I put a 25cc two-stroke friction-drive on my 1973 27-inch Continental. (old skinny tire bike). It has worked out better than I expected. I put well over 2000 miles on it last year.
I'm glad I went with the friction drive. It's simple, light, inconspicuous, and completely disengages with the flip of a lever. Tire wear is not an issue at all anymore. I rode almost all of last year on one rear tire. That's about the same wear I got without a motor. My friction drive wheel (scrubber) is made from a hockey puck and steel spacer from Lowes. The "wet weather" scrubber in the photo is made from skateboard wheel with abrasive grit glued to it. Springs pull the unit down onto the tire. It'll bump start at 5mph, no problem. The throttle lever is an old brake lever. I added some extra homemade cable bosses to the frame so the cable runs nice and neat. It's all homemade with hand tools, a bench drill press and disk sander.
It rides like a Schwinn 10-speed, which I like. I don't go trailblazing with it; mostly ride the country roads within 30 miles or so from home. About 200 mpg - 25 mph top speed. A good pedaling pace in 10th gear... that's about the top speed and I don't want to go any faster!
Paid $10 for the Homelite leaf blower at a garage sale. Got the '73 Continental and a chromoly Univega at a yard sale, $20 for the pair.
I'm glad I went with the friction drive. It's simple, light, inconspicuous, and completely disengages with the flip of a lever. Tire wear is not an issue at all anymore. I rode almost all of last year on one rear tire. That's about the same wear I got without a motor. My friction drive wheel (scrubber) is made from a hockey puck and steel spacer from Lowes. The "wet weather" scrubber in the photo is made from skateboard wheel with abrasive grit glued to it. Springs pull the unit down onto the tire. It'll bump start at 5mph, no problem. The throttle lever is an old brake lever. I added some extra homemade cable bosses to the frame so the cable runs nice and neat. It's all homemade with hand tools, a bench drill press and disk sander.
It rides like a Schwinn 10-speed, which I like. I don't go trailblazing with it; mostly ride the country roads within 30 miles or so from home. About 200 mpg - 25 mph top speed. A good pedaling pace in 10th gear... that's about the top speed and I don't want to go any faster!
Paid $10 for the Homelite leaf blower at a garage sale. Got the '73 Continental and a chromoly Univega at a yard sale, $20 for the pair.
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