Sportsman project coming up...questions

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brett7777

New Member
Aug 19, 2011
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Well, as I said my intro, Ive been building bobbers & dont know much about bicycles & even less about motorized ones.
So here's my plan & some initial questions.
Im gonna order a worksman INB frame modded by sportscarpat to have the loop & engine mounts. I could have gotten a stock worksman INB frame but I love the way Pat puts the loop in the frame, it looks way more authentic, & also the engine mounts will be tidier. Im also getting one of his cool tanks. Plus his sprocket adapter. These will be shipped over here to New Zealand.
From there I have to figure out what to get next & where to source it from.
Will the local bike shop have wheels that are suitable for big tyres, also coaster brakes?
When running a Chinese 2 stroke on one of these frames, can you still run like 3 speed gears for pedalling (in case it needs help up the hills). What sort of rear hub & gear change arrangement would I be looking for? does it matter?
If you can view my questions as being from someone who is somewhat mechanically minded, but a total newbie to motorized bicycles, that'd be great! I dont really even know what some of the parts of the bike are called - like what's a crank? Is that the part that the pedals are centred on & that turns in the frame & turns the front srpocket when pedalling?
Will replica monark springer forks fit the worksman frame? there are these for sale locally here in NZ
Monark Springer Forks | Trade Me
 

culvercityclassic

Well-Known Member
Sep 27, 2009
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Welcome Brett,

If it was me I would order a complete roller from Sportscarpat since all his parts are top quality and you will have fewer issues with sourcing parts and fit. After you get it you can order one of these hi -performance engines to finish it off.

70cc HP Stage 2 Engine Kit

In the end you will have one sound bike for sure.
 

brett7777

New Member
Aug 19, 2011
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Auckland, New Zealand
Thanks. I think if I was in the US I would. But everything has to be shipped here & a frame & tank are less on shipping than a whole bike. Also I need to keep to some sort of budget with the rest of the bike.
Are worksman frames imperial or metric?
Will most 26" Chinese made wheels, hubs, brakes, & axles fit them?
Would it be worth buying a complete bike over here & stripping it out?

Also here in NZ there is a big fine if you get caught with over 49cc on a moped. So I better stick with 49cc.
 

harry76

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Apr 16, 2011
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Brisbane, Australia
Glad to see you startng a thread Brett.

If you are using a chinese engine you will get away with standard wheels and hubs. A coaster or foot brake will tidy things up on the handlebars (you will need a clutch lever and front brake lever and throttle), a Sturmey Archer front drum hub can be bought new and is very vintage looking, and from my experience a coaster rear hub is sufficient for braking (others will disagree).

Most people in the U.S buy the worksman rims, as we dont have them available in OZ i just find 36 hole double wall downhill mountain bike rims, shop around as they can be as dear as $100 a rim but i found the ones i run on "torpedo7" for around $25 a rim.

If you want a few gears you can run a hub with internal gears, most manufacturers make em but i havent had any experience with them.

And yeah the cranks are connected to the pedals
 

brett7777

New Member
Aug 19, 2011
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Auckland, New Zealand
Glad to see you startng a thread Brett.

If you are using a chinese engine you will get away with standard wheels and hubs. A coaster or foot brake will tidy things up on the handlebars (you will need a clutch lever and front brake lever and throttle), a Sturmey Archer front drum hub can be bought new and is very vintage looking, and from my experience a coaster rear hub is sufficient for braking (others will disagree).

Most people in the U.S buy the worksman rims, as we dont have them available in OZ i just find 36 hole double wall downhill mountain bike rims, shop around as they can be as dear as $100 a rim but i found the ones i run on "torpedo7" for around $25 a rim.
Thanks Harry. Hey so do i need to buy hubs & rims separately & then lace the wheels?
Or can I buy a complete wheel with hub & coaster brake?
Will those mountain bike rims take fat tyres? (like 2" or more?)

also, can someone explain to me how the coaster brake works? I know you reverse your pedals to apply it, but how does it actually function?
Is there a drum brake in the rear hub? how is this actuated?
 

harry76

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Apr 16, 2011
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Brisbane, Australia
I just looked on Torpedo and they arent on sale anymore, theyve gone back up to $40 a rim ALEX DM24 26" Rim - Torpedo7 and yes i have run balloon tyres on mine. There are a few wider downhill rims

$80 for rims, around $200 for hubs and around $100 for spokes, i lace my own but if you pay someone thats around another $100. So maybe its worth seeing how much you can get a worksman set of wheels imported.

