Made the purchase!

Hello!

I bought an "Op Roller" at Wal-Mart today after pondering the whole, "motorized bike" idea for quite awhile. The lightness of the aluminum frame and the fact that it was only $98.00 were both good things I thought. The first thing I did was remove the stickers. I will replace the seat soon since it is not very comfortable. I realize the bike is not the most heavy-duty, but again, I like aluminum. The black and gray look good together, and I know I'll go with a gray engine as soon as I can figure out which one to get. Gasbike.net looks like the best prices, but their website and their effort to compare engines, I find confusing.

There is an abundance of information here, and like every other forum website that I belong to or have visited, there are ten opinions for every ten posts. I hope to be able to find the most helpful ones and build an enjoyable machine.

Thanks in advance!

The Roller, (so far...)

I'm just getting to the rear sprocket today (or tomorrow). I will know soon. It does look like there will be a problem there with the tire and chain rubbing. I am prepared to go with a narrower tire right from the beginning. In fact, I might just plan on putting a slightly narrower one on from the start to save myself the frustration later.

The area that was the most problematic/time-consuming was the seat-post diameter being too wide for the (cast) engine clamp. I had to hog the clamp out with a grinder to get an acceptable fit. Other than that, I really like the frame style and look of the Op Roller for this build.

I have browsed around and now like the Slant by Felt. Of course I like the 1903 as well, but I might work with a Slant next. I'll never be able to beat the $98.00 for an all-aluminum Wally-bike though! The black and gray look good.

I've read all of the negatives about the inexpensive bikes, but the Op Roller has some advantages, (I think).

biken stins said:

looks good.
Did you have any problems with rear tire rubing tire ? I had to put a narrower one on.

Click to expand...

It appears that the OEM tires on the Op Roller are ballooned a bit too much in the sidewall and the drive chain rubs the tire. I will have to use a little thinner tires on this bike, but I don't see that as a major problem. It should turn out pretty nice. I wish I could find the tires I want in gray or white.

I have really learned a lot on this little project. All I can say is, the closer I get to completing this build, the more excited I'm getting (about riding the bike).

I replaced the tires and went with 26x1.5 SERFAS Drifters. Much narrower and no threat to the drive chain. Rolling resistance is very light. I would have liked to have kept the fatter tires, but it is what it is. (I hate that phrase).

One thing that I have with the narrower tires is a higher tire pressure and a little bumpier ride now. Oh well. They look cool.

Here are pics of the finished product: