I saw my first "happy time" motored bicycle upon a bike trail....

I saw my first smoke belching loud obnoxious "happy time" powered bicycle upon the bicycle trail that I was riding on.

Wow was it a nice day near 60 degrees and in Wisconsin this is a first!!

The weather has been brutal and so every one was out upon my bike trail...

I had my new carbon cross bike from Cannondale which is an 18 lb wonder bike in its own right for around that magical price point of 20 benjimans as it were....

I was in that magical universe of  yuppy ville with beautiful spandex clad women and then I saw or rather I heard it first that sound of that "happy time" motor....he...he...

He was going like 15 mph and stinking up the trail with his put...put...put and thud thud motor....as it were...with the smoke belching out of her....

Of course I was on a popular bike trail and of course in Wisconsin it is a motored bicycle and of course it is not a motor vehical and of course technicly he was legal upon said trail but long term?

One complaint to the DNR and I would be upon that radar with my motored bicycle and yes in a court battle it is legal to ride one of these upon any Wisconsin bike trail until it hits court and he wins and it hits the news...

And so what then?....as it were....

The motored biker

What is the culture of the motored bicyclist?

I would say in answer to my own question that a person who attaches a motor to a bicycle is a person who is probably not making it in our present society. Is this a harsh view of these folks? Maybe a truthful view however....

Some in this culture say that they admire the history of the motor cycle so they go out and  purchase some of the cheapest lowest quality parts and engines from some very dubious manufacturers if I could call them that...as it were....

They then apply them to bicycles made in China supplied to Walmart and proceed to brag of 50 mph speeds upon such contraptions....hey its a great gig if you can maintain it but a Walmart bicycle and 50 mph speeds ...come on....as it were...


Back to the issue of culture and "making it" within said culture I would say that  a bicycle with a power assist can and will help folks to get free of car insurance and  that sweat equity of riding a bicycle to work where no clean up facilities are available....

Many issues of work in America and those issues and some of those issues involve transportation to work and back and the automobile and the minimum wage and taxes and the end of family supporting jobs....and on and on....

I was called an eclectic by a pal of mine who sells doughnuts and coffee...he...he...when I helped run a company who did billions and my part of the operation did hundreds of millions...as it were....

But come on a bicycle with a power assist? Yes it is very useful and cheap to keep with the right system but of course and as always what do I know.....


The motored biker

BaFang mid drive electric motor

There have been some new developments in the E-bike world. Those would be the move away from the hub powered motor to what is called a mid drive motor. Hub motors are like ceiling fan motors mostly direct drive with some being geared and able to freewheel.

 This category is the best selling and easiest way to motorize a bicycle electrically.... However, many off roaders are using motors sourced from the radio control world and mounting them upon the bottom brackets of the common bicycle which presents some problems for the designer... One of the problems is that these RC motors are very high RPM and there needs to be a gear reduction of sorts so that their power can be effectively used by the bicyclist as a power assist....I will link to some interesting articles...


.http://www.electricbike.com/bafang-bbso2-750w-mid-drive/


The new BaFang motor system designed to fit most bicycles for power assist... This is the motor that I am seriously looking at to build up my second power assist bicycle. There is a freewheel mechanism in the crank itself that allows use of the throttle without pedaling.

A  video is worth a thousand words....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqsMRjOev3k


flying on a fat bike or on a 2 niner off road about says it all for this new system....

Rebuilt drivetrain on Fisher CR-7

I just rebuilt the drive train on this '89 Fisher CR-7 and the drive train was original from that year and I had ten's of thousands of miles on these chainrings with multiple replaced chains but the crank and chainrings and cassette were original..... New Sugino 8sp crank....130 dollars New 8sp chain...........12.00 dollars New 8sp cassette .......55.00 dollars Shout out to Yellow Jersey bikes of Madison WI and Back yard Bikes of LaGrange WI....for the hard to find old parts.... I am running a road cassette with 11/28 since I am running a power assist bike... What is interesting about the GEBE/Fisher build is that it's at its most efficient at 22 mph average speeds and with a modest pedal assist mainly on hills and start up and one can pedal near all the time for wonderful fuel economy and a bit of a workout if ya want one..... 250 miles plus per gallon if using a strong pedal assist or about 215 to 220 if pedaling only moderately and of course one can get an absolute killer workout if one unhooks the motor and just rides it like a real pedal bike....say like on the Glacial Drumlin trail.... Well I am well over 16000 miles upon this system and looking at the new world of the pure electrics with the new mid drive motors and much improved batteries....

