Bicycles...what kind do you have?

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Mine is a used Fuji "comfort" bike. It's like a mountain bike but with adjustable handlebars and a wider seat. 21 speed (I only use about 4 of them) and has front and rear suspension.

I'm not an experienced biker. It's my first "good" bike. I got it for $240 out the door cost. It would be $6-700 new. I've only put a frame mounted drink holder and a little insulated cooler/gear bag on it. So far, so good...no problems.

I only had K-mart bikes before. Getting a better quality bike is a real eye opener. Everything is lighter, smoother, faster, and of much better quality. If I was looking for a bike, I'd do some research online, then go looking for a used "bike shop" bike. You can spend as much as you want, some new high end bikes cost more than a used Chevy Malibu. The big advantage to a bike shop is that you should get good advice for buying what will fit your needs and get help setting up the bike to fit you. They won't treat you like a dummy if you say you're a beginner.

I don't have any club or riding partners other than my daughter and she's hard for me to ride with because she stops all the time, sometimes without warning and for no reason. She also doesn't enjoy riding for fitness... I've found that the ride itself, trying to push myself a bit, is enjoyable in and of itself. I've almost become addicted to it.
 
My wife an I have matching Trek mountain bikes we bought new about 10 years ago. They have aluminum frames and front suspension. They have held up well probably because we don't use them as much as we should or would like to.
 
Last edited:
I have a couple Schwinn cruiser types. When I was a teenager, I rode my bike almost every day. In the summer, my friends and I rode our bikes all over town, looking for excitement.

Then I fell down the stairs at college. I have talked about that here before. That was life changing. My tailbone has never been the same since, and sitting on a bicycle seat is still not good. I have thought I need a specialized seat that is not so small, but somehow takes the pressure off my tailbone.

This is in health and fitness. I have often thought we could all benefit by having bikes when SHTF. The tires will have a limited life, but some creative person may be able to find other ways to create padded tires, maybe from leather. I have also long wanted a bike trailer. Walking a bike loaded with stuff that is too heavy to carry is something that Asian's have figured out. Getting creative, we could create baskets and other ways of supporting our goods while moving.
 
I have a couple Schwinn cruiser types. When I was a teenager, I rode my bike almost every day. In the summer, my friends and I rode our bikes all over town, looking for excitement.

Then I fell down the stairs at college. I have talked about that here before. That was life changing. My tailbone has never been the same since, and sitting on a bicycle seat is still not good. I have thought I need a specialized seat that is not so small, but somehow takes the pressure off my tailbone.

This is in health and fitness. I have often thought we could all benefit by having bikes when SHTF. The tires will have a limited life, but some creative person may be able to find other ways to create padded tires, maybe from leather. I have also long wanted a bike trailer. Walking a bike loaded with stuff that is too heavy to carry is something that Asian's have figured out. Getting creative, we could create baskets and other ways of supporting our goods while moving.
Absolutely correct, @Weedygarden that bikes could be very useful. If you're stuck on a gridlocked road, a bike could allow you to get around the cars. A bike fitted with a rack and basket could, in theory, carry quite a bit of gear. With a small trailer one could add maybe 100 pounds to what you already have. Of course with gear and a backpack it would get real hard to pedal, but still faster and more capacity than walking. Plus, in the long term, it's just a good way to go short distances. The Europeans have long used bikes, and we should too. At least, more than we do. After all, Europeans have much less weight problems than us, and it's not just their diets. They get places under their own power too...
 
Rural America is not bike friendly. I would ride a bike but I would probably get ran over the first week. The highway between my house and town is known as dead cat road, 2 lanes, narrow gravel shoulders and 55 MPH makes a dangerous place to ride. There is a cat or dog killed weekly, or more often and I would be treated no better than the cats and dogs. There is a riding path from one town to the next but I would have to load a bike in the truck and drive to the path. Seems silly so I wouldn't do it. I had a guy from Holland come to help me install a CT scanner once. He rode his bike, walked or took public transportation everywhere he went in Holland. He drove but knew nothing about automatic transmissions. He put his rental car in 1 but went to 2 because it made too much noise going over the mountains.
I have looked into small gas powered bikes to take me to remote fishing places. As long as they are less than 50cc they are not considered a motorcycle
 
I have been looking at electric bikes but I just cannot justify the expense.
If a person could afford to equip a family, I think this would be a good investment. The challenges would be: how far you could travel on a charge; how you would charge it again in a SHTF situation (solar possibility).

I have looked into small gas powered bikes to take me to remote fishing places. As long as they are less than 50cc they are not considered a motorcycle
This is good to know. There was a guy in my hometown who had a gas motor on his bicycle. I have a neighbor who has an older bike that has a gas powered motor. I am not sure where he got his, but he is someone who finds things like that and has collections of many useful things.
 
