That one kid in school that nobody gets

[SignedByMe]

Hey fellow forum goers,
I am Chris from Albuquerque. I'm 14 years old and like to tinker with my bike and just go for a ride. I know what you all might be thinking "Ok I just wasted 30 seconds of my life that I will never get back but hear me out". In New Mexico a motorized bike is considered a bike. This mean I can ride anywhere a bike can go. So yea, my bike is a cheap ass Ebay kit with some performance upgrades. I love it to death it's an old bat 700 miles on it and still going strong. I hope I can be helpful and maybe ask for advice thought this very friendly forum. If anyone else lives in Abq maybe we could start a club or something.
Got to go,
Chris, aka Signedbyme

 

[butre]

ride safe, wear a real motorcycle helmet, preferrably full face, at least 3/4. none of that flimsy $12 wal mart bicycle helmet crap or one of those skid lid monstrosities. have at least reflectors, preferably a headlight and tail light.

these machines are a great way to learn small engine maintenance and tuning, but a lot of people (especially younger people like yourself) have been killed due to their own recklessness or the recklessness of others.

There are a few people going 40, 50, even 60 miles per hour on these things, and they are not your role models. I understand the need for speed, I'm going almost 55 miles per hour myself, but I readily admit that I'm an idiot and shouldn't be followed. Take it from someone with experience on these things, bicycle brakes are not meant for these speeds and the way a bicycle frame flexes after 35 miles per hour or so can only be described as terrifying.

the fastest way around a track isn't even top speed, it's acceleration and braking.

 

[wheelbender6]

Welcome to the forum. I liked tinkering with mechanical stuff when I was in school but none of my friends did. To each his own.

 

[SignedByMe]

Thank you for the sound advice

ride safe, wear a real motorcycle helmet, preferrably full face, at least 3/4. none of that flimsy $12 wal mart bicycle helmet crap or one of those skid lid monstrosities. have at least reflectors, preferably a headlight and tail light.

these machines are a great way to learn small engine maintenance and tuning, but a lot of people (especially younger people like yourself) have been killed due to their own recklessness or the recklessness of others.

There are a few people going 40, 50, even 60 miles per hour on these things, and they are not your role models. I understand the need for speed, I'm going almost 55 miles per hour myself, but I readily admit that I'm an idiot and shouldn't be followed. Take it from someone with experience on these things, bicycle brakes are not meant for these speeds and the way a bicycle frame flexes after 35 miles per hour or so can only be described as terrifying.

the fastest way around a track isn't even top speed, it's acceleration and braking.

Hey thank for the advice. Because Abq is basically a huge hill so I have a 56 tooth rear sprocket. This allows me to do about 17 mph every were.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

56 teeth, huh? This kid's smarter than we might have thought.

I'm more serious about that than you might think. When we hear '14 yrs old' we're scared of the impulsiveness and recklessness that youths often show. And I could tell from the tone of your intro that you were aware of that.

But if you're going to gear your bike down that low........well then.......I guess I'm not all that frightened for you. Good job.

Still....ride safe. And have fun!

 

[SignedByMe]

Thanks man I was kinda worried that I would be looked downward on because of my age. So thanks

 

[butre]

that's good, still faster than you can sustain on an MTB or a cruiser but not so fast that you'll stress the gear much. 56 teeth will get you up any hill you want to take too.

just remember to regularly inspect your bike, the stock chain tensioners in particular are known to be failure points, usually destroying the entire back wheel when they go.

 

[SignedByMe]

Thanks for the tip

 

[chain]

Hey man . just be careful out there man . I lived In NM for 5 years and miss it like crazy .
I have a motorcycle that I rode out there and loved it .
Good luck bud .
Chain

 

[SignedByMe]

Yea Nm is a relly cool place. Have fun on your motorized bike that can go 150. (motorcycle)