Ok, so it seems that secondhand MTBs may be tricky, which makes the price for the first purchase rise.

Trying not to go OT with gear choice suggestions, let's get back where we started: do you know of long trips having been taken both by cyclists and bikers? It could be interesting to contact them and see if they want to share their final expenses records. It would be the best way to compare I believe.

Hello

Even if you get someones records, you can't use them 1:1 on to you.
No two trips are the same. What works for one person might not work for you at all.
If money is the only factor, I guess bicycle is the cheaper way of transport.
What are your experiences, have you done any trips on both, what suits you more?

I'm going to do my next trip by bicycle (actually trike, no pain on the bottom).

Main advantage of a bicycle over a motorbike:
-take it on the plane (100$-300?$ exta vs. 1500$-3000$ up to 5day lost in custom)
-border, insurances , police (fake speeding ticket?)
-no gas
-tyres,chain,spares are smaller,lighter,cheaper easy to send by airmail.
-less breakdown problems, worst case take everything on the next bus.


Main disadvantage of a bicycle over a motorbike:
-YOU HAVE TO DO THE WORK !!!!!
-more Food (great in pleaces with good Food, otherwise more boring Pasta'n'sauce)
-more wild camping (evening, next campground,hotel over the next pass 50km/1500m, forget it,you stay where you are)
-weather
-dogs
-traffic
-luggage
-?
-?
-probably a lot more, will know after the trip.


These are two total different worlds of travelling, YOU must like it or not.


good planning
sushi

Yep, it boils down to whether you enjoy cycling or not. It can be extremely tough at times, with strong headwinds, sand, deep gravel ;o)
That brings me back to the choice of your travelling bike: If you plan to do mostly sealed roads a touring bicycle with narrow tyres is the best bet, but if you do lots of gravel roads I personally prefer a MTB with a larger frame and more road-orientated tyres.

Before I started my m/c career I did extensive trips in North & South America, Iceland, Europe and South Africa. Depending on what you want to visit along the route you can easily do 60 to 120 kms per day on sealed roads. On dirt roads a bit less. Of course you can carry less luggage, but with 20 - 25 kg you can take all that is necessary for your trip. It's a question of how luxurious you want to travel :innocent:
Both ways to travel have their pros & cons. Now, in my older years, I prefer to travel by motorbike, although I still do lots of mountainbiking in the Alps. But cycle trips are definitely cheaper :thumbup1:

A gem my friend a long time cyclist lobbed when i asked him why doesnt he join me on a moto----- "you just added another zero to the price of the trip"


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Hi Popo

I think it also depends on what type of trip you are planning and what countries.

Europe, British Isles, Japan and SE Asia bicycle would be a valid alternative.

Africa, America's, Russia etc maybe not so. (edit: cause there are some looooong stretches that would have me at least crying on the shoulder of the road begging for a lift)

We get caught up a bit IMO on RTW being done like an ad for Macho Man Monthly on a batted old (insert cliché old motorcycle) or shiny pimped out (insert cliché new motorcycle) stuck in a mountain range in a country that Stan once pillaged.

I think its really whatever it is at the time. My wife and I have plans for 12 months in and around Japan as the next stage of our adventure. Our (clichéd new motorcycle) will probably be tucked away in our garage and we will be taking;

Planes, trains (mmmm - shinkansens) ferries, buses, bicycles and shank's pony. We will probably hire MC's for day trips just to have some fun.

We hope to duck in and out of Japan to the surrounding countries. After that the next adventure will be to the USA, Canada and Alaska. Que (clichéd new motorcycle)...

:clap:

For me every single trip with the mountainbike came out way cheaper than those with the motorbike. That said, those with the motorbike have been more comfortable overall. When i do a tour with my mountainbike i tend to sleep in a tent, whereas with the motorbike i often use guesthouses or motels, because i dont like to keep my motorbike out in the open ;) I also try to cut costs with my bmx but following a very strict diy approach with help of those pros. So i really dont think it is comparable that easily.

