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Floating Bike?

Old 06-21-20, 02:42 PM
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SpecK
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Floating Bike?

Hey, I'm not sure if this is the right sub forum for this question, as I wasn't sure where to put it. Anyway, as I was biking along the river today watching people floating down the river on inner tubes and whatnot I realized that it would be fun to have a floating bike that I could bike upstream for a few miles and then throw it in the river and float back.

A quick google image search gave me some ideas, but is seems like most floating bikes are attempting to keep most of the bike above water. I don't care if the bike is mostly submerged as long as I can float on it or with it in relative comfort. While I can compromise a lot on ride quality, the bike still has to be able to be ridden on paths shared with other bikes, so whatever I do can't be too bulky. I also understand that some fat bikes will float by themselves due to the big tires, so that might be an idea although I am not planning on buying a brand new bike for this purpose. I'm hoping I can build something from a cheap craigslist bike.

Any ideas or experience with floating bikes?
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Old 06-22-20, 02:13 PM
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Race Results ? Kinetic Universe these all guys/gals race around Humboldt bay on road water and mudflats & sand..

Corvallis Oregon home of the state university with an Engineering department has their own fun memorial day weekend too..

so get out your creativity


..
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Old 06-22-20, 02:15 PM
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several more are run around the country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_sculpture_race

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Old 06-23-20, 06:46 AM
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https://chunk666lab.blogspot.com/200...oratories.html
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Old 06-23-20, 05:31 PM
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lots of them out there

https://hydrobikes.com/

https://www.austinkayak.com/Hobie-Mi...IaAqDVEALw_wcB

https://schillerbikes.com/

hydrofoil https://manta5.com/
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Old 07-14-20, 05:51 PM
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I while back, probably in the 80's, in the magazine Small Boat Journal someone posted a design for a simple rowing catamaran. I like the design and built a scale model of it. Construction was mostly plywood. It had a square cross-section through the hulls. It would be possible to mount a bike on there to drive a paddle wheel or propeller and then I would think that perhaps you can devise a way to trailer the catamaran back on the land.

This will be an engineering challenge, however, it should be do-able.

You could also get a folding bike and a folding boat.

A folding bike with a kayak might even work. You would have to tow the kayak on land.
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Old 07-15-20, 03:03 AM
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I think years and YEARS ago, I saw a pedal-powered boat.
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Old 08-06-20, 03:34 PM
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Then there is this guy in Latvia ..

https://bikerumor.com/2020/08/03/van...of-this-world/
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Old 08-06-20, 04:35 PM
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Great idea! There is this guy who quit his job to float along rivers with his bicycle and fish out plastic. His design has 2 pontoons - maybe you could design something similar which could be unfolded and inflated on the go?

Dhruv Boruah, a cyclist and environmentalist from London, found a way to make his bike trips much more than a fun pastime or good workout. He combined two of his passions and found himself riding his bike on … the city’s canals. Boruah decided to learn how to make his bike float on the surface so that he could ride it on the waterways and collect plastic trash – and the results of his “Thames Project” are inspiring in every way.
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/m...-plastic-trash
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Old 10-01-20, 11:53 AM
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There are a few designs and production models for backpack frame and inflatable pontoons that can be attached to your bicycle. I have looked into
​into pedal bike/boat combinations as I live in the city. I even saw the Schillar prototype bike boat on the Hudson once. All interesting but too complicated. Unless you have a dedicated paddle boat, I think the efficiency might be too low and it's rather cumbersome to carry around all the material. I had an inflatable boat that I biked to the Harlem River to paddle in but had to return to my bike and trailer to get back home.
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Old 02-01-21, 02:03 PM
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Thx for sharing
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Old 05-04-21, 07:24 AM
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Looks great
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Old 07-21-21, 09:46 AM
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Interesting
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Old 07-21-21, 09:53 AM
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Originally Posted by SpecK
...would be fun to have a floating bike...
Sure... Or maybe a submersible Mountain Bike with a Hooka air supply... No...
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Old 07-30-21, 07:31 PM
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Small pontoons that can be transported in a small trailer behind the bike when the bike is used on land.

If a lot of the bike is underwater you run t he risk of striking underwater debris/obstacles and of having water get into places you don't want it - crank, pedal and wheel bearings for starters.

Cheers
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Old 08-03-21, 03:24 AM
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Most visions of the future include floating devices/vehicles. How exactly would a floating bike or hospital bed work without fans, rockets, or magnetism?
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