Bikes

[Shoney]

Hello all,

I am getting a trailer hitch put on my van I would like to use to bring my bike with me on the road, for travel if in towns or cities to save gas. Do any of you bring your bikes on the road? How do you go about keeping it secure? Does it significantly hinder the ability for stealth camping?

Thanks again,

Shoney

 

[grandpa pete]

Folding electric bike inside the van

 

[highdesertranger]

do you mean bike like bicycle or bike like motorcycle?

IMO anybody who cares to know, knows you are living in your van. you aren't hiding from anyone who wants to know.

highdesertranger

 

[Shoney]

A bicycle. More than anything I'm nervous of it getting stolen it getting stolen if its on the outside.

 

[Shoney]

Folding electric bike inside the van

A folding bike is a good idea. Thank you! Any brand you would recommend

 

[vanbrat]

We use a good bike lock around both the bikes and the bumper and secure it well. I have not had anyone try to steel it, but then again they are cheepo bikes. You may need to find a way to secure a hoop or ? maybe find a welder to weld one on to your frame. Or? Also to keep them from bumping around we put a few bungies on them. Anyone who would want to steel them has to untangle them. Our friends have always enough bikes for all the campers and again if anyone wanted to steel them they would not only need to unlock the strong wire cable they are locked with, but also untangle them. 6 bikes 2 cables and 2 locks....and all the bungies they need to keep them from bumping around. I am trying to figure out a way to keep them somewhat dry as they ride back there.

 

[bullfrog]

I really like my RadMini electric bike.

 

[hugemoth]

This year instead of a motorcycle I am carrying a folding 20" bike on the open trailer with my quad. Xpec brand, $179 Amazon. Also have a 35cc 4 stroke engine kit, $200 that can be installed in 1 minute. Not worried about theft because I don't camp in towns. I find the 20" wheel a a bit squirrelly.

 

[bullfrog]

If I were to get another Radmini I would get the step through frame. The fat tire in 20” has worked well off road for me at 5’ 10”. The step through frame would allow you to dismount quicker on uneven ground I believe.

 

[Allan1958]

I travel with my bike on an exterior bike rack. I use a heavy cable lock to secure it to the rack. There have been a few times when I removed the front wheel to make the bike less desirable (quick release wheel takes about 15 seconds). Some bikes also come with a quick release seat post. If I had an expensive seat I would remove my seat.

Bike rack with bike is definitely not stealthy.  

Ride Long And Prosper.

 

[becida]

This year instead of a motorcycle I am carrying a folding 20" bike on the open trailer with my quad. Xpec brand, $179 Amazon. Also have a 35cc 4 stroke engine kit, $200 that can be installed in 1 minute. Not worried about theft because I don't camp in towns. I find the 20" wheel a a bit squirrelly.

Can I get some details on the engine kit?

 

[hugemoth]

Bikeberry.com is where I ordered it. 38cc 4 stroke friction drive. I added quick release mounts to make it quick.

 

[JohnnyM]

Those Lectric ebikes like Bob and Suanne have been giving away in the sweepstakes are arguably the best value out there at $899 USD complete with lights, fenders, and rear rack. They even ship for free.

Bullfrog's Rad Mini and any of the other bikes made by Rad Power are also great machines. They cost a little more, but they have lots of fun features and accessories plus a dealer network.

Johnny

 

[hugemoth]

Electric is a great way to go as long as you have a good way to charge it, and range isn't an issue.

 

[bullfrog]

Another small problem with any powered bicycle is increased tire wear. The driven tire on my RadMini wears out at about 1000 miles where as my front is at about 1/2 the wear in tread depth so every couple of years I will have to replace a tire. I believe the friction drive units have a little higher rate of wear so watch your tread depth. My kids keep stealing mine, I really don’t understand after all I’m the one with the bad knee! It will give me a excuse to maybe try a trike as my wife has balance and knee problems and I’m stuck with no bike again.

 

[hugemoth]

I've had belt drive, chain drive, 2 stroke, 4 stroke, and push trailer. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages. If you want to peddle without the drag of a belt or chain, friction drive is the way to go (or electric). Yes the tire will wear out faster but a heavy duty slick tread high pressure tire holds up pretty well.

The Bikeberry kit is rather crude compared to the Staton kit but much cheaper. It requires some modifications before it'll work well. The supplied 1.577" roller needs to be ground down to 1" or less for most uses. The Huasheng engine supplied with the Bikeberry kit is a good reliable copy of the Honda GX35.

As far as choosing a bike, a full size bike with 26" or larger wheels feels more stable but takes up more room.

 

[bullfrog]

The 20” fat tire ends up being a couple inches taller than a standard 20” tire. And anyone with less than a 30” inseam the RadMini might be difficult to mount and dismount. My wife who is even shorter than I am has caught her foot on the bike a few times which is why I would recommend a step thru frame. I watched a video of a guy touring on a fat tire bike with no assist, unless you are going down hill all the way I sure wouldn’t want to do it. Fat tires are great off road or on sand or gravel roads at lower pressures.

 

[hugemoth]

A couple of my friends have 20" fat tire electric bikes. Very nice, very expensive, but they do great on the packed gravel bars near Quartzite. My skinny wheel bike not so much.

 

[tx2sturgis]

The 4" fat tires are thorn magnets....if there is a sharp nail, screw or cactus needle anywhere along your path, those 4 inch tires are sure to find it.

Be sure to carry along an extra tube or two, maybe an extra tire, and some tools for changing or patching the tires, and I put Slime in my tires...it does help.

 

[bullfrog]

I had a desert mountain bike racer turned mobile bike mechanic that showed me the secret to preventing flats on a fat tire electric bike (with electric bikes where wheel weight isn’t much of an issue). After putting one side of the new tire on the rim he took my old tube after cutting out the fill valve and around the inside where the spoke protector would normally touch the tube and laid it in the new tire to act as a liner. The commercial ones are too stiff and will eventuality cut or pinch the tube causing a flat. He then inserted the slightly inflated new tube in the new tire sandwiching the old tube between the new tube and new tire. He put the valve of the new tube thru the rim hole and installed the cap to keep it from pulling out, finished installing the tire on the rim and lined everything up. He then inflated the tire to make sure the bead seated correctly. He then removed the valve stem and squirted in about 4 oz. of Stan’s pure latex tire sealant and rode the bike several hundred yards. I’ve had the tire go down twice in two years and have several Russian Olive thorns thousands of “goat heads” go into and through the tire. I just leave them in there usually if they make it to the tube. Many are 1/8” or better in diameter. I just add a couple oz. of Stan’s, pump it up and ride some distance then top off the next morning if low. I have so many thorns I will probably have to buy two new tubes for liners when I replace the tires. I highly recommend this for any powered bicycle ridden in the Southwest.