I think every community should start its own bicycle militia.
When the Great Cascadia Quake happens... Or when the 10.0 San Andreas quake happens... Or when Yellowstone erupts... We're going to be faced with a situation where roads aren't passable, gasoline supplies have run dry, roads are clogged with damaged cars, and a bicycle becomes the best way to get around.
Bicycle militia would provide security for their community, would carry first aid trauma kits to help the injured, and would function as messengers when communications break down.
Good idea? Bad idea? What would be the ideal bicycle for a bicycle militia? I'm thinking something like a single speed mountain bike. Easy to maintain, nothing to go wrong.
I'm kinda surprised that prior to WWs Armies never developped folding bikes. This would have allowed them to move quickly on the front, especially Infantries, and since walking for kilometers for hours can be exhausting, this could have given tactical advantages to capture small towns...
John King
>single speed Sounds like a bitch if you don't live on flat ground. I go to the range with my bike and there's some steep inclines on the way, shit' tough enough on a smaller gear with one or two rifles on my back
Isaac Diaz
A bunch of armies in WWI fielded folding bicycles.
Tell me more about this. Now i'm actually interested.
Bentley Wilson
Bicycle troops were actually used in both WWI and WWII. I think the folding bicycles were for mountain troops. You could backpack the bike up steep inclines, up a mountain pass, then start bicycling when you reached a real road.
Bicycle infantry function basically as dragoons. The bicycles allow for rapid redeployment of reinforcements, a fast reaction force, and an easy way to conduct patrols. Like a dragoon you dismount and fight on foot when you've reached your target area.
The Finns used bicycle infantry very effectively against the Russians. The jaeger troops would use bicycles to keep up with the tanks during an assault which allowed rapid movement of the combined force. During the Lapland war bicycle infantry spearheaded the assault because the Germans had blown up the road network and tanks were having a hard time advancing.
To this day bicycle infantry are used in Afghanistan and Iraq because they can patrol all the little side streets and alleyways and bicycle infantry are a much better way of interfacing with the community. Apparently from a public relations standpoint bicycle infantry in Afghanistan and Iraq have been pretty successful.
What would be the ideal weapon for the bicycle militia? It would have to be something light.
A Ruger 10/11 with banana clips? A 9mm carbine?
James Gray
>single speed >mountain bike This would be a terrible idea. I'm not even sure these exist.
Jaxson Green
A regular rifle.
Xavier Nelson
GOD DAMN IT
Levi Moore
They're actually really popular.
The "this would be a terrible idea" applies more to fixies, aka fixed gear bicycles. Hipsters love these things. They have no brakes. They have no kick brake. To brake you apply pressure backwards. You can't coast. If you go down a steep hill you just tuck your legs up and let the pedals spin fast.
I read about fixies and thought "that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard" but apparently they're REALLY popular, especially in cities. Blows my mind. It's like a complete step backwards in design.
I'm actually a fan of single gears too. But automatic gear shifts are cool too. Bike militias would be pretty decent for units that don't have much funding, and would mainly operate on flat area places with roads and paved trails. Absolutely ideal environment for bikes, compared to areas of high elevation and less infrastructure (without trails or sidewalks, it's a nightmare to maneuver through)
Maybe a modern equivalent to Finnish ski troops. And with lightweight, paratrooper type gear.
Anything with a carbine length, preferably in a regular rifle caliber. Maybe a folding stock too.
Lucas Perez
Think Rhodesia or 1945 Germany. Gasoline. But for a well-funded army, of course.
Ayden Lewis
I'm a complete tard when it comes to bicycles. I know nothing about bicycle maintenance which is one reason single speeds are so attractive to me. I really hate derailleurs. They must require some kind of special maintenance cause every bike I've ever used with them starts making slapping grinding noises eventually because the derailleur gets messed up. Up til now none of these bikes has even been ridden much.
I took my dads old Sirrus by Specialized Bikes out for a spin and tried to keep it in a 2:1 gear ratio, the most common ratio for single speeds. There are some 1km / .6 mile long 5% grades near me that were pretty taxing but they didn't kill me and I only stopped when I got to the top.
