you get what you pay for!!!! i wonder when the dollor stores are going to start selling bikes!!!!!!!
cranbrooks suck
- Thread starter Mobbin'Deep
- Start date
you get what you pay for!!!! i wonder when the dollor stores are going to start selling bikes!!!!!!!
Just saying what folks need to hear. These bike are out of my league for the most part at 6 foot tall I gotta make my own stuff. I have used the cheaper hubs with success. I prefer higher end hubs.
Herder,
What hub/ complete wheel set would your suggest? good, better and best? and why? can you kindly refer me to the vendors or a previous thread? (so as to not take up your time)
Thank you.
What hub/ complete wheel set would your suggest? good, better and best? and why? can you kindly refer me to the vendors or a previous thread? (so as to not take up your time)
Thank you.
i had to figure this question was coming. I don't really know about the coaster brake hubs have not used them. The neatest trick I came up with was to use a grease gun to repack my wheels when I am worried about them.
Most times on what I was doing it to, I could get a grease cert onto the center axle. If not a small hole there worked fine. Then jam the gun there with a rubber gasket, if no grease cert and just a small hole is there. Usually takes three hands that way.
The hubs will be fine that way. Check worksman for better gauge spokes they are very nice wheels. worksmen wheels - Google Search
Mow through here this should help. Spokes are the biggest prob. You want to shoot for bigger spokes. Most higher end hubs are a sealed cartridge unit. Which I prefer for my peddle bikes. A cert will be fine.
There will prolly be a lot of folks that have not used certs. Works ether way gotta take the hub apart for the latter. I have not messed with coaster brake hub's don't know where if a hole could be made.
I like my bearing buddy's that's the best I can say. The old black grease oozes out just wipe off and go. The back wheels take the beating. The front wheels last forever.
Most times on what I was doing it to, I could get a grease cert onto the center axle. If not a small hole there worked fine. Then jam the gun there with a rubber gasket, if no grease cert and just a small hole is there. Usually takes three hands that way.
The hubs will be fine that way. Check worksman for better gauge spokes they are very nice wheels. worksmen wheels - Google Search
Mow through here this should help. Spokes are the biggest prob. You want to shoot for bigger spokes. Most higher end hubs are a sealed cartridge unit. Which I prefer for my peddle bikes. A cert will be fine.
There will prolly be a lot of folks that have not used certs. Works ether way gotta take the hub apart for the latter. I have not messed with coaster brake hub's don't know where if a hole could be made.
I like my bearing buddy's that's the best I can say. The old black grease oozes out just wipe off and go. The back wheels take the beating. The front wheels last forever.
Last edited:
Re: cranbrooks suck. Mine doesn't
Ok The only things on my cranny are the frame, seat post and clamp. Handlebar and gooseneck. rear wheel has 12g spokes laced to grubee HD axle with 48t free wheel [engine drive side] pedal side has free wheel 18t sprocket. Front susp fork with sturmey archer drum brake. HS 4stroke with
grubee 4G trans. Cloud9 seat ,three piece wide crank. Got the bugs worked out. Very dependable
Ok The only things on my cranny are the frame, seat post and clamp. Handlebar and gooseneck. rear wheel has 12g spokes laced to grubee HD axle with 48t free wheel [engine drive side] pedal side has free wheel 18t sprocket. Front susp fork with sturmey archer drum brake. HS 4stroke with
grubee 4G trans. Cloud9 seat ,three piece wide crank. Got the bugs worked out. Very dependable
Last edited:
Re: cranbrooks suck. Mine doesn't
Man, recumbentbill, those are certainly pedals for people who don't.
A Huffy as furnished by the retailer is not suitable for riding. I know this; I work at a bike shop that receives department store bikes in for service every day. They are made of the cheapest possible components and materials, assembled incompetently. For most specimens, that doesn't matter, because they'll be lucky to roll fifty miles before they go to the dump for good.
The good news is that most of the problems with Huffys can be fixed by a decent bicycle mechanic. The bad news is that many of their problems can't be fixed by economically justifiable means. You can fill and adjust the hubs, for instance ($24 to do both of them at my shop), but what do you do about flimsy thin dropouts made of weak soft steel? Buy good dropouts from a custom framebuilder supply and weld them in? I think not. I use dropout alignment tools to straighten them sometimes, but when bending them is as easy as opening a sardine can, I can't pretend that they will stay straight.
Most Huffys (substitute Magnas, Pacifics, Murrays, Roadmasters, Walmart Schwinns, etc.) are so sorely compromised that the expense and effort to set them right would easily buy a decent quality bike that had been prepared by a bike shop. Buying a department store bike only makes sense for someone who is entertained by bicycle maintenance, but does not care about having a strong or reliable bike for his efforts. Or for someone who doesn't actually ride the bike.
Chalo
Man, recumbentbill, those are certainly pedals for people who don't.
A Huffy as furnished by the retailer is not suitable for riding. I know this; I work at a bike shop that receives department store bikes in for service every day. They are made of the cheapest possible components and materials, assembled incompetently. For most specimens, that doesn't matter, because they'll be lucky to roll fifty miles before they go to the dump for good.
