Best bang for my buck? --long read--

[YetiWoodz]

"The Dude" has spoken

 

[Equillibrium]

I'm so happy to be the "DUDE." If you read the first post by "E," carefully, he is hoping to
get a 2 stroke, something out of the box that can take him to 40mph, possibly
using a 44 tooth rear sprocket on a Zeda 80 and some modding. My point is it's not
going to be possible without some real modification and a 36 tooth or less rear
sprocket. Can't happen. You sought advice and the dude is responded. The Dude
has been on this site and building and designing motorized bikes since 2008, so the
Dude has accumulated some degree of expertise on the subject. Sorry
you take objection about the Bayside bike, but it still is a poor choice regardless
of whether you bought it or not, due to its short 55 inch wheelbase. It's also a cheap
Walmart bike and could be considered unsafe at 40 mph, your goal. At that speed, you
might want to consider a bike with shock absorption, and maybe a front disk brake. I can't
imagine how good the brakes have to be to stop a 300 lb rider going 40mph, and
just when a car pulls out in front of you. Think about it. Safety is important. It's your
life. So it is written, so it shall be done.
THE DUDE

Oohhhh i see the problem here!!! It's very simple and i cant blame dude for not catching it because i'm just now seeing it myself. DUDE cant read.

 

[Equillibrium]

I thought i was pretty clear in my original post but there seems to be some who read my original post and forgot what a question mark was. I was asking what i could do to get going over 40 mph with a budget of around 400$ but i already have the bike. As stated, i'm willing to do even the most extensive of modifications as long as its still around the budget price. At the time i had not bought a kit yet and was asking opinions about the zeda 100 dio performance kit and asking if i had extensively modified that, would it be a good option. I also asked if i should use a smaller sprocket or stick with the 44 tooth. I did not say i was sprocket racist and would only be willing to equip just the 44toothiest of sprockets. I believe all sprockets, no matter their tooth count have their place. Hopefully this clears up the original post which 9/10 people comprehended flawlessly. Thanks!

 

[Equillibrium]

I'm so happy to be the "DUDE." If you read the first post by "E," carefully, he is hoping to
get a 2 stroke, something out of the box that can take him to 40mph, possibly
using a 44 tooth rear sprocket on a Zeda 80 and some modding. My point is it's not
going to be possible without some real modification and a 36 tooth or less rear
sprocket. Can't happen. You sought advice and the dude is responded. The Dude
has been on this site and building and designing motorized bikes since 2008, so the
Dude has accumulated some degree of expertise on the subject. Sorry
you take objection about the Bayside bike, but it still is a poor choice regardless
of whether you bought it or not, due to its short 55 inch wheelbase. It's also a cheap
Walmart bike and could be considered unsafe at 40 mph, your goal. At that speed, you
might want to consider a bike with shock absorption, and maybe a front disk brake. I can't
imagine how good the brakes have to be to stop a 300 lb rider going 40mph, and
just when a car pulls out in front of you. Think about it. Safety is important. It's your
life. So it is written, so it shall be done.
THE DUDE

Ive mentioned several times i bought the kent for the frame. Everything else will be subject to rigorous testing, inspection and brought up to safe standards. People driving tractor trailers trust me to keep their trucks in safe working order. If you don't think i can handle building a motorized bicycle, you're dumber than you look. Which right now....... DUDE....

 

[LewieBike]

If you want to make a steady diet of going +40 MPH the KYMCO K-Pipe would be a better option. You might as well invest in a vehicle with all the proper equipment, proper riding gear and get a motorcycle endorsement license. JMHO, when you push a bicycle past 25mph it's getting out of the realm of bicycle structural safety.

Yeah you can add suspension and disc brakes, by the time you have the time and money invested, guess what, those items are made for human power level speeds, and you spent over $1000 in parts and labor. Any sane mechanical engineer would blanche at these 40+ mph speed recommendations. This is me with a lifetime of riding small motorcycles trying to inject some sanity into this discussion.

