Krause Travels

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a bike, and that’s pretty close.”
– Anonymous

If the quote above is even remotely accurate, then that means we must be really happy. We didn’t start out collecting bikes, and we don’t own nearly as many bikes as some cyclists. In fact, we’re not sure the word “collecting” is actually correct. But we do have several, and we have had a number of others over the years. They each serve a different purpose, or at least they are intended to.

In the current inventory, our Thorn Raven Twin Tandem is the bike we’ve had the longest. Thorns are produced in the U.K.. Most Thorn models use an internally geared hub from Rohloff rather than a traditional derailleur which makes for smoother shifting and fewer mechanical problems. We also like our tandem because we never get separated as sometimes happens when we’re riding singly. Other advantages include only having to worry about flats on two tires rather than four, and overall it weighs less than two separate bikes.

On the other hand, it’s longer than a standard bike which makes it a little harder to transport. Ours breaks down into two separate pieces using what’s called S & S couplers. In about five minutes we can take the bike apart and fit it into the van. We have a tandem bike rack, but we don’t like how the bike sticks out past the vehicle so we don’t use it very often.

Our most durable touring single bikes are also made by Thorn. We got these in 2022 to replace our 16-year old Trek 7300 Multitrack bikes. We’ve toured numerous times on the Thorns, including trips on the KATY Trail, the Ohio to Erie Trail, the Great Allegheny Passage, the C & O Canal Trail, and, so far, two trips in Europe.

The next bikes we purchased are Change folding bikes with the idea of making international travel easier. The pedals pop off quickly, the handlebars turn sideways without tools, and the frame folds in two. We thought these would be the bikes we would appreciate most to combine with train travel in Europe, but we soon came to realize during a trip through Spain and Portugal that even though they fold in half, they are still quite large and fairly heavy, making train travel with them difficult at times. However, they do fit more easily in our van, so these have become our everyday bikes for car trips. We bought them through a reseller who specializes in getting full-sized bikes into as small a space as possible.

Most recently we bought a pair of Bromptons. These are true folding bikes that can fit into a suitcase small enough to be checked as regular luggage for domestic air travel and light enough to easily carry on to a train. Some people even take them on planes to store in the overhead luggage bins. Having tired of frequent drives to Arizona to visit family, we decided the Bromptons would liberate us from car trips and still give us the option of bringing bikes to one of our favorite places to ride. We book flights with a credit card that includes one free checked bag each for the Bromptons and then pack everything else in our carry ons. Bikes already fly gratis as a piece of luggage on international flights, and now the suitcase-enclosed Bromptons give us that benefit for domestic air travel. Additionally, we hope to use them for train or plane travel to other U.S. destinations.