First bike build, and i've got a couple of Q's

GoldenMotor.com

Ash_mz21

New Member
Mar 28, 2010
4
0
0
Geelong, Australia
Hey everyone, as you can see I'm new here. And I'm researching what i'll need for my first bike build.

Criteria is as follows:
Cheaper Build, but no corners cut.
Perform as a robust daily commuter,
Be rideable on dirt tracks, rutts, etc. (not jumping it)
Front/Rear discs
Front/Rear suspension (though rear is looking less likely as most cheaper dual sus bikes lack the room in the frame for mounting)
Shift Kit to improve ride-ability
Rubber mounted engine to improve NVH

The only things I know for sure i want to use are as follows:

The RockSolidEngines.com.au 200watt engine kit.. to keep things legal in my state. (may or may not stay legal though ;)
The SPB HD shift kit
Megarange 11-34 Shimano 8 Speed Cassette
As as for a frame I'm really not too sure.. One of the Atomik hard tails that pop up on ebay look fairly suitable?

What are you thoughts/Suggestions?
What other obvious things am i missing?

Thanks a lot guys any input would be appreciated,
Ashlin.
 

BarelyAWake

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
7,194
21
0
Maine
Sounds like a plan man! There's really not much you've overlooked, it may not actually be a "cheaper build" but it defo outa be a "robust daily commuter" FTW

The one thing I gotta disagree with is the "rubber mounted engine" plan, simply put - these things just were not designed w/soft rubber mounts in mind. There's only two mounts, two points of contact fairly low compared to the motor's center of mass and while soft mounts may reduce felt vibration, it'll actually increase the engine's vibration and promotes movement, even contributes to fastener failure.

There's been some experimentation with hard polyurethane mounts, but that requires mount redesign and some welding... while it's doable - I would recommend just hard-mounting the engine and getting soft handgrips and a sprung seat ;)
 

Ash_mz21

New Member
Mar 28, 2010
4
0
0
Geelong, Australia
Thanks for the heads up, hard mounting will be tried out first, and if i'm not happy with it i might play around with other things at a later date. Can you recommend any cheap Chinese bikes that have dual suspension and discs with room for an engine?
 

BarelyAWake

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
7,194
21
0
Maine
Dual disk & fully suspended mid-engine bike cheap?

lol - that's the "Holy Grail" of the MB community and no... I'm not aware of a suitable candidate but I'd look fer a used Giant ATX if there's one about (seems about the best for the task), here's some food fer thought tho;

http://motorbicycling.com/f3/full-suspension-off-road-build-motion-12330.html
http://motorbicycling.com/f41/dual-suspension-66cc-kent-glendale-cs-13453.html
http://motorbicycling.com/f31/beachcruiser-rear-suspension-10969.html