The good news is that most of the problems with Huffys can be fixed by a decent bicycle mechanic. The bad news is that many of their problems can't be fixed by economically justifiable means. You can fill and adjust the hubs, for instance ($24 to do both of them at my shop), but what do you do about flimsy thin dropouts made of weak soft steel? Buy good dropouts from a custom framebuilder supply and weld them in? I think not. I use dropout alignment tools to straighten them sometimes, but when bending them is as easy as opening a sardine can, I can't pretend that they will stay straight.
Most Huffys (substitute Magnas, Pacifics, Murrays, Roadmasters, Walmart Schwinns, etc.) are so sorely compromised that the expense and effort to set them right would easily buy a decent quality bike that had been prepared by a bike shop. Buying a department store bike only makes sense for someone who is entertained by bicycle maintenance, but does not care about having a strong or reliable bike for his efforts. Or for someone who doesn't actually ride the bike.
Chalo
Last edited:
Chulo,
what bike(s) would you suggest, good, better, best and why?
I have a cranbrook, and I might "take the loss" and get a better bike.
Thank you Chalo
what bike(s) would you suggest, good, better, best and why?
I have a cranbrook, and I might "take the loss" and get a better bike.
Thank you Chalo
Re: cranbrooks suck. Mine doesn't
Here are links for your curiosity, Goat Herder. Remember I'm not generally recommending sticking good dropouts on a bad bike, but if it solves a problem for you, go for it:
DROPOUTS :: Nova Cycles Supply Inc.
Here's an interesting one:
DO W/DISK BRAKE & DERAILEUR MOUNT-laser cut :: DROPOUTS :: Nova Cycles Supply Inc.
More dropouts and lugs-- no photos, only drawings:
Henry James Investment Cast frame Components
Chalo
Here are links for your curiosity, Goat Herder. Remember I'm not generally recommending sticking good dropouts on a bad bike, but if it solves a problem for you, go for it:
DROPOUTS :: Nova Cycles Supply Inc.
Here's an interesting one:
DO W/DISK BRAKE & DERAILEUR MOUNT-laser cut :: DROPOUTS :: Nova Cycles Supply Inc.
More dropouts and lugs-- no photos, only drawings:
Henry James Investment Cast frame Components
Chalo
Hi Chalo,
What am I? Chopped liver?
Your thoughts on a good bicycle to start out with would be appreciated.
Thank you.
What am I? Chopped liver?
Your thoughts on a good bicycle to start out with would be appreciated.
Thank you.
If you have a Cranbrook already set up, you have invested your work in it. Use it up-- maintain it, do basic repairs, but don't go to extreme measures to fix it when the frame breaks. Instead, upgrade and swap your motor kit over to a more suitable bike.
I'm going to assume that you want to stick with fat tires on 26" wheels. That's probably the best pick for motorized bikes for most people from a size and ruggedness standpoint.
"Good" would be something like a basic cruiser, new or used, from a bike shop-- Sun is a brand that most bike shops can get. I don't claim that it is better than other basic cruisers from bike shops, only that it is available just about everywhere, and it's a cut above things like the Huffy Cranbrook. Note that one of the main reasons a cheap bike like this would be qualitatively better than a department store bike is the fact that it has (probably) been prepped by a bike shop, which will support you with warranty service and often with a free tuneup at a later time. Here's the Sun Revolutions, which has a steel frame and aluminum rims and sells for about $200 full retail:
For ease of mounting a motor, for maximum strength and stiffness-to-weight ratio, etc., a step up from that would be a straight-tube cruiser like the Sun Boardwalk Type R. It has an oversized aluminum frame, but its straight round tubing should make motor mounting more reliable and possibly less complicated than using a traditional curved tube frame. It's a heavy duty bike intended for rental fleets, and it comes with the 12ga spokes that seem to improve reliability with rag joint sprockets (although they do not improve upon 14ga spokes for pedal bike use).
Either one of the above bikes would need a front brake added to be complete and safe at motorized speeds.
Worksman and Husky industrial (and the on again, off again Schwinn Heavy Duti) bikes are a mixed bag. Their frames are sturdy steel, their components are MB-ready, and as far as I know they are built up by people who care that they work properly. But the frames all feature double top tubes that crowd your engine and limit mounting options, and some of their tubes are curved. Their stock brakes are all inadequate. Of the three, I think the Schwinn combines a straight seat tube and down tube with a little more room for the engine, and thus would be the best choice. But it costs more than the other two.
All of the above-- all cruisers, basically-- come in only one size. That makes about as much sense as one size of pants for everybody. If you are very close to average size, it isn't much of a problem, but if you are short or tall or oddly proportioned, you're out of luck.
Bike shop quality mountain bikes and city bikes come in multiple sizes. There is a huge variety to choose from, so you can be picky about details. For motorized bike conversion, you want to bias towards a steel frame with plenty of room inside the front triangle, straight round tubes, and simple rugged construction. Fortunately, all these things put you in the lower price ranges.
A cheap suspension fork is a liability. Either get a good hydraulic model or stick with a rigid fork.
