Hi guys! Hope you all had a great Christmas and new year!
So here's the situation!
I came across this forum and the whole idea of engine bikes about 2 years ago, looking in now and again to read up but never realy thought of buying anything.
Right, well, i've sold my beloved Mazda RX8 because living in Italy (im English though) it's pretty impossible now to pay petrol / tax / insurance on a car like that, let alone a car like that and my wifes car too! So we had sell up and just keep the wifey car for her job, which leaves me looking for "other transport"!
Cheaper car : no.
Motorbike, moped : no, they tax you and charge insurance rates like a car here.
Bicycle : well yeah for maybe 2 or 3 days a week if i don't want a heart attack (im not Lance Armstrong).
My daily commute is like this: Genova is essentialy a city where there is sea then mountains with almost no flat straight roads. I live on one side of the city and work on the other. To cut through the city is slow / smelly / dangerous! The coastal road: no bicycles allowed (realy)! Which leaves the last option: from my house, go up the mountain behind the city, across and come down right next to my job (8 miles, a steep 3 mile climb and 4 mile decent).
So im thinking i'm gonna build a bicycle with an engine, no tax, no insurance, not much gas to pay. Oh... they're illegal to use here. But pirate by name, pirate by nature, no police go on that mountain road, and it's not so obvious if you pedal past anyway, so....
I've looked around for the kit, but im a bit confused now more than before.
Are 2 strokes realy too loud or unreliable for a daily commuter? 4 strokes are better? Problems with 4G Belt transmissions? What gearing can cope with those steep climbs? Keep my mountain bike frame or start fresh with a crusier?
My idea so far is keep the mountain bike (only interested with in-frame mount kits), take the best 2 stroke i can get, and fit a shifter kit so i've got a little range with the gearing.
I'd be happy if anyone can give me a little advice here. Oh... and im going to have to import the kit, so any advice there too?
Cheers, Pirate Kev!
So here's the situation!
I came across this forum and the whole idea of engine bikes about 2 years ago, looking in now and again to read up but never realy thought of buying anything.
Right, well, i've sold my beloved Mazda RX8 because living in Italy (im English though) it's pretty impossible now to pay petrol / tax / insurance on a car like that, let alone a car like that and my wifes car too! So we had sell up and just keep the wifey car for her job, which leaves me looking for "other transport"!
Cheaper car : no.
Motorbike, moped : no, they tax you and charge insurance rates like a car here.
Bicycle : well yeah for maybe 2 or 3 days a week if i don't want a heart attack (im not Lance Armstrong).
My daily commute is like this: Genova is essentialy a city where there is sea then mountains with almost no flat straight roads. I live on one side of the city and work on the other. To cut through the city is slow / smelly / dangerous! The coastal road: no bicycles allowed (realy)! Which leaves the last option: from my house, go up the mountain behind the city, across and come down right next to my job (8 miles, a steep 3 mile climb and 4 mile decent).
So im thinking i'm gonna build a bicycle with an engine, no tax, no insurance, not much gas to pay. Oh... they're illegal to use here. But pirate by name, pirate by nature, no police go on that mountain road, and it's not so obvious if you pedal past anyway, so....
I've looked around for the kit, but im a bit confused now more than before.
Are 2 strokes realy too loud or unreliable for a daily commuter? 4 strokes are better? Problems with 4G Belt transmissions? What gearing can cope with those steep climbs? Keep my mountain bike frame or start fresh with a crusier?
My idea so far is keep the mountain bike (only interested with in-frame mount kits), take the best 2 stroke i can get, and fit a shifter kit so i've got a little range with the gearing.
I'd be happy if anyone can give me a little advice here. Oh... and im going to have to import the kit, so any advice there too?
Cheers, Pirate Kev!
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. This is a great place to get information, especially this time of year. Some members are not in riding season because of winter, so they might be on the forum more often. Keep updated with your project, Happy New Year, take care.