my mountain bike soon to be motorized

paul

paul

Well-Known Member
this is my pride and joy. i spent a few years building it from a schwinn home grown frame. the paint is all custom airbrushed and most all the parts are carbon and titanium. could have bought a car for what i put into this bike but i love it and use it to play in the woods. it weighs in at less then 20 lbs or less then 9 kilograms which i have never seen a mountain bike with full suspension this light
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Re: my mountain bike

I wish i could figure out a way to motorize it. would have to change the wheels and stuff and that is all part of design. i figure i need some exercise once in a while so i will leave this one for pedal power :D
 
Re: my mountain bike

how would i put a sprocket or anything else on the carbon wheel?
 
Re: my mountain bike

Hmmm....Good question....short of a custom adapter, is your hub set up to use the standard ISO mounting for a disc brake?....If so, the sprocket can be mounted in place of the disc.....I was experimenting with this as an alternative to the HD 9 hole mounting system because some people were complaining of spoke breakage and also, by mounting the sprocket where the brake disc would normally go it would make for a very accurate /
precise mount (no more run out or wobble)....Of course the disc normally does sit a little further outboard and this may cause a minor alignment issue on some bikes (not all but possibly some)....Another benefit of a direct mount would also be that the sprocket could be changed out a lot more quickly.....I realize that Grubee makes / imports a hub for such a situation (direct mount of a sprocket to the hub) but I believe that their hub is more expensive than many disc brake hubs and is also not as good in quality form posts I have read. Hope this helps.
Andrew
 
Re: my mountain bike

i went for total lightness. the wheels where available for disk brakes but added weight so i went for the lighter version. spin the type of wheel on their went out of buisness. kinda a classic thing and the darn wheels cost more then nice wheels for a car lol.
 
Re: my mountain bike

I think that is going to have to be a GEBE type engine unless you can find a way of hanging a chengine off the front of the frame and chaining it to the rear wheel...

The problem with the GEBE set up as you have the bike will be wheels - they pretty much have to be spoked standard types or nothing - Trying to shoehorn a GEBE sheave onto those wheels would be pretty hard and is more likely to cause the wheel to fail mid ride..

I do have one thought however and that is using a roller type transmission rack mount either rear or front mounted or (and this is alot more complicated) using a chain fixed to the rim in some way meshing to a toothed gear off an automatic clutch direct from a mounted engine (similar to the cyclemaster idea)- but that would be a custom self-fabbed job and not for the faint hearted.

The problem with all rollers is that of slip - if its wet you loose speed unless you have the springs set very tight - but if you do that you get a bad case of fried and worn tires when its dry unless they are adjustable.

The belt drive is probably the most efficient and is fit and forget pretty much but it will need the spoked wheels (on the upside, if you choose that you can get a rear wheel set and trued with the sheave from GEBE for a reasonable price).

I love the style of the bike though but I do worry about strength a little - vibration can take its toll.. and it would be a shame if something terminal happened.. not to mention what might happen to it in a crash :(

Jemma xx
 
Re: my mountain bike

That is a nice looking bike. I agree with you cruiser, I always keep a non- motorized bike and ride at least one day a week to work (Well it's more like every other week). There's nothing wrong with a little excercise every now and then, its good for the body. :)
 
Re: my mountain bike

deacon said:
what about the stanton friction drive honda kit.
Click to expand...

The problem is always the friction drive part of it. Anything that relies on a friction drive is always gonna get upset by water on tyres - not to mention it will eat knobbly tires for breakfast and vibrate itself to **** at any speed.

It really depends on what you want from the machine. If you want an all weather all surface rig then its better to go chain or belt (which means ditching those wonderful wheels). If you want something for sunny days and road work - then the friction drive/roller drive would be fine. You pays your money and takes your choice as it were..

The other option is electric drive with hub motors - but that still means losing the 3-spokes and means you have to find somewhere to put the batteries which for any decent speed/range will not be small in size or weight...

Its a conundrum really - you have to balance needs with what you are willing to change/remove and also whether you will be able to live with the limitations involved..

hope that helped

Jemma xx
 
Re: my mountain bike

thanks jemma. i been thinking serous about a new wheel set but never considered the vibration issue with the carbon fiber. glad you pointed that out to me.
 
Re: my mountain bike

well i decided this will be my next motorized bicycle. i went by the bicycle shop today and ordered new wheels and gonna put a new dax 4 stroke bicycle motor on it. i will post lots of pictures and tell you all about the build and the ride. the new 4 stroke bicycle engine is supposed to have very little vibration and should make a sweet ride. every one i have talked to said thier is nothing better out thier.
 
Re: my mountain bike

I'd love to see some pics and pick your brain after you get it done. I've got a full suspension bike I would love to make into a motorized bicycle. And that four stroke motor looks pretty sweet..........
 
Re: my mountain bike

i plan on doing a complet review when i start the new motorized bicycle build. i will be building it in st croix as soon as i arive. dax has been super helpful answering all my questions and very patient. my wheel i am having built has the mount for the disk brake which i will use to mount the sprocket so it should be perfect and only 6 screws to put the sprocket on. no crushing spokes ect. all of kings sprockets are now drilled for this. i have a couple years into building the bicycle and to motorize it i am really excited about. the paint job on it was all airbrushed by mike helt who paints some of the custom harleys for the harley davidson musium. you will know his paint jobs by his signiture on all his bikes that say "to helt with it" the reason i am liking this so much because the major hassles for me has been trying to get the sprocket on perfect which will be a peice of cake with the disk brake mount for they have to be square to work. the clutch has always been a hassle and the dax titan bicycle engine kit has a centrifugal clutch so no worries thier. no chain tenisoner which is always giving me fits, lastly and a small thing is no mixing gas and oil which is a hassle to me. i really like the idea of pulling in the gas station filling it up and off i go :ride2:
 
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