Bicycles

[Dropship]

When the petrol runs out in a post-apoc world we can saddle up and get out of town if we have to,.

The wheels take the weight, not your knees..

And if the zombs have roadblocked the main roads we can go cross-country..

 

[tmttactical]

And how much can your carry to your bug out location?

 

[Dropship]

And how much can your carry to your bug out location?

I once entered a 100-mile bike ride in the dead of winter (luckily it wasn't snowing) and carried a rucksack full of food and drink and finished the course on just what I carried..
If vehicles aren't available because of petrol/gas/diesel shortage we'll have no choice but to pack what we can into our saddlebags. (Personally I like to use a rucksack when cycling (and no saddlebag), whatever floats yer boat.)

 

[tmttactical]

You are going to bicycle to where, and then set up shop with what you were carrying? What happen to the van full of food that was going to carry you over? Planning to fail again.

 

[Dropship]

You are going to bicycle to where, and then set up shop with what you were carrying? What happen to the van full of food that was going to carry you over? Planning to fail again.

It depends on what type of Apocalypse/National Emergency hits us, so think flexible and adapt, improvise, overcome..
(And as I told you in another thread, you live in the blue state of AZ which voted against Trump and his wall so you've got zilch protection along your southern border, THAT'S a classic example of planning to fail.)

 

[Mountain trapper]

I think there are places where a bicycle would work just fine. In my area not so much. It's too steep, winters are cold with a lot of snow. A horse is our best option here of the fuel runs out.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

I thought about an electric scooter. In case my wife can’t get up the road. light enough to carry across a landslide. It would be cool to travel when she when is charging her car too.
But if we go on Vacation, we will bring the real bikes. we found a really neat Bar /Cafe in the woods to get a cocktail off our favorite path.

 

[Dropship]

This is me in my cycling glory days..

 

[EastenerWesterner]

This is me in my cycling glory days..

My road is a 1600 ft rise over 3 miles. I have seen many a biker coughing up a lung. Cursing, Swearing, screaming at me for driving up and down my road.
My favorite thing to do is to rip off a shotgun blast when they are going 30mph downhill around blind curves past my house That I will only take my truck at 20 mph.
Go as slow as you were going up, and we won’t have an issue.

 

[Amish Heart]

I already live in a horse and buggy/tractor community. It'll just continue.

 

[tmttactical]

I already live in a horse and buggy/tractor community. It'll just continue.

The horse and buggy are excellent! Great transportation and can actually haul a fair amount of goods. Much more versatile than a bicycle. The horse can be ridden into areas no bicycle will be able to traverse.

 

[tmttactical]

It depends on what type of Apocalypse/National Emergency hits us, so think flexible and adapt, improvise, overcome..
(And as I told you in another thread, you live in the blue state of AZ which voted against Trump and his wall so you've got zilch protection along your southern border, THAT'S a classic example of planning to fail.)

We have constitutional carry, what you got?

 

[lonewolf]

Bicycles are okay for short journeys, and carrying anything on a bike is limited, but my area is very hilly, not that I shall be going far, no need to bug out as I bugged out of a city long ago.

 

[lonewolf]

We have constitutional carry, what you got?

he's got computer war games!!!

 

[Illini Warrior]

post-SHTF for in-town chore runs - OK (safety pending)

bugging out? - absolute desperation "last ditch" opportunity - especially if you have a bug out or get-home pinch point like a bridge/tunnel where a bike could continue after a vehicle ditching ...

if the SHTF is bad enough that vehicle transportation is down - it's toooo dangerous to be pedaling azz down a road - goes for pushing shopping carts also ....

 

[lonewolf]

I think bicycles might just have an advantage over walking but they are too fragile, an attacker only has to put a stick between the wheels and the rider will go flying over the handlebars.

 

[MOS0231]

Back in the day, I used to race bicycles, Tour de France style.
A short training ride was 30 miles, including hills, a long one, 70 miles, including hills.
Nowadays I do a 13 mile ride including hills, out and back in about an hour.
I would use a bicycle as a means of transportation in the immediate area.
Is it possible to bicycle to a BOL? Sure. But anything is possible, especially if push comes to shove.
Would I do it? Only if it came to shove. But I am also at my BOL.

Depending on the type of tires, a bicycle can be nearly silent.
Depending on the terrain, someone on a bicycle can easily out pace a person on foot.
I can bicycle to the neighbors in about 10 minutes, less if I put serious effort into it.
On foot, that would take about a half an hour.

 

[DrHenley]

I have used a bicycle to hunt deer in the mud capitol of the world, the Mississippi Delta. I had the bike shop convert my Specialized Crosstrail to a 29er. I found a gear set with a "granny gear" LOL. The forks have just barely enough clearance for the 29er tires. It will take a moderate amount of mud but I can't go across a bean field or anything like that. Cow pastures, no problem.

 

[Weedygarden]

Two is one and one is none. While it may not be the best thing for bugging out, it may be better than being on foot. There are small trailers that you can buy for them, or you can have a bike that has room for cargo. Out of gasoline? A bike is not a bad second option. I think many people don't think too far past current conditions. What if you had something heavy to move and needed a way to move it? A bike or two might be a great help.

