Moving a bike about

mroli

So I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but here goes.

I have a mate that lives right by Richmond Park. He doesn't ride a bike, but I'd like him to (and he is getting into it). I live about 2 miles from him. Is there anyway that I can ride a bike over to him? I can "ghost" ride one over (ie one hand on my bars, one hand on the bars of the bike next to me), but it is a bit far through traffic. I guess I could use a backpack to put it on my back and ride it that way - but that makes me very wide, is uncomfortable and a bit awkward.

I looked at the Trailor Gaitor - but that'll only do up to 20" wheeled bikes....

The other question is kind of linked - I have a scooter (vespa type thing) - does anyone know of a way that I can transport a bike on my scooter? I have thought about bodging a solution by putting bars across the scooter and attaching a Thule carrier and I've seen online people giving some thought to something off of the rear portion - any thoughts?

Your creative ideas welcomed.

t.m.h.n.e.t

The 2 mile walk from his to yours will warm his legs up

pdstsp

+1. Tell the lazy bu##er to come and get it.

TommyEss

For two miles, make him walk - failing that, here's a nice but rather pricey solution...

http://www.carryfreedom.com/custom.html

keef66

+3; far easier / safer to get the pedestrian to come to the bike surely. If he's that bloody lazy, he isn't going to take too well to road cycling!

Pross

Or ride over to him and get him to give you a 'backy' back to your place - any future riding will seem easy after that!

ddraver

the Dutch way would be for you to ride one handed, holding the other bike by the stem....

random man

He doesn't sound like much of a mate to me
Anyway, I've heard, but I may be wrong, about these large red vehicles with big wheels that can carry about 50 people. I think they're called buses or something, maybe he could get on one if he's too idle to walk, and come and fetch the bike :?

islwyn

Buy some cheap rollerblades from Lilywhites in town, give them to him as a gift - bosh.... He can warm up by skating to you.

mroli

Ah - he's not too idle at all, I'm just trying to think of a nicer way to get it over to him seeing as I go over that way anyway. I think there must genuinely be a market here for something!!!

pst88

You could dismantle it and take it over piece by piece strapped to a backpack. Frame one day, wheels the next etc. Of course that's way more effort than just riding it there and making your own way back.

Yossie

Cakll cab

Put bike in cab together with yourself.

Cab delivers you and bicycle to matey.

Matey pays cab there and cab back for you.

Job jobbed.

Alternatively, post it or courier it and make him pay. That'll learn the lazy fecker for not catching a bus/tube/cab 2 miles to pick it up. Strip it down completely and send it in 300 bits - that way he will learn essential bike maintenance at the same time.

Redhog14

I fear this relationship is doomed from the start, from what I can discern: your mate who is 2 miles away and could walk to your house in under 1 hr easy can't be bothered to come over and collect a free bike that you then expect him to ride alongside you... making that assumption that you are a fair to middling cyclist who could cover 30-40 miles on a ride I have to say I don't think this is a riding buddy match made in heaven. Buy him a wii.

MattC59

mroli wrote:

I guess I could use a backpack to put it on my back and ride it that way - but that makes me very wide, is uncomfortable and a bit awkward.

Not to mention f*cking stupid and dangerous !!!!!!! :shock:
Get him to walk, bus or cab over, it's only 2miles FFS !!

sorry I don't have a more constructive answer, but really ?!?!?

mroli

TBF, at no point have I asked him to come over and he has refused to! I'm kind of looking for solution to a non-existent problem (at least other than in my own head). I freely admit I could a) Lend him a bike, b) pay money to get the bike over to him, c) Get him to make the efffort, but I'm just interested if there is an alternative solution.

I've just AA journey plannered it and it is actually closer to 4 miles - as I have said, I'm cycling over that way anyway, so I could cycle there in 15 minutes - if there was anyway I could take a bike with me, that would be great!

I could just put both bikes on my car rack and drive over - but that involves getting the car out and seems like a waste of time/petrol/unenvironmental. He could drive over, but the same thing. The traffic is often pretty cack also (and takes longer than the bike).