I'm sure it is possible to have a more expensive trip by bicycle.

But I am also sure you would have to try really hard to make it so!

I think this is the point ^^^.

I might spend a bit less per day on a bicycle, but I'll cover a lot less ground as well. Comparing relative costs from point A to point B--say, my home to Ushuaia--might be an interesting exercise, but on a motorbike I'll probably be there in four to six months, and less if I hurry. On a pushbike, call it a year, minimum. Unless the former costs 2 to 4 times as much per day, getting to Ushuaia will be cheaper by motorbike.

If you're comparing costs per day, I'm sure the pushbike will be cheaper, but not by so much of a margin. The motorbike will cost more for parts, fuel, and transport, but there's no law that says it's rider has to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants. And my favorite mountain bike, which I bought used, had an original sticker price several thousand dollars higher than either of my motorbikes, which I also bought new. Its tires cost USD50 and up, cassettes (i.e., gears) cost in the hundreds, brake pads are $20-30 per set.... Plus I definitely worry more about it being stolen than I do about my motorbikes--at 25lbs, it wouldn't even take a van and a couple of energetic thieves.

Of course, YMMV.

Mark

Edit to add: All of which was said earlier and more succinctly on page one, which I neglected to check before posting here.

In my opinion, bicycle traveling is only for bicycle fans(less comfort, more food expenses, distance traveled, lesser cost of the bicycle insurance). If you don't enjoy the ride, the better option for you is taking the motorcycle, its a way faster but a bit more expensive compared with the bicycle(purchase, shipping, running, fuel price, you can take more items). I think in your situation it is better to get the motorcycle, coz the main thing that you are not sure about is the time.

When heading north in Peru next to the ocean, I met some bikers headed south. Hilly, strong constant wind coming from the south. They asked how the road was from there on. I said it was good traveling to Lima, 600 miles. About 100 miles later I realized they were facing constant strong wind that never stopped, lots of steep hills. I met them later in Lima, they had put their bikes on a potato truck to get to Lima. I saw the road differently than them. The moral of this is that its faster and easier on a motorcycle than on a bike, the weather affects you less.

You guys mainly point out that travelling by m/c you cover more distance than by bicycle. Of course this is true, but on a bicycle the impressions are much more intense, you have much easier contact with the surroundings and people.


I remember meeting a guy in Iceland. We were both cycling. He had done lots of long distance trips by m/c in Asia, Africa and the Americas. But none-the-less he was enjoying the cycle trip in Iceland hugely, although it is tough for cyclists: strong headwinds, often bad weather etc., quite similar to Patagonia with its roaring forties and screaming fifties. I know, because I cycled both regions...... Even though I love travelling by m/c I still maintain that I enjoyed the trips there.

Quick question, since you've done both - do you think that touring on smaller/slower motorbikes (eg. postie bikes, Honda C90s, scooters, etc) can be compared to cycling? Or does it feel that the absence of an engine is what helps immersion for you?

No is the answer - for me anyway. I've 'toured' on everything from a Honda C100 (older version of C50) up to whatever you'd regard as the limit of 'small' - so 50cc, 70cc, 100cc, 125cc, etc, and it's still motorcycling. The closest I've come to cycling is running. It's muscle power and you get a chance to observe the countryside (or town - take your pick), struggle / enjoy the hills (depending whether you're going up or down) and with much the same traffic hazards / places you can go / can't go. Runners and cyclists seem to gel together in a way that even electric bikes don't.

Having done bicycle, small motorcycle and large motorcycle travel I would say that bicycle has less in common with the other two. I would not have considered small motorcycle travel had I not done a couple of tours by bicycle and hope to do both again, it is touring on a large motorcycle that I do not expect to do again, the others make you travel more slowly, plan better and enable you to see more, they can save you money as well.

Thanks guys, that's interesting insight!