Rural America is not bike friendly. I would ride a bike but I would probably get ran over the first week. The highway between my house and town is known as dead cat road, 2 lanes, narrow gravel shoulders and 55 MPH makes a dangerous place to ride. There is a cat or dog killed weekly, or more often and I would be treated no better than the cats and dogs. There is a riding path from one town to the next but I would have to load a bike in the truck and drive to the path. Seems silly so I wouldn't do it. I had a guy from Holland come to help me install a CT scanner once. He rode his bike, walked or took public transportation everywhere he went in Holland. He drove but knew nothing about automatic transmissions. He put his rental car in 1 but went to 2 because it made too much noise going over the mountains.
I have looked into small gas powered bikes to take me to remote fishing places. As long as they are less than 50cc they are not considered a motorcycle
Safety is an issue for sure. I don't ride highways yet. I imagine that in time I will, as I've made a goal to do a 20 mile ride eventually. But our rural highways here aren't bike friendly.

Loading the bike up to go to a trail isn't silly though. I know a fair amount of people who do, including my ex MIL and FIL. In fact my ex MIL did a 70+ mile ride last summer at age 65 during RAGBRAI. She does trails several times a week and has to drive to all of them. The fact that she can ride like that at her age motivates me.
 
If a person could afford to equip a family, I think this would be a good investment. The challenges would be: how far you could travel on a charge; how you would charge it again in a SHTF situation (solar possibility).

This is good to know. There was a guy in my hometown who had a gas motor on his bicycle. I have a neighbor who has an older bike that has a gas powered motor. I am not sure where he got his, but he is someone who finds things like that and has collections of many useful things.
One word: moped. Not sure what they're called in other countries. But what we called mopeds when I was a kid are still viable today. The faster scooters are much more popular but those slow old mopeds will get you where you're going. You just look kind of dorky riding one...:p
 
We have forward pedal bikes with nice seats but seldom ride anymore. Hubby never could ride on the dirt and dogs run loose on the roads and out running them is impossible. I still ride mine sometimes though. I taught all our dogs to run along side me on a leash. My old faithful Alice was very good at it. I miss her.
 
I had a ten speed years ago.
But I am not in shape to travel more then 10 miles these days.
I could walk better then ride a bike.
Now a horse or mule would be the best of the three.
 
@Weedygarden have you looked at a recumbent bike? They're expensive, but by shopping used you may find a pretty good deal. It may (or may not) be better on your backside...
Thank you, I have seen them and do think it would probably be my best option. I saw someone riding one a couple days ago, and really looked at the seat and the impact of it on a tailbone. I think it would be better than a typical bike. The one thing I always think about them is how low they are and that creates a low profile that is more difficult to see, creating more of a danger.
 
Equines are definitely viable. They do need to be fed and vetted though, and they eventually die.
Bikes like car die too.
Machines do not have babies, but a bike is good for the young & healthy. They work well on flat hard ground & concrete.
Grass is cheap & hay cost little if you gather it yourself.
 
Bikes like car die too.
Machines do not have babies, but a bike is good for the young & healthy. They work well on flat hard ground & concrete.
Grass is cheap & hay cost little if you gather it yourself.
All true, provided you have the ability to gather hay.

One other thing about horses (mules, donkeys, etc.), is, can you train them and handle them. I can handle horses on the ground fairly well, but I can't ride for s#&@, and I've never tried to drive a team. People do seem to forget that most of them do have a mind of their own. They don't realize that horses do what we want them to because someone taught them that it's easier to please us, than to do what they want to do. If they think they can get away with doing whatever they want to do, that's exactly what they'll do!
 
All true, provided you have the ability to gather hay.

One other thing about horses (mules, donkeys, etc.), is, can you train them and handle them. I can handle horses on the ground fairly well, but I can't ride for s#&@, and I've never tried to drive a team. People do seem to forget that most of them do have a mind of their own. They don't realize that horses do what we want them to because someone taught them that it's easier to please us, than to do what they want to do. If they think they can get away with doing whatever they want to do, that's exactly what they'll do!

I was raised on a farm & done all that, up to 27 horses.
Back to thread, I would want one of the bikes that had a pick up body on the back, 3 wheels to carry fruit & vegetables.
 
Thank you, I have seen them and do think it would probably be my best option. I saw someone riding one a couple days ago, and really looked at the seat and the impact of it on a tailbone. I think it would be better than a typical bike. The one thing I always think about them is how low they are and that creates a low profile that is more difficult to see, creating more of a danger.

When hubby got injured we had to give our horse and donkey away to good homes. We were offered about $4000 for them but we would have lost control of how they would be treated so we made them sign a paper saying we could visit them to see how they were treated ,both were glad to do that. Horse went to large animal vet who said it was the only horse he had ridden since his back injury that didn't hurt him ,Tobacco was a well trained Tennessee Walker. Rosie was a solid black Sicilian jenny.
 
All true, provided you have the ability to gather hay.

One other thing about horses (mules, donkeys, etc.), is, can you train them and handle them. I can handle horses on the ground fairly well, but I can't ride for s#&@, and I've never tried to drive a team. People do seem to forget that most of them do have a mind of their own. They don't realize that horses do what we want them to because someone taught them that it's easier to please us, than to do what they want to do. If they think they can get away with doing whatever they want to do, that's exactly what they'll do!
Donks too. Donks will please you they just think about for a minute first. And are smarter than horses not that horses aren't smart of course.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top