r/pics 2d ago

[OC] inside a British nuclear bunker

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2.0k Upvotes

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588

u/Jezbod 2d ago

I like the utility bike to get down the tunnel quicker.

547

u/ExtraPockets 2d ago

Bikes are the most underestimated and underused post-apocalyptic technology in storytelling.

14

u/Jezbod 2d ago

The basic models, anything that needs specialist knowledge to setup or particular materials for maintenance, would be useless.

28

u/vanalla 2d ago

it does not take a mechanical genius to set a derailleur and cable-based brakes.

-11

u/Jezbod 2d ago

I agree, however, what about carbon fibre frames and blue tooth connected gears? Or suspension that requires a special oil / grease to keep working?

The K.I.S.S. principle comes in to effect - Keep It Simple, Stupid.

16

u/vanalla 2d ago

well I learned something about cycling today - did not know electronic shifters existed. That's wild. Yeah you won't find many of those hanging around in the apocalypse, I agree.

5

u/Jezbod 2d ago

I have a friend that has them, that and new front forks that cost £3000 on his mountain bike.

The bike is too expensive to ride off road now

2

u/vanalla 2d ago

I used to ride 60km of road like 4x per week about 10 years ago - these would make a lot of sense on a road bike. Not sure the use case for mountain, seems like a lot of things to go wrong given the amount of variables (brush, dust, mud etc) that interfere in mountain biking vs. road biking.

11

u/samuelgato 2d ago

Yeah if that's your apocalypse bike then you picked the wrong bike

7

u/BaldBear_13 2d ago

just get a $150 bike from Walmart. It will suck, but I am pretty sure it will get you to the next Walmart, where you can rinse and repeat.

2

u/Jezbod 2d ago

Yup, hopefully there will be no one camped on the Walmart...

2

u/deathlyschnitzel 1d ago

The Walmartians will be glad to trade for gathered stuff, they don't get out much.

4

u/extopico 2d ago

Carbon fiber? Super easy to fix, if you raid a hardware store and get an epoxy repair kit. With metal frames, you are fucked without electricity and proper knowledge of welding and heat treatment - and some alloys cannot even be welded without very specialized equipment.

2

u/Ax12de 2d ago

What kind of cheap ass bikes do you have over there? Never ever in my life has a bike frame broke/tear/bent. Wheels and fenders sure but frames nahhh

31

u/Jiminyfingers 2d ago

There are lots of ancient bikes still chugging about, and every bike shop would be a treasure trove post-apocalypse 

4

u/Shnook817 2d ago

Yeah, but known treasure troves get emptied first, so, how sustainable would it really be?

7

u/Jiminyfingers 2d ago

Would be easy to keep them running tbfb

7

u/ChemicalRascal 2d ago

A bomb-proof three-by-nine should be fine, a fixie would be golden (but bleh). At some point chain lube will be necessary, and later chain replacement might be necessary, but it'll take a while to run though existing supplies if lots of folks are dead. And by that time it might even be feasible to start making new basic components.

7

u/Biolume_Eater 2d ago

God a new ~20 gear bicycle is not rocket science lol it’s just a gear system