Anyone ridden on the beach ?

[Zimmerframe]

The OH wants to go play with the Horse on a beach, just as the tide has gone out .. last time I ended up running several miles so I could take pictures.. I must be feeling lazy as that's just not feeling appealing at the moment ..

Has anyone ridden their e-bike on the wet beach ? I'm just concerned about salty water getting everywhere and wrecking it, even with a good rinse off ..

 

[z1ppy]

My one outing on the beach did not instantly kill my e-bike or my m8's (Shell island to Barmouth, included a fly by of the nudist beach), even riding through wet sections, a year later it's still fine... just don't take the piss and eveything should be fine

 

[Zimmerframe]

My one outing on the beach did not instantly kill my e-bike or my m8's (Shell island to Barmouth, included a fly by of the nudist beach), even riding through wet sections, a year later it's still fine... just don't take the piss and eveything should be fine

No peeing on the nudist sections , got it. Would probably end up peeing in my own face, so good advice ??

Ok, I'll brave it and just make sure it's well washed down.

 

[z1ppy]

Hey I'm not going to judge, TBF what little we saw (from a distance. we weren't aware the nudist section existed) was just fat older guys.. maybe you'd fit in & they'd like that?

 

[steve_sordy]

I was at my mate's place in South Carolina and the access to the beaches is via long boardwalks that go between the beach houses. Some are level, some turn into flights of stairs. The only bike in the garage that fit me was a cruiser bike; heavy, very steep head angle, narrow tyres, ape hanger bars, mudguards, plastic pedals, flip down parking rest..... You get the picture? When I launched off the end of the boardwalk, the front wheel sank into the fine dry sand, the bike stopped dead, and I went OTB.

The beach we were on was very long and we went miles down it on the damp, smooth firm sand. When we turned around to come back, we realised why we had been making such good progress. There had been a strong following wind that had propelled us along the beach. When going the other way it was like dragging an anchor and with fine sand being blown into our faces.

I have added a picture, but I must explain that the large boob I seem to have is actually a large shell in my chest pocket that I had collected for my wife (it's currently sat on our downstairs loo window ledge).
I'm not actually sticking my chest out, I'm braced against the wind! You can see the sand being blown down the length of the beach. (He said it was 7 miles long and it felt like it coming back).

In the photo, the previous year most of the houses had had their roof blown off in the Hurricane. All the stairs and most of the boardwalks had been washed away. The local carpenters were making a fortune, many still catching up.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I have added a picture, but I must explain that the large boob I seem to have is actually a large shell in my chest pocket

It's ok Steve, you were on Holiday .. sometimes it's ok to let your hair down and go native ...

 

[steve_sordy]

It was that sort of shell too!
But those above look artificial!

 

[118]

Life's always a beach, in Thetford land..

 

[Frank_Denmark]

@Zimmerframe I done several ebike rides on our beaches - It's nice to do something different from the singletracks.

You just have to find the the sweet spot where the sand is firm but not that wet.
On the eMTB riding the beach feels very light - opposite to the heavy feeling on a analog bike.

Have done a 70 km trip around the top of Denmark, where the Northsea (Skagerak) meets the Kattega Sea.

Gave the bike an intense wash immediately after the ride.

Go for it

 

[Mabman]

I live on the coast and find riding on the beach to be lots of fun. The dark sand below the tide line is generally the best but getting to that through the soft sand can be a problem sometimes, especially in the summer months.

My drop bar bike with 45c tires and a front (wheel drive) hub motor in conjunction with my input in the rear got me on and off the beach last winter no problem as well as the sand based trails in the grass covered dunes before the beach. My mid drive eMTB with a 2.8 @1bar rear tire is actually no better IMNSHO and I would never see any need for a fad bike for beach riding. Riding in the soft sand eats watt hours like salt water taffy no matter how fat your tires are.

I recently moved to another coastal area that has a long beach (first and last pix) and have ridden the entire length of it but the trails inside the spit are much more fun but involve sand which without the assist would be impossible, for me at least.

