Bike for bugging out

Heck with that folks, I rode my bicycle across America 3 times, and once roundtrip on the Eastern Seaboard. My middle name is PEDAL! You won't get much sleep if you hang in my camp Sgt Art, I can regal you with all the bicycle related info you'll ever want to know on bike touring/bugging out. You should'a bought my 'bugout bike' that I sold last year!!
 
My Spec. Stumpjumper is ready to go.


Calling it Spec. instead of Specialized makes it sound so much more tacticool. :)
 
The biggest problem I found with the idea of using a Bike as a BOV was for me, their was no way to keep the family together and moving safely. Kids dont tend to ride as fast (or as times too fast) as the adults.

I have a pair of Specialized "Hybirds" of some sort, bought them years ago for myself and my wife. They work, but if you are in any kind of a group trying to cover less then prefect ground, someone getting lost becomes a real possibility. For a solo act, I guess a bike would be just fine. :)

I like your PSK set up, but I would think of exchanging the Cadet for any Alox SAK with a woodsaw. If the size is a consideration, +SwissBanico has a 84mm Lumberjack that would fit the bill, or a Scibeer 91mm Woodsman (Main Blade, Woodsaw, Awl). The Gossman PSK is second to none, Scott makes a great blade.
 
My main SAK for anywhere off the hardtop is usually a Farmer or Forester with the saw. That day the Forester was attached to my bag and the Cadet was in the pocket.
 
a good bob for cheap is an older steel framed mtb. Check your local craigslist, etc. Most aren't highly valued any more by those that want light weight, etc. Get one without suspension and if you 'need' it, get a brooks sprung seat. The chainstays are long enough for panniers/racks and someone mentioned schwalbe tires above +1. These bikes are tough enough to withstand the abuse of offroad touring, mtn riding, etc.

Backpacks/msg bags on bikes isn't favorable. It cooks your back. In really technical terrain, having weight on the bike or your back is equally unfavorable so you have to decide on that one if it is an environment you plan on encountering. On smooth or relatively smooth surfaces (up to fire road coarseness), weight on the bike is easier to deal with.

I wouldn't be to keen for down hill runs on mine, but it is my beater commuter and I have a couple of other bikes for going fast. 50 -100 bucks plus a tune up and you have a venerable ride. Think if it as a RAT, ranger rd, etc. of the bike world: not so fancy, $ or advanced, but it works and will take all the abuse you can dish out. You can always outfit them with parts upgrades if desired too.
 
MrCoffee said:
The biggest problem I found with the idea of using a Bike as a BOV was for me, their was no way to keep the family together and moving safely. Kids dont tend to ride as fast (or as times too fast) as the adults.
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My daughter has been pretty good at doing 25 mile rides with my wife and I since she was 8 (she just turned 11 - when she ups up to a bigger bike, she'll probably be able to go farther). She's a pretty lazy kid too (aren't they all now?). But she's pretty good with the 25 miles. With a PB&J sandwich at the midpoint and a candy bar break at mile 20 to prevent an emotional breakdown, she's good, stays with the pack.

I guess when SHTF, convenience takes a back seat to dependability. A properly setup bike should be able to get you almost anywhere you need to go. Just make sure you bring some chain lube and metric allen wrenches.
 
Hey Art,

Wouldn't a dirt bike (scrambler) be a better bet in that terrain?

I realise you'd have to find fuel for it, but the smaller engined ones are pretty light on gas and you'll cover terrain a lot faster.

Be a lot more fun to ride in the bargain :D
 
wintermute said:
My daughter has been pretty good at doing 25 mile rides with my wife and I since she was 8 (she just turned 11 - when she ups up to a bigger bike, she'll probably be able to go farther). She's a pretty lazy kid too (aren't they all now?). But she's pretty good with the 25 miles. With a PB&J sandwich at the midpoint and a candy bar break at mile 20 to prevent an emotional breakdown, she's good, stays with the pack.

I guess when SHTF, convenience takes a back seat to dependability. A properly setup bike should be able to get you almost anywhere you need to go. Just make sure you bring some chain lube and metric allen wrenches.
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Yes, I can see the sense to this, it just hasn't been my experience that it works all that well. Of course my youngest boy is a special needs kids, and that causes a whole second set of issues with bugging out to begin with. My older boy is pretty good about things, but he and my wife are not in the same kind of shape I am in, and I bet once the stress of bugging out hits, I am going to have a really hard time to keep a pace they can all match. Not only that, but the drive to get to our "safe haven" will make it harder.

Add in traffic, and drivers, people trying to get out themselves that dont have a bike and think yours looks pretty good, and all the other stresses of that situation, and you could have a lot of problems that would be avoided by being in a truck or car. Of course the flipside is making sure you have a way of getting something the size of a truck or car to where you need/want to go.

I have racked my brain on this subject, talked to dozens of friends and people about it. We got a hybrid three wheeled bike for my youngest, which he loves to ride, and have tried a number of times to put some sort of plan of action together on how to make this work. Bottomline (from my point of view) is that you are multiplying the issue and possible problems by taking one group in a truck/car and turning it into a number of solo targets. Even at the best of times, keeping a group of bike riders together can be a challenge.

