estasnyc

Which folding bikes will be a good choice for going out of town on a Greyhound or Bolt Bus as well as can be carried onto a friend's sailboat?

The scenario that I'm imagining would be to hop on a bus to get to another city or town where I can ride the bike after disembarking to take in the sights. I suppose that the scenario for taking the bike on a boat would be very much the same in this respect.

I would bring at least a change of clothes as an absolute minimum or get some groceries but am otherwise unsure about possible cargo. A rack with some sort of pannier that could double as a backpack would be a good thing to have.

Here are my specifics:

I'm 6'0” (183cm) tall and weigh ~205 pounds (93kg).

I currently have two bikes, a vintage Bottecchia road bike and a Panasonic that I've turned into a Frankenbike for commuting within NYC, but have never used a folding bike and am looking to add one to the mix.

My road bike has a 61cm frame, 53/39 chainrings, 13-25 cassette, 170mm crankset and 700c wheels.

I calculate my gear range to be 41” - 108”. I primarily use 45” - 100” while riding within NYC where my most strenuous climbs are getting onto the bridges here.

Are there any other details that I should add to this?

fietsbob

A Brompton H6, R (rack) or L (mudguards)..

want more than 6 gears?
you could add a Schlumpf Speed drive to get a 2 speed crank
without a front derailleur.. planetary overdrive for the high.

Another Bromptonaut fitted a 44/36 double, uses their finger to change chainrings, while stopped..
put the chain on the small ring when it's hilly, big ring when its not..

then shift thru the 6 gears, with the 2 levers for the rear gear system.

I find their front bag system, very useful..
that will hold your change of clothes, easily.

I have a shoulder strap clipped to my Brompton Touring bag.

Others have added a big Carradice saddle bag for enough capacity for hammock [or very small tent] camping tours..

bikes like My Friday have gone off to all parts of the globe..
hides in a suitcase , which may be converted to tow as a trailer.

pacificcyclist

The BoltBus and Greyhound are the same, so they have rules about bikes. Which means, the bike counts as 1 check-in luggage. As with Greyhound, they are not nice to bikes that aren't packed well, so expect some damage and some denials if handled rough. I haven't tried BoltBus yet (I will as the service from Vancouver BC, Canada just started in May 2012), but with Greyhound, you will have to pay for the bike fee if you told them you have a bike. If you don't tell them and you may get away paying the fee, but they may treat it as luggage and take less care?!? My recommendation to you is to invest in a medium price based bike with an IGH so you can afford some damage plus a soft bag. The Tern D7i gives you low gears as well as some high. The frame is stiffer and rides much better than the Brompton. Judging from your gear charts, it seems like you are a strong rider and you like to ride fast which is something the Tern is good for.

Racks and panniers and carrying straps?!? If you're climbing steep hills with a 45" gear, you'll probably need to stand and attack quite a bit?!? You won't be happy with the pannier and rack system. It gives you instability you won't like. If you tow a Burley 2 wheel Travoy trailer, you can stand and attack and laugh your guts out enjoying the climb. Also, you can carry the suitcase for it on the trailer and stick the bike in during transport and wear your backpack as carryon. Do the reverse by taking the bike out from the suitcase, stick the backpack into the case and then strap it to the Travoy to let your Tern tow it. I had done this no problem.
The price of the Brompton itself is not much more than the Tern plus the suitcase and the Travoy. All 16 and 20" bikes can be taken onto boats no problem. But 16" being more compact. 20" bikes offer better handling characteristics than 16" versions.

Hope this helps.

bhkyte

depends on your preference.
A stainless steel 20" Diblasi might be right up your street,(river). Not the best ride, or lightest, or best value, but corosion resistant on the boat if thats a concern.

chaadster

If you're in Manhattan, you should check out NYCE Wheels (www.nycewheels.com) at York Ave. and E. 85th. They've got Dahon, Tern, Brompton and other folding bikes you can test ride and check out live.

Herb

I'll second the nycewheels recommendation. I have traveled exrinsively with my MU-P8. on plains and trains. I'm sure they can help you select the best bike for your needs. no pressure!

Dynocoaster 

Dahon has the Mariner d7
https://www.thorusa.com/dahon/current/marinerd7.htm

hopperja

I ride a Tern Link P9. It's aluminum, so no problems with saltwater creating a corrosion problem (assuming the sailboat goes out on saltwater). I don't burden it with racks/panniers, just a Carradice Nelson Longflap. With that, I can carry anything I might need for a day. I can even strap a tent, sleeping bag, and pad to the outside and I'd be self-sufficient for a night or two.

Not sure about Greyhound. Ideally, you could get away with a stow-bag while folded. I looked at Greyhound's website and found they have the same 62" limit as the airlines. However, bicycles are a listed exception. In otherwords, you may have to pay a $30 to $40 over-size fee to carry a Tern in a stow-bag, depending on the linear dimensions when folded and in the bag. The stow-bag would be very easy to carry and require only the standard fold (no disassembly).

Or, you could put a Tern in the Tern Airporter Mini case, but that would require about 15 minutes of disassembly/reassembly. It's an airline legal case, though. If you were riding from the station to a destination, you'd have to find a way for the empty case to get there (Burley Travoy or mail/ship it).

The more I ride my Tern, the more I realize it's the most versatile bike I have.