As far as maintenance goes I don't ride in the water at all or any super wet sand. I keep the chain lubed with T9 as well as the cables and use it also for the electrical contacts and don't wash the bikes, just brush off the sand, if any, and ride through fresh water puddles on the way home, if any, to clear the tires.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Everyone has very cool beach pictures .... looks like I'll have to do it !

 

[Beekeeper]

All this fuss about salty sea water. Just take your bike for a nice splash and don’t worry. I usually clean mine with salt water and vinegar anyway using a jet spray. Never done it any harm and I love the crispy crunchy sound the bearings make afterwards.

 

[wepn]

Beach riding is the best I say go for it except:

I’d just check my remaining warranty and rewatch one of my personal favourite vids.

Do you have Lime e-bikes or similar hire?

We have a 24/7 e-fat beach bike hire kiosk - corrosion city but always look brand new. I think they replace them often.

 

[Mikerb]

Choice of tyre on sand makes a huge difference especially in dry soft sand. I live by the coast and most of the heathland and forest areas are on sandy soil with areas of pure sand where there is no plant growth. A rounded tyre profile like a lot of the Shwalbe tyres stops dead in loose sand....the standard Levo tyres are actually quite good.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone .... that was amazing, so glad I took the bike. Was much more fun than running (I call it Serfing, when you have to run on foot with the horse - it makes it seem more glamorous ..)

Got much better pictures being able to keep up and felt less like a servant.

You sank if you stopped though ...

Steve "woz ere" ...

Yes .. horse pictures on an e-bike forum .. I've spammed my own thread !

Gave up trying to film with the camera as I couldn't watch where I was going and almost wiped out a few times, so switched to the phone ...

A quick Canter Video ..


And a Gallop .. which I almost died after trying to keep up ..


Rode through one of the inlets on the way back to the slipway for a good rinse off .. then 20 litres liberally dosed over the bike .. Got home and spoilt it with a hot water shower at the stables.

 

[Evolution Stu]

Awesome. Well done, beautiful horse too. ??

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Has anyone ridden their e-bike on the wet beach ? I'm just concerned about salty water getting everywhere and wrecking it, even with a good rinse off ..

I have with my other MTBs but only once with an eBike (not my Trance e+). Dry soft sand... I downshift and place my body all the way back and de-weight my front tyre as much as possible and keep straight. I head to the damp hard pack between dry sand and waters edge, where the tyres don’t sink and there’s no salt water splatter. If we stay there we can cycle up to speed for ages up and down the coastline. But it’s more fun sloshing and splashing in the water right?

You know I was just thinking about eBikes and saltwater. My wife and I are heading to the coast up north for our Christmas holiday break and taking our bikes with us. I often see boaties rinsing their outboard motors with this special detergent that melts/neutralises/prevents salt from crystallising?? I don’t know what it’s called but I’ve seen them at marine stores.

I wonder if adding that stuff would work better than just a plain rinse - if you’re using your eBike on or near the beach often? Or come to think of it - even in snow where salt is used to clear roads during winter? Just a thought...

 

[Zimmerframe]

I have with my other MTBs but only once with an eBike (not my Trance e+). Dry soft sand... I downshift and place my body all the way back and de-weight my front tyre as much as possible and keep straight. I head to the damp hard pack between dry sand and waters edge, where the tyres don’t sink and there’s no salt water splatter. If we stay there we can cycle up to speed for ages up and down the coastline. But it’s more fun sloshing and splashing in the water right?

You know I was just thinking about eBikes and saltwater. My wife and I are heading to the coast up north for our Christmas holiday break and taking our bikes with us. I often see boaties rinsing their outboard motors with this special detergent that melts/neutralises/prevents salt from crystallising?? I don’t know what it’s called but I’ve seen them at marine stores.

I wonder if adding that would work better than just a plain rinse - if you’re using your eBike on or near the beach often? Or come to think of it - even in snowy roads where salt is used? Just a thought...

Interesting thought.. only used to use flush muffs ?? Whatever they're called ... On the outboards, but that was 25 years ago ?

