A bicycle vs a motorcycle

I am curious if any of you prefer to use bicycles rather than motorcycles? My survivor is able to use the bicycle which is in a quite good shape but I do not know if it is a good idea. A bicycle is quiet, it does not require fuel, its off-road capabilites are great, players do not have to put so much effort to repair a bicycle. On the other hand, it uses stamina, it is slow, vulnerable, and has a very little storage space. Any advice?

I think you already mentioned the advantages: A bicycle silent, needs no fuel and is easy to repair. 3x1 bikes are good vehicles for moving around cleared areas.

I like it better than motorcycles and scooters, because by the time I can repair/use a motorcycle, chances are I found enough pieces to repair a car or I lucked out (like in my current play) and found a perfectly fine RV abandoned in a campsite two minutes after start.

Also, they make good emergency vehicles for late game. As I tend to favor high mechanic/computer characters, I progress quickly to rolling fortresses but always keep a foldable bike for emergencies (like I left a tool at my base and donā€™t want to move the entire dethmobile just because I forgot the welder).

My foldable bike has one foldable shopping cart box installed in the front so it can transport up to 150L of things in a pinch, and a small electric motor that can help you carry them (as foldable limits batteries to small, I still have to pedal if I want to go fast). And once is folded it fits inside a heavy duty hatch (IIRC folds to a ~20L item). Most of the components can be either ā€œappropiatedā€ from another bike, or crafted with low skills (fabrication 2 for the folding wire basket, the folding frames themselves require fabrication 1) and a welder.

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Thank you for your answer. I will try to install a foldable shopping cart box. The problem with storage space is the only thing that stops me from using a bicycle in the long term

On the long term you will find space less of a problem than the lack of enclosed space. I use to ride open vehicles a lot until a zombie threw me off my seat. I did not got much damage but my next city explorer had walls :laughing:

I second the motorized folding bicycle. I install a plastic jerrycan in mine, so I can fill it with a few gallons of fuel to siphon into any vehicles I want to drive back to base.

If I find a vehicle that needs a battery, I will unfold my bike, install an empty car battery, and then bike over to my latest prize, recharging the battery enough to get the car running.

Get to the prize, siphon fuel from my bike into the target, move the battery over, and Iā€™m good to go.

Carry a sheet with me and now I can replace missing seats.

So long as it has tires, controls, a tank, and no security system, I can reclaim it.

Hence, my folding 3x1 is usually called The Reclaimer. As opposed to my 1x1 folding vehicle, which is usually called The Swagon.

Motorcycles are good for scouting new areas during daylight, because they can fit through tight passages. Motorized bikes are for looting at night.

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I want to note that if you are not working on a foldable bike, there are more cargo options. If your character is strong enough, you may even try to work with a cargo area (250L), but note that depending of what you put in, you may not be able to move the bike by pedal alone.

A shopping cart box (not the foldable one) is usually easy to find (near supermarkets), and it has the same properties as the foldable one, so less work for you :slight_smile:

I am playing with ā€˜desert modā€™ and 8 city spacing so I do not want to gather too much stuff. Small amount of non-perishable food, 5l of clean water, a crowbar, hacksaw, hatchet are ā€˜must haveā€™ items. Other items are not essential for me

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Why not both? Especially if you can get a basic electric engine. Iā€™ve seen some utility in putting bike pedals on a motorcycle, at least for my stronger characters who can manage it, saves fuel, allows you to go into stealth mode, and you still have the option of turning on the engine and getting out of dodge right quick.

Yeah, mopeds are really flexible. :+1:

I just now raided a bandit camp and got two loaded motorcycles and a quad bike. One problem, however, I can not see forward while riding them. I can only see to either side. Any insight? I then got back on my bike, which was normal before, and I now can not see ahead on it either. I also tried restarting the game and that did not correct the problem. Crazy cataclysm mod is active.

donā€™t forget that a bicycle is also incredibly flimsy compared to a motorcycle.
even the base tires can break incredibly easy if you hit the wrong thing, but unmodded cars can survive at least 2 collisions, and even more if you give it armored tires

are you crouching? is there anything obstructing the front view?