When you combine a steel frame with a rigid fork and simple, rugged construction, a lot of your remaining choices are single speed mountain bikes. These have all the virtues of cruisers but few of the drawbacks. They have two strong brakes. Many of them come with disc-ready wheels, so you can bolt a sprocket right onto the ISO rotor mount with no rag joint and no runout. Here is the Redline Monocog 26, a good and no-nonsense example of the breed:
It's easy and cheap to swap a cruiser style handlebar onto a mountain bike if that suits you better.
If you like having multiple gears, you can save money and get an even roomier home for your motor kit by buying a pre-1990 (pre-suspension) vintage steel MTB with a level top tube. These bikes are all very durable, and they offer the biggest interior space in the front triangle you can get for any given frame size. They have more laid-back and cruiser-like geometry than modern mountain bikes, and you can often find them for less than $200 in roadworthy condition. Here's a 1985 Mongoose ATB, which is typical in most regards:
"Best" in my opinion for a motorized bicycle conversion would be something like a modern steel single speed MTB or an '80s steel MTB, but equipped with a NuVinci, Shimano Alfine 8, or other disc compatible wide range internal gear hub. To this you could add a Sick Bike Parts shift kit for maximum performance, or a Manic Mechanic rotor mount sprocket for maximum tidiness and simplicity. You'd have a bike that was a pleasure to ride with the motor off-- but safe, robust and efficient under motor power. If cost were not a major factor, I'd have a bike shop build some seriously heavy-duty wheels with chunky double-walled aluminum rims and 13/14ga butted spokes, and I'd use a pair of top quality linear pull brakes with Kool Stop pads and brake booster arches.
700c (aka 29") wheels are a fine option if done right, but they are inherently weaker than 26" just because of their size. So for a carefully designed high end bike, you can consider this option, but there is no good reason to do so if you want to keep your budget and maintenance commitment low.
Chalo
Dudes! I have 1000 miles on my Huffy Cranboob, no repairs. I went over it when I got it (used) and have only had the wheels apart to re-grease a few times. It has never let me down.
Use a set of cone wrenches....cheap enough to make theHi Joe,
Thats comforting to know, as I too am a "proud"
I'm going to take the time and do it right. (Isn't that a song?)
done - regreased hubs
to do:
- properly retighten hubs - any suggestions to properly do this?
- tighten all spokes
- tie strap spokes (old school idea) - what do you think?
- adjust for concentricity of rag joint - sprocket
Any other helpful hints?
Thank you
"investment".
Check and true the wheels, then after you zip tie them, balance them!
I have zip tied the spokes on most of my builds and it does help the firmness of the wheel so to speak.
Hi Chalo,
Thank you for taking the time with a detailed post. Very enlightening for me.
I do hope this will help other MB'ers too.
The "simple" redline I dig alot, sprocket ready.
I will follow your lead, and run the Cranbrook, and this will help for sure on my next build.
Thank you again.
Respectfully,
"WorksmanFL"
Thank you for taking the time with a detailed post. Very enlightening for me.
I do hope this will help other MB'ers too.
The "simple" redline I dig alot, sprocket ready.
I will follow your lead, and run the Cranbrook, and this will help for sure on my next build.
Thank you again.
Respectfully,
"WorksmanFL"
Last edited:
Godfather Joe,
Thank you also for your helpful post.
I look forward to finish tweaking my bike, and sharing pics with the hopes of helping fellow MB'ers.
Look for your name in the credits section. (and Chalo too)
Thank you also for your helpful post.
I look forward to finish tweaking my bike, and sharing pics with the hopes of helping fellow MB'ers.
Look for your name in the credits section. (and Chalo too)
Re: cranbrooks suck. Mine doesn't
Thank you. I am going to start building them from scratch. The geometry I want doesn't seem available.
Thank you. I am going to start building them from scratch. The geometry I want doesn't seem available.
When I was younger and only had one (pedal) bike, I would tally that much mileage in less than a month (300 miles per week). I would have considered hubs that needed more or less weekly attention to be complete junk. I did have to true my wheels about that often. I build stronger wheels now, and they do not need frequent service of any kind.
Would you consider a motorcycle that needed its transmission or wheel bearings taken apart and relubricated every few hundred miles to be a letdown? I would.
I still own a bike with over 30,000 miles on it. Its first good set of wheels did even more miles than that (some of them on other bikes) and only needed one or two hub overhauls in the rear and one new set of cartridge bearings in front. They probably would have needed more service had the bike been motorized, but still...
I suspect that you would have less patience for your Huffy if you were more familiar with riding high quality bikes. A motorized bike need not be built on a really nice bike, but it should be built on a durable one at least.
Chalo
Thanks Chalo, but I also have some "high quality bikes" that are not motorized....so I AM familiar with the breed, so never assume anything.
I am speaking of the average rider who rides a few hobby miles a week on his motorized bike.
Also, I was just saying that the Cranboob is not a terrible bike and one that is easily motorized.
BTW I understand that a bicycle with an engine on it is not a motorcycle, which I also own several of. So I am not concerned with greasing/checking/servicing (needed or not) the bicycle on a regular basis. It's part of the hobby. Do you know how much maintenance an antique motorcycle requires compared to a new one?
Last edited: