I'm sure some of you cruising sailors carry a bicycle of some sort on your
boat ,, you do, right?

Where do you keep it? Do you break it down and stow it that way?

I think a bicyle and a sailboat are about the two best things in the whole
wide world; period.

"Thomas Wentworth" wrote:

I'm sure some of you cruising sailors carry a bicycle of some sort on your
boat ,, you do, right?

Where do you keep it? Do you break it down and stow it that way?

Yes - Bob got a folding bike for his birthday and it came with a bag
to stow it in folded. The first year I tried to ride it, but it is
just too big for me and can't be adjusted down. The second year he
had a regular bike, but it just got terribly rusty. He got a folding
bike for me second hand for about $25 and fixed it up and sewed a bag
for it too. We stowed them back by the dinghy (center cockpit boat).
They can actually be taken ashore in a dingy unless you have a kayak
or something.

It is still a pain to get them on and off the boat.

I think a bicyle and a sailboat are about the two best things in the whole
wide world; period.



grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html

"Thomas Wentworth" wrote in
news:ODnTf.212$kB1.154@trndny07:

I think a bicyle and a sailboat are about the two best things in the
whole wide world; period.


A rideable bike is pretty bulky to store on a boat. Besides, if you've
been to sea, you've gotten plenty of exercise in muscles you didn't know
you had, so you deserve a little RnR in port. So, I got this one because
it was better'n Cap'n Geoffrey's scooter and its wider tires don't drop
in the gaps his do on the crappy docks.

http://www.largoscooters.com/bladezxtrse.html
I got mine for $299 on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods last year.

It'll run 16mph for 8 miles, lots further if you drive slower at bike
speed. The only noise is the tires on the road and a little from the
chain drive. BladeZ' are very nicely made units.

To store it, you pull the pin holding the seat on and pull the seat post
out of the scooter. (It's fun to ride around standing up without the
seat, too.) Then, you pull back on that release handle under the
steering and the whole front end pivots to horizontal with the front
wheel going up and the steering coming flat against the motor housing
making it as flat as it can get. The steering locks in the down position
so you can use the steering stick as a carrying handle. Now flat, it
fits in a locker or alongside the engine. If you set heavy stuff on top
of it, unlike the bike, it won't crush it. Just be careful of the
exposed control cables.

The batteries are in a little bag with carrying handle under the deck
with a plug so you can swap a dead one for a hot one, but the charger
only works plugged into the XLR microphone jack under the steering.
Battery status is a 3-color LED next to the main power
switch...green=good, yellow=goin' down, red=I'm gonna shut it off in 5
more minutes. The computer won't let you deep cycle and ruin the battery
pack. Throttle power is very smooth as it uses pulse-width-modulation
technology. When you squeeze the disk brake handle, there's a switch
that closes to turn the PM motor into a dynamic brake, recharging the
batteries going downhill.

Great fun to ride, especially when the boat is a mile down a big marina's
dockage from the parking lot! Get a chain lock to secure it to something
as it is easily picked up and stolen.

In article ,
Rosalie B. wrote:

"Thomas Wentworth" wrote:

I'm sure some of you cruising sailors carry a bicycle of some sort on your
boat ,, you do, right?

Where do you keep it? Do you break it down and stow it that way?

Yes - Bob got a folding bike for his birthday and it came with a bag
to stow it in folded. The first year I tried to ride it, but it is
just too big for me and can't be adjusted down. The second year he
had a regular bike, but it just got terribly rusty. He got a folding
bike for me second hand for about $25 and fixed it up and sewed a bag
for it too. We stowed them back by the dinghy (center cockpit boat).
They can actually be taken ashore in a dingy unless you have a kayak
or something.

It is still a pain to get them on and off the boat.

I think a bicyle and a sailboat are about the two best things in the whole
wide world; period.



grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html

My brother and his wife cruise off the NE coast each summer on his
J/34C. They used to have folding bikes and decided their regular road
bikes were more comfortable and worked better and they sacrificed one QB
and some bungie cords. With wheels off, most road bikes (or cross bikes)
fit in larger boats.

h

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

Larry wrote:
snip

http://www.largoscooters.com/bladezxtrse.html
I got mine for $299 on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods last year.

It'll run 16mph for 8 miles, lots further if you drive slower at bike
speed. The only noise is the tires on the road and a little from the
chain drive. BladeZ' are very nicely made units.

snip
Great fun to ride, especially when the boat is a mile down a big marina's
dockage from the parking lot! Get a chain lock to secure it to something
as it is easily picked up and stolen.


I'd probably pay money to see you cruising along on that toy!

Larry wrote:
"Thomas Wentworth" wrote in
news:ODnTf.212$kB1.154@trndny07:


I think a bicyle and a sailboat are about the two best things in the
whole wide world; period.



