Bicycles

sgr143

sgr143

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I've been pondering the possibility of finding room for one or two folding bikes on the boat (I've been given two folding bikes!) for use in port, and come to the conclusion that even though Osprey's cockpit locker is pretty capacious for a 28' boat, there really isn't enough room. So it looked like shanks's pony only if away from base.

Then I had a minor brainwave. Oxford, where I live, like many other places, is suffering/enjoying (your pick) an explosion in the numbers of app-hire bicyles from ofo, Pony Bike and so on. It occurred to me that it would useful if one at least of these companies might keep some bikes at marinas... there'd likely be a ready market for hirers, especially in the summer, and the bikes (unlike those in town) would pretty much all come back to the place they went from, keeping stock control easy. I might even use them myself!

I wonder if the suggestion might take root if made to either marinas or the bike hire companies?
 
Hmmm. .......Doesn't fill me with enthusiasm.
How many sailors want to hire a bike in a given week in each marina? My guess would be not many and certainly not a money spinner for the hirer.
 
It is very common in Germany, and usually easy enough to find hired bikes elsewhere. Often the bikes are free to use, as at Scheveningen, or readily available. They are even available in my home marina. The most complicated hire I did was in Swinoujscie, where I was required to present my passport before taking over. Normally, we carry two bikes, which is one of the best ways of enhancing one's cruising. There was plenty of room for two folding bikes in the quarter berth of our Sadler 29, so I would try to take them if possible.
 
I'm not a marina regular but I've seen quite a few "older/used" bikes lurking about marina offices. I've always assumed they were loaned out to people that need to run into town etc.

I would imagine marinas wouldn't really want to pay the initial ££££ outlay to fund hire bikes, expecting many people to have their own folding bikes, walk or use public transport/taxies plus a lot of marinas seem to have plenty of shops etc build around or near them.

I would love to see more hire bikes, well people cycling generally.
 
Lymington yacht haven hires out bikes and even has electric versions which are great for carrying shopping home on a Sunday night when a trip to the corner shop involves a longer journey. I don't know if other yacht havens have this facility. At Yarmouth on iow and in Channel Islands e.g. Jersey hire shops are fairly close to marinas . I haven't looked to see if marina websites comment on cycle hire facilities. Clearly uber cyclesor rickshaw taxis would be another service hitch might be attractive in the Sumer for shopping trips of course .
 
Southampton has an app-based bike hire scheme, sort of a poor-man's version of Boris Bikes, so if you happened to be at Ocean Village or Town Quay I expect you could find one nearby. Can't remember the name of the scheme off-hand.

Pete
 
This is a great idea, Roscoff Marina have got a bike hire shop amongst their cafes etc, useful too as the town is a mile over the other side of the hill, so yes - surely most marinas in the UK could manage to have a few bikes to hire? I suppose they won't be overly excited as the sums of money are tiny and they would take up space unused for big chunks of time, but as an extra service it would be great to have and use.
 
johnalison said:
It is very common in Germany, and usually easy enough to find hired bikes elsewhere. ...
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We spent a few days storm-bound last year in Bormes-les-Mimosas, SoF. (Where they had the wild-fires soon after.) They had bikes which I think were free to use with a deposit, though we did not make use of them.

Mike.
 
We often hire bikes for longer trips when abroad as most places have shops nearby. Being lazy & more interested in sightseeing than cycling we go for electric bikes if we can get them.
However, for short trips, we bought very cheap folding bikes from Mailspeed in 2003, which have served us surprisingly well.
 
Whilst on the subject then - though probably covered elsewhere too;

Any recommendations for folding bikes? not electric, but good quality and reasonably resistant to our marina environments? I always end up thinking Brompton - but they are pretty costly.
 
Last time I was in France the people on the next boat got out a couple of folding bikes and headed off into town. I thought they looked pretty good so did an internet search - £800+ a go. Back to the drawing board!

