Greetings,
Thought I'd post this on the Gen Discussion forum so more people would see it. I'm new to the forum. I built a bike using the Happy Time 2-stroke engine on a Schwinn Point Beach bike back in September. Other than minor hardware issues with the Chinese made bike, things have been going great - including a 150 mile ride from PA to the Chesepeake Bay & back.
Last Sunday, at exactly 455 miles on the odometer, while riding locally with a friend on a similar bike, I turned onto another road, and felt the back end getting squirrelly - like the wheel was coming loose. I was able to pull over & discovered that the frame tube in front of the rear hub had cracked completely through. Upon futher examination, I discovered that other cracks had occurred, or were forming, all adjacent to welds. One completely through at one of the smaller upper tubes near the seat, one forming on the other side, and one on the down tube near the rear brake.
I've not been abusing the bike off road, only riding on paved roads, and even avoiding pot holes & rough areas. I know that there are a lot of Point Beach conversions out there, so let this be a warning. Maybe the guy who built my bike was having a bad day, or maybe the Chinese aluminum frame Schwinns can't handle the added weight & vibration. If this would have happened a mile earlier when I was going down hill at 30mph - I would have had a bad day! In the mean time, I'm looking for a steel-frame bike to swap the components over to, and anxiously awaiting when I can get back in the saddle.
-Pongo
Thought I'd post this on the Gen Discussion forum so more people would see it. I'm new to the forum. I built a bike using the Happy Time 2-stroke engine on a Schwinn Point Beach bike back in September. Other than minor hardware issues with the Chinese made bike, things have been going great - including a 150 mile ride from PA to the Chesepeake Bay & back.
Last Sunday, at exactly 455 miles on the odometer, while riding locally with a friend on a similar bike, I turned onto another road, and felt the back end getting squirrelly - like the wheel was coming loose. I was able to pull over & discovered that the frame tube in front of the rear hub had cracked completely through. Upon futher examination, I discovered that other cracks had occurred, or were forming, all adjacent to welds. One completely through at one of the smaller upper tubes near the seat, one forming on the other side, and one on the down tube near the rear brake.
I've not been abusing the bike off road, only riding on paved roads, and even avoiding pot holes & rough areas. I know that there are a lot of Point Beach conversions out there, so let this be a warning. Maybe the guy who built my bike was having a bad day, or maybe the Chinese aluminum frame Schwinns can't handle the added weight & vibration. If this would have happened a mile earlier when I was going down hill at 30mph - I would have had a bad day! In the mean time, I'm looking for a steel-frame bike to swap the components over to, and anxiously awaiting when I can get back in the saddle.
-Pongo