A rideable bike is pretty bulky to store on a boat. Besides, if you've
been to sea, you've gotten plenty of exercise in muscles you didn't know
you had, so you deserve a little RnR in port. So, I got this one because
it was better'n Cap'n Geoffrey's scooter and its wider tires don't drop
in the gaps his do on the crappy docks.

http://www.largoscooters.com/bladezxtrse.html
I got mine for $299 on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods last year.

It'll run 16mph for 8 miles, lots further if you drive slower at bike
speed. The only noise is the tires on the road and a little from the
chain drive. BladeZ' are very nicely made units.
snip

I've seen kids around here riding these things. They go amazingly fast
and quite a long distance between recharges. Other people may think its
a little funny to see an adult on a scooter, but I think you've got a
winner for that 2 mile to the grocery store and back. Looks like it
folds up pretty compact also.

Interesting solution.

Don W.

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 01:33:34 +0000, Thomas Wentworth wrote:

I'm sure some of you cruising sailors carry a bicycle of some sort on your
boat ,, you do, right?

Where do you keep it? Do you break it down and stow it that way?

I think a bicyle and a sailboat are about the two best things in the whole
wide world; period.

I agree!

For utility and general recreational use, Dahons and Montagues are
probably best for most boaters. They fold in seconds, and fit
into a bag to keep things from catching on them.

www.dahon.com

http://www.msblsports.com/montaguebicycle.html

A more serious road cyclist may prefer something like the Ritchey
Breakaway, or an S&S-coupled frame. Either of these fits in an
airline-legal (not oversized) suitcase, but takes 10-15 minutes to
assemble or break down.

http://ritcheylogic.com/web/Ritchey~...ain/20789.html

http://www.sandsmachine.com/

With the wheels off, most bikes can be stuffed into an unused berth or
something. However, a folding bike in a bag or case is much easier for
most folks to drag out and put away, and keeps dirt from the chain and
tires from smudging your boat's interior.

Matt O.

Larry ,,, no thanks on the battery powered motor scooter.. I'm an all
natural kind a guy. Sails .. wind. Bicycle ... peddle.

I think what I might do is store part of the bicycle on deck and the rest
below. I can bag the front wheel easy enough.
The seat can be taken off with a quick release.

I did see a picture the other day of a boat that had two mountain bicycles
tied to the mast. Problem is rust. In the ocean environment, those
bicycles will rust out in a few days.

As for getting the bicycles on and off; probably use the main sail halyard
with the winch. Off load into the dinghy.

======================---------000000098888888888888888888888888888888888888

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Thomas Wentworth" wrote in
news:ODnTf.212$kB1.154@trndny07:

I think a bicyle and a sailboat are about the two best things in the
whole wide world; period.


A rideable bike is pretty bulky to store on a boat. Besides, if you've
been to sea, you've gotten plenty of exercise in muscles you didn't know
you had, so you deserve a little RnR in port. So, I got this one because
it was better'n Cap'n Geoffrey's scooter and its wider tires don't drop
in the gaps his do on the crappy docks.

http://www.largoscooters.com/bladezxtrse.html
I got mine for $299 on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods last year.

It'll run 16mph for 8 miles, lots further if you drive slower at bike
speed. The only noise is the tires on the road and a little from the
chain drive. BladeZ' are very nicely made units.

To store it, you pull the pin holding the seat on and pull the seat post
out of the scooter. (It's fun to ride around standing up without the
seat, too.) Then, you pull back on that release handle under the
steering and the whole front end pivots to horizontal with the front
wheel going up and the steering coming flat against the motor housing
making it as flat as it can get. The steering locks in the down position
so you can use the steering stick as a carrying handle. Now flat, it
fits in a locker or alongside the engine. If you set heavy stuff on top
of it, unlike the bike, it won't crush it. Just be careful of the
exposed control cables.

The batteries are in a little bag with carrying handle under the deck
with a plug so you can swap a dead one for a hot one, but the charger
only works plugged into the XLR microphone jack under the steering.
Battery status is a 3-color LED next to the main power
switch...green=good, yellow=goin' down, red=I'm gonna shut it off in 5
more minutes. The computer won't let you deep cycle and ruin the battery
pack. Throttle power is very smooth as it uses pulse-width-modulation
technology. When you squeeze the disk brake handle, there's a switch
that closes to turn the PM motor into a dynamic brake, recharging the
batteries going downhill.

Great fun to ride, especially when the boat is a mile down a big marina's
dockage from the parking lot! Get a chain lock to secure it to something
as it is easily picked up and stolen.

Practical Sailor has had some reviews of folding bikes recently. The
articles and the letters written in response warrant a look.

http://www.practical-sailor.com/

Dave wrote:

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 04:23:36 GMT, Rosalie B.
said:

We stowed them back by the dinghy

That is to say, on deck in their bags?

Yes - lashed to the stern stanchions. Ours is a center cockpit boat
so they were on deck.

We had a compressed gas bottle box (for scuba bottles etc) back there
anyway, and also a radar arch with a solar panel and the dinghy davits
had another solar panel

http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasle...res/RA2001.JPG
grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html