this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2026
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If you think about it bikes are perfect for a post apocalyptic scenario, specifically mountain bikes.
Now lets imagine how it effects the story:
"Standard" in that there are multiple incompatible "standards" for wheels, hubs, chains, cranks, chainrings, shifters, derailleurs, derailleur hangers, brake mounts, brake fluid, handlebars, seat posts and probably 50 other things I've forgotten.
And department store bikes ignore most of those standards and do whatever is cheap.
I'll stick to Decathlon MTBs. Decent enough and veeery widespread here across Europe, probably a better than 50% chance of breaking into a house and them having one of those in the shed/garage. Decathlon itself has hundreds of fully assembled bikes in their big stores. Finding replacement parts would be a piece of cake.
depends on the availability of food vs fuel, which is easier to acquire on the way so you don't spend too much fuel just carrying required fuel.
No worries with blocked roads either. Can just squeeze through most gaps. In the worst case scenario just lift the bike over any cars.
Bikes aren't great for tough terrain. They mostly require roads or paths. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland there would be a lot of those. But, the good thing that is that when the terrain isn't suitable for biking, you can get off and push the bike, or if truly necessary you can carry it. Meanwhile, if a highway is blocked and you're relying on a car, there's no way you're moving the car to the other side of the blockage.
The main benefit is that the parts are standard, maintenance is pretty easy, all the parts are sitting there, easily visible, so you can spot the problem and fix it. And if it's unfixable, it's pretty easy to swap for another part. Also, a bike with degraded parts still does a job. If you don't have working brakes, you can drag your feet. If you can't shift gears, you can just use the bike in whatever gear it's stuck in. If the wheel is dented, as long as it still rolls, you're probably ok. Pretty much the only things necessary are tires that aren't completely flat and a drive chain that has at least one working gear.
Now that something I would stop to look at... Dangerous
Also imagine dual wielding machetes on a bike
Bold claim
I meant not in the same way you can get trapped in a car