A bike for finding tarantula and snakes.

[Ralpho]

With that said I can't object to the Schwinn santis. It all comes down to what you need. There's always a loss versus reward when motorizing bikes. The gears and brakes are good to have and it looks like a solid bike.

 

[bakaneko]

Well, you shouldn't really go with a 4 stroke mostly because of the converter or centrifugal clutch (both have the flaw I'm about to describe). The reason being is they are meant for riding like accelerating under load, not cruising casually at low speed. They work well for most road situations. I can think of a few they suck at, like stop and go traffic and congested hills. And even If you gear it for low speed, your engine rpms will be high to keep the clutch engaged. More noise=less wildlife. Just not a very good casually ride around slowly stopping often kind of set up. Ask the guys that ride these it's way more wear on the clutch to ride slow and slip the clutch than to ride at speed clutch fully engaged. You can't have engaged clutch and low rpms. Just my rant about the whole situation.

Oh and E L E C T R I C!

The whole electric versus gas is a page turner. I think for his needs and budget gas is best. Problem is batteries get tired and gas engines/components eventually wear out so you gotta pick your poison and see what is best for you to maintain and live with. I have over 4-5k miles on some of my ebike packs and those batteries are seriously beyond their cycle life and tired as hell. Probably didn't help I slammed them hard this summer. Clutches are cheap and easy to replace if he ever burns them. Again, with the HS 142F the default clutch is s**t gotta get an upgrade. I think the one with the Predator 79cc kit is solid design.

Does the SBP jackshaft kit have a free wheel on the jackshaft sprocket going to the triple pedal chainring? For the Cyclone kit to that triple chainring it does so pedaling is easiest compared to a standard left hand engine kit and gearless hub motor. Pedaling with a 1kw gearless hub motor and batteries is as s**tty as pedaling with a gas engine and gearbox believe me. Gotta get geared hub or the proper double freewheel to minimize resistance.

 

[darwin]

All I can say is good luck with a Schwinn from wally. I bought a Schwinn sidewinder from them and it was pure junk. Within 6mo the cassette gave out, the steering quill that was adjustable was loose like from 1000's of miles of wear. Brakes V flexed when trying to stop. This wasn't the 99$ special either, it was like $179 plus. Other issues too just can't remember. All in all it was a POS! From that bike on I only buy name brand bikes with known quality built in. Used or new but your getting a better overall bike. Stick with Diamondback, trek, Gary Fisher or other quality bike. Good luck!

 

[CrazyDan]

All I can say is good luck with a Schwinn from wally. I bought a Schwinn sidewinder from them and it was pure junk. Within 6mo the cassette gave out, the steering quill that was adjustable was loose like from 1000's of miles of wear. Brakes V flexed when trying to stop. This wasn't the 99$ special either, it was like $179 plus. Other issues too just can't remember. All in all it was a POS! From that bike on I only buy name brand bikes with known quality built in. Used or new but your getting a better overall bike. Stick with Diamondback, trek, Gary Fisher or other quality bike. Good luck!

I 100% agree with getting a bike with good components from the start. Starting on a box store bike and upgrading it to handle offroad motored use tends to be more expensive in the long run. My $89 huffy cranbrook, without any motorized bike parts, is sitting at around $700 with just bicycle upgrades. I could have had a brand new nirve with an internally geared hub and disc brakes front and back for that cost. It costs less in the long run to start with a better quality bike.

 

[bakaneko]

His budget is $700. My first new bike that I motorized was a $50 mountain bike from Walmart with a HS-142F kit. Other than the alignment of the rear caliper brakes, seems true for all Walmart bike, it was fine. Front gears is always s**t as its attached by a hose clamp but I dont use front gears so I removed it right away. I'm not jumping 20ft gaps with this thing...

 

[CrazyDan]

His budget is $700. My first new bike that I motorized was a $50 mountain bike from Walmart with a HS-142F kit. Other than the alignment of the rear caliper brakes, seems true for all Walmart bike, it was fine. Front gears is always sh*t as its attached by a hose clamp but I dont use front gears so I removed it right away. I'm not jumping 20ft gaps with this thing...

That's why I'm saying to start on a good platform to begin with. My build would have a better frame and components for a few hundred dollars less if I started with a Nirve with everything but a suspension fork to start with. Upgrading a bike costs more than buying a quality one to begin with.

 

[darwin]

My last bike buy I was looking on craigs for about 2 months and just didn't see what I was looking for exactly. A name brand bike barely used for under $200, usually owned by 40+ adults who buy them but never use them. There were a few but they wanted either $200 or more and that was too much. I had my eye on a bike from Dick's but something kept holding me back. I looked at it everyday even had the page stored on favs. Finally I saw the Motobecane at bikes shop warehouse for $279 and knew that was the bike for me. It had all the features I needed and for new the price was right. Most expensive bike I've ever purchased. Since I figured it was my final bike I didn't mind paying what I did. Anything goes awry I'll fix it. It's a beauty and money well spent. I'm glad I didn't get the Nishiki Men's Tamarack Comfort Bike from Dick's because the Motobecane has way better parts and overall the better bike.