The Ultimate Inexpensive All-Terrain Build (Thread)

twowheeledfox

twowheeledfox

New Member
I have MB withdrawal now, and was thinking about doing a great project before the bike was stored- so here's the theoretical build.

It is a truly all-purpose bike.

It can be pedaled with little resistance from the motor chain like a regular pushbike, or motored to about 15-20mph (cycling speeds, it is truly a motorized bicycle not a moped).

In pedal only mode it would have an locking clutch control that actually works, but does not need to be a lever because in off-roading having front and rear brakes is important.

It would have a deraileur and 5 to 15 gears in pedal mode, which would ideally still work. It would have a pullstarter for the motor to avoid messy jumpstarts, and some way of making the pedals clear it.

It would have the standard 44t sprocket, and 1/2G tank but with an aluminum water bottle for spare fuel on the trail or in the middle of nowhere when you're too tired to pedal.

It could be disassembled for bus or car travel (mounting on a bike rack) in ten minutes or so, and disassembled for overseas (boat or air) travel in an hour or two, as well as indoor storage (drain all gas) in a ten minutes.

It would have a headlight for all-weather riding.

It would have an onboard toolkit with enough tools for common repairs and typical disassembly.

It would weigh under 45lbs with gas, tools and light.

:D

So some questions arise- an old steel ten-speed frame, with a one-piece crank, seems like the ideal indestructible base for a bike like this, but what about pedal clearance of the pullstart, chain clearance for the sprocket and tensioner, and a place to mount the toolkit and spare fuel bottle that doesn't interfere with putting the bike on a rack for a bus or car ride?

Also, anyone with experience on securing an MB to a car, truck and/or bus's bicycle rack would be great for advice.

Thanks, always thinking of new projects y'know laff
 
Lol there's an idea that always came to mind when I thought about the clutch lever. Putting a throttle (better quality one) on the lefthand side for the clutch. Pushing the throttle up would result in the clutch engaging (because it's upside-down) and if you let go it would spring down in gear. Would be comfortable it it worked.
 
That's a good idea- only problem is that if it sprung back too easily the motor might accidentally be engaged while riding pedal-powered. I was thinking an old lever for a front derailer mounted like either a sideways shifter, or a suicide lever on the steering stem. Of course, the lever would probably not stay in position when the clutch was engaged.
 
twowheeledfox said:
That's a good idea- only problem is that if it sprung back too easily the motor might accidentally be engaged while riding pedal-powered. I was thinking an old lever for a front derailer mounted like either a sideways shifter, or a suicide lever on the steering stem. Of course, the lever would probably not stay in position when the clutch was engaged.
Click to expand...

Yea it would have to be a hard lock like the clutch levers have. That's why the second best way would be controlled by something your hand is on 100% of the time, like the grip.

Also a click-shifter might work. But it would have to move a heck of a lot between gears. I believe you can get the left-side ones for 2 gears (front derailer) for 2-speed cranks.

The only other think I could think of would be the lever shifters for the older 10-speed bikes that stick right on the handlebar stem. They have plastic adjustment wingnut but if you replace it with a hard hex nut you could tighten it quite a bit (plus lockwashers, perhaps double-nut it, etc to keep it tight). Then just weld or bolt a longer piece of metal to it to get more leverage for an easier pull.
 
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You can get a wide peddal crank kit or short peddal cranks to clear the pullstart.
Buses will not allow a gas bike on there rack.
Goodluck with the rest of your : "It would have..."
 
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Wow, didn't read the bottom half of this thread. What you need would be like a folding bicycle with knobby tires and some way to quick-release the motor. Whatever you come up with would result in a trail of gasoline behind wherever you are. It would also have to be spindle-driven, which would make mountain biking almost impossible.
 
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