Brakes or lack of

GoldenMotor.com
CRP

CRP

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I got my $50 bike running pretty well and now it's time for the brakes.

Option 1 is to buy a cheap bike from a thrift store or somewhere and just swap out the front forks with my bike. Nice if I can get some suspension and a front brake.

Option 2 and I don't know if this possible but can you buy a kit to add a front disk brake to a beach cruiser? I can't seem to find one so I assume the front fork has to built for a disk brake? I've never took a close look at a disk brake on a bike. Seems like that would work better then a caliper brake?

I also bought a 2 legged kick stand so that should be another problem solved. Kick stand on the bike was useless.
 
CRP

CRP

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Just went and checked, I have mounting holes for caliper brakes so I think I'll go that route front and back. Think front and back is much safer then a front and leaving the traditional back brake.

Unless someone knows how to get a front disc brake on a beach cruiser?

BTW I don't want to spend much money on this at all. Bought the bike for $50 and $100 is my top for a functioning motorize bike.,
 
Tyler6357

Tyler6357

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Caliper brakes are fine, I've gone 1000s of miles and haven't had to change the pads even once yet. If you are 150lbs or more I would recommend that you get a 66cc or 69cc, if you get a 50cc, 2 stroke it's going to be sluggish. For China Girls, I personally prefer the PK80s over the GTs. With regards to your budget, I think you should save up a little more and get something decent.

brnot
 
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CRP

CRP

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TheNecromancer13 said:
For $100 you're not going to get a functioning motorized bike. Ever.
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I almost have a fully functional bike. It functions right now just needs brakes and a decent kick stand and I'm done or at least I think?

To the buy a better one crowd, not gong to do that in the near future but I will post a video when I'm done with the bike I have.
 
Tyler6357

Tyler6357

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CRP said:
I almost have a fully functional bike. It functions right now just needs brakes and a decent kick stand and I'm done or at least I think?

To the buy a better one crowd, not gong to do that in the near future but I will post a video when I'm done with the bike I have.
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I didn't realize you had almost everything already. This is the kickstand I'm using right now...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221316673937?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

As for being done...haha...you are never really done with these things..haha..but there are some upgrades from stock that are really useful and practical to get.
 
CRP

CRP

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Tyler6357 said:
I didn't realize you had almost everything already. This is the kickstand I'm using right now...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221316673937?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

As for being done...haha...you are never really done with these things..haha..but there are some upgrades from stock that are really useful and practical to get.
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That's exactly what I'm looking for.

Right now I paid $50 for a used beach cruiser with a 49cc Heasheng 4 stroke with a centrifugal clutch.
$6 for a little bit of fuel line, clamps and a new plug. I'm figuring roughly $25 for a kick stand and $25 for brakes.

There's a picture of my bike on this thread. http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=62376
 
Tyler6357

Tyler6357

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Oh, okay, that looks pretty good! You can get a similar but cheaper kick stand than the one I posted. 4 strokes are often times more reliable but any engine on a bicycle will create a lot of vibration so make sure you keep checking screws and nuts for loosening. One upgrade that you might consider is a sprocket adapter for the rear wheel. Rag joints to the spokes are prone to failure causing spoke damage if you don't constantly check the screws. Sprocket adapters drive the hub and not the spokes. Get a 40 tooth sprocket with it to increase your top end a few mph.
You might be able to score a cheap bike on craigs list or something to get some V breaks for it.
 
CRP

CRP

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Chaz said:
You really scored a deal on that bike! Here's a link to disc caliper mount for a cruiser style fork. http://custommotoredbicycles.com/disc_brakes_rotors_26_inch_wheels_conversion_brackets

scroll down to the bright yellow fork, you can't miss it.
Disc brake is nice but it will add quite a bit of cost to your build. There's nothing wrong with vee brakes (cantilevered?).

ride on
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There it is just what I need. I might just stick with regular brakes for cost reasons.

I might build another better bike from scratch so I'll file that link away. I live by the beach so beach cruisers are everywhere not hard to find a decent one for cheap. Just a matter of have they actually been used on the beach. You don't want those, couple years on a beach is a hard life for a bike.
 
CRP

CRP

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Tyler6357 said:
Oh, okay, that looks pretty good! You can get a similar but cheaper kick stand than the one I posted. 4 strokes are often times more reliable but any engine on a bicycle will create a lot of vibration so make sure you keep checking screws and nuts for loosening. One upgrade that you might consider is a sprocket adapter for the rear wheel. Rag joints to the spokes are prone to failure causing spoke damage if you don't constantly check the screws. Sprocket adapters drive the hub and not the spokes. Get a 40 tooth sprocket with it to increase your top end a few mph.
You might be able to score a cheap bike on craigs list or something to get some V breaks for it.
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Funny you say that about the spokes. The bike I have looks like a strong rim and spokes were added, they aren't original to the bike. I'll look up sprocket adapters.
 
Tyler6357

Tyler6357

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CRP said:
Funny you say that about the spokes. The bike I have looks like a strong rim and spokes were added, they aren't original to the bike. I'll look up sprocket adapters.
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That's a pretty common problem, the 9 bolt rag joint connection to the spokes where one or more of the bolts will become loose from vibration and it will put too much torque on the spokes and they will bend or even break. They make many different sizes of adapters to fit different hubs, it looks like you have a cruzer rim that 26", 36 spokes and a coaster break?? If so there are many available to get. They are kinda expensive but worth it in maintenance costs of having to get new spokes and true your wheel again and again. The Manic-Mechanic ones are kinda the standard type to get but there are cheaper ones that are probably not as good. Just make sure you measure the diameter of your rear hub and determine the circumference of the hub to get the right size.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manic-Mecha...268359?hash=item3a9f6485c7:g:n~8AAOSwQJhUgLsr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sprocket-Ad...000772?hash=item3acbf60384:g:y7EAAOSwknJX0F2Q

brnot
 
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CRP

CRP

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Put a stand on the bike and put front and rear brakes on. Ironically I was at the dump the next day and picked up this bike for free. There is a donor disk brake and front suspension. A little black paint, see if it will fit?
 

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malatious

malatious

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That is what I did to mine. Combined a couple of different bicycles to get the parts I wanted. The front disc brake and suspension make a big difference. Well worth the effort.
 
CRP

CRP

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malatious said:
That is what I did to mine. Combined a couple of different bicycles to get the parts I wanted. The front disc brake and suspension make a big difference. Well worth the effort.
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Looks like the front fork tube is the same size, are they pretty much a standard size? Looks like a good upgrade to me. At the moment I like this little engine bike so I have my eye out for frames and parts I can pick up for free or close to it. Not sure what all I can make in the end. LOL. I'm fine with the 49cc engine, goes fast enough and I live where there are no hills. For the most part my 13 year old son will be riding it any ways, just a matter of making sure it won't fall apart before he gets to ride it around. .shft.
 
Tyler6357

Tyler6357

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Sweet, that is really coming along nicely! It's always great when you can get parts off of another bike and you can't beat the price of FREE! The suspension fork should work, I've been meaning to get a suspension fork for my bike too. I agree that 49cc 4 stroke will be fine for power, you will fly on that thing!

dnut
 
CRP

CRP

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malatious said:
From your picture it looks like you can just switch over the parts you want. I have the same bike and motor kit. Here is the link to the thread with my bike. It seems like a great combo so far and I have not had any trouble with it yet.

http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=62122
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Is that light working off a battery or the engine? I'm wondering if running it off the bikes electrical will work? With LED lights you don't need much current.
 
KCvale

KCvale

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