I have not posted for a long while....

I have not posted on this blog for a long while... However, as in life and as things happen in life one forgets about certain aspects of their life... And for me riding a motorized bicycle powered by a GEBE kit and you can do a search on GEBE on google... It was about a high end mountain bike of years past sitting in my basement unused...and that need to put to use something that should be used ... So began that thought of power assisting that humble bicycle...and many searches on the internet and looking at what was out there I considered a company called GEBE or Golden Eagle Bike Engines as a company to really consider... These folks are a very small operation out of eastern Michigan state...they have a few employees and a whole lot of loyal customers in which I am to be included.... This blog site is about my personal experiences riding one of these magical kits and motorizing a bicycle with a low powered very environmentally friendly engine on to the most humble bicycle... I was getting well over two hundred miles per gallon on this old Gary Fisher mountain bike with a very friendly conversion kit to motorized from GEBE... Some of my comments are raw and simply represent what I was feeling just riding down the road on a bicycle yet though with a power assist motor my experience was pure cycling in its purest simplicity... Take that or leave that...could care less..... Nine...

Idiots and the motored biker gene pool

I really hate to pick on motoredbikes.com but they let total assholes and idiots post idiotic things on there forums. Here is a perfect recent example:

GoldenEaglechris

This is a members post over on that "site".

What can I say????

The Motoredbiker

Motoredbikes.com a curious site

I got an email last week from the owners of the motoredbikes.com site.

I got banned from that site for simply posting a link to the site of one of the pioneers of motored biking the great Augidog as he used to be known on that site.

It appears that my sins and affronts have been forgiven by the powers that be over at motoredbikes.com. and that I am allowed by papal mandate to again participate in that grand sceam of things!

I am a bit surprised by this turn of things in the motored bike world but am well advised that such ideas are simply about clicks on websites and what not.

However, any motored bike rider who wants to be legal and responsible is welcome here and at Augi's forum!

http://motor-assisted-bicycling.1062526.n5.nabble.com/

And you are welcome here. I practice little censorship and welcome the trolls for entertainment purposes only and I will censor posts that are over the top. You motored bikers that post such know who you are....



The motored biker

Went out for a ride on a cold snowy day

I climbed up on this hill overlooking SE Wisconsin's wonderful scenery!
This view is about 1800 ft above sea level and about 300 feet above the road.
Its a great hike on any day!

Today was a tough day to be out on any road with snow and icy roads.
However, my trusty MaB got me to and from the hike just fine in a tremendously economical fashion.
But I just have to say that the motor would not start at first but no problem at all just release the lever and just pedal down the road!! The engine got flooded but after a mile or so she started up!!

It would have been no problem to have pedaled the nine miles home with that great GEBE system if need be...

That's the great thing about MaB riding if the engine does not work there is always pedaling and my Gary Fisher/GEBE bike can be pedaled for nine mile distances or more no problem at all....

Just saying...

Motoredbiker

Pioneer life was hard

This a log cabin of one of the first non Indian white family's to come to Wisconsin.
Pioneering was a tough business.

Motoredbiker

Tamarac logs kept the pioneering economy going

Please click and then double click for enlarged and full screen images for any pics on my blog....

Motoredbiker

I settled here over 20 years ago and im not the first to see real beauty

Could you imagine a 10 week ocean voyage and then a 1000 mile trek to Wisconsin and then the arduous task of building a house and farming and hunting just to keep your family alive?

Yet this country reminded these folks of their native land and in the end this is a spiritual place like the original locals the Indians called it.

It is a spiritual place the whole area. You can just feel it in the air as you hike or bike or even drive on the roads....

Motoredbiker

My current MaB

This bike has served me well for over 9000 miles of commuting in the past year!!
This is a Gary Fisher mountain bike that was very high end in 1989 but is now just a frame for my motorized bikes!!

