Here is a Gt5 on an OP. Sweet ride she is..
Beautiful ride SalmonSlayer (love that name, I fish too), especially the no tensioner on the drive chain part, it just makes it that much 'cleaner' looking, and of course better mechanically, very will done!
I still have my heart set on another shifter bike, but this Wally on-line bike caught my eye too, and you can run it with two chains no gears as the spokes will work for a sprocket (or is it worth anything to motorize?) read on and decide for yourself.
26'' Men's Schwinn Link Comfort Bike:
*
Steel frame features upright geometry for a comfortable riding position
*
SR Suntour suspension fork smoothes out bumps
* 21 speeds with SRAM Grip Shift shifters for easy gear changes
* Promax alloy
linear pull brakes stop precisely
* Rise bar with adjustable stem gives a good view of the road
* Padded saddle &
suspension seatpost soften the ride
Some of same hardware like shocks, brakes and gears that matter, just no rack or fenders, but $40 less so that made me wonder...
Those are nickle and dime items, what
else is different?
Steel frame is a plus to me, easy to squeeze that front tube in a bit to fit the stock motor mount without compromising frame integrity like aluminum, but the details are in what they DON'T say it has.
For starters the gears.
On the Solitare they made a point of the Shimano Drive-train, on this all they said was what the shifter controls were, not the gear. That tells me junk, but if you are going to run another direct drive chain meaningless. Until you find yourself out of gas or otherwise motor disabled you will just leave it in 1st or 2nd anyway to start it so it would be used less than a regular pedal bike.
I would never trust this 'whatever it is' drive train with an always used shift kit though.
The second glaring difference to me is wheels themselves.
Again, it is what they DON'T say it has.
One thing is for sure is they are not the higher quality rims the Solitaire has, but one review I read said they seemed to be 'plastic like'.
I asked on-line but you know how that goes sometimes.
Look for yourself, but if they are toy plastic rims {in my my best Chicago gansta type) 'Jus faget about it'. hehehe.
If the Link bike has cheap plastic rims, then it has cheap thin spokes too, and your motor will rip them both to shreds in no time.
If not, then the Link might very well be a comfortable bike for $160 delivered to put a separate motor drive on.
You will just need to do your own research on what I found as I have already ruled it out for a shift kit bike. But for a bike with shocks and dual V-brakes, it is half the price of Grubee bike.
May be a good starter bike that would beat the heck out of any Huffy, especially the CranJoke.
(yes, I started with one of them too)
Absolutely miserable to ride comfort wise after just a couple of miles constant riding.
ALL New Builders Looking for Bike Advice...
1. Front Shocks, seat post too if you can with the bike but not as much to add later unlike front shocks which can cost you as much as the bike itself when the beating you take riding over about 10MPH gives you and you want them.
Just like my analogy 'If a drive side tensioner were a good thing motorcycles would have them', this one is true too, 'if a motorcycle didn't need a front shock they wouldn't have one'.
Ever seen one without them, even a little 50cc dirt bike?
2. Soft Handebar Grips. Those hard plastic grips most every kit comes with an 'on the throttle' one, and another for the other side are in a word, atrocious. Unless your bike came with nice grips that would fit over the throttle barrel just get a $7 bag of foam grips. Even if you wear them out every month you have enough for a year, they will fit over the throttle, and your riding comfort level will double even with front shocks.
3. Brakes. Even just putting say a 48cc on any budget beach cruiser bike and relying only on that bikes coaster brake to stop fast if you need to is, well, I can't pick a single adjective for this one other than DON'T!!!!
Under no circumstances should you rely on a one wheel brake even if it is disc.
I have covered this a bit elsewhere but I am out of time tonight, but considering the topic I thought those 3 points really should be brought up again.
I know may of you new builders are on a budget and you don't think comfort is a concern.
Unless you are only going to be using your new MB for a leisurely mile or two at 15MPH rides around the neighborhood or quick trips to the store on occasion you will thank me for this advice.
It is also why I share it here, but that is just me.
Take it or leave it.