So you want to go 50mph on a cheap bike? WHEEL WARNING!

YesImLDS · Aug 15, 2015

This is a subject that NEEDS to be addressed. Now everybody these days is saying man I have 2 thousand miles on my wally world bike what could had gone wrong already has right? Wrong! Now I will say wally world bikes are fine to an extent, but when you put more and more power and higher speeds onto those cheap rims something is going to fail. My bike recently began a terrible cracking noise which I traced to the rear rim. This bike often hits 40mph+ in short spurts. I would like to share with you the bearings of this wheel with a small cracking noise.

This was one of two failing bearings. I just took them out by hand. All the ball bearings just fell apart. The bearing itself is covered in grease. Now say I was going 40mph and this bearing were to seize up on me. Where would I be? Six foot under or in a hospital room? I just thought I'd shed some light on those of you who want to make a bike go 50mph, but don't want to invest in a bike that is more than $50. It's easy to take a bike fast, but doing it safely is something completely opposite. To handle the extra speed my bike has I have replaced both rims with better quality components as well as added extra stopping power. This makes my bike a heck of a lot safer.

Now do you think your bike will last forever? Because as far as I know this rim didn't have very many miles on it. A little $$$ in preventative measures can go a long ways when it comes to saving you thousands on medical bills.

Whiteride · Aug 15, 2015

I have a cruiser based bike with upgraded wheels, the stock wheels most bicycles come with are not robust enough for a motorized bicycle IMHO. I did have a recent incident where the front wheel was damaged (antique lamp went into spokes) Rather than risk repairing it I simply replaced it for a new one.

YesImLDS · Aug 15, 2015

Whiteride said:
I have a cruiser based bike with upgraded wheels, the stock wheels most bicycles come with are not robust enough for a motorized bicycle IMHO. I did have a recent incident where the front wheel was damaged (antique lamp went into spokes) Rather than risk repairing it I simply replaced it for a new one.

I just upgraded my rear wheel after this incident. Was able to get beefier spokes as well. Rides like a dream and I have no worries all for only $40. Wheels aren't super expensive to get something that will last you.

2door · Aug 15, 2015

Thanks, Jordan, for reinforcing what we strive to get people to understand. These are BICYCLES, not MOTORCYCLES. Certainly you can modify the engine, buy lots of go fast parts and exceed what the bike, the rims, the spokes, the brakes, the bearings and the frame were designed to do. Just be ready to pay the piper if you haven't addressed the critical parts first.

Want to to 40 plus MPH? Go buy a motorcycle, or be prepared to take care of the items that will allow you to do it safely. Save what you want to spend on hot rod stuff and put it towards upgrades that will allow you to do it with less chance of getting hurt.

The more injuries reported, the more chance we'll see our bikes under the scrutiny of legislation. And who will we have to blame when they're outlawed?

Tom

bluegoatwoods · Aug 15, 2015

I've had a few wal-mart bike wheel bearings do just what yours did.

I really, really think that riding these bikes at anything like highway speeds is begging for trouble.

The fact that folks are able to ride these bikes that fast is one of my biggest fears for this hobby. We risk having laws passed that won't work in our favor.

xseler · Aug 15, 2015

Yep.....I've now got Weinmann wheels with Shimano internals on my "Huffy". Although, there's not much left of the original bike. The heavy duty wheels do feel much more secure with the upgraded Continental tires.

Ride on, ride on!!

YesImLDS · Aug 15, 2015

Just thought I'd add some physical proof instead of people just saying it's a bad idea. We all know it's a bad idea, but THIS is why.

xseler · Aug 15, 2015

YesImLDS said:
Just thought I'd add some physical proof instead of people just saying it's a bad idea. We all know it's a bad idea, but THIS is why.

My rear hub did roughly the same thing. Plenty of grease, cones adjusted correctly, etc. Most of my travels were in the 32mph range -- not 40+. My parts weren't quite that bad, though they were scary enough for me. I've got 'em in a coffee can out in the garage.......just as a reminder.

YesImLDS · Aug 15, 2015

xseler said:
My rear hub did roughly the same thing. Plenty of grease, cones adjusted correctly, etc. Most of my travels were in the 32mph range -- not 40+. My parts weren't quite that bad, though they were scary enough for me. I've got 'em in a coffee can out in the garage.......just as a reminder.

