Too much info......

[berdomb]

All right, too much information.
Seems there's a need for some stickies for newbies, like myself.

I want to build a bike. On a mountain bike frame. To ride on dirt roads. Specifically I want to stash it for hiking sections of remote trails where I can't get a shuttle. then when I get to it I'll ride it 20 ,30, 50 miles back to where I left my truck.

I'd like it not to be a total POS like something that's pre-made in China.

Meaning, I'd like a decent brakes, decent tires, decent clutch, decent wheels, etc

I'm fine with 15 to 20 mile an hour speeds for the couple of hour commute I would need to do on it but I'd also like four stroke because of the noise and the reliability.

Oh yeah, I'd like the pedals to actually work. If needed. Like if bike broke. Maybe that means removing a chain or derailing a chain to remove the added drag. As well it would seem that a multi-speed would be a requirement not some single speed bike, and motor controls can't interfere with with the gear shift for the pedal drive.

So.... What bikes are good that people modify , that start with reasonable quality components and not total Chinese junk? What motors and kits and parts are best to use?

Help a brother out.... Too much information the way through to figure this stuff out..... Somebody's already got to have done it.

Thx for any direction..

 

[Frogslayer]

Are you thinking 1 hiking trip a day? If so electric is going to be nicer to throw in and out of the truck and quieter and more reliable

 

[Vikingimike01]

And, potentionally more torque from a standstill! Less weight too maybe. Not messy like gas engines.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

I think u need a quality, dependable bike first, with disc brakes.

My Diamondback was used when I bought it. It lasted over 10 years as a motorized bike, before I dismantled it.

Even tho I had drilled thru the top tube to mount my engine, the entire aluminum frame was still perfect.

I'd want a dependable engine, and that spells "Japanese".

 

[berdomb]

Are you thinking 1 hiking trip a day? If so electric is going to be nicer to throw in and out of the truck and quieter and more reliable

Really more like backpacking for three or four days at a time where I end up 50 or 60 miles away from where I started.... Then I've got a bike stashed in the woods near a trailhead that I can use to drive back to my truck over a couple of hour period.

Getting somebody to shuttle you for that type of thing costs about 75-150 $ depending on how long it takes and how far it is. You can usually figure $1.5- 2 a road mile. I spent a lot of money in the past paying for shuttles and this seems like a way to avoid it. More convenient as well.

I think it's going to be too far for electric I would need multiple batteries and the batteries are pretty darn expensive from what i saw. Unless it's 52 volt and then everything's expensive

 

[berdomb]

I think u need a quality, dependable bike first, with disc brakes.

My Diamondback was used when I bought it. It lasted over 10 years as a motorized bike, before I dismantled it.

Even tho I had drilled thru the top tube to mount my engine, the entire aluminum frame was still perfect.

I'd want a dependable engine, and that spells "Japanese".

Okay that's what I'm interested in what's the Japanese engine are there any? Aren't they all Chinese clones of a Honda engine? Of varying quality? What bikes have good brakes to start with that aren't going to fall apart and what's possible and not possible ie I read fat tires and need Jack shaft, etc.

Basically if you're not just looking to go fast on a budget, what's good out there and what's junk when you build these bikes?

The phatmotto looked interesting at first, but it turns out that the tires are junk the brakes are junk, the clutch is junk, etc. Buy something like that and you just end up replacing half the bike. So how do you do it right from the start?

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

I've always used Japanese engines, like Tanaka 2-stroke 47R racing engines.
I've had them sit for 3 years, and fired them up with new gas, no problems.

I've also run twin Mitsubishi TLE43 engines.
Zero troubles.

Robin 4-stroke engines are good.
Very expensive now, I don't know why.

For quality and reasonable cost, buy the Honda GX35 or GX50.

Look for a used engine on Ebay or Craigslist.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Installing it in the midframe of your bike is tricky, and unadvisable for beginners.

Which leaves front or rear friction drive(FD) kits, which you can install in an hour.

Some people here swear by FD; I swear AT it.


I've had a rear-engined friction drive cruiser bike.
Then I converted the bike to TWIN Mitsubishi engines, friction drive.

On one trip, we went 50 miles at a steady 39mph(for 10 miles) until the rear tire and tube blew up.

That was HELLA fun!

I must've replaced the rear tire at least 25 times, due to wear.

The friction roller attracts, nails, screws, staples, thorns like a magnet, THEN piledrives it into the rear tire.

It's not the greatest for wet roads and mud, either.

To each his own.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

I'd try this with a quality engine:

motorized bike engine mounting kit backseat mounting parts without motor | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for motorized bike engine mounting kit backseat mounting parts without motor at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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This is chain drive.
This is VERY inexpensive, compared to another vendor.

I've never tried this one, but I'd like to.

 

[berdomb]

This isnt as refined of a product as i had hoped.....
I would have thought there would have been some high-end commercial products and parts/tech from them would have trickled into the dirt cheap home made Chinese contraption market.

Much looks .......crude

What would be cool....... Is a little engine driving a little generator end..... That charges battery....powers the electric motor drive..... And gets the electrics unlimited range....

Friction drive is appealing......except for some problems wet.

i looked at staton and dimension edge...... My initial instinct is that strong springs should hold the drive arbor in contact with the tire and you should be able to turn a knob to adjust that tension simply and easily...... And quickly flip a small lever to overcome it and lift it out off the tire totally. What's there just doesn't seem very refined. Still look almost homemade. They've been making this stuff 20 years I understand.