"LEARNING FROM MY MISTAKES"
By mid-summer 2005 I'd built 7 bikes, (3 from WalMart, 2 barn bikes, 2 single speeds), before I finally found a model reliable enough to customize. So, of these 5 pictured bikes, ONLY ONE was sales worthy, the rest culled for personal use.
But talk about timing !!
After 2 months of buying, building and testing, I was ready to roll, on the very day Hurricane Katrina shocked local motorists with $3 per gallon gas.
This series is an attempt to organize ideas I've discovered about bikes and motors, commuting with tax benefits, traveling on overnight expeditions, and showing how to build a durable piece of rolling stock.
Part I-Intro to Motorized Bicycles: We are IN the Bailout Bill
Currently there are many MB riders hitting 10-20,000 miles. It's all about the pursuit of reliability, in your own garage or shop.
By choosing a good bike frame on your first installation, you can use the gained knowledge to build more expensive or elaborate MBs later, or add innovations as they come along.
Shoutout to ek hornbecks formatting tips.(which ain't easy)
And HEY dkistner- scroll to the bottom for the beginnings of my senior section !!!
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WALMART MISERIES...
Before I introduce my personal favorite Chevy, Buick and Cadillac choices, a bit of back story.
I had a very nice Brangus herd, and started mixing in goats back in 2001. In February 2004, I sold the entire herd, mere weeks before the Canadians re-flooded the U.S. with beef exports (after the mad cow scare). Finally some stock paid off.
First, I paid off the balance on my daughter's car. Then I built up one of the larger goat flocks in the area, soon numbering over 200 (which is too many, lately culled down to 100 good nannies).
Trying to keep goats contained was a frustrating chore, but by the end on 2004, I had most of the fences fixed, the creek bottom cleared up, and there was time to find a new hobby.
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As related in Part I of the series, I found Golden Eagle Bike Engines rated #1 in Popular Mechanics, and had an extensive discussions with Dennis, the owner. He gave me two of his customers as references, to contact for additional insights.
Dennis recommended I start in the "cheapest" fashion, use a Next Avalon 7 speed from WalMart. Never to do anything halfway, I bought three, (2) Mens and a Womans. I avoid WalMart like a plague, so I figured if I was going to darken their doors, I'd just do it all at once. I was also boycotting the internet, because of rural dial up prices and crappy service. Thusly, no guidance on-line, just pure seat of the pants experiencements.
If something doesn't work, I'm going to tell you. That's why MB is so exciting....it works beyond expectations.
But at that time, I was a non-websurfing rube, hadn't worked on a bike since the banana seat/baseball card in the spokes 1960's, was a MB knownothing.
Within a day, I was in the exhilaration phase, racing around the area, showing off to neighbors, making 40-60 mile round trips to the two nearest towns.
Then I saddled up on one of the Avalon's for a Gilligan's Island adventure into hostile Georgia territory, returning home some 8 hours later with a newfound wisdom, THESE BIKES SUCK.
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The reasons are threefold, (and the solution ONE).
Problems? Straight handlebars, cheap thin saddle and basketry.
After 150 miles of being lost in the boondocks over the Georgia border (think "Deliverance" type dudes giving directions), my right elbow was tingly, fully extended in front of me.
I now HATED those "fishgilly ribbed" handlebar grips.
The standard saddle would NOT do, and front shocks do NOT make putting on a $15 basket easy, the legs might bend right into the spokes.
The solution? Put a ribbons on them.
I gave 2 of the Avalon's to my brother and my niece. He redneck engineered a stadium seat and found some mustache handlebars, he's STILL bragging about that bike-o-lounger !
(The third Avalon is still one of my "engine-breaking in" bikes, I won't let anybody else ride it.)
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Finding Suns at a bike shop
So, a week before Katrina, I found the Sun Retro Alloy 7, my "Buick/Mule" and in mid-2007, the Sun Comfort Rover Sport 21 speed my "Cadillac/Stallion".
The bike shop was 30 miles away, but these models were not on the floor, they are in the J&B Importers catalog under the counter.
Bike shops are usually committed to sales quotas on certain brands to keep a franchise, and they can't offer those low-end bikes made especially for the big box stores.
I highly recommend finding a home owned bike dealer, for advise and expertise.
This bike shop had never SEEN the Retro Alloy 7 before my first purchase, it became one of his fast movers. Every time I ordered one, he put it by the door and often sold a couple more.
