Bikes and RVs: The perfect match?

Guest writer Edward Lamb

On the size scale, RVs and bicycles are complete opposites. Yet they have the same common goal of helping you get outside, explore, and enjoy life. And their differences and synergies make them perfect companions for your next outdoor adventure.

How many times have you tried RV camping and discovered a perfect road to ride on your bike if you had only brought it along? Or your camping setup is so perfect, you don’t want to move anything, so having a bike would be great for quick errands?

It takes some planning for RVing and biking to work together, but as time goes by, but you can do it. If you want to learn more, then you’ve come to the right place. Here are some recommended guidelines for making biking a great experience for campers like you.

The great outdoors is better with an RV. And you can see more of it when you add a bike. (Source: BaysideRV.com)

Reasons to take bikes when RV camping 

Here are the best reasons to take your bikes along on your next camping adventure:

• It’s eco-friendly and convenient.

You don’t have to take your RV to any urban amenities like shops and restaurants. You can just ride your bike to avoid getting stuck and to avoid driving a gas vehicle around. Your RV can just be parked somewhere, and just take your bike with you for a fast, easy trip.

• It’s healthy for you.

Even before you get to your destination, an accessible bike can help you recover quickly at a rest stop from a long day of driving. It’s an easy and fun way to get your blood moving, loosen up our leg and back muscles, and make yourself more awake and a safer, more attentive driver.

Long-term, combining a little bit of easy cardio with your RV experience is a simple way to burn a few calories, keep your weight in check, and reduce the chance of chronic diseases caused by inactivity. This gives you more healthy years to enjoy your RV lifestyle!

• It’s faster than just walking.

Walking is exercise too, and it’s good for you. But there’s something about the convenience of riding your bike. It’s about having that breeze on your face and immersing yourself in all scenery that you came to visit with your RV. It’s why you are here.

Challenges with a bike and RV combination

Bike and RVs are a perfect combination. But it takes some planning to overcome these three common challenges.

Space.

An RV is your home away from home. Every choice about what to bring or not bring is carefully considered. There’s usually not room for an entire bicycle unless you use a tiny folding bike—which feels like riding a tiny folding bike—or keep it outside the RV, which leads to the next two problems.

Security.

A bike stored outside your RV is a bike left outside. Sure, you can secure it with high-strength chains and bike locks to protect it from theft, but then you’ve also made it that much harder for you to grab your bike for a quick, easy errand. So you ride it less often, and it stays unused on the outside of your vehicle.

Lots of places sell gear to attach bikes to the outside of your RV and drive around like that. (Source: Amazon.com)

Keeping your bike clean.

A bike parked on the outside of your RV isn’t like a bike parked in a bike rack. Your RV is moving down the road, kicking up debris and road grit, and moving through the clouds of water and road grit kicked up by other vehicles. All the reasons you have to wash your car or RV also apply to your bike, and it’s often another reason to postpone riding your bike; you simply don’t feel like putting clean clothes on a dirty bike.

These are solvable problems, and you don’t have to reinvent the RV to do it.

A high-tech RV designed around a bike. (Source: Newatlas.com)

All you need to make this combination work is a bike designed for both ridability and portability, like a CHANGE bike.

Ordinary bikes vs. CHANGE bikes 

You already know what the time-tested, full-size, traditional bike frame looks like—a triangle in back that holds the rear wheel, and a triangle in front that goes to the handlebars.

A CHANGE bike frame is no different, except it has also two special latches, which allow it to do this in 30 seconds…

The full-size, CHANGE 811 folding rugged hybrid, ready for storage. See below for discount coupon.

When your full-size bike folds that small, you can store it securely like this:

Now you can enjoy the freedom of a full-size bike with the convenience and security of a folding bike. And CHANGE bikes are rugged. These folding bikes have already passed the ISO-4210 international certification for reliability and ruggedness, equivalent to five years of heavy, daily use.

You don’t have to store a CHANGE bike in a storage bay. With the ability to fold small enough to fit several in an elevator, and a free carry bag, your CHANGE bike can also fit in the living area of your RV. Whichever method you use, your bike will be clean, dry, secure and non-rusty the next time you need it—whether for a quick, convenient errand or a long, adventure-filled exploration ride.

Ready to get started?

Really, all you need to start are the right bike and RV.

Flatbike, the North American distributor for CHANGE bikes, offers a selection of full-size folding bikes, from off-road mountain bikes to sleek road bikes. They do a 16-point quality check before each bike shipment, and ship for free to US and Canada. Use the coupon code RVLOVE to score $80 off any full-size folding bike, including bikes already on sale!

And at BaysideRV, you can find the best RV care and maintenance tips, buying guides, brand guides, and product reviews of RV accessories to jumpstart that RV life. Start your adventures here.

Edward Lamb, Bayside RV
Flatbike guest writer