Survival Bicycling - Part 2
Taking the concept of survival bicycling to the next level requires turning up the volume on the basics as well as adding another layer of preparedness and confidence. The first place to start is properly fitting the bike to your body and your needs.
by Doc MontanaThis article is Part 2 in the Survival Bicycling Series – Read Part 1
A bad fit will cause injury, inefficiency, and insecurity. Here are the three main fit considerations, and with a little practice, you will be able to eyeball the fit when you switch bikes saving the fine adjustments for later.
Proper Fitting:
1. Saddle height and angle: The seat or saddle as its called, should be positioned for proper knee extension and pedal pressure. Level the saddle (avoid tipping it down) and sit comfortably. Now place the ball of your foot on the center of the pedal directly over the spindle. Your knees should not go completely straight (or pop) when the pedal spins through the bottom of its rotation. And just as important your knee should not remain fairly bent throughout the pedal stroke. A straight knee is dangerously hard on the joint, and a bent knee is inefficient and causes excessive stress on the leg muscles as well as the joint. Use a handhold to balance on the bike and spin the pedals backwards adjusting the seat post height for a smooth, round pedal cycle, not a square, or pogo stick. And never over tighten the seat post binder bolt or quick release lever.
2. Handlebar position: the neck, back, arms, and weight distribution are controlled by the distance and height of the handlebars compared to the saddle. The more upright, the more weight on your butt and on the rear wheel. While comfort might increase, you lose pedaling power and increase wind resistance. If 90 degrees is fully upright, and zero degrees is a flat back like a triathlete in aero position, something in the 60 to 80 degree range is an effective riding position unless trying to outrun a bad guy or a bear. The issue with weight distribution has mostly to do with control when on rough or gravelly surfaces. Since weight equals traction you want to be able to shift your weight forward or backward depending on the need.
3. Hand position is the final critical fit concern. How and where you grip the handlebars makes a big difference in comfort and control. Brake levers and shifters should fit naturally into your hands while riding, and be second nature to operate. There is usually an inverse relationship between speed and comfort. If you plan on spending most of your time tooling around town, then placing the cockpit controls within easy reach is fine. But if you plan on riding aggressively, the controls must be positioned and operated under more extreme conditions–maybe while hanging on for dear life!
Tandem Bicycles:
Tandem bicycles, or bicycles built for two are much more than just a two-person bike, they are an entirely different riding experience. The survival aspects of a tandem are many including the ability to carry an injured partner, add a young child or two, and even taking shifts doing the work. The captain, or rider in front, controls the steering, shifting and braking, but either the captain or the stoker (the rear rider) can do the pedal work, but normally both do. Due to the close and uniform proximity of the riders, communication is easy and quite enjoyable.
The captain usually has his hands full, but the stoker can navigate, serve food, and even shoot a gun accurately while riding–well, about as accurately as shooting from a moving car. In a true SHTF situation, the stoker can even stand up and shoot forward over the captain’s head turning your bicycle into an assault vehicle or ultimate pedal-powered poaching pickup.
An add-on pseudo-tandem option is something called a Trail-a-Bike. It is a single wheeled contraption that mounts onto the seat post of almost any bike (or tandem for that matter) adding another seat and drivetrain. The Trail-a-Bike works only for younger kids due to weight and fit limitations, but its utilitarian value when the SHTF can’t be underestimated. You could even go so far as to strap the child to the bike and they could fall asleep while you pedaled along to your bug out location. I say this with some experience since one of my kids actually fell asleep on a Trail-a-Bike as we were riding through the trails of Yellowstone National Park. I do feel bad for not noticing sooner, but even slumped over the handlebars, we did cover some distance.
Bike Trailers:
Trailers are one of the best survival accessories you can put on a bike. Outside of quality, the only other main decision is if you want one or two wheels. The classic kid-carrying bike trailer is a two-wheeled design where a majority of the weight rests on the trailer’s tires. One-wheeled trailers split the load roughly in half between the bike’s rear wheel and the trailer’s single wheel.
So why would you want a single-wheel trailer? Great question. In reality, the single wheel design handles rough terrain better, has a lower center of gravity, and tracks much more predictably.
Two-wheeled trailers are very easy to crash into trees, catch on building corners, and sideswipe curbs because the distance between the wheels is about the same as a set of handlebars, but sticking out three feet behind you. A well-made single-wheel trailer like the B.O.B. Yak is ideal for non-human cargo. It follows you like a train car due to the articulation of the hitch back behind the rear wheel rather than at the rear axle like most two-wheel trailer designs. Basically, in a turn the B.O.B. wheel follows in the path of your rear bike wheel rather than cutting the corner.
So why would you want a two-wheeled trailer? Great question. Two-wheels keep the trailer upright as well as assume a disproportionate amount of the payload weight. They are great for hauling kids, groceries, and larger items. Trailers of the two-wheeled variety can also convert to strollers and handcarts. By adding a third wheel to the nose of the trailer, it can run double duty earning its keep both on and off the bike. If the trailer has a roll cage, then it becomes a small mobile shelter as well as keeping the cargo safer than if exposed to the elements.
A straight line between the wheels on a two-wheel trailer runs perpendicular to the direction of travel. So when you hit a bump with a two-wheeler, the entire trailer bounces up in the air.
