My Dream Of Owning MB Went Bad - Part II

[OCLandspeeder]

Read the details of the Vendor review.

http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?p=228114#post228114

 

[Scotchmo]

Scotchmo:
This is good advice. As an example, I have a cruiser style bike with a rack chain drive, 2.125 tires. Nice comfortable ride. Suspension forks? Wouldn't be without em. I just recently put a friction drive on a 700cx38 higher end Specialized hybrid. Sporty bike, handles great, However, the ride is really much rougher, and I wouldn't choose that bike for anything more than a short hop or joy ride. When you're under pure pedal power, it seems, you're body is more aligned with the frame to handle the jolts better. Under motor power, I don't feel as leveraged, or as well braced against the frame. I agree with you all around. If you like, jazz, a four finger pour of scotch and an occasional cigarette...we just might be brothers.
-Mike

Your body is more elevated when pedaling hard, so the seat is also less of a factor. I wouldn't put a skinny racing seat on a motorized bicycle that I intended to ride for any distance. - classic rock, Corona w/lime, fresh air. Maybe not brothers but we have motorbikes in common

 

[OCLandspeeder]

I'm only speaking academically of course.

Knowing what I know about motorcycles and road bicycles and their rider interface, here is my 2 cents. A typical comfort/cruiser bike has most of the rider's weight on the seat. Thus, it is very important to have those fat tires to absorb the bumps at high speeds. This riding position is very similar to that of a cruiser type motorcycle. Cruiser motorcycles have large rear tires to help absorb those bumps at high speed.

A road bicycle positions the rider to put more of his weight towards the front, and more on his legs. This lowers the CG, improves handling, aerdynamics, and puts the best leverage for pedalling power. This is similar to a sportbike type motorcycle. The forward riding position puts a lot more weight on the upper body and legs, thus lower CG, increasing aerodynamics, improving handling, etc. I think we agree on both points.

What you're saying is that the lack of bump absorption will actually hinder the speed potential of the high performance Motorized 700c equipped Road bike. Thus, it would actually be less practical to take advantage of its higher speed potential. I think that may only be relevant depending on the rider and the road conditions.

When I'm riding my road bike, I deal with a lot of hills so I am frequently going downhill. When doing so, I regularly hit 45+ mph with my hands in the drops and no pedalling. This position is good enough for me to absorb most bumps that come my way without them hurting. Keep in mind I ride in an area where most of the roads are very smooth and well maintained, so "bumps" to me is relative!

So perhaps, under the right road conditions (mostly smooth), with a few modifications to the bike's riding position by using a higher stem and flat handlebar to ease the strain on the upper body, a Road Bicycle converted to a MB would have a significant increase in performance over the typical cruiser/comfort frame. It certainly won't win awards from comfort, but neither will sportbike type motorycles.

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oThOQM5QTCc&feature=related

 

[Scotchmo]

I'm only speaking academically of course.

Knowing what I know about motorcycles and road bicycles and their rider interface, here is my 2 cents. A typical comfort/cruiser bike has most of the rider's weight on the seat. Thus, it is very important to have those fat tires to absorb the bumps at high speeds. This riding position is very similar to that of a cruiser type motorcycle. Cruiser motorcycles have large rear tires to help absorb those bumps at high speed.

A road bicycle positions the rider to put more of his weight towards the front, and more on his legs. This lowers the CG, improves handling, aerdynamics, and puts the best leverage for pedalling power. This is similar to a sportbike type motorcycle. The forward riding position puts a lot more weight on the upper body and legs, thus lower CG, increasing aerodynamics, improving handling, etc. I think we agree on both points.

What you're saying is that the lack of bump absorption will actually hinder the speed potential of the high performance Motorized 700c equipped Road bike. Thus, it would actually be less practical to take advantage of its higher speed potential. I think that may only be relevant depending on the rider and the road conditions.

When I'm riding my road bike, I deal with a lot of hills so I am frequently going downhill. When doing so, I regularly hit 45+ mph with my hands in the drops and no pedalling. This position is good enough for me to absorb most bumps that come my way without them hurting. Keep in mind I ride in an area where most of the roads are very smooth and well maintained, so "bumps" to me is relative!

So perhaps, under the right road conditions (mostly smooth), with a few modifications to the bike's riding position by using a higher stem and flat handlebar to ease the strain on the upper body, a Road Bicycle converted to a MB would have a significant increase in performance over the typical cruiser/comfort frame. It certainly won't win awards from comfort, but neither will sportbike type motorycles.

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oThOQM5QTCc&feature=related

If your roads are smooth, build it. I think it could be a cool bike. The road conditions around here are more variable. If my roads were all as smooth as a racetrack, I would definitely go with narrow tires and lose the suspension. I run my seat lower than I would on a non-motorized bike since I do not care so much about pedaling efficiency. This improves the aerodynamics. A road bike with proper body positioning for pedaling may be less aerodynamic than a very low slung motorized cruiser. Instead of a higher stem, keep it as low as possible and combine that with a lowered seat. It may be harder to pedal, but it will reduce your frontal area and improve performance while motoring at high speeds.