Maybe the answer is to buy an old fiat, grind it up and sprinkle it all over as a sacrificial agent to absorb any corrosive salt ??

 

[wepn]

Fantastic Zimmer.. So nicely done...on a phone! One-handed! Keeping up with OH and horse!

Really nice quality video but that sound of hoofs on sand...that really couldn't be achieved riding on most other machines.

 

[Frank_Denmark]

1. Insta picture with the sand, concrete and the storm
2. OMG picture

Landed in the sand - Nothing got broken

 

[Zimmerframe]

1. Insta picture with the sand, concrete and the storm
2. OMG picture

Sheeeeet ! Bet that was a heart wrenching moment !!!!!

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Interesting thought.. only used to use flush muffs ?? Whatever they're called ... On the outboards, but that was 25 years ago ?

Maybe the answer is to buy an old fiat, grind it up and sprinkle it all over as a sacrificial agent to absorb any corrosive salt ??

Funny why it had to be a fiat.

Awesome videos, Zim! Looks like our restricted motors can do just fine in keeping up with a galloping horse - OR, your motor de-restriction finally paid off!

First video, I was naturally suspicious - was this a drone shot with coconut sounds added on post edit?

Second video - just as well as your shadow came in to view. Who said men can't multi-task?!

 

[Zimmerframe]

Fantastic Zimmer.. So nicely done...on a phone! One-handed! Keeping up with OH and horse!

Really nice quality video but that sound of hoofs on sand...that really couldn't be achieved riding on most other machines.

I was amazed the phone picked up the hooves on the sand ... quite liked the sound of that.

I started with my normal camera, one handed, but once you stick your eye to the view finder to film, I couldn't watch where I was going so it felt a bit suicidal !

I had contemplated unfolding the screen and doing it like that, but when we started we were going through several rough outfalls so I was getting boshed about quite a lot and one/none handed wasn't really working comfortably ! (I'd also set the suspension to firm to stop salt/sand getting into places and wearing the hell out of things - the gears were sounding rough by the end)

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

1. Insta picture with the sand, concrete and the storm
2. OMG picture
Landed in the sand - Nothing got broken

Hope the concrete edge didn't put a big gash on the side of your forks?!

 

[Frank_Denmark]

Didn't breath for some minutes - and then I did some serious cursing of my self

No - just 2 minor scratches at the bar end - My lucky day

 

[Zimmerframe]

Funny why it had to be a fiat.

I think fiat's always won where it came to rust ??

Awesome videos, Zim! Looks like our restricted motors can do just fine in keeping up with a galloping horse - OR, your motor de-restriction finally paid off!

Fortunately Al's not really built for speed, if it had been one of the Thoroughbreds there's no way I would have kept up.

First video, I was naturally suspicious - was this a drone shot with coconut sounds added on post edit?

You're not wrong .. trying to film with the phone in my mouth whilst banging two coconuts together and pedalling .. budget cuts have not worked out well in the film, sound and dolly departments.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

You're not wrong .. trying to film with the phone in my mouth whilst banging two coconuts together and pedalling .. budget cuts have not worked out well in the film, sound and dolly departments.

Oh boy... you know I just cannot resist that mental picture you presented me with! My apologies to everyone...

 

[wepn]

I was amazed the phone picked up the hooves on the sand ... quite liked the sound of that.

Interesting how you could go considerably quicker & keep up in the first vid but not so easy in the second. Downwind then back upwind. Sound is obviously much better downwind too. What type of phone were you using?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Interesting how you could go considerably quicker & keep up in the first vid but not so easy in the second. Downwind then back upwind. Sound is obviously much better downwind too. What type of phone were you using?

Cheapo Moto g5 plus .. don't cry when you break them and as a bonus doesn't seem to break anyway ?

Yup west was wind behind and canter, so 25kph ish and in the easy assistance zone. East was into wind and slow gallop, so 35-40 kph.. balls out hell and legs on ?

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Cheapo Moto g5 plus .. don't cry when you break them and as a bonus doesn't seem to break anyway ?

Very impressive video quality... I had a look at the retail price, that's a lot of bang for the buck!