re-new to bikes period.

R

retrophoto

Guest
First of all I'm 63 years old and riding a bike for the first time in forty-five years at least. I have a couple of nasty medical issues and one of them gave me a balance problem. I bought a bike to see if my balance had gotten so bad that I couldn't ride it. I fell the first ten minutes and gave myself a nasty strawberry and a bruised shoulder. I got a different bike and low and behold I could ride. Not only that my walking balance improved hugely.

I always had going motorized in mind. My wife and family, not to mention my doctors, want me to stop driving. I don't plan to lose my independence so the motorbike is my ticket to mobility. I'm not concerned with me being hurt just don't want to hurt anyone else.

I began with building a friction drive e bike. It actually has been a great experience. I can pedal it some for exercise and let it run on its own some to give my mind a good workout. However there are some real issues for me.

I built a couple of bike trailers to carry batteries. I wanted to increase the range. Then I had to increase the power to pull the large batteries. The battery weight decreased the range. Vicious circle. The range issue came to a head when I ran two electric motors total of 600 watts for five miles last week. The bike limped home the last half mile. Most likely with some battery conservation I could have done better but it didn't change the fact that the bike just wasn't going to give me the range I wanted.

All that said I am now determined to give gasoline a try. I just bought one of those made in china one lung two stroke toys. So I am not one of the gasoline engine about to bes.

I have only one area i seek advice about at the moment. I know there will be others. This probably isn't the place but....

What are the pros and cons to running the gasoline engine on a 24" wheel as opposed to a 26". The 24 would seem to be slower since it would travel less distance per revolution and the revolutions should remain the same for either engine. At least thats how it seems to my fogged mind. Frankly I don't want or need a lot of speed.

What I would like is a lot of hill climbing torque, so would the 24' mean more torque or no difference in speed or torque.

By the way HI... from NC
 
welcome retro. i will let someone else answer on the different size wheel for i was wondering also. glad to have you with us. my parents are from pinehurst so we go to nc everychance we get.
 
one of my many ex-wive's family is from southern pines and i'm very familiar with Pinehurst and the Country Club there. I don't play golf but I have been to their bar a time or two.
 
welcome to MBc ! :D
a 24" will give better torque for climbing
but you need to fit an engine in the frame and some 24" wheeled bikes are too small in that aspect
 
Welcome aboard Retro - Good to hear that you are enjoying your bicycle and not getting hurt. It sounds like you are a conservative rider and the smaller wheel will defiantly make the bike slower, but it will also climb better. Look around in the different places in this forum, and you should be able to find just about anything you will need to get you going. Have fun, Dave
PS: I'm only 58, just a young pup.
 
Thanks for the info. It is what I thought but i was just using the swag system of reasoning so it's nice to know I was right in my thinking. I have a 24" Schwinn Hollywood step through which is a lightweight frame and open. I also have a Huffy top bar with a frame that could be used in Iraq to trigger IEDs.

I had a bit of a problem with the pedals on the Huffy so I bought a kid's 20" bike and switch out the crank. Smaller front crank and shorter pedal throw. Much easier to pedal but had to turn the crank a lot more times. Awfully good exercise.

So now I'm thinking: if the Motor appears not to fit the Schwinn well, I will switch the rear wheels. It will probably give me a bit of a swept back look on the Huffy. I might even have enough room in the Schwinn for the 26" wheel. If not it is no real loss. I can only ride one at a time anyway.

thanks again...
 
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