Out of curiosity, I've checked journey planner and it would take him 87 minutes to walk to my place. We'd probably go out for about an hour on the bikes round RP - so he would have to walk for nearly 3 hours (here and back). There are buses, but he'd have to take 2 and do a bit of a walk - so that would be an hour and a half (both ways) to go for an hour's cycle.

Really I just wondered if anyone had seen anything on this basis before - the only thing I have found is the oldfashioned sprint carriers for carrying race wheels: http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/components/cyclo-sprint-wheel-carrier.html (although I have carried wheels on my back).

If you took the wheels off, then I guess it could be just the diamond frame on your back with wheels on top, so not that big a package - like this

But I was thinking of something neater - maybe a bar from head tube to headtube lifting the front wheel slightly and another bar at the back? Or a Trailor Gator at a sharper angle that would lift the front wheel higher?

I can think of a number of times that it would be good to move a bike around just using my bike so I could cycle back again, so don't tell me it isn't possible - tell me how you would do it!!!!

TommyEss

I already showed you an awesome trailer that has a bike carrier - albeit expensive - they use a ~£200 trailer and add a pricey thule roof rack carrier. I reckon any bike trailer + length of 2x4 + fork adapter (like that Saris one) could = decent bike trailer.

mroli

Oh - and in relation to carrying it on a scooter/motorbike, found some interesting links:

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=101906 Looks a bit more hardcore than I want - but interesting set up.

This looks like the sort of solution I'm interested in, but the link doesn't go anywhere: http://www.bikeaddict.com/products/motorcycle-bike-racks.html

This however is surely just taking the Michael:

This looks the neatest:

mroli

TommyEss wrote:

I already showed you an awesome trailer that has a bike carrier - albeit expensive - they use a ~£200 trailer and add a pricey thule roof rack carrier. I reckon any bike trailer + length of 2x4 + fork adapter (like that Saris one) could = decent bike trailer.

Yes Tommy - sorry, I wasn't ignoring your suggestion, merely thinking about it. Obviously horrendously expensive with the carry freedom, could do it much cheaper as you suggest with a cheaper trailer. Is it over-engineering though - is there an easier solution that doesn't involved another wheeled vehicle to transport a wheeled vehicle?!

timmyturbo

i used to do it all the time , i would service bikes in Bristol , and carry them back to my house on my shoulder , if it's lightweight you should be able to do it . I was once at the zetland rd traffic lights in Bristol , and Adam Heart-Davis pulled up on his multi coloured mountain bike and said "Are you carrying the spare bike in case you get a puncture " ? hilarious !!

cougie

So. You can't be arsed driving the bike over.
He can't be arsed driving over to collect it.

Any bike carrier will cost more than 8 miles of petrol.

He's not going to cycle. Id just find a new friend.

Monkeypump

cougie wrote:

So. You can't be arsed driving the bike over.
He can't be arsed driving over to collect it.

Any bike carrier will cost more than 8 miles of petrol.

He's not going to cycle. Id just find a new friend.

This. And surely find a better use of time than this thread (and all the thought/research you're putting into it)

mroli

*sigh* I don't think you're reading the thread in the way I intend you to.

At no point have I ever said that neither I nor he can be arsed to drive any bike anywhere... I just think there must be (might be) an elegant solution that doesn't involve a car

Oh well, maybe I'll invent something so clever and simple that you'll all be riding to your friends' houses with spare bikes...!

amaferanga

If you can fit a pannier rack to your bike then all you need to do is use some straps or bungee ties to fix the front wheel of the other bike to the rack (with padding or something to make sure the other bike is upright). Simple and cheap, but I wouldn't much fancy riding around in a busy city with it.

mroli

Hmm - that's interesting - I guess you could fit something like this on top of the pannier too: http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php?2892 and that would give you a more secure connection. Just thinking about tracking and wondering if it'd work, but as long as it was attached securely guess it should be fine. I think I have a winner! (Although my bike won't fit a rack....!)

donkykong

box it up in a big cardboard box,
fill box with plenty of padding, like a bale of soft straw or hay
do a good tape up job, book the now heavy box with parcelforce for a 24 or 48 hour delivery,
your buddy will be so chuffed with you when he opens the box, and will thank you greatly for doing such a wonderful packing job.

oh such deep joy.