How many of have been hit by a car on a bike...

[Sidewinder Jerry]

The various ways people use motorized bicycles always interests me.

Some people like @JunkyardDog use them as a very low speed vehicle for urban commuting, or for simple pedal assist. Gentle use, almost no modification required.

Some people like me, DEFINITELY @YOURDADDY (Rob from Zeda) and probably @Frogslayer and others use them as high speed mini motorcycles which can also be pedaled, but only if you want. We mod these engines and bikes to the max and run the engines hard to get every last mile per hour out of them. Max speed is what we care about. It’s what we love to do, we are “tuners” in a sense. And it is safe if you know what you’re doing, probably as safe as riding any other two-wheeled vehicle. A properly built motorized bicycle can comfortably and safely reach speed of up to 40 miles per hour. I’ve been riding mine at 37mph every day for about an hour for the last six and a half months. Only accidents were caused by me (ex: turning corner too fast) and not mechanical. Now beyond 45mph is dangerous and requires building skills, parts, and tools most of use don’t have, as well as full motorcycle safety gear.

we definitely don’t use them as “pedal assist” it’s more like “fully self-powered mini motorcycle” Personally it’s because I love biking and engines/mechanical stuff but hate pedaling, so I get the best of both worlds with my MB!

I have heart problems and live in the mountains. My state Tennessee, has a 50cc limit and an automatic transmission clause. I also weigh 250 lbs. Steep hills, large people and small engines means you need gears. This is what inspired me to build a motorized bicycle that shifts engine driven gears automatically. If I manually shifted, the reduction range could be made even wider and enabling even more speed but then I wouldn't be legal.

However speed wasn't my main objective for the build. The main objective was legality and efficiency.

Therefore the reduction range is currently 49.21-18.82:1 giving a speed of 28.8 mph on 26" tires using a 33cc 4 stroke at 7000 rpms on level ground. Tennessee allows up to 30 mph on level ground.

I'm in my late 50's enjoying my ride while being legal and safe is what's most important to me. After being on a cycling forum I quickly learned cycling myths I'd been taught were wrong. After changing these bad habits I've found my rides to be much more enjoyable and certainly much safer.

 

[LewieBike]

I especially agree with the brakes part. It's really ironic how some people spend $1000 on top of the line hydraulic bicycle disc brakes on a bike they only ride for regular commuting. Heck, you could put a crappy 20 year old rear coaster brake on a bike used for that purpose and you would be fine. Then I see people who build motorized bicycles, even with performance parts that allow them to reach upwards of 40 MPH, using kiddie rear coaster brakes or a single rear V-brake. It's extremely dangerous, but they sadly won't realized it until they end up in a bad crash...

I ride in a very hilly neighborhood with steep downhill sections and understood from the day I first rode it that not all bike brakes are equal. Most stock bicycle brakes (mostly V brakes of coaster brakes) are not designed to stop a bike with 40 pounds of added weight going more than 20mph. Even for me, swapping out the brake pads made a huge difference and I was able to go faster since I could brake better before a steep downhill corner. My advice:

1. Coaster brakes are simply are not effective. Not worth your time upgrading. Get better brakes ASAP.
2. V-brakes will work IF used properly. By that I mean tuning them, using high quality pads, and the changing pads often. With an MB frequent and aggressive braking like I do wears out my V-brake pads (very high quality) after about 500 miles.
3. You NEED to have and use a front brake. This is actually motorcycle advice as well. Back bicycle brakes are dangerous at high speed since they easily lock the wheel due to the braking transferring most (about 85%) of the load to the front wheel, thus leading to the back wheel sliding out and a nasty crash. This why some cars have front caliper brakes and rear drum brakes. Trust me, you will not go over the handlebars if you brake properly with the front brake and you can brake much faster than if you use the rear brake alone. However, there is a real possibility of sliding out with a locked back wheel from excessive rear wheel braking.
4. Dual-pull brake levers are a great addition to your MB but require proper tuning. They cost about $12 (I found a motorcycle-grade one on Amazon with a brake light switch for $16). Of course having an independent rear and back brake lever is optimal but it is simply not possible on these MBs since we have to use the left lever for the clutch (on a motorcycle the rear brake is a foot pedal). Using a dual-pull brake lever will allow you to get much more braking power than just using the front or rear brake. However, you must adjust the amount of braking power gets delivered to the front and rear brakes so the front brake gets about 80% of the braking power. I didn't know how much this helped until I adjusted it after some research. It allows you to stop much faster since your back wheel won't skid out. If you just use a 50/50 split then your back wheel will slide out all the time which gets annoying and decreases your braking potential.
5. You should always have a front and rear brake. Even if one of them is a coaster brake or V-brake, its simply risky to put 100% of your trust in a single brake. If you suddenly need to brake hard and it fails, you and your bike are now essentially a bowling ball with no way to stop aside friction. Now most modern brakes are extremely reliable due to strict standards and years of development, but there is always the possibility of failure no matter how good it is.