But you know, you only live once. go for it.

 

[Chainlube]

Ya but..... that's a 4t pipe, this is a 2t discussion.

If you want to make a steady diet of going +40 MPH the KYMCO K-Pipe would be a better option. You might as well invest in a vehicle with all the proper equipment, proper riding gear and get a motorcycle endorsement license. JMHO, when you push a bicycle past 25mph it's getting out of the realm of bicycle structural safety.

Yeah you can add suspension and disc brakes, by the time you have the time and money invested, guess what, those items are made for human power level speeds, and you spent over $1000 in parts and labor. Any sane mechanical engineer would blanche at these 40+ mph speed recommendations. This is me with a lifetime of riding small motorcycles trying to inject some sanity into this discussion.

But you know, you only live once. go for it.

 

[LewieBike]

Ya but..... that's a 4t pipe, this is a 2t discussion.

This is the "general discussion" sub, and this 'best bang for buck' discussion should also cover the strong possibility that shooting for plus 40+ speeds on a bike frame that was built for 18, is pretty ludicrous, as your "best bang" you're shooting for maybe the bang ending your ride from an emergency braking event. Which could be the bang that ends with you in the hospital or worse.

I'm just sayin' . See, I'm lucky enough to have Augie/Gone-Fishing as a personal friend and have talked at length with him about motorized bikes, and this forum in particular. He got flamed a lot here for his conservative approach to motorizing bikes, and he's been playing the long game of MB riding. He also has ridden his GEBE bike and trailer all over the Western US, into Canada and Alaska.

Even I admit he's a bit of a firebrand, but damn guys, he was warning you all about not working within the structural limits of these bikes back in 2009. No-one listens very carefully to these pretty intelligent bike motoring pioneers.

But you know, go for it, you got this.

 

[Deleted Member 4613]

For a 300lb rider, the Kent Bayside maximum stated weight specified is
only 250 lbs. You're already 50lbs over the specs, just getting on it
without a motor. So you're going to motorize it with the intention of
riding 40mph, and expect to brake all this momentum. The idea is
stupid! But you only live once and it's your life.

 

[LewieBike]

For a 300lb rider, the Kent Bayside maximum stated weight specified is
only 250 lbs. You're already 50lbs over the specs, just getting on it
without a motor. So you're going to motorize it with the intention of
riding 40mph, and expect to brake all this momentum. The idea is
stupid! But you only live once and it's your life.

The big issue I see is that there's a lot of these disc brake conversion for cruisers that end up costing a lot and really don't add much more braking power than a set of basic Avid or Shimano V-brakes.

Plus you have a few hundred into lacing up some disc brake wheels, plus tuning these brakes so they don't squack every time you use them. It starts down the road of not being a "best bang for buck" realm really quickly as these changes get made.

Is the OP an experienced bicycle mechanic? I've got over 30 years in the industry, and that includes working for ATP-Bike Friday and Burley where I was intimately involved in the manufacturing of Burley's tandem' frames. And even if you were building a single, heavy duty MTB type to the specs that ATP/Burley was using for their frames? No way, still 25 mph, especially with a big rider.

 

[DAMIEN1307]

The big issue I see is that there's a lot of these disc brake conversion for cruisers that end up costing a lot and really don't add much more braking power than a set of basic Avid or Shimano V-brakes.

Plus you have a few hundred into lacing up some disc brake wheels, plus tuning these brakes so they don't squack every time you use them. It starts down the road of not being a "best bang for buck" realm really quickly as these changes get made.

Have not a clue what you mean by conversion being very costly...the mags, including disks, and calipers cost me 119.00 on sale from bikeberry 2 months ago when i did the conversion...it stops on a dime now and leaves 9 cents change...there is also no brake chatter or noise...only had to make my own rear disk caliper adaptor from aviation aluminum, (7075 T6 Aluminum) and use an "Adel" Clamp for the front caliper as bike was not built with calipers in mind...pics are below...DAMIEN