However, GEBE/Fisher makes for great motorized bicycles that are legal in all US 50 states as long as the law is followed in regards to motorizing a bicycle...

That GEBE kit contains an engine that is 33cc well under legal regulations in all 50 states. However motor assisted bikes seem to be under attack due to a few folks that do not want to follow reasonable restriction to motor size and speed on a motorized bicycle.

Motoredbiker

Whizzer motored bike at Lake Geneva WI antique shop

I saw this bike at an antique shop and thought that it looked pretty cool. I liked the drive belt and the drive ring on the spokes of the rear wheel.

When I got home I did a "G" on that Whizzer and got a history lesson on that company.
I found out that from 98 or so to now these bikes are not to reliable and that they are a bit pricy. Notice in the pic the towel under the engine and the oil leaking from the engine.

Price on this old bike was a whopping $4500 dollars!! Also, this bike was really heavy! The weights I was reading about on "G" was over 150 lbs!
Note on my pics on this blog you can click on any image to enlarge and click again for full screen.


Motored Biker

If ya want to look like a motorcycle buy a motorcycle

I was over on the Honda Ruckus site and sure enough there were a bunch of folks that wanted to soup up this very basic scouter. If ya want to go really fast buy a real motorcycle! These bikes are made for speed. They have the brakes and suspension to handle all of that speed so why do some want a bicycle or a basic scouter to get motorcycle performance?
This is just retarded IMO.
My GEBE Gary Fisher bicycle is a bicycle first and foremost with a motor for power assist added to it. The bike weighs in at 42 lbs. The Honda Ruckus scooter is 130 lbs and gets about 80 mpg. My GEBE gets about 200 mpg!
I have had "real" motorcycles in the past and plan on buying a big fast one in the near future.
I still plan on using that GEBE/fisher for commuting to work and for running to the post office and other things.
And as a "real" cyclist I went out today on my Orbea full carbon road bike and averaged about 20 mph for  a huge workout! On my GEBE I cruse at 22/24 mph while hardly breaking a sweat! On a motorcycle its freeway speeds and full out performance for motor sports so why dick around with bicycles and scouters if ya want to go fast? Don't get it but its just how retarded a lot of folks are out there...

the trailer trash motorcyclist

1940's vs 2011 or Happy Time vs Robin/Subaru

I am simply amazed as a cyclist at the motored bike industry and at the heart of that industry is the cheap Happy Time motor.
If one reads the posts on this blog one can get a good idea of what is going on in this industry. Can I call it an industry or just a scam for money? Well, for me GEBE and Robin/Subaru are the real deal if you want reliable cheap basic transportation.
5000 plus miles and counting on my commute to work.

The Trailer Trash Motorcyclist

Price at the pump

I get anywhere from 180 to 230 miles per gallon on my GEBE system. Why such a variance? Simple, its the gas station operators at least in Wisconsin that can do what they please with their pumps and weights and measures inspections? Do not count on that man! They raise the price as soon as the spot market price goes up even if they have 20000 gallons of fuel in their tanks! I hear that big huge sucking sound of jobs getting off shored which is good for us and high fuel prices which is also good for us just trying to figure it out. My low mileage has been 182 miles per gallon and my high about 230 miles per gallon. I will take the 180 as a low and just plan on that for my commute! So, planning to do even more motored bike commuting in the future. I have that figured out.....


MBCC

I hate my motorized bike

This is not cycling its going to work in traffic on busy roads and it is not recreation.
Even folks at gas stations annoy me! So I use my credit card at the pump so as to have as little contact as possible with that average commuter who is now forced to cough up four bucks a gallon for gas! Yet they don't slow down and they buy lottery tickets at the counter and they piss me off and annoy me on the road yet they seem to think that cheap gas will return when the economy "rebounds" let me tell ya folks its not going to rebound and these high fuel prices are here to stay. Ever hear of gas coming down in the long term?
As far as I am concerned this motorized bike is a focking car as I see things!
For me at four bucks a gallon its all about necessity. And I pity the poor person that has to endure a Happy Time bike for there way to work and back day in and day out....