Good luck!

alhedges

I've taken my Brompton on megabus a couple of times, packed in its B-Bag. It is an extremely easy way to travel, with one important caveat. Which is that MB doesn't have a lot of luggage space and really doesn't like for bags to be as large as 62 linear inches, even though that is the max stated on their website. The B-Bag is comfortably under that (it's 56"), but it was one of the larger bags people were taking, and I was put in a group of people with larger bags whose bags were loaded last...with the possibility being that the luggage wouldn't be loaded if there weren't enough room. There has always been enough room...but it's something to worry about. On my next trip, I'm going to take off the saddle and use luggage straps to snug down the B-bag...I think it does maybe look a little larger than it is. Most people's luggage seemed to be roll on luggage perhaps just a tad larger than what you could carry on on an airplane. MB's carry on limit is smaller than what you could carry on a plane; It would be difficult to fit anything much larger than a brompton C bag (~25 liters) under the seat. At least one person with a larger carry-on was made to put it with the rest of the luggage. I don't think MB would let you take on a travoy and a regular carry on.

Part of the issue with luggage sizing was that the bus I took (Indy to Chicago) was almost filled; it was probably almost filled because it was the bus that arrives in Chicago at 4:30 on Friday - that's probably one of the most popular buses. And the bus came from either Cincinnati or Columbus or Louisville, so it was already half filled...going back to Indy from Chicago the bus is less crowded because it originates in Chicago and I haven't had any issues.

So for MB specifically I would only recommend a Brompton (although I do know people who've taken Dahons).

This may not be an issue with Greyhound or BoltBus; certainly the old-style Greyhounds had much more luggage space than MB does. MB also specifically disallows bicycles. So you may not have the issue I had with those carriers (and I didn't actually have an issue, just a concern...).

Despite what I've said up there, travel by bus with a folding bike is extremely convenient. The b-bag folds down to something that I can put on the rear rack of the B; my C-bag had all of my carry on items...it really took only two minutes or so to be ready to go after I got off the bus.

I wouldn't worry about a steel bike on a sailboat; just keep it in its bag an you'll be fine. (If you *owned* a sailboat and kept your bike on board 24/7, that would be a different issue, of course...but in your case you'll get more salt on your bike riding in winter than you will on a couple weekends spent on a sailboat.)

Finally, go to Nycewheels (or wherever) and try out some bikes!

MadCityCyclist

I've got a 6 speed Brompton with a rack, and I'm your size (6'0") albeit 20 lbs heavier thanks to years of weightlifting.

The Brompton rear rack is low, which means that most large items on the rack are subject to heel-strike unless packed and positioned carefully. Just last week I talked to a guy with a multi-geared Dahon that had a rear rack that was much higher. It didn't fold up as compactly as the Brompton, which may be an issue for you when traveling.

You can find some big bags for the front of the Brompton that were made for touring. The proprietary version is called the "T-bag."

Brompton 6 speeds aren't geared for big hills, so if you anticipate some changes in the terrain you might want to consider their granny gear options.

tcs

If you're willing to hail a cab or etc. to go from the inter-city bus station to your overnight, where you unpack the bike for riding during your stay, then this is pretty straightforward and not terribly expensive. Generic 20" folders aren't hard to pack for travel in generic suitcases.

If you want to get off the bus and ride away with all your stuff, while still protecting the bike from the slings and arrows of traveling as luggage, it gets more complicated and expensive.

cbike

I'd second the Brompton although you really should test ride them. If possible for some larger distance. There will be trade offs you'll have to accept. The biggest one with the Brompton is the limited gearing, you don't have as many gears in between for fine tuning or the extreme high/low gears.

The Brompton is nice as you can travel on thigh schedule because you don't have to assemble/disassemble much. You can read about my multi modal (flight & bus along with a ride to camp in one day) on my blog. Although I have to say riding 60 miles in half a day is a bit much even on the flat rail-to-trail path. For the Greyhound ride I just used the Brompton cover and it got treated well. The overfilled T-bag went into the bus with me and took up an empty seat next to me.

Next month I'm planning to ride the Oregon coast line for three or four days and in the fall I'm eying a two day ride around the Austin area (maybe Austin to San Antonio?). For the Oregon trip I changed to the reduced gearing on my 6 speed. I'll be able to report on hillier terrain then.

cbike

Not necessarily more complicated. Just watch how a Brompton is folded. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I did ride a bike friday for several day around the Seattle area and do agree that the gearing is nicer than with the Brompton, but with my usage it's not really multi modal. As much assembly as it would require I'd rather travel with a full size bike and have less hassle. YMMV.

brakemeister

Tern p7i +Travoy trailer
what sailboat ? lol


thor
p.s o over to Nyce and actually ride both bikes than go on the net and buy it from me ... tell the guys I said so ... its good for a laugh .... and I am kidding of course about the buying part ..lol

jur

You're pretty tall... not sure any of the suggestions would fit you well... folding bikes are one size fits all, ie medium. Your bike is 61cm, ie large or even XL. Better try some test rides before you buy. If pressed, Bike Friday are the only crowd who will build something your size.

tcs

That trip. (You craftily edited out "while still protecting the bike from the slings and arrows of traveling as luggage".)

Then there's always the possibility that a random baggage agent will charge the bicycle fee for a bike - even a folded one - with just a cover over it. Packed in a suitcase/hard case, it's nothin' but luggage.

tcs

If one is firm that the bike must have a folding joint. Otherwise, using a demountable bike for multi-modal out-of-town trips, there are lots and lots of choices.

sjordan1959

My husband is 6'4" and rides a Dahon Speed D7 and it fits him fine.

kamtsa

Very popular indeed. It's interesting that we have here many people with separable Moultons but I don't recall much S&S related posts. On the other hand, we had significant number of posts about non separable mini velos. Looks like having small wheels has stronger association with 'folder' than separability.

alhedges

There is something to that; a lot of forum discussions deal with issues that come from having small wheels: which rack should I use; which bag; which fenders; which tires; which gearing options; which handlebars; etc. None of these questions are of interest to someone who has a road bike with S&S couplers - those are otherwise completely standard bikes.