Need help planning future build... going offroad!

After building one bike and getting the kinks worked out, I'm hooked and am already scheming madness in my head of an off road build. I live too far out in the country NOT to have an offroad bike, plus with all the trees going down and housing developments going up lately (internal tears....) the trails around here are fewer and fewer as the years go by... So I've decided I wanna rip it up while I can! Of course I wanna keep the ultimate cost as low as I can, But I also refuse to build an unsafe bike or something that would give us a bad reputation. I want a person who knows nothing about mechanics to look at my bike and feel safe taking it for a ride after I tell them it tops out @ 40mph. Long story short, I'm about a quality end product but also not ending up homeless doing it.

What follows is my idea of an ideal bicycle as a to-be-motorized platform.
-Must have front suspension with disc brake
-I definitely want an in frame motor mount to keep COG as low as possible, so that limits options as far as rear suspension goes
-24" wheels preferred, but I can be flexible there
-If my ambition continues I'm going to want to install a shift kit, so the bike needs gears
-Caliper brakes are fine for the rear
-Alloy spokes please?
-Budget for bicycle $300, the lower the better

As far as how it will be motorized... I really wanna do a 4 stroke build because I've already done a 2 stroke build, and I know the 4 stroke will have more torque out of the box. Plus, there's no mixing gas, and I hear they usually last longer without maintenance (coming from a big 2 stroke fan). But I do realize the size difference in 2 vs 4 stroke, so if I have to use a 2 stroke for space efficiency I'll just have to mod it for torque and mess with the gearing.

If anyone has any ideas what bicycles would fit my bill please let me know. If not, I'd like to hear any experience with an off-road build you might have. Thanks, can't wait to hear what ya'll have to say! :D
 
Cool idea, I've been planning something similar! I have a 2-stroke with big semi-dirt tyres that I've taken off-road; it's a hardtail (80mm front suspension) with 24" wheels with 2.4" tyres and I haven't felt the urgent need for rear suspension.

I've been thinking of combining a 4-stroke with a shift kit and a 3-speed internal gear hub. That way, the drivetrain will be more protected against the mud and water that an off-road bike is likely to encounter. I don't know if the Shimano Nexus hubs will be strong enough, but they have the option of a rear roller brake which will also require little maintenance and not be affected by the elements.

Are you expecting to ride dirt trails or more riding-over-a-rocky-field kinds of terrain?
 
rear swingarms aren't complicated to make. a few pieces of box aluminum and a shock off a moped are just about all you need. of course, you'll need either a tig machine or special sticks to weld the shock mounts and braces, or you could go box steel if you're not terribly concerned with the extra few pounds
 
I'm about a quality end product but also not ending up homeless doing it.

Unfortunately to give dependable reliability, your only option is to spend a good deal of money. $20 here, $50 there the odd $200 thrown at some other specific component. Over time you will be gobsmacked as to how much money has been poured into your motorised bicycle to make it reliable.

however, if you do pour financial resources into your bike, it will be reliable enough to do this:

http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?42840-Falls-Creek-Ski-Village-amp-Mt-McKay-summit-March-2014&highlight=Lake+mountain
 
Back
Top