MBCC

Measured half Gallon mileage on the GEBE system

I got 111 miles on one half gallon of gas on my GEBE system and that is pretty remarkable when I filled up today at three dollars and eighty cents per gallon!
This has been a pretty consistent mileage that I am getting with this GEBE kit and superb Gary Fisher mountain bike! I of course pedal assist a lot and this kit is super reliable. My commute on the return is over 32 miles at night in the dark. So I really value reliability! This motor and this bicycle does indeed deliver.
Ride what ya want....

MBCC

Trek's electric commuter bike

Take a look at Trek's new line up of electric commuter bicycles:

Trek Electric commuter bicycles

In time all China bikes and possibly GEBE will get legislated out of existence by power assist electric bikes.
Who wants to ride on a stinky Chinese Happy Time bike when ya can commute in silence on a bike like this Trek. The GEBE system is cool and quiet but not as quiet as these bikes.
Just a matter of time IMO.

MBCC

If I can commute 4000 miles on a GEBE system I think that says it all

You can compare or contrast any China engine and kit to a GEBE kit but bottom line I will just get down the road a lot farther than you will on your cheap kit. Well that is a fact and I will keep posting that fact as time goes on....


MBCC

It is 10 to one HT kit to Gebe so what?

If ya want to get there ride GEBE or a regular bicycle but don't expect a 200 dollar kit to get you down the road like I am doing with my GEBE/fisher combo! Hey ride what ya want but me thinks there is a price point here for some desperate folks with gas hitting near four dollars a gallon!
In some states its 20 mph for top speed for a power assist bicycle. Glad I don't live in one of those states! I can ride on my Orbea carbon at 30 mph plus for short periods of time should a power assist bike be regulated to less than this? That is the question. And at least in Wisconsin you can go 30 mph without insurance or any of that non sense on a power assist bike. Me thinks that similar laws should be enacted in all 50 states. I get no hassle riding down the road on my power assist bike.

MBCC

The heart of any motored bicycle is the motor

The Robin/Subaru is a great motor and paired up with the GEBE system makes for a great trouble free basic transportation machine that can cover long distances cheaply.


http://robinamerica.com/series.aspx?sid=21


I have posted about the "Happy Time" motor and even the seller of them and her bikes says that you  have to have a lot of mechanical aptitude to ride one of her bikes. An admission of their unreliability!
Check out this Robin engine and its 3 year warranty and I think you will see why I choose this small engine.
Modern materials and design for a micro engine.

MBCC

First failure of GEBE wear item at 3200 miles

On my way home from work on Friday night my drive belt failed. So I changed out the drive belt with my spare in the dark only my bike lights and it took about 5 minutes to replace the failed belt! I was told that I am doing really well on my drive belt miles. These belts are cheap as opposed to gas and oil that it would take to get me down the road in my car. About 20 bucks. My other failure was the strap that attaches the engine to the frame and that was my fault and in spite of my not understanding how to properly install this system I got 1700 miles out of that drive strap!
So my maintenance costs for 3200 miles is one drive belt and about a quarter of a quart of oil for a total of about 21 bucks and about 16 gallons of gas! So that's about 70 bucks for gas oil and maintenance for 3200 miles!
Lets compare that to my econobox. I just replaced the brakes and battery and had the transmission serviced and the engine belt changed out for a total cost of near 1000 dollars. Never mind the cost of insurance and gas! Fuel costs for my econobox would be for 92 gallons of gas at an average of three bucks is 280 dollars. So in the last six months I spent 1280 dollars on my car not including insurance and 70 bucks on that bike! Well that is if I would have driven that econobox all of those miles. Most of those miles the last six months were on that GEBE/Fisher system.
This is huge money that can be saved riding one of these bikes. And if I could suggest ride a pedal bike and those costs approach zero as I plan on doing for part of my transportation mix.
This is interesting stuff. I have no answers just writing about my personal experiences!