If it was me, going it alone, I can see using a bike 100%, it would actually simplify a lot of things like not needing gas, or if properly equipped, even a trail. As a family, it is a huge risk.

(Sorry all, got long winded... :O )
 
gdtrfb said:
I wouldn't be to keen for down hill runs on mine, but it is my beater commuter and I have a couple of other bikes for going fast. 50 -100 bucks plus a tune up and you have a venerable ride. Think if it as a RAT, ranger rd, etc. of the bike world: not so fancy, $ or advanced, but it works and will take all the abuse you can dish out. You can always outfit them with parts upgrades if desired too.
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I disagree. Cheap bikes are not like RATs and Rangers. RATs and Rangers are tough. The frame on a steel bike might be tough, but it also has moving parts. The components on a bike that isn't even chromoly steel are likely to be absolute junk. You don't want to be stuck somewhere with your planned vehicle out of order because your derailer just ate itself.
 
Buffalohump said:
Hey Art,

Wouldn't a dirt bike (scrambler) be a better bet in that terrain?

I realise you'd have to find fuel for it, but the smaller engined ones are pretty light on gas and you'll cover terrain a lot faster.

Be a lot more fun to ride in the bargain :D
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I amy consider that there were quite a few where I was riding. I was thinking of a bycycle in terms of roads blocked with vehicle traffic and the inability to get fuel. I can hook the bike rack to the back of my car as backup. If I go with a dirt bike it means $buying$ and training the family to ride and we all have bikes we can ride.
 
CaptInsano said:
I disagree. Cheap bikes are not like RATs and Rangers. RATs and Rangers are tough. The frame on a steel bike might be tough, but it also has moving parts. The components on a bike that isn't even chromoly steel are likely to be absolute junk. You don't want to be stuck somewhere with your planned vehicle out of order because your derailer just ate itself.
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Uh, at no time did I say cheap bike. Older steel mtn bikes (chromoly) just aren't that desireable to most these days so you can get them used for a good price. cheap implies crappy/poor quality. Anything with moving parts will fault at some point.

Think of an older cromo mtn bike as a full tang, good (but not great) steel, no frills example in the knife world. May not be a rat or a ranger, but it is much tougher than a mora. What type of bicycle would compare to a RAT or Ranger?
 
gdtrfb said:
Uh, at no time did I say cheap bike. Older steel mtn bikes (chromoly) just aren't that desireable to most these days so you can get them used for a good price. cheap implies crappy/poor quality. Anything with moving parts will fault at some point.

Think of an older cromo mtn bike as a full tang, good (but not great) steel, no frills example in the knife world. May not be a rat or a ranger, but it is much tougher than a mora. What type of bicycle would compare to a RAT or Ranger?
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Probably any chromoly(or perhaps a nicer material, aluminum, metal matrix, but probably not Trek's composite) bike with GOOD welds, without anything more than surface rust, front shock or not it probably won't make a difference for these purposes but if it is sprung it should be a quality shock, and a drive train with components of quality no lower than something like the Shimano XT line. Cantilever brakes are a requisite and V brakes would probably be better. You could probably skimp on the crank if you aren't a gigantic guy.

You should be able to beat on that bastard for quite a while.
 
The Viet Cong used to use bikes as as a vehicle for transporting supplies down the Ho Chi Minh trail under some very rough conditions. There was a really good photo posted here showing how loaded down the bikes were. Maybe someone can post it.

The bike can be used as a cross country wheel barow. Goes anywhere.
 
Like this.
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Does this count? My pedal bicycle is in a sorry state of disrepair.

If there is anywhere I can't go in my 4x4 truck, I could always hop on this urban assault/off road vehicle with a little tail bag, and a back pack. It gets about 150 miles a tank, can tackle most trails, even where they don't really exist. I can lift it over obstacles, and haul ass at over 100 miles an hour if I need to.

croppedcycle1.jpg

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Orrey45 that looks like some homeless dude's ride, that's no 'touring bike rig' LMAO!

A bike bugout is'nt a family solution IME. It's for a single guy, or guys that are fit and used to riding together, as are light motorcycles. I've ridden a lot in past years, not much in the last 7 though. I recall how difficult it was for fit, dedicated touring cyclists to 'stay together' during cross country hauls, let alone having people of varying ages, abilities and other issues thrown in.

I'd say get a Suburban for a family deal, and just head out on the backroads, you need a tank not a bike! What part of NH are you 'fleeing from'? It's got pretty low taxes, lots of decent backroads, pretty sparse populations most places, lots of easily accessed wilderness...I mean geeze, has the media hype addled ya' man? Having spent enough time in NH in the past 35 years I'd be hard put to want to get on a bike to bugout; much rather put on my pack and just walk in.....
 
Yeah, that's a nice ride bigfatty! You just have to be able to ride it in no road terrain, which is'nt as easy as it sounds. I enjoy watching 'trials bike' but could never master doing it...Have plenty of offroad time though and enjoy the riding.
 
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