Normal Pedal Riding with clutch disengaged

GoldenMotor.com

59Cruiser

New Member
Aug 11, 2011
36
0
0
Mi
Easy question please ... I bought this kit :
80cc Engine Motor Kit Motorized Bicycle Bike - eBay (item 370531484287 end time Aug-03-11 20:05:33 PDT)


My original thought before venturing into this build was that I would be able to ride this bike around via pedals with the clutch disengaged. See, I originally bought this bike so that I can go on family bike rides with my wife and kids. I got a little carried away with the thought of uhm ... fixing it up a little ;)

Well anyway, seeing that the clutch has the little button to hold the clutch in I figured no problem, I can ride it normally with the family and use the motor when I'm by myself.

Now that I have the kit, I am not so sure. The button holds the clutch disengaged but the slightest little tap or bump causes it to pop-up. I don't actually have the clutch cable connected to the clutch lever yet however. I hope that once it is connected, the force of the clutch will hold it pretty good. I am also thinking about how much drag will be on the chain when the clutch is disengaged and if it is going to be too difficult to ride around like that. Or maybe its going to wear out my clutch or something else.

Do any of you have this same kit that can tell me what to expect and if it is actually feasible to think about riding around with the pedals while the clutch is held disengaged?

Thanks!
 
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Dymaxion

New Member
Jan 1, 2010
66
0
0
Michigan
No problem keeping the clutch disengaged. I often ride for long stretches without the motor running.

However, the added weigh of the motor combined with the drag of chain and clutch do make the bike harder to peddle. For long rides with the family, I'd ride a motorless bike.
 

dirt

New Member
Aug 13, 2011
54
0
0
United States
If it is adjusted correctly than it is not a problem and you can ride it with the motor turned off just fine. If it is mis-adjusted you will have problems. I had to fiddle with mine at first, but it was easy to get right and I haven't had any trouble with it yet.
 

DuctTapedGoat

Active Member
Dec 20, 2010
1,179
10
38
38
Nampa Idaho
There is always going to be drag through the engine. Don't expect to NOT have resistance. If you're looking for an altenative, google for the HybriPed.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
As was said, there will always be some parasitic drag from the rotating components of the engine and chain/sprocket friction. Just the nature of the beast.

It's a dirty job but if you really want resistance free riding you can always just remove the master link and the engine drive chain. I'd carry some latex gloves or some rags to wipe your fingers. Like I said, it's a dirty job.
Tom
 

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
59
Moosylvania
Yeppers, I do as Tom suggests.

More for break-downs and running out of gas. (I do that last one a lot) So I keep a pair of exam gloves and a plastic bag to put the chain in.

I really miss that about 2 strokes. Normal peddles. Huffin' a 4 smoke on leg power is not real fun for real long. (to wide to peddle comfortably)

I know nothing about them but there are locking/free-wheeling sprockets.

The best manor of MB I have found to revert to a pure bicycle with ease is a friction drive.
 

vincent713

New Member
Jun 2, 2010
287
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0
Dallas
My bike is a hybrid road bike with 700c x 47 tires and multiple gears. It's really easy to pedal with the motor off, I can't hardly tell any chain or clutch drag. I often exercise (pedaling) with my wife and when I want to do motoring by myself I turn on the engine. I recommend this set up for anyone who wants to pedal often.
 

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rustycase

Gutter Rider
May 26, 2011
2,746
5
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Left coast
I've given this some thought, also...

For reasons I mentioned in another thread, the 56 lil tiny ball bearings within the clutch are really NOT up to the task of continuous use...
(and I don't really know how many there really are, yet...)

I do carry a leatherman and would pop the master link and wire the chain up to the stay if I needed to pedal a long distance.

...I just looked at that Hybriped dealio DTG linked and think it's a good idea.
Not sure I like the D-rings, but that can be resolved...