I rode 14 miles today using just the 2:1 gear ratio and it didn't seem particularly taxing except on a few steep hills.
I need to do more testing. I'm reasonably sure I had the bike in 2:1 today but I want to do thorough testing before I commit to getting a single speed so I counted the teeth on the gears and made sure it's now in 2:1. 38 teeth in the front, 19 teeth in the back. I don't know why the Sirrus doesn't have 32:16 like most bikes. I'll do more riding tomorrow.
One thing I noticed is that the country roads around me are not well suited for the 1.25 inch wide tires of the Sirrus. You feel every single speck of pebble, every inch sized depression in the road. The single speed mountain bikes I'm looking at have 3 inch wide tires. That sounds much better. I don't need to go fast. I'm fine going slow. But I want to feel like my bike has a good grip on the road.
I've rode a few, not a fan, working up a hard hill is brutal and going down it is nearly just as bad, out of a group of four, one of us ate shit (not me, but almost) and one bicycle broke. We went like 8 miles, so ended up getting a ride back after the failure.
Anthony Morris
bicycles are useful around places that have roads. Trucks are also useful around places that have roads and you can put an entire platoon of men in one truck that is faster than a bicycle platoon and doesn't tire out the men.
Brayden Gonzalez
Yeah it would be cool, i would join one if they existed
Gabriel Sullivan
>I know nothing about bicycle maintenance you put air in the tire and occasionally oil the chain and other moving parts. If you fucked the tire you replace it, if you break the chain, throw away the broken link and use the same chain that is one link shorter. Overall you either bend or fix that one piece that is broken or replace it.
Ayden Hill
Derailleurs can get out of alignment over time and getting them back in alignment is a pain in the ass.
I think it must depend on how you ride. I ride slow. I like slow. Fast freaks me out. I ride my bikes in old man mode. I'm always braking down the hills.
The nastiest hills around me are .5 mile long 150 foot elevation gain which is around 5% grade. It's a bitch, but I'm an amateur bicycle rider and I can do it in a 2:1 gear ratio. Around here I think single speed mountain bikes might work really well and the simplicity is a huge turn on for me.
Christian Myers
Electric assisted bikes would be pretty cool. >silent >faster >low maintenance >recharge with solar panels, generators, etc. >still relatively light
You wouldn't give them to everyone, just your scout/recon groups or long-range couriers.
Carson Wright
The Swedes used infantry bicycles with specially built bicycle trailers that could be used to deliver ammo as well as evacuate wounded.
A modern electric assist bike with a trailer that could accommodate a stretcher would be an incredible apocalypse ambulance.
Yeah, trailers and two-man bikes would be good additions for squads that need to carry heavier gear. You could easily haul an MMG/HMG or mortar on a trailer, or tow a generator and fuel to recharge the bikes while out on recon.
Daniel Richardson
One thing that would be cool is a solar-powered refuel station. Then you can conserve petrolium for more critical missions.
Ayden Ross
>Soon they're pedaling silently into attack position against the German radar station at Bruneval.
>The cycletroopers catch the Germans completely by surprise.
>This is a true story.
I want to be a Cycletrooper so fucking bad.
>You will never pedal silently into attack position with your fellow Cycletroopers.
military is moving towards nuclear reactors that fit on an LMTV. I don't think they fully figured out the cooling part, but it is supposed to be able to pack up and move in a few hours.
Leo Martin
Fun thing about bikes is they are all over the place and have easily swapped parts. A standard issue bike is not needed just a "well regulated" bike is all.
I could see a community locking down most side streets to vehicle traffic, using neighborhood watch with radios to call in a quick moving defence forces. Coordinated attacks with quick moving riflemen on bikes, mortars from the back of trucks, drone spotters, a few DMs and a phone tree could own damn near anywhere.
