VERY new, from Illinois

[Ang]

My name is Angel Espiritu.

I drive a V6 VW Passat, and granted it's not the most gas guzzling machine out there, I am looking to save gas..

I work in an office in Oak Brook about 3 miles away from my home, and I am looking for a little more fun alternative to get to work. But I also goto school in the city of Chicago at UIC.

So Basically, I need something that can take me to work and to the train station after work and in the morning and night.

My dad recently bought a Honda Ruckus, and I was debating on getting one of those. But at school in the city, I saw someone riding a Bicycle with pedals with a motor attached to it, and I looked at my friend and said, "Did you see that 'blank'-in rocket bike?"

So now I looked it up and found my self here. I have an old(er) mountain bike It's called a diamonback I forgot who makes it though.

I've searched up and down this site, but tehre are just too many options to go through for me to decide for my self. In essence from what I've read, I kind of want:

-30-40 mph
-fill it up at gas station
-mounted over my rear wheel (preference not really needed)
-would also like it to be a kit I'm not very good at piecing things together from different places

any recommendations on kits?

Also I was wondering; it's probably not safe to ride this thing in the rain/snow at all is it... I don't mind the cold of the winter, but I'm sure traction will be close to nothing.

So Honda Ruckus vs. Rocket Bike... help me decide

p.s. I already have a smile on my face.

 

[jmccrury]

Sounds like you want a golden eagle kit with a 4-stroke motor. I don't know how much you're wanting to spend though. I don't have the GEBE, but it looks very easy to install and from reading others comments about them they appear to be very dependable.

I'm sure others that actually have the rack mounted setups will reply with some good advice.

 

[Ang]

Price for this is not really a factor.. well it is.. but I don't see anything ranging up to the price of a Honda Ruckus ($3k new).

Edit: are the ones that are over the rear wheel generally more expensive? If the ones that go into the frame of the bike, I don't mind having that their to save money.

 

[eltatertoto]

yes over the wheel= more expensive unless ofcourse you make your own. cheapest route would be around $200 but they are Fix Or Repair Daily bikes. (having 2 i know) but i would reccomend racomounts over any frame mount rite now. seeing as the frame mounts havent been made fool proof yet. (selling mine because i dont have $100 for a new gearbox.) good luck with your endavors, and welcome to m.b.c!!

 

[Ang]

So you're are recommending the over the wheel mount? (Sorry, I am reading your post 2 different ways.)

Generally, what websites do you recommend to get them from.. I looked at the GEBE site, looks good, wondering what my other options are.

 

[jmccrury]

Yeah, I read his post two different ways the first time too. I think he was recommending the rack mount kits. If you don't like to tinker with things you will probably not want a frame mount engine. I have one right now and I really like it, but I'm constantly having to tweak it.

Staton is another brand recommended on here. They have friction drives and rack mounted chain drives. If you look under vendor reviews there is a sticky with a list of vendors that should help you look at the different options. I would spend some time reading on this site before I made a decision. There's a lot of good information here.

 

[Big Blue]

Welcome, if your going to take it on a train or bus you will probaly want to check thier rules, some will not allow a motor to be carried on. good luck & my vote would be a staton 2 cycle to get the speed you want.

 

[Ang]

I read through the recommendation of vendors before; but some of the websites just looked so.... ? I can't explain. Unprofessional? But I guess that shouldn't deter me if people have purchase through them before.

As for the train. I most likely wouldn't bring it on the train.. as I take the train during peak hours.. so no bikes are allowed. Even so, I meet a friend on the train, and we walk to class together. I don't want to leave him in the dust while I'm on my bike and he is walking haha.

Well, maybe he could ride my handle bars like we used to do in grade school haha.

But as far as locking it up to a bike rack, I mean it should be the same as locking up a regular bike. Are these little engines stolen off of bikes often or vandalized?

edit: generally how many miles can I ride this thing? gas tank doesn't look big at all.

 

[eltatertoto]

yes, i meant i would go with the rack mount if i had the money. (i reworded it) but the reason for the unprofessional looking sites is because most of the people on here, just know basic computers. (forgive me if i offend anyone) but alot of them are older guys and pc's are an internet machine and nothing more.

being 15 pc's are 90% of my life lol.

i have heard nothing but good from the gebe kits, in regard to ther quality, and reliability. and if i had the money that DEFINATELY would be the kit for me

p.s. in my sig, that vid of me doing a donut in the snow is about what you do every time you attempt to turn the bike (fall on yr butt)

 

[Ang]

I hear ya on the PC being 90% of life thing .. Being competitive gamer and a Graphic Design major

Annnyway..

I understand why the sites look like that now, because they don't have the time/knowledge to put alot into the site, but I understand.

Anyway thanks for the input everyone