Sun Bicycles are generic, peel away the decals and they look and operate just like $$$ Diamondbacks, Treks and the heavier Schwinns. (yes, that IS a 10 y.o. boy going in circles for hours in my pasture, on a 26" Retro Alloy 7 ladies frame.)
SUN bikes have another distinction, the ABSOLUTE WORST internet site on the web (for dialuppers anyway). Sun's bike site, don't ask me how it works.
Due to supply and demand, all cruiser bikes have gone up in price in the past few months. The Retro 7 is now costing me $320, back in 2005 they were around $250.
The Comfort Rover Sport came out in 2007, my bike shop called me, and had it parked next to a $500 Diamondback when I got there. They were nearly identical, right down to the better Shimano shifters, for $150 less.
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Why "speeds" matter, and handbrakes too.
With all the miles on my Retro 7 Rocinante, through the Ozarks, Rockies, Appalachians, I can count the number of times I've shifted out of HIGH (7th) at less than 20 times.
On a 21 speed, if you do any shifting at all, it's with the 3 front sprockets, leave the back in HIGH (7th).
These are "motor assist" bikes, 95% of the time you don't have to pedal. On the longer, steeper grades, like the hill below my driveway, you coast up halfway, then pedal to the crest (with no more exertion than pedaling a bike on the beach).
When a 7 speed is racing against a 21 speed, it has to wait a little longer to assist it (say 27 mph), while the 21 can take the hill at full blast, top the grade going 30-32 mph.
If you are going to get into exercising, lose weight, or plan on racing and gambling against buddies, get a 21 speed.
Want to go long distances like I do? Get the 7 speed Mule.
Meanwhile, if I was on a single speed with coaster brakes, I'd have to wait until it slowed to 18 mph before "assisting the motor". Still easy, but slower. Ergo, less fun, and more suited for the sea levelers and ultra leisure crowd.
Coaster brakes have another fault, going down a hill on wet pavement, "brain to feet braking instructions" might cause a slide if you are having a bad karma day.
Not a wreck, merely a scare.
I only did it ONCE and tied the bike to the rafters, started stripping it for parts.
If it don't work, I'm not doing it.
Hand brakes are best, the Sun's are better than the Avalons, and Rocinante (a 2005 model) still has the original brakepads. I usually have my back brake a little softer, using it to slow, and the front is stiffer, to absolutely positively stop.
95% of the time, way out here in the country, absolute stopping is rare.
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Cruisers is what they're called
If a person wants to deduct it from the 1040 Schedule C, they can call it a "cattle chaser", "chickenhouse checker" "pizza go-getter"...but mainly a cruiser has wide 2" or 2.25" tires and ideally, curved handlebars.
When you look into this deeper, many folk DO use mountain bikes...half the bikes I've customized belong to the customer, so it works fine.
But if they are starting from scratch, I at least tell them to check Target and Wal Mart for the low end Schwinn Jaguars or Point Beaches, my Chevrolets. Prices can be as low as $99 if you are lucky, but on-line they are currently as much as $174.
Woman's Point Beach $154
Man's Point Beach $174
It is all the little things that make this different than the better Suns.
*The less comfortable rubber grips.
*The handlebars are not as wide.
*Thin saddles WITHOUT quick release on the saddle post for height adjustment.
*You must replace the cheap kick stand,($8).
*No place to screw in a bottle carrier, you have to use zip ties.
*It's lowest end on the Shimano scale, and the brakes feel stiffer.
So, I spend extra on some amenities, to make them as comfortable as possible.
Sneak Peak of Next Weeks Diary- Glenn and his wife went to 11 WalMarts to find a pair of Point Beaches. They are on the carport right now, and I'm putting a Tanaka on his, a Robin Subaru on hers, later this morning...
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Dubya's Mountain Bike sells for $5,000
A physician from Birmingham brought me his $1,000 bike to modify...less comfortable than the budget bike. Within 3 months he came back, and we put the engine on a Sun Comfort Rover 21 (SCR). He put a ribbon on the other one and gave it to a son in law.
My neighbor Edwin (who caught that huge bass in my pond) is 6'1", and sitting on a charcoal/grey LADIES SCR21.
That's good to know, if you don't think your leg will get over the center post, you can use a Ladies SCR.
If you can make that Sun website work, you might see a 7 speed, 26" frame "Streamway", the ULTRA-step thru bike. I found a different site to see "Streamway" specifications.
