stern pulpit.

But you don't necessarily have to bring the bike aboard to integrate cycling into your sailing schedule.

Sometimes, I just bring the bike along on the car's rack, and go for a ride while still at our marina. If you plan to do a lot of 3-day weekends on the boat, this might be a nice way to decompress before and after your 2.5 hour drive. It would be a good opportunity to ride in a new venue, with the benefit of returning to a shower at the marina.

But, ultimately, you shouldn't worry about it too much if you take a couple days off from riding while you sail around -- it's actually good for your body and riding strength to take an occasional 2-3+ day rest. You'll likely bounce back even stronger. Plus you get to focus on the sailing -- which is good for you too.

P.S. As for the suggestions about renting... I got the impression gbm was asking about fitness riding, not just poking around a town or port. Rental bikes would be fine for poking around. But when we're talking about going out on a 20-40 mile ride, fitness riders usually want to ride their own bike or something comparable. Most rental and folding bikes I've seen would be disappointing in that respect.

However, Bike Friday makes some serious folding bikes if that seems like a good option for you.

 

[nomchang]

George-
I agree with a lot of Valiente's points in his blog post...the more aluminum the better, keep it greased and lubricated, etc. Areas like your bottom bracket, pedal spindles and seat tube need frequent attention as those are some of the more common areas for a bike to seize up.

The folding belt-driven bike he pictured is made by Strida. I'm a big fan of the belt drive as it keeps everything much cleaner. I see a lot of people in NYC commuting on those. However I agree that these are a great way to get around on shore, but probably not for serious riding over 5-10 miles.

If you have the budget, you might want to look into having S and S couplings installed on your frame. They are stainless fittings that allow you to disassemble (and reassemble) your frame within minutes and store in what amounts to a suitcase. I suspect this would be easy to stow and transport, and of course its probably the most ideal for exercise.

Folding Travel Bikes using S and S Machine Bicycle Torque Couplings™

There is also a company called Slingshot which makes high performance folding bikes that use a high-tension cable for a downtube. Ritchey also has their breakaway frame that would definitely do the trick, though i think it may be a steel frame.

Otherwise, if you have the room, I would try to take the wheels off and place the frame in a large heavy duty plastic bag, and the wheels in another, and stow the bike in a quarter berth or V-Berth. On our old S2 27' we just tied them to the keel-stepped mast down below. That worked for day trips but I wouldn't want to do that for extended cruising.

Good luck and congrats on the boat.

 

[St Anna]

Hiya,
We kept alloy mountain bikes on a 'macrack' on the pushpit for 4 years. Lots of Lanolin and chain grease. They looked like rust buckets, no one was ever tempted to steal them but they worked like a treat and were our only means of moving apart from walking - once or twice we got a taxi back from the shops. I enjoyed putting the golf clubs and the pushbikes in the dinghy to zip ashore, ride along a deserted beach and beat the hell out of a golf ball. (Not concurrently - not into polo but theres another thought)

We were very fit and being 'greenies' were happy about the carbon footprint stuff. Now we are making up for lost time - thats another story.

I would think about an electric motored scooter as another option.

 

[timebandit]

If it is for exercise why not just hook up pedals to the prop shaft and pedal your a$$ off.:laugher :laugher :laugher :laugher :laugher

 

[painkiller]

Hah! Yeah, or put pedals on an alternator and make yourself some electricity.

 

[Northeaster]

I modified a Trailer-hitch type bike rack, that holds 2 bikes, to go on the side of my stern pulpit. I drilled one hole in the cockpit coming, so the bottom of the rack could be connected there, and used stainless hose clamps to connect the top to the pulpit rails.

Although I agree that extended exposure would not be great for bikes, I bought mine so I could use them. If it takes a bit of maintenance, or they only last 8 years, instead of 12, I can live with that. It will hold our 2 light road bikes easily, and with a few bungee cords, keep them securely in place. I can even lock them there, if needed.

It takes a bit of balance, to stand on the swim ladder, and lift / swing each bike around to place in the dingy. Haven't used it this year, as we just cycle near the marina. Last year we had a hard dingy, so placing the bikes in it was fine. I would now have to be more careful, or perhaps, put a piece of wood, etc, down to protect the inflatable dingy.
In the end, is well worth the effort to cycle on some pretty amazing, and often out of the way roads.

