Using bicycles if shtf

[sniper 55]

I think a bike is a great BOV, it's a lot quicker than walking, it'll carry a fair weight, it's very quiet, and it'll go pretty much anywhere a person on foot can go. A bike is also a lot easier to hide than a car.
Back in my younger days we'd often go 30/40 miles for a run in an evening, and my record for a single day was 100 miles (everyready century run) and I wouldn't consider myself super fit by any means. Theres lots of charity runs and I know people who haven't ridden in years do 20/30 milers, ok they probably suffer after but if you need to leg it away from town it'll do the job.

[Deeps]

One of these bad boys should see you right.

[sniper 55]

One of these bad boys should see you right.

I think that might be me in my younger days.....

[MissAnpassad]

A bike is really a better BOV than any vehicle with motors. It's silent, it's lightweight, it doesn't need fuel and anyone that has functioning legs and balance can use it.

I worked one winter at a hotel and transported myself to work via a bike. There were several occasions when I was the only one that came to work due to the weather. One day there had been a storm and a lot of trees had fallen, an other day there was such a heavy snowfall so the snow plows couldn't keep up, my coworkers got stuck behind fallen trees, snow drifts, slid down into ditches and even got stuck in traffic jams, I just lifted my bike up on my shoulder and passed the obstacle.

If I would buy a trailer for my bike, I would buy one with just two big wheels, they work better off road than any four wheel version.

[Jan Smits]

SHTF I can see myself surrounded by civil unrest so bug in would seem the way. If it's an ongoing but localised problem, an early-morning flit by bike would be my way to go. Yes, stuff can happen on a bike, but a lot more stuff can happen if you're walking through the streets looking like a target. And motorised vehicles can't be picked up and lifted over fallen trees/debris.

I'm new to this prepping malarkey, but noticed most 'Personal Development' lists include getting in shape, well, Cycling! I can say that though as the key seems to be to play to your strengths and I'm a committed cyclist already.

^^MissAnpassad - is there such a thing in Sweden as chains for bike tyres? I went cycling in snow here once, but as it got to around 4inches deep my tyres started to skid.

[featherstick]

I don't think that chains exist, but studded bike tyres do, and I've even seen people make their own with a spare tyre and a few dozen small nuts, bolts and washers.

[MissAnpassad]

I use studded bike tyres, just like Featherstick wrote. But there is a hack to make summertyres into winter ones. But this is for snow, not ice. http://www.nyteknik.se/incoming/article ... k1_468.jpg
And don't choose a bike with slim tyres, mine are the thickest i could find.

[digi]

A bike features heavily in my total SHTF situation as im seperated from my entire family and the entire 50 mile trek can be done in a little under 4 hours. heavy snow WOULD screw things up, even with a £1k all terrain bike, theres some things you simply cannot plan for or work around, i think youd be hard pressed to find anything in the UK that would run on 12" of snow as good as it would on a hot tarmac road

[MissAnpassad]

A bike features heavily in my total SHTF situation as im seperated from my entire family and the entire 50 mile trek can be done in a little under 4 hours. heavy snow WOULD screw things up, even with a £1k all terrain bike, theres some things you simply cannot plan for or work around, i think youd be hard pressed to find anything in the UK that would run on 12" of snow as good as it would on a hot tarmac road

In that much snow, I use a kicksled instead and put plastic skids on it.

[digi]

A bike features heavily in my total SHTF situation as im seperated from my entire family and the entire 50 mile trek can be done in a little under 4 hours. heavy snow WOULD screw things up, even with a £1k all terrain bike, theres some things you simply cannot plan for or work around, i think youd be hard pressed to find anything in the UK that would run on 12" of snow as good as it would on a hot tarmac road

In that much snow, I use a kicksled instead and put plastic skids on it.

in the UK a slight dusting of snow brings the whole country to a standstill, in the past ive used a roadworks barrier as a sledge, but the UK in general is screwed in anything more than a slight frost lol