I just want to say......
- Thread starter scotto-
- Start date
give me vtec
New Member
I just want to say: "cheap bikes are ok, if they're built the right way" "good bikes are not cheap however"
That's it....I just wanted to say that.
Yes... But if you are patient and know what to look for, you can buy a good bike cheap on craigslist.
scotto-
Custom 4-Stroke Bike Builder
Last edited:
scotto-
Custom 4-Stroke Bike Builder
That is a good question? I like these cheap chinese aluminum cruisers....I consider them pretty decent but I build them well (motorize and such). The blue one cost me $119 and the black one $150 (just the price of the stock bike before motorizing). They are both from the same manufacturer.
To be honest, I really like Felts.....they are not cheap and they are made as well as any other cruiser I can think of off hand.
give me vtec
New Member
Without getting too into detail, here are a few guidelines I follow...
Don't buy anything that is aluminum or originally came from a big box store. The vibration and high speed pot holes will eventually fatigue the frame and something will eventually brake.
Try to find an older name brand bike (specialized, trek. Gary fisher, Diamond back, gt, etc) that probably cost a lot brand new but has depreciated because of age... In this case look for a bike that was purchased new but hardly used. Dont buy second hand parts from the hard core moutain bike guy that lives in tahoe during the summer...
Have patience, finding a good bike cheap takes a lot of searching and you might have to drive to the next town over to find that jewel. Don't be tempted to buy that slightly used cranbeook because it is there and $20 cheaper than at wal mart.
i bought a worksman INB, heaviest duty bike i ever owned hands down. really heavy duty full steel frame, and incredibly heavy duty wheels.
but it is proving to be kinda a headache for me to motorize for me, although it's my first build, having a lot of clearance issues mostly, trimmed down/bent in the fender, moved the tire more to the right of the axle, cut off the bracket for the chain guard so the engine could mount properly, washers in between the hub and drop outs to push it a little more to the right.
lots of other people have done worksman builds with no trouble at all though so it's probably just headaches for me because iv'e got no experience at this.
but it is proving to be kinda a headache for me to motorize for me, although it's my first build, having a lot of clearance issues mostly, trimmed down/bent in the fender, moved the tire more to the right of the axle, cut off the bracket for the chain guard so the engine could mount properly, washers in between the hub and drop outs to push it a little more to the right.
lots of other people have done worksman builds with no trouble at all though so it's probably just headaches for me because iv'e got no experience at this.
matthurd, Lots of folks have done worksman bikes, but there is modification required. Lack of experience and tools/equipment would make it even more challenging. My worksman build has been horribly slow due to lack of time, but since I do enjoy the small gains I make I figure it's worth it. As soon as I get it done, I'll probably take the one I'm riding now apart and try to improve it. Keep at it! Dan
i plan too, the only thing holding me back now is $money$, i had to wait a while so i could afford a new sprocket, was not a big deal though since i wanted the one sportscarpat was making anyways, and now that piratecycles seems to be out of 40 tooth sprockets for their adapters the choice is even more clear cut, and i had my bike running at one point but had chain rub on the frame, got around to fixing it and in 2 weeks of storage i somehow killed the cdi it seems.
just bad luck on my end but luckily iv'e always been pretty patient in most aspects of my life (or lazy depending how you look at it
)
bairdco
a guy who makes cool bikes
pretty much everything you're experiencing with your Worksman are the same things everyone else has come up against while building one. me included. in my opinion, from a custom build standpoint with intentions to sell, it's not worth the amount of hassle. especially if limited on tools and patience.
but if you're building it for yourself, like all bikes, once you're riding it, it's worth all the hurdles you ran into.
but if you're building it for yourself, like all bikes, once you're riding it, it's worth all the hurdles you ran into.
well i plan to start selling these on the side just to make a couple hundred bucks on the side during the summer when gas prices hit their peak, i'm sure once i get the hang of em better everything will get easier from there, just need to get the hang of em first i think. if not i'll only make 2-3 of em aside from my own, but i'd only use worksman bikes because i'd rather not sell something that wont be safe and reliable. even if it drives my cost up, and in turn the end cost, also would not be using the rag joints since all iv'e had with em were bad experiences.
but i do gotta agree all the effort i put into it up until that single ride i got out of it, totally worth i was having so much fun even though it was only 12 degrees out before the wind chill lol.
Dan
Staff
I like the cheap ones. More for the options available then any thing else.
For personal use, I build with cheap department store bikes. Had a Point Beech last 6,000 miles that I could document. I started keeping track after a drunkard in chat said I was either lying or was gonna die soon as cheap aluminum bikes could not hold up. The bike had a lot more then 6K on her when she did fracture. Hit the same pot hole 2ce, at speed. Could not be avoided either time due to traffic. She started life with a Dax kit then a BGF 2 stroke. From there upgraded her to a Honda then finally HF 79cc.
Looking around for a bike to put the Honda back on and will be going with another cheap store bought one. One real important thing I have learned about em, put them together for my self. If it is assembled at the store, it might have been a rush job as their master bicycle mechanic may have been in a hurry to collect shopping carts, snork.
One thing that amazes me, the tires and brake pads seem to hold up really well.
As with any bicycle but most especially the inexpensive ones, remove or shore up them fenders!!!
(this message brought to you by the PAOF. (people afraid of fenders) The one bike I left the fenders on and did not alter as they were so stout, well'p they weren't and did the face plant boogie. But was close to home.
For personal use, I build with cheap department store bikes. Had a Point Beech last 6,000 miles that I could document. I started keeping track after a drunkard in chat said I was either lying or was gonna die soon as cheap aluminum bikes could not hold up. The bike had a lot more then 6K on her when she did fracture. Hit the same pot hole 2ce, at speed. Could not be avoided either time due to traffic. She started life with a Dax kit then a BGF 2 stroke. From there upgraded her to a Honda then finally HF 79cc.
Looking around for a bike to put the Honda back on and will be going with another cheap store bought one. One real important thing I have learned about em, put them together for my self. If it is assembled at the store, it might have been a rush job as their master bicycle mechanic may have been in a hurry to collect shopping carts, snork.
One thing that amazes me, the tires and brake pads seem to hold up really well.
As with any bicycle but most especially the inexpensive ones, remove or shore up them fenders!!!
(this message brought to you by the PAOF. (people afraid of fenders) The one bike I left the fenders on and did not alter as they were so stout, well'p they weren't and did the face plant boogie. But was close to home.