 

[gbm4th]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am moving in tomorrow.

Valiente's article is very helpful; I wonder how carbon does vs aluminum; but I think I will leave my carbon race bike at home. I like the idea about pulling the wheels and putting it in plastic, storing it in the aft berth. I do have an older aluminum triathalon bike just hanging out in my garage.

John, you were correct that I do like to ride assertively, but safely. Plenty of hills where I live to keep me honest; but I love hammering the flats. Just as in a boat, when a situation develops, you like to know everything works.

Have a great labor day everyone,

PS. I did consider hooking the bike up to a propeller to provide both cardio exercise and an alternative energy source (me:laugher). Do you think I could write it off on my taxes as an alternative energy source?

george

 

[2redtrek]

Now that I have gotten back to sailing I cannot find the time during sailing season to do my regular 200 road miles per week,I end up doing just winter weekend riding.

 

[j34035]

Talk to Steve at www.bilenky.com if you want s&s couplers. He does a great job is is reasonable on his pricing. No association to him other than customer.
DD

 

[timebandit]

Maybe sell carbon credits

PS. I did consider hooking the bike up to a propeller to provide both cardio exercise and an alternative energy source (me:laugher). Do you think I could write it off on my taxes as an alternative energy source?

 

[baboon]

One option is a higher quality folding bike. My wife rides a bike friday by green gear cycling. The bike is very close to a top end road bike and most are made to order based on your size, or they can replicate the measuments of your road bike. The bike packs into a hard shell standard size plastic suitcase which keeps it in great condition, and would fit inside a 30 ft boat without much trouble. They are expensive, but they have some used options and bikes can also be found on craigslist from time to time.

 

[seabreeze_97]

I ride a Montague Hummer. It folds down and fits a soft or hard case barely bigger than the 26 inch wheels...about the size of a hiker's backpack. Aluminum alloy frame.

 

[merc2dogs]

Whether the bike can be easily kept aboard depends a lot on the bike. Folders are great for short trips, but most are too small, designed for lightness, and compact folded size. Aimed more at the person that wants to ride from the parking lot to the office.

But the montegue looks pretty neat:
Montague Paratrooper Tactical Folding Mountain Bike: The Bike

There is a company that makes hinges for converting a regular bike to a folder, can't remember the name right now though.

If you get a bike that's too small for you, (seatpost/top tube) then install a longer neck and seatpost to make it fit and use straight bars, you can reduce the overall size when the tires are removed. (changing to a fork with greater lead will eliminate toe overlap)

The pedal driven prop was discussed a while ago on the engineless sailing board on yahoo, I've thought about it a few times. Then found an Ebay auction for a hand cranked outboard motor that looked prety sweet. Would be easy to duplicate the drive system.

Ken.

 

[nailbunnySPU]

downtube

I have a downtube 8h folding bike, front suspension. Being a liveaboard, i have nowhere to keep a full size bike, i read it takes maintenance every two weeks to keep a bike kept outside from rusting. The hell with that!

Downtube - Bikes

Comes with stainless steel chain and spokes, aluminum frame. The internal hub shifter gets rid of the dérailleur, gets the chain out of the way and makes it look more like a fixie.

26 lbs, way lighter than west marine's pieces of crap, way cheaper than bike friday and dahon, better quality than citizen west marine and giant, smaller than montague. I ride 10 miles to work with it, i can fit it anywhere in my car, frontseat backseat trunk, in the boat i can stuff it in the quarter berth or vee berth and keep it dry.

if money is no object, buy brompton for the smallest quality folder or bike friday for the most resembling of a road bike.

 

[JohnRPollard]

Hey Nailbunny,

That Downtube is pretty neat. I'd never heard of them -- thanks.

For boating, I like the sealed, internal 8-speed hub and stainless chain. Do you happen to know where they're made?

 

[nailbunnySPU]

Made in China, John. Sold out of PA.

One thing wrong with mine is that the bottom bracket had a crunch and needed repacked.