new to the motorized bike world

look at the pre-motorized thread
Lots of good info

Howdy & welcome!!

Best of luck in your build.

Welcome to the forum natedog, glad you joined us.

A freewheel is not required but my advice I would avoid a fixie so the pedals will remain stationary while the bicycle is in motion.

Their are many who use a single speed, but I do prefer a multi-speed for the type of riding I like to do. For me its just easier to pedal, i can pick the right gear to help assist the motor if i need to. Or I can shut my motor off and pedal it just like a bicycle a lot easier then a single speed.

Most 24" or 26" bicycle with diamond frame and horizontal top tube should have sufficient space to mount motor.

At least 12.5 inches running along the seat tube from the top of the bottom bracket to the bottom of the top tube.Tubing size from 1-1.5inches on the both the seat and down tube. Plus or minus 70deg. above the bottom bracket between the down tube and the seat tube. Inner distance between pedals needs to be greater than 4.5 inches in width to clear the 4.5inch wide motor.

Have a read on this thread hopefully it will help you out
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=510

maniac57 said:

look at the pre-motorized thread
Lots of good info

Click to expand...

any chance you could link this? I did a search and got lots of stuff that wasn't!

thanks

Just type in any word you like. The search will give you answers better than I could.

natedog302 said:

If I did get a single speed bike would the peddle brake be a problem

Click to expand...

I've got a single speed with a rear coaster brake. You may have to slightly bend the coaster arm where it attaches to the axle to give you enough clearance for the rag joint bolts ( I had to 'tweak' mine slightly to make it work).

natedog302 said:

If I did get a single speed bike would the peddle brake be a problem

Click to expand...

Other than having to bend the coaster brake arm to clear the sprocket (not too hard, or buy a pre-bent arm), you also would want to consider a bike with a front brake or adding one.

The coaster brake takes a loooooong time to stop from 30+ MPH (I know, that is all I had on my previous build), and should the pedal chain snap or coaster brake fail, you now have no brakes. Most bikes can readily take a $10 front caliper brake, though.