If you order extra long throttle cable, you can make that work, and ordering long cables allow you to do tandem and recumbant frames also.
*The principal of the SCR21 is the pedals are IN FRONT of the seat post, and the seat post is leaned back a bit. So it has a more low-rider/semi-recumbent feel.
*Most handlebars give two adjusting options (up/tilt), but the SCR has a third (forward or back).
*A 10" Cloud Nine saddle is standard, for $10 you can upgrade to a 12".
*Shock absorber seat post is standard ($20 value)
*Very good Shimano systems.
You adjust the saddle to where your feet are flat on the ground, that is the optimum position.
The lady who bought this blue SCR21 is a tad over 5' tall, same rules, feet flat equals maximum comfort.
You might think fenders are a big deal, but they are a $4-6 item you can add anytime.
Comfortable, lighter weight, and fast, I used to get them for $310, but demand for good cruisers has gotten that one up in the $350-370 range.
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There are other sources for bikes
Last Thursday I went to the local WalMart to get a look at that new eBike, where I saw a Ladies and Mans model. Not impressed at all.
There were fifty or more adult frames in the racks, not a single one fit my specifications, though a 21 speed for $275 looked like it could be modified.
Tim found this $350 Columbia on line last spring for $100, and is looking for 2 more for his family.
I think he got lucky, I haven't found any great bargains over the web. The bikes I'm looking for were still in the $275 range, and I'd just as soon spend a little more at my local bike shop.
A customer came down from Nashville TN, says he found a $$$ Diamondback like my SCR 21 at Dick's Sporting Goods, but when I checked their website, again, no luck.
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Wrapping up today's diary.... by using my local bike shop he is going to cut me a deal for a steel 26" Sun Recumbent in January, similar to this one:
So that will be an upcoming story !
There will hopefully be a Tandem bike build by next February, or whenever my son ships me the bicycle built for two now sitting in his mother in law's storage building.
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Please do a piece on eBikes for older folks. (2+ / 0-)
We are both near sixty, and we have balance problems with bikes. We did buy an electric scooter, but it has a lot of trouble on hills.
I know there are trikes out there, but what I've seen so far have not been road worthy in a city with a lot of traffic.
Please do keep us posted on what older folks can do in the eBike department.
by dkistner
The cadillac of tricycle systems is the Worksman PAV Tricycle with the 4 stroke gas system provided by Staton's GC PAV3 Robin Subaru EH035, 33.5 cc 1.60 hp Four Cycle Gear & Chain Drive Kit.
These two in the picture are in Vestavia Hills, AL, and they were able to pull all the grades when Mr. Upton and I completed the install. That was also some fun, side by side racing on the deserted back streets of the neighborhood.
The second picture is from Statons site, but most folks order the custom built PAV straight from Worksman (6 week wait, these are custom builds), then 2 weeks before it arrives, they get the engine ordered. (The Robin/Subaru has a warranty, outperforms the Honda equivalent, btw. Honda has NO warranty on any application not their own.)
Your center of gravity is lower on a PAV, so even when I was doing "figure 8" maneuvers in an empty parking lot, all three wheels stayed on the ground. The pedal position also gives one maximum performance.
What I especially liked about the PAV system was how the plastic gas tank was in an easy to fill location in the basket behind the seat, and it looked like it could hold enough fuel to go a minimum of a hundred miles.
This is about the only "standard" tricycle system I would trust, but thats just my opinion.
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That being said, and thinking outside the box, here are a few photos where ingenuity are on display. This is also a way to keep the build under a thousand bucks.
There are so many tinkerers and hobbyists out there who can "double up" the wheels on a standard bike front fork simply by seeing a picture. I sent Mr. Upton in Vestavia Hills this picture in the snow....
and he built a Double Bike. Just from seeing that photograph. There are books of instructions available online for unique modifications, but.....
a lot of imaginative guys just wing it. Two wheeled stability and balance is achieved in the front, and a bike engine is driving the back wheel for Billy Jones up in Greensboro NC.
Folks sometimes don't realize that North Alabama was like the wild wild west until electricity arrived under TVA.
One reason so many senior citizens are big MB enthusiasts is their memories, when all those gas powered refrigerator and washing machine motors became available in the 1940's-50's, after grandpa finally got electric appliances.
I don't know how many times I've talked to an sixty or seventy year old stranger, and heard tales of some of the two wheeled fun they used to have on the dirt roads around here.
It brings back smiles.