Jaxson Taylor
Electric assist mountain bikes in particular would be great SHTF vehicles, especially if you can set up some kind of solar charging system. >Good range when in assist mode >Can move quickly in emergencies with full electric power >Light and agile enough for tight spaces, narrow trails, and places even a dirt bike would have trouble with >Very quiet, even at full throttle >The benefits of bike economy without having to really worry about tiring out the rider >Electric motor can compensate if you're injured and can't pedal effectively. >Light enough for a decently fit person to manhandle around if needed >Very simple construction with little maintenance needed in comparison to gas vehicles
Granted something with an internal combustion engine is probably better for traveling longer distances or to places where you'd need protection, but using the electric bicycle would free up gas supplies to be set aside for those kinds of outings or other uses (generators, etc)
Jackson Scott
Now im hard
Henry Clark
>tfw turbine-generator hybrid electric bicycle that can run on literally any combustible fluid
Jeremiah Phillips
Long range geny on a trailer, basecamp it in your AO. We live in a gloriously capable time.
Xavier Martin
Fixies are popular among hipsters because bike theft is extremely common in the big cities where hipsters live. Nogs and bums can't ride fixies, so your bike is less likely to get stolen. This is why city bums like bike trailers so much, since they can just toss a stolen fixie in the trailer and ride off on their own bike. The fixie fad is just an extra layer of theft protection wrapped up in a layer of misdirective irony.
Lincoln Ward
I think I'd rather have a chukudu than a fixie.
At least you can coast on a chukudu.
Daniel Parker
Best bike for your militia. Key words: Utility frame, fat tire, electric assist. Check this out. Frame made to hold hundreds of pounds, seat big enough to rest a worn ruck or a passenger.
If I ever get an e-bike it's going to be a Juiced Riders ODK. You can mount all sorts of attachments to it. It has a GIANT battery. You can even slap on a seat on the rear rack and take a passenger. It gets great reviews as well. They're almost always sold out on the website.
>society is gunna collapse, bro have you considered that you want this to happen because you hate the life you have in the society we live in? Your "fear" of a societal collapse is the equivalent of a toddler flipping the table after losing a game. In conclusion, get a horse, idiot
Joshua Bell
A horse requires a significantly higher level of upkeep and resources than a bike. Not to mention unless you already know how to handle one, theyre difficult to control
Justin Peterson
Dirt bikes exist. If you think fuel will cease to exist, there's still 50-100cc motors you can slap onto a regular mountain bike for $100 and turn it into a ghetto low powered dirt bike that also has pedals if you run out of fuel. There are ways to rig small diesel engines to power a bike wheel so you can use alternative fuels, you just have to find a chainsaw or something with a small motor and connect said motor to a bike chain instead of what it was intended to power. Solar powered ebikes are also an option but batteries are heavy and die over time, and they take like a day to charge with good sunlight.
Zachary Carter
>get a horse, idiot (You) sir, are the idiot. >just get an animal >a temperamental animal >that can kill you accidentally >that can escape regularly >that has to be put down if it ever breaks a leg >that is expensive as hell on it's own >that requires specialized and expensive veterinary care
There is this Danish movie April 9th, it shows Danish bicycle troops during the German invasion its pretty good. It shows them using old madsen's and going through tire changes and other drills.
Levi Clark
the italian army loved bicycle, and loved mounting weapons on them
>The single speed mountain bikes I'm looking at have 3 inch wide tires. You’ll notice a significant increase in rolling resistance.
Camden Lee
The Finnish movie Ambush from 1999 is also about bicycle infantry, although it doesn't get very good reviews. I need to watch both.
Noah Campbell
I'm curious about that. The bike I'm riding right now has 1.5 inch tires. Not super skinny, not super thick. And I feel like I'm leveraging those tires over every pebble, every imperfection in the road. 3 inch wide tires are going to have massively increased air resistance and road resistance, but I also feel like they'll smooth out the ride so much it might even out? I'm not sure.
One thing I've noticed with my old mountain bike that's too small for me is the big tires have so much resistance the bike simply won't go very fast down a fairly steep hill. I don't really need to use the brakes. With the 1.5 inch tire bike there's a ton less resistance and it gets going FAST and I have to pump the brakes the whole way down. I really don't like going too fast on a bicycle. I like to keep things pretty slow and mellow. So I'm wondering if the increased resistance of 3 inch wide tires on a mountain bike might be exactly what I'm looking for.
Luis Perez
Horse is good, for you can not eat a bicycle.
