Virginian
Member
I built my motorized bike in February and I am loving it! I have ridden about 900 miles on it in the last 6 weeks.
I am 67, recently retired, and live in the Northern Virginia suburbs just outside Washington, D.C. I have ridden pedal bikes all my life. I have loved them and I still love riding them. I pedal almost 2000 miles per year, and I have probably pedaled more than 50,000 miles in my lifetime.
But now I can't pedal all the rides that I used to enjoy. I have abandoned routes of 60 to 70 miles because now those rides are just too tiring for me. I have also abandoned routes that have really big hills because I now find those hills just too difficult.
I decided to get a motorized bike so that I could once again ride those long and hilly rides that I used to enjoy so much.
What I wanted was a motorized bike that was good quality, reliable, easy to build, quiet, and low vibration. I ended up getting a kit from Golden Eagle Bike Engines (GEBE) with a Tanaka 32cc 2-stroke engine.
I rejected the Chinese 2-strokes because lots of people reported difficulties with them. I like the appearance of the in-frame motors, but from reading this forum, everyone said that the GEBE was the easiest to build and that their Japanese engines were much more reliable, quieter, and lower vibration than the cheaper Chinese engines.
I bought the GEBE kit with the Tanaka 32 cc motor because GEBE told me it was their quietist motor and would be able to power my 150 pounds up steep hills without any problem. I also bought the GEBE very heavy duty (105g) rear wheel with the plastic drive ring already installed. I put on good tires - the 2-inch Serfas Drifter S.
I mounted the motor on a front-suspension mountain bike that I have had for 15 years. For the most part it was fairly easy to do. A picture is attached.
My first test ride was in early February when the temperature was about 20 degrees. I was a little nervous about how it would handle. I planned riding slowly for about a mile around my neighborhood to make sure that it operated properly and that I knew how to handle it. But from the first minute the bike's performance was perfect. It was so easy and so natural to ride that instantly I felt in total control. And I just took off!
Wow! What a hoot! So much fun! Fabulous! I loved it from the very first minute! In no time at all I did an effortless 10 miles. The bike was fast! It easily did 30 mph at full throttle. The acceleration was incredible. I would squeeze the throttle, and the bike would go from 10 to 25mph in a few seconds. It handled hills like they weren't even there.
I had been concerned that the off-center motor might give the bike an unbalanced feeling. But it didn't. The balance felt perfect.
I had been concerned about how stable the bike would feel at high speeds. But, the bike gave a good solid ride with excellent stability. It took bumps easily. Even at 30mph on a road with an irregular surface, I felt like I had perfect balance, stability, and control. A mountain bike with its fat tires and front suspension is naturally more stable than a road bike. On my road bike, 30mph on that rough road (going downhill to get that fast) would have started to feel unstable and a little out-of-control.
I pedaled the entire time (except when going downhill). I am a lifelong cyclist and I love pedaling. It just seems right for a bike and I want the exercise. Subsequently, I have tried riding without pedaling. I just didn't like it. Without pedaling, riding seemed boring and uninteresting. To me, it just feels that a bike has to be pedaled and that is what I want to do.
Since then I have ridden 900 miles on my GEBE and had no mechanical problems at all. I'll tell you about those rides in future posts.
I am 67, recently retired, and live in the Northern Virginia suburbs just outside Washington, D.C. I have ridden pedal bikes all my life. I have loved them and I still love riding them. I pedal almost 2000 miles per year, and I have probably pedaled more than 50,000 miles in my lifetime.
But now I can't pedal all the rides that I used to enjoy. I have abandoned routes of 60 to 70 miles because now those rides are just too tiring for me. I have also abandoned routes that have really big hills because I now find those hills just too difficult.
I decided to get a motorized bike so that I could once again ride those long and hilly rides that I used to enjoy so much.
What I wanted was a motorized bike that was good quality, reliable, easy to build, quiet, and low vibration. I ended up getting a kit from Golden Eagle Bike Engines (GEBE) with a Tanaka 32cc 2-stroke engine.
I rejected the Chinese 2-strokes because lots of people reported difficulties with them. I like the appearance of the in-frame motors, but from reading this forum, everyone said that the GEBE was the easiest to build and that their Japanese engines were much more reliable, quieter, and lower vibration than the cheaper Chinese engines.
I bought the GEBE kit with the Tanaka 32 cc motor because GEBE told me it was their quietist motor and would be able to power my 150 pounds up steep hills without any problem. I also bought the GEBE very heavy duty (105g) rear wheel with the plastic drive ring already installed. I put on good tires - the 2-inch Serfas Drifter S.
I mounted the motor on a front-suspension mountain bike that I have had for 15 years. For the most part it was fairly easy to do. A picture is attached.
My first test ride was in early February when the temperature was about 20 degrees. I was a little nervous about how it would handle. I planned riding slowly for about a mile around my neighborhood to make sure that it operated properly and that I knew how to handle it. But from the first minute the bike's performance was perfect. It was so easy and so natural to ride that instantly I felt in total control. And I just took off!
Wow! What a hoot! So much fun! Fabulous! I loved it from the very first minute! In no time at all I did an effortless 10 miles. The bike was fast! It easily did 30 mph at full throttle. The acceleration was incredible. I would squeeze the throttle, and the bike would go from 10 to 25mph in a few seconds. It handled hills like they weren't even there.
I had been concerned that the off-center motor might give the bike an unbalanced feeling. But it didn't. The balance felt perfect.
I had been concerned about how stable the bike would feel at high speeds. But, the bike gave a good solid ride with excellent stability. It took bumps easily. Even at 30mph on a road with an irregular surface, I felt like I had perfect balance, stability, and control. A mountain bike with its fat tires and front suspension is naturally more stable than a road bike. On my road bike, 30mph on that rough road (going downhill to get that fast) would have started to feel unstable and a little out-of-control.
I pedaled the entire time (except when going downhill). I am a lifelong cyclist and I love pedaling. It just seems right for a bike and I want the exercise. Subsequently, I have tried riding without pedaling. I just didn't like it. Without pedaling, riding seemed boring and uninteresting. To me, it just feels that a bike has to be pedaled and that is what I want to do.
Since then I have ridden 900 miles on my GEBE and had no mechanical problems at all. I'll tell you about those rides in future posts.
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