While a bouncing two-wheel trailer can be the beginning of a disaster, single-wheel trailers love to go airborne and seem to relish in racking up frequent flyer miles. A quick spin around YouTube will document this fact as mountain bikers race down rough trails with a single-wheel trailer in tow. A two-wheeled trailer would likely have flown off the trail at the first turn, and either wrapped itself around a tree, or dragged the bike over the edge into oblivion.
So if your anticipated trailer needs include kid cargo, paved streets or smooth wide trails, look for two wheels. But if your plans involve tight turns, bumpy roads, or single track trails, then opt for one wheel.
Frame-mounted Racks:
Racks are an important solution for carrying equipment on a bike, but in most cases, they can move the center of gravity dangerously high if you don’t pack correctly. Unlike roof-top racks on a car, balance is essential for efficient and safe riding. As weight moves further above the ground, its lateral movement one way requires a noticeable equal and opposite force the other way causing a back and forth sway that if not dampened quickly will lead to the same fate as a drunken ice skater.
Bike Packs:
Panniers are the name for the saddlebags designed attach to the sides of a bike rack. Panniers can be complex and expensive, or little more than re-purposed day packs. The key is they have to attach firmly, allow unobstructed pedaling and steering, and keep their fingers out of the spokes and drivetrain. Panniers are great for securing heavier items below the top of the tire. As weight moves above the tire, the lateral forces are more likely to tilt the bike rather than just push against it. And it is not unusual for a loaded bicycle to flip over backwards when dismounted if too much weight is packed behind the rear axle.
The most common pannier placement is on a rear rack, but smaller versions are made for front racks. While proper weight distribution is essential on a rear rack, it is even more critical on a front rack. Steering is the first casualty of added front-wheel weight, and braking is a close second. When slowing, the forces during deceleration are transferred to the front wheel impeding your ability to steer, and thus remain balanced. These are just words of caution and should in no way prevent you from experimenting with your ride. And similar to backpacking, put the heavy stuff down low, and the lighter, bulkier stuff higher up.
Pulling the Rip Cord:
Just because you can make your survival bike do the heavy lifting doesn’t mean you should count on it with your most important survival tools. You must be able to jettison your bike if necessary, or lose it to marauders. Unless you know that you will be 100% safe, keep your essentials on your body.
Another friendly reminder is that it’s easy to over pack or get sloppy with equipment decisions when you don’t have to bear the weight of your stuff directly on your body. Remember, ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain.
With that said, you can ride a bike while carrying a backpack–a real backpack loaded to the gills with all your camping gear. The first rude awakening of this carry method, however, will be felt in your neck because you cannot raise your head upright to easily look forward. And it’s only made worse if you are leaning more forward in your bike fit. Next will be your arms and hands since you now have much more weight on those contact points. Finally, your butt will be screaming because your range of motion is reduced likely including the inability to stand up on the pedals to get the blood flowing again. So count on backpack biking as a short-term solution. But softer, smaller day packs can be carried 24/7 with few concerns.
Water:
Water is a big deal, and there are plenty of carry options. The obvious ones are frame-mounted water bottles, and hydration bladders. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Bike bottles are small and rigid, bladders are large but easy to puncture. So use them all. And distribute the water around the bike, trailer and on your body especially when you don’t know where your next water source will come from.
With water, no matter how or how much you carry, you need to drink it for it to do any good. Camelbak, a leader in backpack water systems popularized the catchphrase “Hydrate or Die.” While obvious on the surface, the implications of the new device were dramatic. We could go further and go harder if we drank a little bit more often than a lot of water occasionally. The Camelbak revolution began with no more than an IV bag and a clothespin. And after 25 years, you rarely encounter a off road biker or even American soldier without one.
The beauty of the bike is that fixed weight like water does not consume riding energy near as much as does rotating weight. That means once your bike is in motion, the pedal force required to keep it in motion is not that great unless climbing a hill. If the weight does not move around like wheels spinning, pedals turning, or packs swaying side to side, the energy cost of maintaining level forward motion with a few more pounds is almost unnoticeable. And that includes the weight on your back.
Lighting:
Riding in the dark is only slightly more complex than hiking in the dark. The two main differences are the visible stopping distance and the choice of frame and/or body mounted lighting.
Your familiarity with the path or road you are riding is critical in choosing an appropriate speed. It is very easy to over-ride your stopping distance meaning that if you detect an obstacle in your path in the dark, it’s probably too late to stop before introducing yourself. And that’s in the best of times given that you even saw the thing before you hit it. You won’t always have plenty of fully charged batteries and working lights. With weak lighting or candle lanterns, you won’t be able to ride fast enough to safely maintain your balance so walk the bike instead.
Bike mounted lights are the default lighting source, since the lights can ride around almost invisible until needed. The problem is that they are usually fixed to the handlebars so they only point where the handlebars are aimed. Like weapon-mounted lights, the benefits are the same, but so are the limitations. The light always points in the direction you are going, but you cannot point the light in other directions easily. Headlamps are an excellent option, but if that’s all you have, they generate their own issues. In pure darkness, the moment you turn your headlamp to the side to inspect a sound or intersection, everything in front of you goes black. By the time you point your head forward again, it might be too late to react. So the solution is to have both, and use what’s needed when you need it.