The HT design really was not meant to be pedaled, other than to start.
rc
 

59Cruiser

New Member
Aug 11, 2011
36
0
0
Mi
Well, just finished the bike today. It fired up and ran great. A couple tweaks on the chain tensioner but it rides surprisingly well. Anyway, I see that riding with the clutch is no problem at all. I am not worried about wearing out the clutch this way. Think about it .... when your riding with the motor, everytime you need to slow down or stop what do you do? Theres much more use of the clutch when motor riding then there is when pedal riding since when pedaling you are not going near as fast ... less revs on the clutch. So for this reason alone, I am not worried about it.

The chain drag is not bad at all ... hardly notice it. The only thing that is a little bothersome is the noise. If the wife and I want to go for a peaceful ride at night ... its a little noisy.
 

donutguy

New Member
Feb 4, 2010
230
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64
PA
That was one of the reasons I went with friction drive......sure FD has its disadvantages, but except for the added weight-when I lift the roller up off the tire....there is no resistance whatsoever.
 

rustycase

Gutter Rider
May 26, 2011
2,746
5
0
Left coast
LOL...very cool and affordable as well...
Thanks for the reply,,sometimes I miss things being a noob :)
Hey! here's no way you can possibly know all the KOOL things that are available for MABs... :)

The forum is invaluable!!!
well, the helpful people are what make it Great! :)

I also think that hybriped thing is a good idea.. there's nothing else like it on the market... and a chinagirl Really should not be pedaled with the clutch disengaged. There's just not proper bearings and alignment and such to do that for any period of time.
..i think if I lost my motor for some reason I would take the drive chain off and wrap it in a paper bag or something... if I needed to pedal home.

Good luck with that sprocket thingy... I think they are in Oz???
rc
 

577-Jersey

New Member
Mar 23, 2013
293
1
0
central western nj
Yes sir,,
I was peddling mine around last night for a little while and its not a great idea,,it feels like alot of drag from chain,sprocket,clutch plate all spinning,,the clutch pads get grazed also after a while,,I will really look into one of these for my own personal bike one day,,really cool stuff,,and as always awesome forum and members!

Tom
 

LAguyyy

Super Skilled Master Newb
Feb 25, 2013
37
0
0
Honolulu, hi
Open the cover after taking clutch cable back off, on your drive sprocket and take a look at where there is wear from your chain. Grind it down a bit with a moto tool. Its not much but every little bit helps in removing friction and noise. Seems to be a very common china girl problem.
 

rustycase

Gutter Rider
May 26, 2011
2,746
5
0
Left coast
Yah, it's easy enough to see where the chain rubs in there as it streches and wears out... would definitely be quieter if some of that material was ground out in advance of the wear.

but then again, it kinda wears itself in to fit... kinda like my crummy ole china tennis shoes. I think they fit ok when I 1st got em, on sale, of course! :)
now they go on my feets...

:)
rc
.wee.
 

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
1,501
55
48
Jacksonville, Florida
I see this is an old thread- but to Crusin 59, and Ye Who wants The Best Pedal:

Some of you may be tired of me talking about it-

The easiest solution- biggest gain per dollar-

The Worksman 415 Industrial/Trike Chain !!!

search ebay and Amazon- I got another one a few months ago for about $12 delivered

Same 415 width- plates not as big or tall-

You can really both feel and hear the difference pedalling-
The smaller plates let it roll much easier,
and if you're not some kind of off-road thrasher- you KNOW the motor's feeling less strain too.
And at barely ONE HALF the weight of a standard kit chain- I CAN'T run anything else now. And I've run two of them for a couple of years without any issue.

