Continuing use as a bicycle

V

Vanderwaal

New Member
this is probably a dumb question but as someone who hasn't built a motorized bicycle yet i'm going to ask it anyway. does putting a motor on a bicycle reduce it's ability to still be used as a bicycle? my wife and daughter and i like to go riding (actually pushing pedals and stuff :) ) so i'd like my bicycle to still be a bicycle. is this hampered by the introduction of a motor?
 
Both of my bikes are just as easy to pedal after the addition of the engine as they were before the bicycle motor. Just a little extra chain noise is the only difference I can tell.........................
 
mine was a little harder to pedal after the bicycle motor was put on plus will weigh more. however i was able to pedal where i needed to go when i forgot to put gas in it. as far a stability i noticed no difference their :eek:
 
i just bought my first motorized bike. it was assembled already so i haven't ridden it without the motor, however mine is quite a work out to pedal. five minutes in i was sweating and panting like a wild animal. up hill jaunts are certainly out of the question, even on first gear. i end up having to walk it up. seemed to me that it was the extra weight of the motor. i know the frame can't weigh that much because i saw this bike at work and it was easily lifted. after seeing that you fellows dont have such a hard time pedaling makes me wonder if something might be wrong. i mean i'm not in the best shape, but i ride my bmx all over and it's never worn me out enough to have to walk up hills.
 
if you break down somewhere i strongly suggest takeing off the chain to the motor. you do have some drag thier. but you can pedal them.
 
garynuman said:
i just bought my first motorized bike. it was assembled already so i haven't ridden it without the motor, however mine is quite a work out to pedal. five minutes in i was sweating and panting like a wild animal. up hill jaunts are certainly out of the question, even on first gear. i end up having to walk it up. seemed to me that it was the extra weight of the motor. i know the frame can't weigh that much because i saw this bike at work and it was easily lifted. after seeing that you fellows dont have such a hard time pedaling makes me wonder if something might be wrong. i mean i'm not in the best shape, but i ride my bmx all over and it's never worn me out enough to have to walk up hills.
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Chain too tight?

Also, with the frame mount bicycle motors if you pull in the clutch and push the locking button, the clutch will usually drag a little. I have a really bad knee and I was able to pedal home eight miles relatively easily but I held the clutch in all the way the whole time, and that was the hardest part.

Now to the OP- The type of front mount friction drive like my avatar bike is no different to ride than a "regular" bicycle.
 
yes, i've noticed the dragging clutch, it is a pain, hurts my hand to hold it in all the way for too long, but even with it held in it's still quite straining. i find my breathing heavily after pedaling even long enough to start the engine.

tight chain seems like a good bet. what would i want to do to, first measure whether or not it is in fact the chains fault and if so then proceed to fixing it.?
 
You should have 3/4" to 1" of freeplay in the chain....I know that seems loose, but I tried it at a lot of different tightnesses and it was quietest and needed less adjustment when run looser.

Plus, I never had tensioner issues when I ran them like that.
 
In my opinion Rideing the a bike with the engine is better than walking, but not as good as a bike without one. I think it is the drag from the chain. I pedal with the engine running at the same pace as pedaling for a little work out. If I pedal hard it reves the engine which is not good. I just help the engine out a little especially when I have to slow down keep the engine from bogging which isn't good for your engine. I have rode the bike to the gym and then gotten on the stationary bike. The logic is all of the people there drove their car there anyway.
 
Bikeguy Joe said:
You should have 3/4" to 1" of freeplay in the chain....I know that seems loose, but I tried it at a lot of different tightnesses and it was quietest and needed less adjustment when run looser.

Plus, I never had tensioner issues when I ran them like that.
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so how would i go about loosening the chain?

oh and just to clarify we are talking about the engine chain yeah?
 
Yes, the engine chain. Just loosen the tensioner pulley and let it slide down a little until you have enough slack in the chain. Tighten it back up and you should be good to go.
 
When the chain is run too tight, it can quickly wear the wheel and output shaft bearings, front and rear sprockets and the chain itself. It can ruin the tensioner pretty quick too.
 
Aren't the pedals just to help start the engine :p

It's not as fun without the engine, but it's better for the gut.
 
You just turn the bolt and loosen it then move it down and tighten it up again. The other side my have a screw driver slot.
 
ok, i read through it and it makes little to no sense to me. you can tell i'm not a grease monkey, i just don't understand a lot of the lingo. (loctite???) (sorry, i know i'm dumb) anyway. it just seems like if i dont do it right then i will mess it up.

also, i just got back from a ride and i put the clutch lock on started to push it up to my door like usual. it seems that something has happened to create an even larger drag. now the clutch lock does nothing and the bike wont move unless i hold the clutch all the way in. whats the deal???
 
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