Mass Combat Help Please!

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Kromm

I'd call bicycle infantry Mounted Rifles (p. 21). Bicycles are different from beasts, but the net effect is the same: You can carry more and move faster, but you need more logistic support. Comparing MR to ordinary Riflemen:

A bicycle is much more energy-efficient than a horse or other living mount. It seems intuitive to me since any walking motion involves a lot of up-and-down motion involving one's own (i.e. the mount's) body mass, which a bicycle avoids.

That suggests that cost-to-maintain should be much lower for bicycle dragoons than for horse dragoons.

Cost to raise could be the same. Or even higher. Depends on whether you're into the horsies-can-make-more-horsies-on-the-cheap meme or not. Bicycle dragoons are less able to cope with adverse terrain, though, and can also carry less; a dragoon-class horse should be able to carry at least twice as much as a bicycle, and maybe even more.

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by macphersonrants

Recently there has been a trend towards purpose built bikes designed to carry much heavier loads. Bikes with long integrated racks like the Kona Ute are ridable with at least a few hundred pounds of extra load (I saw a highschool kid carrying three of his 120 poundish buddies and their skateboards on one- at a decent clip, maybe 12 mph).
These sort of bikes could provide a template for military bikes designed to carry a heavier loads while being ridden. They would also be prime equipment in a post-apocalyptic game where fuel was hard to come by or expensive.

as could these

[Peter Knutsen]

One thing I forgot, due to not having been on top of a bicycle in over half a decade: They're wind-sensitive. If going against the wind, I'd much rather walk than pump some pedals.

Uphill isn't quite as bad, but they are still somewhat slope-sensitive, whereas when I'm walking I tend to not notice slope much.

[Þorkell]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Uphill isn't quite as bad, but they are still somewhat slope-sensitive, whereas when I'm walking I tend to not notice slope much.

You will notice the slope if it's a long slope.

[macphersonrants]

This line towards the end of the wikipedia entry for Bicycle Infantry struck me as interesting:

There are some reports of the use of mountain bicycles in parachute bike jump tests by the 1st Tactical Studies Group (Airborne) using folding models, as well as combat use by U.S. Special Forces as a scouting vehicle in the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) and in subsequent battles against the Taliban.[6]

Anyone know anything about this?

[macphersonrants]

The Montague Bike (Paratrooper Tactical Mountain Bicycle) entry on wikipedia has a chart with load capacity, range, food, and fuel consumption for various types of troops from infantry to the APC that compares them to bicycle infantry.

It also introduces a few additional wrinkles:

1. An infantrymen can parachute with a bike, especially a folding one. A folding bike can also be folded up and carried over particularly bad terrain.

2. Electric assist provides an interesting possibility in a high tech game.

3. Horses require a lot more food and water than bicycle infantry.

Like most wikipedia stuff there is no source cited, but the numbers look reasonable to me. EDIT- they are from the Montague Web Site here- http://www.militarybikes.com/index.html

Here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratro...untain_Bicycle