[Yak] Folding bike for boat

[John S. Allen]

At 02:16 PM 12/5/2007, Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-655-8604 wrote:
>Only the ignorant refer to small-wheel bikes as "clown bikes".
>
>I'd be more concerned with corrosion.  I wonder if BF would be willing
>to galvanize the frame bits?

The would work on the outside of the frame but would be troublesome 
where parts have to fit together. Chrome plating is more usual on 
bicycle components.

>Even the stainless steel bikes have
>vulnerable components.  Are cables and housings available in
>stainless?

some cables, particularly the braided shift cables.. Not housings. I 
squirt oil into the housing before installing the cable, and grease 
the cable. That works well. The main hazard of cables rusting is if 
the end faces upwards so water runs down into it. That is a problem 
with some front-derailleur cable routings. Otherwise housings and the 
cables inside them are quite well-protected by the plastic sheath.

>Chains?

I think I saw a stainless steel one once. Keep lubricated.

>Dahon makes various folders in aluminum with large as well as small
>wheels, and I'm told that some Dahon's are adequate.

Aluminum corrodes too, and it doesn't hold paint as well as steel.

>But many of the
>bits are still going to require some attention to proper maintenance.
>Of course, we know boat owners have lots of idle time on their hands, so
>bicycle maintenance will easily fit into their schedule.

Not necessarily so. You must not have heard the saying "a boat is a 
hole in the water into which you pour money."? :-)

John S. Allen
Owner of a wood-and-canvas canoe, a small hole in the water which 
demands more in time than in money for its sanding and painting.
And in which a quick-folded Bike Friday rides nicely to go back 
upstream and retrieve the car after paddling downstream.

Regional Director for New York and New England, League of American Bicyclists
League Cycling Instructor #77-C and Member of the League's Education Committee

http://bikexprt.com