The other thing for PEDAL-
A VERY LIGHT GEAR-
I have gone to single freewheels on both builds the past couple of years now-
22 teeth rear single freewheels fairly lightweight- and the smaller you go on the pedal chain- the more weight you save on the sprocket size and THE LINKS YOU CAN REMOVE
I think my chainwheels- I use just the inner ones from vintage alloy 3 piece cranks, on one piece conversion bottom brackets- are 40 and 42- they both roll and pedal nicely with 27 x 1 1/14 wheels on one and 700 by 32 on the other

Take it from an old racer- if you're worried about pedalbility, and still pushing that OE 46 or larger front pedal sprocket and all that chain for it- you're wasting yourself-

You barely feel the kit weight (lose the tensioner!) with the 415 Trike chain- SMALL tank helps too, TITANIUM cover bolts, and clean allen keys

But you can't expect SPEED peddaling- probably don't want to drop the family anyway!
I can pedal in the parking lot, or the park, or turning around to look at the garbage,

and it's EASY- but don't worry about speed- just get the right chain, the right Granny gearing, and as much weight off the bike as you can


AND the narrowest tires you feel comfortable with- my own belif is that anyting much under 1 1/4 for the back and 1 1/8 for the front is starting to ask for a lot of pothole trouble- but I'd recommend anbout 28 to 32 mm to most people, maybe 35mm-

over about 32- depending on 700 c tire and verticle profile- you MUST then use a 25mm 1 inch wide rim too- adding weight.

I also believe the pedalling resistence decreases slightly as a motor wears in.

good luck
 
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Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
1,501
55
48
Jacksonville, Florida
One more thing I want to mention - a bit unrelated- about the crank-
Is for anyone using an Astabula crankwho may want an easy pedal and to SAVE the most WEIGHT.

Below is a cruiser frame with 700c wheels I'm probably gonna build up-
It's gonna have baskets and be a real hauler- and because I'm not living in a second floor apartment anymore- and I don't want to spend money on a three piece crank and BB conversion-

AND because I already had a 17 tooth freewheel in the drawer I tried on that orange cruiser below when I built it up 3 years ago-
(I had a 36 lowrider sprock on the pedal front then with a stteel one piece astabula crank still- it was just too large a gear- so I bought a 22 freewheel and I think it has the 40 alloy 3 piece)

ANYWAY I thought- if I get an even smaller sprocket for the front, I can use that 17 freewheel AND take all kinds of pedal links off the setup-

so there it is below- that red 28 tooth sprock on the red bike- and it was only about 8 dollars on ebay-

really really really brings an astabula set-up down to a decent weight- the sprock is stilll steel but minimal and if you think about the number of links you lose from a 46 or even 36- it's a LOT of chain weight.

Single freewheel usually come in 14, 16, 17, 18, and 22- and you may find a 20 somewhere- but really the LIGHTEST set-up whether you have a steel or alloy crank is a teeny tiny front sprock and the smallest rear sprock too- a 28 x 14 rear freewheel would still be a really light gear- very pedalble, and get the motor clutch popped-

I'm always shutting off and coasting up to the next stop

you have to match the chains so you may need a half link somewhere- the pedal side is easier to adjust than the motor- and the motor chain may stretch close to a half link in length when it's new.

The red cruiser is a Huffy frame I got last summer for $10 as a spare frame identical to the orange build- You may have seen the blue BMX bars on an earlier incarnation of my 66 build.

The back rack trunk on the orange bike is a fairly new edition and cheap from China on ebay- holds a lot of stuff! I have an old GIANT Wald front basket- not sure if I'm gonna use yet- because it's sorta weighty- and I'll have some sort of front basket with saddle bag baskets on the back of the red bike

The Bianchi in the last photo I got off craigslist for only $40, and I bought it mainly to use the 700 x 25 wheels and the 38mm tires on the red cruiser- So I'm building it up with 19mm road wheels and it's LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT- using only one ring and it's gonna be 5 speed here in flat florida. After I took all the heavy hybrid stuff off, I found the frame was like Columbus or Reynolds- Tange tubing actually- and as light as any vintage racing frame, and in a small size which I don't mind with the alloy MX bars. I painted the tires myself with some latex paint.
 

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FlyingFarmer

New Member
Jun 21, 2012
5
0
0
SE MI
Does anyone know if the hybriped is still available as of 5/14/2013?
Been inquiring and getting zero response from dealers and manufacturer.