What do you think? Shift kit or new sprocket?

[NerpAngel]

Hey, I'm in the process of breaking in my motor on an old bike of mine and she's running great. I've always wanted to get a shift kit for my newer mountain bike so I could put my motor on that bike. (I cant put my motor on my newer mountain bike because it has 32 spoke wheels and the stock sprocket won't work.) Anyways, what I want to get out of my motor is this..1) Able to ride from school, store, friends houses, etc.. 2) Fast enough to keep up with traffic around my little town (maybe 35mph ish) 3) Good acceleration 4) I guess just great overall performance!
So what do you guys think? I'm not really sure of the pros and cons of either a shift kit or just a new sprocket. Which do you think would be best for me?

[Gareth]

Jim makes a sprocket adapter and sprocket for 32 spoke wheels. I have one on my Mt Fuji mountain bike and it works great.

I certainly am not trying to steer you away from the shift kit, as it seems a great piece and I'm sure I will eventually get one myself...just letting you know the options.

[NerpAngel]

Ya I know Jim makes a kick ass sprocket and adapter. That's who I'd get those from. I'm just wondering which would be best for what I want

[Cannonfish]

Nerp, the shift-kit really shines if you do much riding in traffic. Starting in low gear gives you immediate acceleration from stop signs, red lights, etc with no pedalling, while high gear will let you keep up with most in-town traffic.

I used to have a 36-tooth rear sprocket, standard setup on my bike - then about 2 months ago I installed this shift kit... Now I don't think I'll ever go back to a non-shifter

[NerpAngel]

Can someone move this thread to the "general discussion" section? I don't think it belongs in the "performance" section

And thanks Cannonfish!

[Vistaman73]

Yeah but the shift kits cost more than the engine itself!

[NerpAngel]

Cost isn't a problem for me :P

[NunyaBidness]

Originally Posted by Vistaman73

Yeah but the shift kits cost more than the engine itself!

But if you compare cost of quality to cost of quality the shiftkit is WAY cheaper.
In other words, the low cost and very low quality of the cheap little Chinese motors simply cannot compare to the semi-low cost and very HIGH quality of the shift kit.

[Cabinfever1977]

If i wanted a quality shiftkit i wouldnt have bought a chinese engine kit,im waiting for a cheap chinese shiftkit that sells for around a 1/4th the price of my engine.


I dont want a ferrari transmission for my ford.

[BarelyAWake]

Cheaper shiftkits were ofc tried, the problems being overhead and one persnickety bearing (the freewheel bearing just isn't cheap - even the "cheap" one lol).

As any business owner can attest there's just no way for any one small parts manufacturer to even try to compete with Chinese mass production, so while these cheap lil engines are commonplace - if ya wanna go beyond what they offer stock... yer jus' gonna hafta make it yerself or if yer very, very lucky - kick some pennies out for a quality part made custom.

I'll bet $1 that after parts & labor, you couldn't make more than justa few bucks ofn the thing if ya tried to sell it - if it's a "one off" you'll lose money and that's a fact. I work at a place that has all the equipment necessary and I do believe I haz teh skillz, but even after I bought my shiftkit (so no R&D even) I did the math, priced out what couldn't be made (bearings, sprockets etc.), and talked to the other guys - and figured out there's no way in heck it'd be worth it... not even remotely. (sorries Pablo - I just hadta know lol, I swears I wasn't gonna steal nufin')

Another way of lookin' at it that makes my wallet a lil less disgruntled is defer some of the cost of the aftermarket stuff by thinkin' how much money ya saved on the engine in the first place - they really are ridiculously low priced. If it's still too rich fer yer blood that's cool, jeebers I can understand that fosho... but if yer waitin' on a jackshaft shifter kit to be sold fer 1/4 the price of an engine ($20 if jus' engine, bout' $40ish if kit)...

Yer gonna be waitin' a loooooooooong time lol



Thread moved as requested BTW