Bicycle BOVS

[Lightspeed]

We are great fans of Bicycles as a means of transport, and our plans include them both for Bug-Out Transport and for general transport in the long term.

Here’s our experience, what we have decided on, and why:

1. Most important factor is training. Unlike a motor car, simply owning the most expensive cross country or fastest road bike is completely for nothing if we do not have the strength, stamina and skill needed to ride them fully loaded over the distances and terrain required in our BO plans.

Without training, we will not get far on a bicycle BOV

We try to do at least one 20mile ride each week throughout the year. Our standard ride is to a very nice little pub, so we have a good incentive to get out there even when the weather is bad.

2. Second priority is Fit and adjustment: All points of contact between our bodies and the bike need to be adjusted for good fit. This is to get maximum efficiency from our pedalling efforts and to ensure that we are comfortable in the saddle for extended periods of time.

3. Saddles: Even more so than the bike itself, spending a fortune on a saddle is no guarantee that it will be a good and comfortable fit. All too often the saddle that feels most comfortable when I first sit on it at the shop, turns out to be torture after a few miles actual riding. Through painful experience each of my family now has a saddle that we can ride on for many hours. The saddles on our bikes are a completely mixed bag, but all chosen first for long range comfort and then for durability.

4. Tool kit and spares: From the training and adjustment processes a simple portable toolkit for our specific bikes has been assembled. Experience has shown us that things fail on bicycles when they are needed most, and usually when we are at the furthest point away from home.

5. Standardisation: We have standardised our bikes. They all have the same wheel size, same or very similar gear systems, same accessory bolt types, same saddle post diameters, same carrier types etc. This means that less spares need be carried within the group.

6. Bike type: We use simple 7 speed 26” wheeled mountain bikes.

a. Steel frames: Because steel is more resilient and less prone to fracture than Alu, and if damaged they can be cold set ( bent back into shape without the need of welding / brazing gear)

b. 26” wheels because these are the most abundant. There is more chance of being able to scavenge replacement wheels tyres and tubes for this size than any other. Pre SHTF, cost of 26” components is lowest as well.

c. Gear changers: Wherever possible we use old Shimano brand thumb shifters. These are very simple construction, ultra reliable, and have the capability to use in both friction mode or indexed mode. In friction mode it is possible to use these shifters with alternative gearings. What this means is that although our systems use 7 speed gears, the changer will also allow the use of wheels with 5 speed 6 speed and even 8 speed gears on them. We feel this is an important capability for long term preparedness.

d. Brakes: All our BOV bikes have cantilever brakes, for standardisation. Probably if we were equipping ourselves with bikes for the first time today, we’d go with linear-pull brakes as they are now readily available, low cost, powerful and durable. They cannot be retrofitted without also changing all of the brake levers as well as the pull rate on cantilevers and linear-pull is different.

e. Suspension: No. None of our BOV bikes have any suspension, because there is less to go wrong, lighter weigh, and less pedalling energy gets absorbed in the suspension movement. On very rough terrain we sometimes miss suspension forks, but on good surfaces we find non suspension forks make for easier control of heavy loads, and greater mileages.

7. Carriers: We only use tubular steel carriers. Reason is the same as for steel frames: they are strong and resilient, and if damaged can be bent back into shape/ repaired using low tech methods.

8. Mud Guards: Our Bug out plans are mainly based on travelling on lanes and small paths. For this, standard mudguards are fitted to all of the bikes. For true cross country use, so-called Crud Catchers would be better as they have greater clearance from the tyres and are less prone to getting clogged with mud.

9. Clothing: If we are considering long distances by bicycle, cycle specific clothing makes the task more comfortable. Gloves and padded shorts are worth considering.