One could argue that you can defend yourself on a bike while in a car you're trapped and can only run.

I know guys who ride with telescopic batons just in case somebody tries to jack their bike.

And I think if you clotheslined a guy riding a bike, you'd be the one hurting...especially if he had a chance to get your arm with his helmet by ducking a bit. That has broken bones written all over it.

Indeed, someone will...if you let them. Not to hijack this thread but if TSHTF bad enough to where I end up buggin' out on the bike, my mindset will be in "shoot first, ask questions later" mode. We can go back and forth all day with, "Yeah, but what if I..." comments but when the SHTF, all talk will be cheap and if anyone catches me slipping (or sleeping), you're right, they get my bike and my stuff.

Aren't we lucky we can just speculate on and imagine these scenarios instead of living out the reality of fighting for our lives and perhaps living with the baggage of taking another persons life, or having to make the tough call to leave behind loved pets for the sake of loved ones.

Austin,Texas and Pasadena,California are both major cities. Let's pray we never find ourselves in a bad enough situation to where we have to make these decisions.

I see advantages and disadvantages of each. Some states where we get snow/ice/rain I don't think I would want to try bugging out on a bike, probably wouldn't get very far, but on the other hand you could run that bike along the berm in a traffic jam. It goes to show there is not one perfect vehicle for every situation.
The best idea I have is to scale down your gear as much as possibe, choose the smallest and lightest you can so you can fit as much as you can in/on whatever vehicle you have.

You're right Eugene, each has it's own selling points. But I think any snow/ice that would stop a Dual Purpose bike would also stop an SUV. As for rain, that's just a comfort issue, I've ridden quite a bit in the rain and with the right gear it's not all that bad, you just give yourself a little more distance from the vehicle in front of you in case you have to come to a quick stop.

If I really had to bug out, I'm thinking my D8 dozer would be the way to go. Weld some steel plating on it and the thing is basically a tank. Off-road, on-road, trees, cars, trucks....very little stands in my way. I don't know what kind of fuel mileage it gets, but I know it costs over $500 a tank to fill it.

With that in mind, I think anything is better than nothing. I'd rather have even a bycycle than be stuck walking anyday.

I'm planning on putting over 100L worth of pannier bags on my bike this summer and doing some camping in Jasper National Park. In the right setting a bicycle could be better than anything that uses gasoline.

When the apocalypse comes and the only fuel is controlled by a crazy washed up female recording artist, I'll have it made!