 

[Dropship]

Furthest I ever cycled in one day was 140 miles (Sittingbourne to Leicester) on a camping trip, it was a beautiful summers day with a slight following breeze and I could have gone on forever.
The trick is to never never never cycle up hills but to get off and push your bike up them.
Also, try not to have a fixed destination or you'll spend the day fretting about whether you're going to get there before night and will tend to push yourself too much.
Personally I just kept on going til dusk, then pulled off the road and set up my tent in a wood wherever I happened to be..

Another trick is to eat at the very first sign of feeling hungry, you can either munch as you pedal along, or even better stop and eat while propped up against a farm gate.
I once learnt that the hard way in my early cycle-camping days after about 50 miles when I began feeling peckish but I thought "i'll do a few more miles before stopping to eat".
Big mistake! As I pedalled along I began feeling faint with a hissing in my ears, dim vision, spots before the eyes, cold sweat, and my stomach was screaming out for food, so I staggered onto the grass verge and ate like a horse, ravenously devouring food and drink from my rucksack and was right as rain after 15 minutes.
I later found out it was something to do with low blood sugar levels and cyclists even had a name for it- "Hunger Knock" or "The Bonk"..

That's why racers avoid it by having small bags (musettes) of food and drink handed to them at 'feeding stations' during races to munch while pedalling-

 

[DrHenley]

Here is the deer bike. I had to put a suspension post on it, raise the handlebars, and put a kickstand so that I didn't have to lay it down in the mud when there wasn't a tree handy. It fell over half the time anyhow.

I was able to ride within 75 yards of this buck. He never paid any attention to the bike.

 

[backandbeyond]

Bikes are great for exercise but I wouldn't use mine for anything else as long as the petrol station is still open.

 

[Dropship]

I bought myself this bike below a while back but it was a disaster so I eventually gave it away.
It cost about £350 (481 USD) and I couldn't resist buying it when I saw it in the bike shop because it seemed to tick the right boxes, namely a nice stealth grey, and it was a so-called 'hybrid' model which mean it was a cross between a mountain bike and road bike, good for racking up the miles offroad AND onroad..
But my smile vanished when I got it home and began checking it out, because it was far too fancy and complicated for a simplicity-freak like me.

For examp, it had 3 different spoke sizes, one for the front wheel, one for the right side of the rear wheel, and one for the left side.
Each spoke length was only a couple of millimetres different to the others meaning they were almost impossible to tell apart by eye, especially if you were trying to replace a bust spoke on a dark rainy night.

Also, it had 3 chainrings giving a total of 30 gears which were far too many, and I had to fiddle like crazy tweaking the lever to flick the chain from one ring to the other, then fiddle with the other lever to find a comfortable gear.
The wheels and tyres seemed a bit too fancy too, as did various bits and pieces, so if I was out biking and something bust there'd be no guarantee that the nearest bike shop would have a correct fancy replacement item.
Next time I'll buy an ultra-simple no-frills bike for less than half the price..

PS- another thing I didn't like were the three welded lugs under the crossbar (see pic) which carried the rear brake cable, because it meant every time I picked up the bike to carry it on my shoulder over a stile or stream, the lugs stuck painfully into my shoulder.

 

[DrHenley]

I bought myself this bike below a while back but it was a disaster so I eventually gave it away.

Saracen bike. Urban Myth maybe? Should be all standard parts. Standard 14 gauge spokes.

 

[Dropship]

Saracen bike. Urban Myth maybe? Should be all standard parts. Standard 14 gauge spokes.

I think it was a Saracen or Urban Myth but I can't remember the exact model.
All I know is that i asked the dealer to sell me a few spare spokes and he said "Which wheel? it takes 3 different spoke lengths".
I said "I don't know", so he gave me 3 spokes, each of a different length.

 

[Dropship]

In the old days 40 years ago, bikes were much easier to buy, I simply went down the dealers and pointed to a cheap no-frills road bike and said "I'll take that one"; I must have bought at least 5 like that over the years and they got me around well enough..
Here's one of mine on a cycle-camping trip from Leicester to Paris and back (total 700 miles) over 8 days in 1975, you can't beat a sleek lightweight road bike like this for eating up the miles..

Top- entering Amiens,
bottom-in Paris

 

[randolphrowzee]

The OP referenced how you'd get around if there is no gasoline. Unless you have an electric vehicle that's charged with wind or solar, the viable options are basically your feet or a bike of some sort. Bikes are much more efficient, and the best part is that the more you ride the better your condition, and the greater your range. Exercise is a great prep, and bikes are great exercise.

 

[DrHenley]

the best part is that the more you ride the better your condition, and the greater your range.

Up until the point that you blow your knee out from repetitive stress. (happens to 40-60% of avid cyclists eventually)

It got so bad I could only use one leg to go up stairs or stand up from a chair. The cartilage would not heal until I took platelet rich plasma treatment a couple of years ago, and it's been slowly getting better since. I'm hoping I'll be able to get back on the bike again eventually.

 

[Jayson]

Just make sure that your bicycle is well maintained...

 

[tmttactical]

Even being a Yank, I loved the Benny Hill show. It would never be allowed with todays woke crowd.