FWIW a lot of shops in France will drive you back to your boat with your shopping foc. It's always worth asking.
 
johnalison said:
It is very common in Germany, and usually easy enough to find hired bikes elsewhere. Often the bikes are free to use, as at ........There was plenty of room for two folding bikes in the quarter berth of our Sadler 29, so I would try to take them if possible.
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Also in France.
Many marinas will find you a bike if you ask, some have a fleet but generally in areas where there is no bike hire. Where there are lots of rental shops, like the islands, it can be pretty inexpensive which has always put me off taking one of my own.

Hi johnalison - which bikes did you pick for the Sadler 29?
 
sgr143 said:
Pony Bike and so on.
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Is it just me or would others question the build quality of the product of a company with such a name?

Phildorset said:
Any recommendations for folding bikes? not electric, but good quality and reasonably resistant to our marina environments? I always end up thinking Brompton - but they are pretty costly.
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I don't necessarily mind spending a lot on a bike but I've seen what happens to bikes kept in a marina and I didn't fancy spending a grand on a brompton just to have it turn to rust. However Landau uk were showing a marinised brompton at excel this year. Don't recall the exact price but it added something like a couple of hundred to the base brompton price. I'm still considering it but given the boat show discount has now expired I may wait and see if they're flogging it at southampton in september.
 
There is now a blatant rip-off of the Brompton made by Dahon. It’s such a blatant rip-off that Brompton took Dahon to court over it and, amazingly, lost! Not sure on the price but should be cheaper than a Brompton. Look online. Apart from the cheeky Dahon rip-off, NOTHING comes close to the fold cleverness of a Brompton. I’ve owned Birdy’s and Dahon Speed Pro, which will both provide a faster and more efficient ride than a Brompton- but are much bigger when folded.

Edit: hmm, not cheaper it would seem. £1000 for a Dahon Curl.
 
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doug748 said:
Hi johnalison - which bikes did you pick for the Sadler 29?
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It had always been my ambition to have a boat big enough for carrying a couple of bikes and the Sadler was the first that could do this. We were very early in the folding bike story, getting ours in 1988 or 9. At the time there was little choice. The Bickerton although light was only a shopping bike, and most of the cheap ones just folded in half, so we got a pair of Danons. These were adequate, though with smaller wheels than current ones, and Sturmey-Archer gears. The quarter-berth in the 29 was very long, and it was simple to put two bikes in their bags on rugs and slide them down to the end of the berth, since we had specified vinyl for this berth as it was likely to get wet occasionally. I could still sleep in this berth myself if I needed to.
 
Seago do a range allegedly for boaties

I picked up a second hand one for £50 last year ...though I have to say it's not great and I wouldn't want to spend all day on it, it's useful for scurrying along around the french towns where we are tied up

French marina offices usually seem to have a handful of hire bikes

there seems to be a steady stream of second hand ones coming up though the on line secondary markets at £50-£100

It seems to me that bikes are usually a better buy second hand than new
 
We have a couple of Mezzo d9's for 6 years and thoroughly recommend them as a good alternative to Bromptons. They are available from around £300 used on eBay and worth every penny. Aluminium bikes with anodised frames and a good range of gears. Although they don't fold quite as small as a Brompton they are in many ways equal or better using standard bicycle industry parts. They live under the forward V berth very well and I wouldn't be without them as we've often used them when we are on the boat all over the place, good gears allow hills to enjoyed both up and down!
 
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sgr143 said:
I've been pondering the possibility of finding room for one or two folding bikes on the boat (I've been given two folding bikes!) for use in port, and come to the conclusion that even though Osprey's cockpit locker is pretty capacious for a 28' boat, there really isn't enough room. So it looked like shanks's pony only if away from base.

Then I had a minor brainwave. Oxford, where I live, like many other places, is suffering/enjoying (your pick) an explosion in the numbers of app-hire bicyles from ofo, Pony Bike and so on. It occurred to me that it would useful if one at least of these companies might keep some bikes at marinas... there'd likely be a ready market for hirers, especially in the summer, and the bikes (unlike those in town) would pretty much all come back to the place they went from, keeping stock control easy. I might even use them myself!

I wonder if the suggestion might take root if made to either marinas or the bike hire companies?
Click to expand...

Our marina (Locmiquélic) already has bikes at visitors' disposal. Free. Many other marinas do also.
 
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