My bike likes to cruise at 27-30mph. Much more for any period of time is too much really. I like to go fast sometimes, but not for long periods of time! This rear wheel didn't have too much going on during the time I used it. I don't even know if I hit 40mph once on it, but the condition of these bearings is crazy and just shows that it doesn't matter how fast you are going and that you could be cruising fine, but next thing you know you are kissing pavement.

crassius · Aug 15, 2015

gotta watch cheap bikes - brand new huffy from target had a funny feel to pedal crank - opened it to find a crushed bearing cage with 3 missing bearings right from factory

langolier · Aug 16, 2015

I would like to multiply all previous comments X 2. Since it seems the majority of us are not young lightweights anymore (hovering at 200 myself). Have fun and be safe out their.

kevyleven007 · Aug 16, 2015

Better safe than sorry. Better late than never. Remember Murphy's Law and be careful out there.

allen standley · Aug 16, 2015

Very Valid post LDS. Thanks, The wise concur with this notice/warning.

silverbear · Aug 16, 2015

I've compared inexpensive hubs from China with older American made hubs and the difference is amazing in the quality of the metal and the number of bearings. I like the old Bendix hubs and have found the quality of the coaster brakes to be quite good and reliable, especially compared to hubs found on cheap import bikes. Often coaster brakes get a bad rap when the problem is not that it is a coaster brake, but that it is poorly made from junk with too few bearings and sometimes comes from the factory without grease. Rebuilding an old Bendix and lacing it with heavier spokes into a stout rim is well worth the effort on a poor man's budget.
SB

bairdco · Aug 16, 2015

If you read walmart reviews on these bikes, you'll see many people have had this problem without motorizing it.

And btw, average riding speed on a beach cruiser is 4mph.

ckangaroo70 · Aug 16, 2015

The weakest link I have found on a new Huffy rim and I would suppose it could relate to others as well, is the fact that the coaster brake arm itself is too soft of metal. What can happen is the "D" type hole in the coaster brake arm becomes worn and will eventually strip. As the hole wears out it will allow more and more slack in the bearings...thus leading to a bearing failure due to excessive end play.

My solution has been to replace the soft arm with a much harder Shimano coaster brake arm that is more up to the task and much less prone to stripping and allowing the bearings to become loose.

From someone who is around 250lbs... the weakest parts will usually reveal themselves fairly quick. The harder Shimano brake arm has not shown any signs of wear in hundreds of miles and the tension on my bearings has remained constant and shown little signs of fatigue. I inspect and pack my bearings fairly regular with a good grade hi-temp and high speed bearing grease, but I think the key to anything on these bikes is to make sure things are regularly inspected.

Not saying this was the case with Jordans bearing failure , but just passing along some information I have found to be true about the Huffy coaster brake arms that are too soft and can strip and thus allow bearings to become loose and destuct.

YesImLDS · Aug 16, 2015

bairdco said:
If you read walmart reviews on these bikes, you'll see many people have had this problem without motorizing it.

And btw, average riding speed on a beach cruiser is 4mph.

At that speed it would be like pushing a wheel barrow through sand.... Cruisers are geared wayyyy to low to actual cruise at slow speeds. Anyways like stated cheap bike = cheap parts. Expect repairs.

bairdco · Aug 16, 2015

Average walking speed is 3.1 mph. My average speed of 4mph for a beach cruiser, is based on people actually at the beach, cruising.

Not much faster than walking. Average person riding a cruiser ain't in a hurry.

I have a bike speedo ap for my phone, and I use it when pedaling my 1948 schwinn dx klunker/cruiser, and my speed usually averages out to 6-7mph with burst up to 13, probably from going downhill.

And at 6-7mph, I'm going faster than everyone else out for a "cruise."

Besides all that, what my previous post meant to convey, is if the average Tommy Target and Wendy Wallmart can blow out a huffy coaster brake on their weekly ride to taco bell, it ain't gonna be a good motored bike hub...

YesImLDS · Aug 17, 2015

I agree with what you said earlier they are bicycles not meant to go ridiculously fast.

FFV8 · Aug 17, 2015

For those folks that registered after 2013, you might not know that Bairdco is our best expert on life altering bicycle equipment failures.

Read the story, and then you will want to check every inch of your bike

http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=45937

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So you want to go 50mph on a cheap bike? WHEEL WARNING!

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