MBCC

Local motored bike builder

There is a custom builder of motored bicycles in Greendale WI featuring the Happy Time engine that is either a 66cc or the racing 80cc engine by Grubee Engine.
The bikes built from them seem of good quality and on steel frames. They have a pretty neat web page featuring vintage bicycles and cruiser bicycles of course made of steel! GEBE should consider a dealer network just to sell kits so that small local shops could get high quality motors and mount them on bikes like these. Could be a great business in these times. And in my opinion if a customer was given a GEBE option along with the Happy Time option with all of the con's associated with the HT engine me thinks that it would be a no brainer decision! I was just thinking out loud here!
http://custommotoredbicycles.com/home_custom_motored_bicycles
The small company is called Lynn custom motored bicycles.
On her site it is made clear that the engines are not warrantied and the buyer must have mechanical aptitude since she is up front that these machines need constant maintenance.
The selling point is the resemblance to the old Harley Davidson motorcycles of the early 1900's.
I have 743 dollars into my GEBE kit and at first look that seems like a lot compared to an entire motored bike for the same money! However the Robin/Subaru engine has a full no questions asked three year warranty. I am not concerned with Lynn's bike frames but I am concerned with the quality of the motors and of course their displacement. In Wisconsin engine displacement for a motored bike is limited to 48cc or less so her bikes are illegal in Wisconsin. However I must point out that she did get an article in the Milwaukee journal about her business so it probably is just ignored by the police.
The reality is that it's just a matter of time until the police figure it out if enough of these bikes show up on the streets and I would suggest that she have an option for a legal displacement engine if and when that does happen. The Milwaukee area is very cash strapped and the municipalities will use any issue to generate revenue and that could mean big tickets for some.
The GEBE system is nothing new as Lynn points out on her nice website but it just refines and brings into the 21st century the notion of a power assist bicycle using modern engineering and modern engines like the Robin OH35 engine! With an engine like the Robin/Subaru on a properly set up bike with this kit mounted to it one needs little mechanical aptitude! Lynn could build up some fine GEBE kits I would expect on some of her cool bicycles. Much impressed with her site and business.

MBCC

I am now dependent on my GEBE system for basic transportation

The weather has been really bad the last few days and nights yet I road in to work and back simply since I can travel more that 100 miles on a half of gallon of gas!
Is this good or bad I do not know but with gas fast getting to four bucks I think its an option for a lot of folks.
On some of my previous posts their were some arguments from some in the cycling community in regards to motorizing a bike. It is not a simple human powered machine once you add a motor to it! Once that motor gets into play all sorts of issues come into play and I simply choose not to deal with those issues.
Let it stand that when I commute to work on my GEBE/Fisher bike I am on high traffic roads with great wide shoulders to stay out of the way of cars. If I were to ride my high end Orbea bike I would choose roads that would have quite a different appeal. But with issues of point A to point B I will take what GEBE has to offer.
Really it has worked out for me quite will in my over 3200 miles of commuting! And as always I know that it is a great sacrilege to put a motor on a bicycle no matter how much sense it might make!

Nine

For the long run

Well I just want to post about the motorized bike community and how it sells kits.
There is GEBE and then there is the rest of the "so called" sellers of kits on the Internet.
The happy time engine is a late '40s design and sent to China for cheap reproduction.
This engine runs off of a 17/1 oil mixture which is a very obnoxious combo of pollution to any buy stander when one of these bikes passes with one of these engines on it.
This engine is not even legal to import into the US but these slimy importers get them in as parts only and then reassemble them as kits for resale in the US market. No law to prevent this type of stuff.
In the long run what I see happening is a bunch of pissed off cyclists going over to there state legislators and getting laws passed to ban motored biking in any form. This will happen unless those with some responsibility and who have little to do with short term profits step up to the stage.
We as motored bikers have a chance to influence any impending legestration with our efforts.

MBCC

Motored biking and fitness

Our first Tuesday night race/training ride occurred this Tuesday night with a distance of  about 35 miles or so with almost a 20 mile per hour average speed. What was interesting for me was my fitness level coming off of the Winter months with my only exercise being my motored commute to work and back basically two days per week on average through out the Winter. I was simply amazed with how fit I was on the racing bike on this very fast and intense workout ride! My climbing was good and so was my speed on the flats! Julie over at GEBE told me about this effect for fitness and their power assist system. I kind of blew those statements off but found out that these bikes with these systems can be a great workout if you want it to. The more you assist  the better your work out and of course the better the fuel economy a win win situation for sure.
Out on the open road on that motored bike I simply will not talk at all to my "spandex brethren" since their attitudes towards motorizing a bike is a great sin but those who see this system when it is properly explained jump on the band wagon of this being a great idea!
I will break 3000 miles tomorrow with no major problems. The drive belt is starting to show a slight amount of wear but still looks good to go!
I put the 100psi 1.5 inch slicks back on to the bike replacing the 2.2 inch studded mountain bike tires and did general maintenance on the bike. About 45 minutes worth of work no big deal!