Eli Sanchez
Thanks for the suggestion ill check that one out, if you like to Finnish stuff like i do see unknown soldier the recent one and original movie are good .
Isaac Lewis
>you can not eat a bicycle.
This is a factually incorrect statement. Bicycle frames were designed so you can fill them with hot dogs, turning your bicycle into an emergency food supply.
In the thread context wide tires should be a must for weight carrying ability alone. A combat bike is a rolling ruck and needs to preform a harder roll than a commuter. With electric assist fuck it and add extra goo in the tubes for blowouts, you will still be faster than on foot and fresher on arrival. I love the utility chonk of this model.
I have the perfect gun for your militia OP. Interested in buying a rusty velo-dog? >Made un the beginning of the 20th for bicycle militias to fend off rabid dogs. You can't invent that shit. It's rare and i won't clean it. I don't even know if there's a caliber for it or if it takes paper cartridges. Anyway, i could part with it for the revival of shooting dogs on bikes.
You'd want some kind of condenser unit to stop it from being a total loss system, it'd suck to stop and fill up the boiler every ten miles.
Mason Carter
Good theft protection, fast as fuck, it’s weird to ride a regular bike when your used to it. Easy as fuck to fix, no gears and brakes to make it more complex and heavier
Luke Campbell
Not him, but it's not that. I have no money and just like to tinker with new ideas.
I kept my Specialized Sirrus in a 2:1 gear ratio today and bicycled 18 miles. Up some pretty steep hills. Some 5% grades, even a 10.5% grade. I had to stand up on my pedals the whole way up that 10.5% grade but I felt like a sexy beast when I got to the top.
My only question now is... That 10.5% grade was challenging, but not insurmountable. I still had energy and willpower at the top. I never felt like I had to get off the bike and walk it up the hill.
But the Specialized Sirrus has 1.5 inch tires. The Surly Lowside single speed mountain bike I'm looking at has 3 inch tires. Exactly how much more difficult would that make the climb? 5% harder? 10% harder? I think I could deal with that. But not 15%.
Case in point why I like the idea of the 3 inch tires: My ass hurts. You feel every single pebble with these 1.5 inch tires. My whole ass is sore and my hands actually went numb from all the vibrations. Even if 3 inch mountain bike tires add 10% resistance the smoother ride seems like it would be worth it.
Again, I'm not looking to go fast. I don't even like going fast. I'm a slow and steady kind of guy.
Eli Thompson
>My ass hurts. Cirrus KINEKT.
Expensive, but fucking necessary for my e-bike.
Lucas Collins
>A $250 fancy spring seat post.
>It's not even a seat. It's just the seat post.
Lad what the fuck. Does it really make that much of a difference?
Leo Peterson
>I'm kinda surprised that prior to WWs Armies never developped folding bikes.
Bikes were fairly new technology in World War 1...
Isaac Hernandez
yes, it really fucking does.
Levi Gomez
Here's a video of the first generation of the Kinekt BodyFloat post showing the ass saving in action. I actually have one of the earlier models like in the video. youtube.com/watch?v=vE7hh0Flczw
Matthew Murphy
That does look REALLY nice.
Carson Martin
I have balance issues so a trike would be better for me especially with two wheels on the front.
Also, I have been thinking about getting an adult pedal kart since they seem like they can carry a good load and some have roofs. It would help me get to the gym for my weightlifting workouts and to the grocery store without the need for a car.
Agreed, single speed would not be nearly as useful. A multi-speed hybrid or touring with a steel or aluminum alloy body would be the most useful. Slap some Topek sadle-bags on there and you're now a bicycle dragoon.
William Anderson
Apparently reverse-trike bicycles that have a normal seating position do exist.
Recumbent trikes are super popular, but the downside of a recumbent is you're so low to the ground the big rigs won't even see you.
Whatever the local flavor of assault or battle rifle. With saddle-bags you could carry enough ammo for a light MG. Two or three guys on bikes could field a crew served weapon (i.e. HMG, ATGML, MANPAD).
Angel Hall
Excellent! I will be checking out the first type you mentioned.
