professor
Active Member
More than likely the vibration of the HT killed your frame and a rear mount would not have the same effect, being a better engine and isolated.
CAUTION REGARDING ALUMINUM FRAMES: Guess I'll be building a new bike...
- Thread starter RedBaronX
- Start date
RedBaronX
Member
for the money it would cost to buy a different bike AND a rear-mount engine and set up, I could probably buy a used scooter... not to mention, a huge part of the appeal of MBs for me is the motorcycle look. If I were choosing between a scooter and a rear-mount MB, I would go with a scooter.
If frame-mount HTs destroyed all bikes as quick as mine went south, NO ONE would be using them at all. There is more to bike failure than the engine I used.
1417 miles out of the cage and counting
Seriously,
I just do not get your motivation for motorizing a bicycle. If its an appeal thing I understand that! I am big into the hip fixed gear cycling crowd. I am big into the "Tuesday nite" race ride. But when the rubber hits the road I need to get there cheap. And I mean to work cheap. Simple as that. To cut through the BS I use a good Gary Fisher bike with a GEBE system.
I do think that there could be an issue with frame mounted engines and frame failures. There is just little information on this issue. But, with the rack mounted systems there seems to be a lot of systems with a lot of bikes out there that seem to work just fine not just GEBE's.
As I have said before high quality steel frames are a thing of the past.
What do I know?
My Gary Fisher motorized commuter weighs in at 42 pounds total with all my gear. I can pedal it if I absolutely have to. My average speed is well over 25 miles per hour.
What can I say? I can spot a good frame a mile a way laying by a dumpster.
I have one of those for a spare in my basement. Just saying...
Kevin
Seriously,
I just do not get your motivation for motorizing a bicycle. If its an appeal thing I understand that! I am big into the hip fixed gear cycling crowd. I am big into the "Tuesday nite" race ride. But when the rubber hits the road I need to get there cheap. And I mean to work cheap. Simple as that. To cut through the BS I use a good Gary Fisher bike with a GEBE system.
I do think that there could be an issue with frame mounted engines and frame failures. There is just little information on this issue. But, with the rack mounted systems there seems to be a lot of systems with a lot of bikes out there that seem to work just fine not just GEBE's.
As I have said before high quality steel frames are a thing of the past.
What do I know?
My Gary Fisher motorized commuter weighs in at 42 pounds total with all my gear. I can pedal it if I absolutely have to. My average speed is well over 25 miles per hour.
What can I say? I can spot a good frame a mile a way laying by a dumpster.
I have one of those for a spare in my basement. Just saying...
Kevin
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RedBaronX
Member
ok, now you are just starting to get condescending... My motivation? As I said-- I bought a bike because I wanted a bike. Then someone said "hey, have you ever seen bike motors?" Some basic math showed me that adding a motor could save me money over taking the bus in just a few months. After less than a dozen commutes to and from work, the frame cracks nearly through. I've said all this already.
So either I can start completely over with a rack mount system as you suggest, or I can find a bike that will work with my HT. Since I am pinching pennies right now just to afford some stupid cabbage soup, neither will be happening for months.
my bicycle failed after 300 miles-- that's NOT normal, probably not even all that common, because if it were, I think no one would be building frame-mount bikes.
of course they exist
my bike started out at 38 lbs...
good for you?
Not a lot I can do about "bikes in dumpsters" I might happen to see while on the bus. And I've done a lot of dumpster diving in my life-- clothes, furniture, books... food. I don't ever remember seeing a bike worth keeping.
Slackbiker
Member
Milwaukee has a bike collective, with an earn a bike program, it seems better than the albuquerque collective where i've traded up bikes and got some parts. http://www.facebook.com/bikecollective
Karryhunt
Member
Don't Buy Aluminum Frames
The stupidest statement that I have seen so far on this forum.
Aluminum frames are better than steel ever was offering light weight and strength that makes the steel frame bikes obsolete.
Deal with a reputable bike shop instead of dumpster diving and Walmart and you would not be in the situation your in. Scheeeze!
The stupidest statement that I have seen so far on this forum.
Aluminum frames are better than steel ever was offering light weight and strength that makes the steel frame bikes obsolete.
Deal with a reputable bike shop instead of dumpster diving and Walmart and you would not be in the situation your in. Scheeeze!
RedBaronX
Member
Stan4d
New Member
I only have to say......go strong. We are doing to bicycles what was not meant to do. Older frames are better, and I have heard nothing bad about worksman.
Personally, I am still treading lite on my wally world buy.....looking for something better.
Personally, I am still treading lite on my wally world buy.....looking for something better.
You never did identify your bike frame for me. I identified my frameset and my engine source. Yes I am kind of getting a little annoyed with you but I kind of don't care one way or the other. Its your business after all.
Ride what ya like man. I plan on doing so.
1500 miles and counting on my motorized commuter bike.
I hope you find a solution for your transportation problems....
Kevin
RedBaronX
Member
Yes, I did. Days ago. And I said it in direct response to your post about what you are riding, not just in passing. And you even replied that you had not heard of the company (Greenline). I also went on to explain that Greenlines are nearly identical to Micargis (so identical they are probably made in the same factory), and Micargis are some of the most often motorized bikes by the companies that offer pre-made MBs.
Maybe MY bike was defective and would have failed after 300 pedaled miles. Probably not, but I have read other posts on this forum regarding the failure of aluminum frames because the majority of people on this forum are probably using less-expensive bikes than your "top of the line for its time" Gary Fisher.
As for the actual source of the engine itself, I bought it from someone I know who deals in engines, bikes, bike parts, and complete MBs. She even came over a couple times to help me with a couple things like installing the drive chain (she's built dozens of MBs, but my chain was being stubborn for even her). The engine itself is a PK-80, which is a Chinese frame mount engine-- though I guess I figured you could at least tell I have a frame-mount based on my profile picture.
You seem to be getting annoyed that I am not heeding your advice of completely scrapping what I have and going with a rear-mount motor, though in my very first post I stated my proposed solution to my problem-- rebuild using a Worksman. At no point did I ask anyone for advice, so I don't know why you are annoyed I am not taking yours.
Before I even bought the engine kit, I asked around on the forum-- what kind of lifespan I can expect out of a HT motor, and there are people here that use them as commuters and have gotten thousands of miles from them. While many people here are hobbyists, these engines were created to BE transportation in countries where bicycles nearly outnumber people (or at least seem to outnumber people). Some say they were designed in Russia and stolen by the Chinese... others say the Russians stole the design from the Germans and were then eventually made by China... doesn't really matter.
What matters is that the failure in question was the frame-- a mid-price aluminum cruiser-- "low-price" being Wal-Mart bikes, "upper price" being Felt, Worksman, Trek... And I stand behind my assertion that the failure would not have happened if I had bought a steel version of the same bike. I guess if I could edit the heading of this thread, I could change it to "Caution regarding Aluminum frames", but I can't. Mods, if you are able, feel free to modify the thread title.