MBCC

This site is about realty on the open road

I have no axe to grind with cycling culture nor any axe to grind with anyone who wants to put a motor on a bicycle! With that said my state the state of Wisconsin has put a restriction of 49 cc or less on a motorized bicycle. It still is a bicycle under law. No insurance nor any of that nonsense. It is a reasonable restriction that I hope will continue since I simply depend on this to continue as a way of life and a way of continued independence from gouberment interference.
It is as simple as that..

MBCC

First motorist hostile contact while on a motored bike

I was on my way to work when a guy beeps his horn as he passes me nearly running me into the curb and finally whipping me the bird! Well I was on a four lane road with a wide shoulder and he came into the shoulder to harass me!
This gentleman turned into a tavern after messing with me so I just had to do a U-turn to have a "discussion" with this idiot. When I approached his car he got out of his car and he was a fat pot bellied fool with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and I said "what did I do to you?" And he said that I was in the way and that I was a focking asshole! And he was drunk as a skunk to! I said you need to be a little more polite on the road or you might get your ass kicked! He said lets go and I just thought to myself that this just would not be a fair fight. He was fat out of shape and drunk! So I just laughed got on my bike and continued on my way.
BTW, his car was still at that bar 8 hours later on my way home from work! Incredible!

MBCC

My credit card is salvation

You simply slide it into the gas pump and you need no contact with the stupid sheepish SUV drivers and there fat asses buying lottery tickets! I mean I just don't want to answer any of their stupid questions about my bike and its motor. I think the reason for it is glaringly obvious right?
If you can not figure it out why I ride this bike to work and back you are a brain dead idiot and I just don't need to talk to you. I mean a lot of folks that I talk to about that bike are like 300 lbs and I know no way in hell will give up there truck for a bike with a motor on it to save a ton of money. So the credit card in to the gas pump is my salvation.
When I hop on that bike to go to work my business day has started and the credit card at the pump just keeps things in a business like manor.

MBCC

'tude from the minimum wage gas guy

I mean I am on my way to work and I stop for gas and I get a bunch of attitude from the overtly homosexual gas station guy about my bike and my bucks worth of gas. I mean I wanted to just slam that guys head into the wall but as my very open mindedness prevailed I just ignored him and paid my minimal toll to the oil company's and the secret powers that be!
So fock you big oil! In a few weeks I plan on pedaling non motored a couple of days a week ya got to love free ride to work and back!

MBCC

Lottery tickets at the gas station

I mean I need gas for my bike so I fill up the Robin tank and my two fuel bottles for a total of $1.74 and I go in to the station to pay in cash and what do I get? A bunch of fat assed women lottery ticket buyers hogging the line to pay! I mean scratch your ticket somewhere else other than in the way of the crazy motored bike commuter! I mean give me a focking break here. So from now on I pop the credit card in to the station pump that way no interaction with the brain dead SUV drivers buying lottery tickets and complaining that it costs over a hundred bucks to fill their tanks. And I know why they need big trucks to haul there carcass around!
I have absolutely nothing against the state lottery but I have a lot against fat asses hogging the gas station line making me late for work. Its simple business here. I need to get to work and the fat asses are irrelevant with my credit card at the pump. Problem solved!

MBCC

2700 miles and counting on my commuter bike

I just hit 2700 miles on my GEBE/Gary Fisher build this past week. Still riding the same drive belt. I pedal assist 95 % of the time to help the engine and to get just a bit of a workout on the way to work.
The GEBE kit is an absolute proven system in my mind and any of you happy time riders can just watch and learn as I put this system through its paces. Lets figure it costs 50 cents per mile to operate a car in the United States. So lets figure I have saved nearly 1400 dollars so far in commuter expense over my car. Lets see that's over twice what it cost to buy this kit. I fully expect things to break down including my bike but its just way cheaper to go this route IMO.
Ride what ya want and be happy but this is a cutting edge motored biking site!
I am taking off the full studded 2.5 inch mountain bike tires and putting the 1.5 inch slicks back on to the bike today! That should make for some better fuel economy for sure.
Happy time riders need to step up their Internet presence into the real commuter world as I see things. I just don't think that those contraptions will hold up like my system has over time.
Again ride what ya want but please post some relevant facts once in awhile!


