What do you think? Shift kit or new sprocket?

NerpAngel

NerpAngel

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

And thanks Cannonfish!
 
Vistaman73 said:
Yeah but the shift kits cost more than the engine itself!
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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.
 
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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.
 
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') :D

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
 
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So Barely are you saying go for it or just get some adapters and make it work like it normally should... haha. I'm in no way trying to compare a shift kit to a regular sprocket btw. I just want to know what's best for traffic and keeping up with speed.
 
I have a shift kit and love it!

With a shift kit, there is RARELY need for pedal assist, even to start from a dead stop, where as, a smaller rear sprocket will require more pedal assist than the stock 44 tooth, particularly in climbing hills. I really don't need to pedal at all to start moving from a dead stop, I just do it to save unnecessary wear on my clutch pads.

Gas saving with the shift kit is a consideration also. I went on a ride with 24 other people in L.A. a few weeks back. While their engines were "wound out", I was at half throttle or less. I hardly used any fuel while others were near an empty tank.

Only drawback to the shift kit is starting the motor. Starting the motor is more like kick starting a motor cycle engine than pedal starting a motorized bike. You really have to stand up on the pedals to get the motor to kick over. And then chances are you'll only be able to get 1/2 a turn of the pedals because the engine compression won't let you get over the top to get your pedals around for the second 1/2 turn. This can be a real chore on cold days. Of course once your motor has warmed up a bit, starting is much easier.

I'm seriously considering getting one of those 2 legged kick stands that hold the rear wheel off the ground just for easier starting of the motor.
 
NerpAngel said:
So Barely are you saying go for it or just get some adapters and make it work like it normally should... haha. I'm in no way trying to compare a shift kit to a regular sprocket btw. I just want to know what's best for traffic and keeping up with speed.
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Well far be it fer me to spend yer monies fer ya...
cute.png


...but I did get a SBP shiftkit fer my new build heh


No matter how many/few teeth a sprocket has - ifn ya only have the one, yer compromising & loosing performance somewhere *shrug* Low end fer top or the other way 'round...

I'm greedy and want everything my poor lil HT can give :D


Maxvision said:
I'm seriously considering getting one of those 2 legged kick stands that hold the rear wheel off the ground just for easier starting of the motor.
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Great idea, 'cept as a warning - few aftermarket dropstands could take the abuse - shop carefully ;)
 
Maxvision said:
I have a shift kit and love it!

Only drawback to the shift kit is starting the motor. Starting the motor is more like kick starting a motor cycle engine than pedal starting a motorized bike.
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MaxV,
Are you saying you can't just do a bump start like with the rear sprocket that comes with the kits? Being able to shut the motor off and back on at will is a great thing when riding around using the bump start, as I can pedal when I want without the motor but fire it up when need be (big hills).
 
Oh man, right now I'm going back and forth between getting a shift kit, or adpater+sprocket. IT'S DRIVING ME IN CIRCLES!! dnut
 
go with the shift kit! i just got mine all mounted up, just gotta do a few odds and ends to get her running. all in all the kit went together well, it just took some time to mock it up and get it mounted properly. if you have mechanic skillz, and a shop to shuffle through junk parts it wont be a big deal at all :D
 
Just to clarify what Max said, it is a different starting technique but the bike can be pedaled normally and started or have the engine shut off at any time. It simply is not quite as easy to start the engine. You cannot use the momentum of your forward motion to assist in turning the engine over. You just have to pedal to start the engine which can be done at anytime, up hill, down hill or whenever.

Nerp,
Since you are in E-berg if you want to hop over the pass we can set you up for a test ride. Pablo lives in Duvall so it is not too far from the pass. Send a PM if interested.
 
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Yeah i guess these engine kits are selling pretty cheap.

So i guess the current pricing of the shift kits are a good deal.

One day i may get one,but i have a single speed bike right now.
 
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HI,

Since cost wasn't a factor (mentioned earlier)...How about a Shift Kit WITH custom aftermarket Chainrings....Best of BOTH worlds!

Andrew
 
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