Choosing a Road Bike to Motorize
- Thread starter knarrgrant
- Start date
Quality, quality, and quality.
With the skinny wheels and tires, the better the bike you buy up front, the better your build will last.
I do not recommend road bikes for motor use myself due to the abuse it puts on the rims and tires.
If you insist on doing one, get a good hand pump and patch kit and carry them EVERYWHERE.
With the skinny wheels and tires, the better the bike you buy up front, the better your build will last.
I do not recommend road bikes for motor use myself due to the abuse it puts on the rims and tires.
If you insist on doing one, get a good hand pump and patch kit and carry them EVERYWHERE.
YUP. steel frame and steel wheels with at least 12 guage spokes. It'll make it a little heavier but safer and more reliable. yer not gonna pedal it a lot anyway, except to start it. And if ya go 4 stroke, it'll be pull start.
fatdaddy.
fatdaddy.
Real steel . The only way to go.
Lug'd frame if you can find it is a plus.
I like old Nashiki's or Azuki's.
Steel wheels ,alloy cranks , basic derailleurs are fine as they won't be used much and are durable.
This bike is 45 + years old and a tank by today's standards . But for an engine conversion, perfect........
Ask yourself this...
Your weight and stature.
How are you going to use it? (short commuting, long rides)
Do you want comfort or top speed?
In short build the bike to your current need and preferred riding style.
I highly recommend you go to real bike shop and try several bikes in the parking lot, if it's not comfortable without an engine it will be worse with one.
Your weight and stature.
How are you going to use it? (short commuting, long rides)
Do you want comfort or top speed?
In short build the bike to your current need and preferred riding style.
I highly recommend you go to real bike shop and try several bikes in the parking lot, if it's not comfortable without an engine it will be worse with one.
It kinda depends on what kind of budget yer working with too. If yer not poor folk, then go with the best steel you can find. If'n yer on a budget, like me, Then check out garage sales and Craigslist and such. I KNOW I'm gonna get mugged for saying this, but I got a 2011 Cranbrook and its been one of the best builds I've ever done. Some problems with the engine kit stuff, like a couple coils and replaced the cheapo chain, ect. but the bike itself. NO problemo. Around that time, Huffy came out doing the heavy duty welds, with Steel wheels and 12 guage spokes. Ya gotta take it apart and pack it with REAL grease. I just couldn't trust A chinese guy using Chinese grease to do a good job, So most bearings now have Marine grade grease.
I LOVE MY HUSSY
fatdaddy.
I LOVE MY HUSSY
fatdaddy.
there are some steel framed fixie bikes on ebay that look like they will make a nice motorized bike, we have a member that is doing a build with one of them now, the price on them is good and they look good to me.
Im building a 700c fixie myself now, I've put 26" wheels and tires on and a multispeed rear wheel with 12ga spokes and a single speed 24T freewheel sprocket, it rides great and I think it's gonna make a very good riding motorized bike.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=400802235141&alt=web
Im building a 700c fixie myself now, I've put 26" wheels and tires on and a multispeed rear wheel with 12ga spokes and a single speed 24T freewheel sprocket, it rides great and I think it's gonna make a very good riding motorized bike.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=400802235141&alt=web
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knarrgrant- If your pockets are fat, the skys' the limit. 
I can't seem to find all the measurements on this frame, but what I've seen looks promising for a 'heavy duty road bike' build that I've been considering. (not a roadbike, I know) The Worksman Dutchie. Start with the frame, and build it up.
Not exactly what you asked for, but a thought. You can do almost anything you want!
Good luck.
I can't seem to find all the measurements on this frame, but what I've seen looks promising for a 'heavy duty road bike' build that I've been considering. (not a roadbike, I know) The Worksman Dutchie. Start with the frame, and build it up.
Not exactly what you asked for, but a thought. You can do almost anything you want!
Good luck.
I have about 15 years of combined bike shop experience. I highly recommend the Caraci that mapbike posted the link too on Ebay. It is honestly spec'ed as well as bikes in the $700+ dollar range from Specialized and Trek. The wheels are stronger than any 26" on bikes below $400 to $500 dollars. You can bolt the kit sprocket right on with a little work. It's just a brilliant bike to motorize. With stock Chinese kit parts and a lot of port work I have seen 43mph on mine and it was quite solid and stable. The aluminum vs. steel debate I will stay out of. I bought the aluminum but I have aluminum frame repair/building capabilities at my friends shop. I bought mine as a development bike to go race at the Bonneville Salt Flats and could not be happier. I bought it direct from the importer but that Ebay price is incredibly fair. You cant touch that bike for the price anywhere else. The only weak point is the brake pads, buy some shimano 105 pads and be done. Happy motoring!
You can't run it fixed gear, you just flip the rear wheel around and run it single speed freewheel. The handy thing on these is a 9 bolt MB sprocket bolts up to the fixed sprocket so you have a direct hub mount and no rag joint. I have a 36 on mine and it barely clears now with no tensioner. I am about to order a 25 tooth and it should clear really well with that but a stock motor would not come close to pulling it I'm sure. Great motorbike though, with some effort and tuning it's very stable, efficient, and quick.
wow... good luck with a 25T, that is a serious gear, you have an engine that will pull that gear good and thats gonna be one stout engine for sure.
best wishes and I'll be curious to hear results on that, its amazing how much extra power it takes to pull a gear smaller than a 30T on a 26" wheel.
I am working hard to race this set up at Bonneville in August. A lot of the speed I am getting and working towards is coming from efficiency and aero combined with power. Right now I am trying to get 9000rpm on the 25 tooth for the gasoline under 100cc class and 9000rpm on a 21 tooth on blended fuel for the fuel under 100cc class. That will be enough to break records as long as it doesn't run into traction problems which I seriously doubt. If all keeps going well I may try to build a fairing set up and run the partial streamliner class too. I broke the rear motor mount at 47mph and was accelerating pretty hard on a very slight incline the last time I was riding it so I feel like I'm on the right track with it. I may get to the salt and loose 30+ miles per hour, i can really only guess. I have been talking to one of the large tire companies and plan on taking 3 tire sizes. I'm hoping my wild guess of the salt slowing me down 15% is close and I come home with a trophy. If not it's a heck of a good time trying.
Hope it works out good for you and you're able to make it do how you'd like.
I've heard Bert Rod has done 65mph lately on one of his builds by using many custom built parts.
I've heard Bert Rod has done 65mph lately on one of his builds by using many custom built parts.
I have heard about Bert and searched him once but have not had time to find info on him and his builds. It helps that I have the right group of friends, two former factory superbike mechanics, another who blends fuels for drag cars and sand drag banshees, and I formerly worked at a shop where we built some of the lightest, most aero road race bikes in the world. Drawing on all that is certainly helping. In the fuel class I am going to be metering in fuel that is blended to give me 6 times the explosive pressure of gas. I initially planned on running straight blended fuel but if the design I am putting together works it will allow me to use it as a bolt on power adder making switching between classes easy.