Underinflate your narrow tires somewhat. Shouldn't fuck up your tires unless you go below granny bike pressures, plus it's easier on the ass. Source: did 95 km along steep dirt roads once
Lincoln Bennett
Before you plunge LMT money into a bike, consider the following: > I know nothing about bicycle maintenance which is one reason single speeds are so attractive to me. >I really hate derailleurs. Consider getting a rear wheel built with a three speed hub. The hub contains a gearbox that has proven itself a reliable design for over a hundred years, but externally it looks and behaves like a singlespeed. Geared in a 1.5:1 ratio your preferred singlespeed gear is the top gear with two lower gears for hills. Or you could use your 2:1 gearing and have one higher and one lower gear. Shimano and Sturmey Archer make them. Another option is to get a singlespeed kit and only use the few gears you want to use.
>Case in point why I like the idea of the 3 inch tires: My ass hurts. The way you are fitted on the bike changes the way you feel bumps and vibrations from the road. If swap out the handlebars and stem with a BMX bar and stem, you are no longer stretched out on the bike, exposed to the tender mercies of the road surface. Like a BMX rider, you can then shift your body to unweigh your ass and catch the bumps with your legs and arms. Fit is important, the seatpost should be stretched out so that by putting your armpit on the seat, you touch the crank spindle with your index finger, or given the rough terrain, your pinkie or thumb. The jacked up BMX bars keep your hands slightly above your saddle height.
>Specialized Sirrus I hope you have one of the disc brake models. If you do, you are in luck, as you can swap wheels for 27.5" or 26" wheels, and you can fit much larger tires. 27.5 is the current meta for mountain bikes, so your tire selection is excellent.
One of the coolest things about a lot of these military bicycles, especially the Swiss ones, is they're absolutely loaded with everything you could ever need to fix the bike. Every tool you'd need. A compact bicycle pump. Repair kits. Everything. Every cycletrooper had everything they needed to keep their bicycle operational. In a shit-hits-the-fan scenario that's very important.
Daniel Jackson
I just picked up a free mountain bike last week. It was set up for a woman, big spring seat. 30 bucks later and it does what i need. I live on gravel roads, so a road bike wont cut it. This gives me the ability to arrive anywhere in my neighborhood within minutes, plus gear
Nathan Wright
so we bi/k/es now which modern militaries still use pedal bikes?
also, what bike does Jow Forums recommend for a boogaloo situation
Brandon Perry
Britain and the USA use bicycle troops to patrol cities in Afghanistan and Iraq. I think that's the only modern use of bicycle troops.
Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, kept their bicycle troops into the 90's then phased them out. They still use bicycles for training and stuff like that, but they don't use them operationally.
It seems like every military in WWII that fielded cycletroops used single speeds. The Swiss for instance used the MO-05 bicycle which was fitted with a 57 cm one-size-fits-all frame for men between 1.55m and 1.95m tall. They had 650B (26" x 1-1/2") wheels. They were typically fitted with a 20-tooth rear sprocket, and a 50-tooth chain ring giving an overall gearing of 65 gear inches (a 2.5:1 gear ratio).
26x1.5 inch tires aren't fatty mountain bike tires, but they're also quite large by road bike standards. It seems like a good middle ground.
The Swiss could do 75 miles a day with a 70 lb pack load. Which I find insane. I think that says a lot more about the physical fitness of cycletroops than the bikes themselves.
Really just any bike can do, even a cheap Walmart Schwinn. Much like a rifle, even a crap bike will far outshine a crap user
Adam Gonzalez
>75 miles a day with a 70 lb pack load Easy as fuck on flat ground. Impressive indeed for switzerland (and on a single gear bike too!)
Nathaniel Sanchez
This is a very cost effective way of preparing oneself. In a bad scene even with gas traffic gets crazy. Add checkpoints/roadblocks and outright no-go zones an all terrain bike with serve better than most. As a rapid response local militia tool I am shocked it hasn't been a standard issue meme for years. Perfect for poorfags (most need cardio and leg day). Get a solid steel frame that can handle weight and abuse, slime the tires, add racks and gear/tool bags. A wide comfy seat is a must if you are going to spend time in the saddle. $100 worth of Chinese hub motor/speed controller and some surplus batteries to help offset gear weight.