Just my advice, feel free to contradict me or add to this.

One thing I should mention as a long time bike mechanic. Rim brakes will eventually wear a big groove in your rims. You can help slow this down by checking your brake pads for imbedded grit and tiny sand/gravel and removing them.

But you cannot forestall the eventual wearing away of the sidewall of your rim. Period!

And because of this you will have to replace or rebuild your wheels on a multi annual basis, *if* the bike gets a lot of bad weather road use riding.

It's hard to predict when you should need to replace your wheel but there are some guidelines.. Cheap Wallyworld quality aluminum bike rims tend to wear faster than say Alex's 7000 grade double wall AX19 aluminum rims. One good guideline is: if your rim has lost over 40% of it's original thickness you should start thinking about saving up to have the wheel replaced.

A grooved rim blowout at speed is an ugly way to crash.

 

[Josh_wilcoxx]

How many of u have been in a biking accident with a car, and how many of u have been close to one, and who hasn't? My mom is worried I will get hit and killed by a car while riding on busy roads. Any of u have anything to say to ease her worries?

I was hit by a drunk driver a year after my buddy got hit on his dirtbike and died. It ended up ripping off 1/4 of the drivers bumper, threw me all the way to the other side of the road, bent my frame, snapped my rear mag wheel, put the entire front end of my bike out of alignment, and beat my up fairly bad. I was wearing a DOT helmet and luckily suffered no significant injuries.

 

[Josh_wilcoxx]

I was hit by a drunk driver a year after my buddy got hit on his dirtbike and died. It ended up ripping off 1/4 of the drivers bumper, threw me all the way to the other side of the road, bent my frame, snapped my rear mag wheel, put the entire front end of my bike out of alignment, and beat my up fairly bad. I was wearing a DOT helmet and luckily suffered no significant injuries.

I have some photos.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

I have some photos.

Glad you survived. People who wear helmets have brains worth protecting.

 

[Josh_wilcoxx]

Glad you survived. People who wear helmets have brains worth protecting.

Thank you. It has caused me a lot of trauma and depression, although I am still happy I survived through it.

 

[Wrench]

It's not always an accident with a car. Here's what can happen when ya hit a Coyote doing 60 mph.
I was riding a M/C Classic Star Cruiser 10 years ago when it happened. Yea, the bike went down.
I was riding in the country with high bush and grass along the road and all of the sudden a Coyote pops out running at full gallop and runs right in front of me. I hit him Square head on. Killed the Coyote and my bike and I go down. As I was sliding on the road behind my bike I watched it catch on the road and flip over. The bike got totaled (Bent swing arm). I was OK I just got some road rash on my upper arm and a very sore leg. When it happened it was about 105*F out so I wasn't wearing a jacket. After about 2 weeks my Insurance paid in full for the M/C and I bought a brand new one Helmet Law or no Helmet Law I will always wear a Helmet. My AAA insurance also paid for a new Helmet and new Boots too.
Here's a pic of the Coyote K-9 tooth. After a few weeks I went to the seen of the accident and the Coyote was still there all dried up so I took his K-9 tooth for a good luck charm. Official Road Kill. Yes, I soaked it in bleach first

Not me in the 1st pic, I'm taking the picture

 

[Frogslayer]

I've been close to deer but not made contact. I've never been close to getting hit by a car but i rarely ride on busy streets in my town of 1000.

 

[Chainlube]

It's not always an accident with a car. Here's what can happen when ya hit a Coyote doing 60 mph.
I was riding a M/C Classic Star Cruiser 10 years ago when it happened. Yea, the bike went down.
I was riding in the country with high bush and grass along the road and all of the sudden a Coyote pops out running at full gallop and runs right in front of me. I hit him Square head on. Killed the Coyote and my bike and I go down. As I was sliding on the road behind my bike I watched it catch on the road and flip over. The bike got totaled (Bent swing arm). I was OK I just got some road rash on my upper arm and a very sore leg. When it happened it was about 105*F out so I wasn't wearing a jacket. After about 2 weeks my Insurance paid in full for the M/C and I bought a brand new one Helmet Law or no Helmet Law I will always wear a Helmet. My AAA insurance also paid for a new Helmet and new Boots too.
Here's a pic of the Coyote K-9 tooth. After a few weeks I went to the seen of the accident and the Coyote was still there all dried up so I took his K-9 tooth for a good luck charm. Official Road Kill. Yes, I soaked it in bleach first

Not me in the 1st pic, I'm taking the picture

I drive for a living and at night, so critters on the highway are a bane. Funny how a deer just disappears. I'm stopping if I get a coyote, good winter pelt is worth up to $320. Like it or not it is real and people still buy Canada Goose.

 

[Wrench]

Are Opossum pelts worth anything I have found some fresh Hawks, and Owls road killed. I'm the crazy M/C guy on the side of the road cutting the wings off and pulling the feathers out.
Their so beautiful it hard to let it go to waist. Plus I get a lot of feathers to tie Fishing Flies