To my knowledge there arent any wheelsets apart from the worksman thats worth buying (wont break) and still have what you want (drum brakes, singlespeed or internal gears, doublewalled rims)

And yes there is like a drum setup in the rear hub actuated by backpedalling with the chain
 

Tad Bit Tipsy

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Jan 2, 2010
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Brett, why not just buy wheels from Pat. I have a set of the drum brake wheels with steel rims and I tell you they are solid, more solid than any other wheel I have ever had my hands on. They don't make them for industrial work for nothing. With Pat's wheels you can get the front drum and then coaster for the back(with his adapter) in steel or aluminum rims.
 

harry76

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Apr 16, 2011
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Brisbane, Australia
Id definitely be interested to see how much a set is to import, i may consider them for my next build..... but considering 2 tyres cost around $75 (from memory) to import so im guessing 2 complete wheels would be a couple hundred....... thats a lotta $$$$
 

harry76

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Apr 16, 2011
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Brisbane, Australia
Brett, why not just buy wheels from Pat. I have a set of the drum brake wheels with steel rims and I tell you they are solid, more solid than any other wheel I have ever had my hands on. They don't make them for industrial work for nothing. With Pat's wheels you can get the front drum and then coaster for the back(with his adapter) in steel or aluminum rims.
When you say "buy the wheels from Pat", are you talking about the sportsman wheels? Roughly how much are a set of these worth?
 

Venice Motor Bikes

Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
Mar 20, 2008
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I have always loved Felt 50mm wide cruiser wheels... I think they would look great on that bike! They can also be ordered with a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub, & Pirate has a hub adapter that fits on it.
 

brett7777

New Member
Aug 19, 2011
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Auckland, New Zealand
wheels are quite large in size so the shipping to NZ will make it prohibitive I think. I will already be up for Int'l shipping for the frame & tank.
so I think I will need to use mountain bike rims & find some hubs here too.

I dont know how much Pat's wheels are & how much more the shipping would actually be, I will need to ask. It would be worth considering if it's the same or less than buying the wheels here I guess.

we dont have felt or worksman parts here in NZ.

hey, can you use 7/8 motorcycle grips on the bicycle bars (& on the Chinese 2 stroke throttle grip) ?
The 7/8 motorcycle grips are 7/8 on the left & 1 inch on the throttle side, to fit over the throttle tube. Would these fit a motorized bicycle?
 
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brett7777

New Member
Aug 19, 2011
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Auckland, New Zealand
I just looked on Torpedo and they arent on sale anymore, theyve gone back up to $40 a rim ALEX DM24 26" Rim - Torpedo7 and yes i have run balloon tyres on mine. There are a few wider downhill rims

$80 for rims, around $200 for hubs and around $100 for spokes, i lace my own but if you pay someone thats around another $100. So maybe its worth seeing how much you can get a worksman set of wheels imported.
Maybe I should get the rear hub with coaster brake, from Pat. (will be cheaper than a whole wheelset for Int'l shipping). Then get them laced locally to those mountain bike rims from Torpedo (Ive found we have Torpedo here in NZ too).
Do you think that might be a good plan?
 

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
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Brisbane, Australia
Im not sure how much Pats hub will cost delivered so its hard to say, id still get a price for the wheels complete if you can afford it. Having the wheels laced is one less job, and the worksman rim is a little wider and more authentic then the Alex rims.
 

brett7777

New Member
Aug 19, 2011
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Auckland, New Zealand
Yes Pat can do a rear coaster hub for me & ship it on the frame, so that'll work out great for the Int'l shipping.
hey Harry I actually really like those Alex mountain bike rims as they are already black, which is the colour I want.
I also need ideas for where to get a leaf or springer front end for a good price...
 
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Tad Bit Tipsy

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Jan 2, 2010
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Pensacola,FL
The Worksman wheels will be hard to get laced up as they are 11g spokes. An average bike shop will not have equipment to do this(I've had a hard time getting 12g work done here in the USA), maybe a motorcycle shop with a larger spoke threader.