trying to select a bike

GoldenMotor.com

kauaitom

New Member
Jan 27, 2010
4
0
0
kauai,Hi
Aloha! Gettin ready to purchase a bike for my first build. Gonna buy new and will be thru wallmart as that is our best option on the island. Looking at the schwinn point beach but wondering if the aluminum frame poses a problem? Also considering the simple single speed steel frame beach cruiser such as huffy or schwinn but also wondering if coaster brake is problematic for first build. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks...Tom
 

hiker472

Member
Nov 6, 2008
653
3
18
Ontonagon County,Upper Michigan
Hey kauaitom,

Coaster brakes work well, but it's all in what a person would rather have. I personally have only built two bikes so far and both are coaster brakes. The advantages are only in the simplicity of it, but I do know that if a guy wants to put one of Sick Bike's shifter kits on it, it's better to have a multi-speed for more gears.

The consensus for frames is NOT to go with aluminum, however some members do have them. A number of members have the Schwinn bikes, and if I didn't get my Greenline, that was my next choice.

The nice thing about these kits is that you can build any kind of bike you want. Some guys go all out and build a pricey bike for their first build, but you really don't need to and can build it up as you go.

I, personally, would get the Schwinn, build it and work out the bugs in it and then keep an eye out for a nicer set of beefy wheels and just go from there.



.wee.
 

jay sawdust

New Member
Aug 11, 2009
55
0
0
kauai,hawaii
Howzit I too am on Kauai and ive found it is best to just get a walmart or k-mart bike....all the bike stores are too expencive....You can build a bike from there add your motor then make whatever improvements you like....the point beach is fine. And I do think you will find that a coaster brake is inadequite....something that has front and rear caliper brakes will work. Pick a bike that has no rear suspention....front suspention will work fine...some mountian bikes will work if the frame has enough space.....I recently built a point beach from wallyworld (as they call it on the forum) with a 66cc motor....it is fairly easy to mount the motor and I put a layback seatpost to make it more comfortable to ride.....I also built a mongoose paver 700c(from walmart)it was my first and favorite bike....You can see from the pic that ive made many modifications....Anyway i live in Waipouli and if I can be of any help just PM me
click to enlarge

Way cool to see a Kauai boy on here .....Welcome
 

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
if you spend some time looking around this forum, you'll find, i dunno, 4 or 5 hundred posts about walmart schwinns, huffys, coaster brakes, steel vs. aluminum...

not trying to sound harsh, but everything you've asked has been posted many, many times.

and my opinion, is stay away from walmart, find a cool old vintage bike on ebay or something, and make something special...:)
 

jay sawdust

New Member
Aug 11, 2009
55
0
0
kauai,hawaii
My elite friend baird....one of the reasons we think walmart is there arn't realy any old bikes here....were surounded by saltwater and rust has long since taken the old classics...I know im keeping my eyes open for a gem that has escaped corrosion...J
 

BarelyAWake

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
7,194
21
0
Maine
Not to start the "debates" again, but the aluminum bike is much maligned for little reason - I've one that's not only been beaten relentlessly for thousands of miles but also has... *whispers* a drilled D tube OMG *gasp* :p

While I don't recommend drilling the frame (I was forced to by limited clearance), the only thing that's a problem with an aluminum bike is chafe - anywhere there's stuff rubbin' could eventually gouge. Other than that - it's the same as judging any bike to see if it's suitable for motorizing, simply check the welds to make sure they did a good job.

I will say that just about any bike gotten from WallyWorld is gonna suffer the same problems - junky hardware. Shifters, rims, that sorta thing. Most of the frames themselves are pretty good.
 

Engler

New Member
Nov 27, 2009
28
0
0
Florida
Coaster brake is OK as long as it is NOT YOUR ONLY BRAKE.

You need to install front wheel brake too if your bike does not have one.
Cheap coaster bikes from Wally don't have front wheel brake.

There is a big difference having one brake only when you need to stop quickly going 30 MPH or more versus unassisted bike doing at 10-15 MPH max when pedaling.
 

Cabinfever1977

New Member
Mar 23, 2009
2,288
1
0
Upstate,NY
My coaster brakes worked fine,it was the hub itself that was making horrible noises and i had to switch the wheel out for a mountain bike wheel.Now i had to add a front brake which is easy(u can bolt one on for a few dollars),but i chose to just change the fork for one that came with a caliper brake built in,i took it off another bike i had laying around.

If you're going to buy a cruiser bike,don't get the single speed coaster even if you're not going to use the gears,the coaster hub is alot more complex than a multispeed one.So buy a cruiser bike with multiple gears,it will costa little more but will save you a headache in the long run.

Heres what mine did: start engine, ride down the road, got it up to speed, i heard *clunk clunk bang bang boom clunk clunk* sound of coaster hub exploding...
 
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