MBCC

What is most relevant in motored bike culture?

I think that my blog is absolute cutting edge in to what is going on. Its not about some cheap Chinese engine kit but actual big mile commuting on a super reliable system!
I have a lot of friends that will put 50 miles on their motored vehicle to come to a group bicycle ride and in a big truck that might get 15 mpg. Well lets figure that will cost at 3.50 per galleon about 12 dollars their and back.
So what! Let them do what they want. 12 bucks gets me almost 3 weeks to work and back! So cycling is not so green after all as they say. Put it on the rack and drive it over to the ride!
I was over on the MBC site for just a few minutes and saw its irrelevance in the real world that we face!
Just saying! Could care less what any happy time folk have to say they are simply irrelevant! Its about getting to point a to point b that matters and what I am posting on this blog is very very cutting edge for any motored biker.
Think what ya want and most importantly ride what ya want.

MBCC

Who Controls what is cycling?

The folks that control cycling are the folks that sell and buy cycling related gear. That's why I warned you motored bikers about this industry and how it would be wise to make a friend or two in this industry.
I post regularly over on a cycling site called BikeJournal.com which is a site that allows folks to log in how many miles that they cycle. I posted on their forum about my motorized bike and as I expected met with mixed results as far as response to this idea in this economy. Many desperate folks were quite enthusiastic about my idea and GEBE of course! So I just pointed them to this blog. Might have to post some kind of primer on how to build a motored bike!
They have a group of folks who keep track of commuter mileage so I thought here would be a place to post about this option for commuting. A human powered and power assist system for logging large miles like I do. I was banned from doing so. I do plan on using my regular pedal bicycles to commute to work but not until the weather gets a bit better. I have noticed a lot of folks on this site are boomers and have little knowledge or will not admit to knowing what is really going on in this horrible economy! It's their loss since I could show many how to save a ton and I mean a ton of money on basic transportation!
I think that gas will hit five plus dollars per galleon! I paid 3.49.9 to fill up the bike tank and fuel bottles for a grand total of $1.94 yesterday. This will give me at least two days of commuting probably more. A half a galleon of fuel for 128 miles? I'll take it...

MBCC

To Augie

Augie,

Hope things are going well for you!
I have been posting a bunch of stuff about my motored bike commute to work on my site.
Trying to entertain  and educate.
Well what can I say?  It is about the bike after all as Lance says. But I say its about getting from point A to point B in whatever  way one wants to. Its not about the police asking you where you came from or where you are going its about going to wherever on whatever. Simple as that! It is none of the polices business what you are doing on an open public street. Its called I will do what I want when I want and if I am not breaking any law leave me alone.
I have noticed at least in Wisconsin without that tag its hard to track you. So motored biking rocks as far as I see things at least for personal freedom in personal transportation.

The real crazy motored bike commuter

Tough ride home from work

I went in to work on a sunny 30 degree beautiful sunny day with a forecast for a low of 13 degrees. Not to bad so I thought but while I was at work the forecast changed and a bunch of snow came up from the south.
So when I left work it was coming down at a good rate but as I traveled west the temperature dropped and the wind really picked up and so did the rate of snow fall. About an inch an hour maybe more! The roads quickly became icy and slippery with a couple of inches on them before I was half way home! I have 2.2 inch studded mountain bike tires with 217 carbide studs in each tire yet even with these it was slippery and dangerous out on the roads. West of a little town called Big Bend I was passed by a police cruiser and you rarely see police cruisers on these back roads but I came up the road and saw a car wrapped around a telephone pole. Looked like no injuries thankfully since the police seemed to simply be filling out an accident report as I road by!
My body and the bike was just covered in ice and powdered snow! My little Yorkie terrier came to greet me when I came home but one look at that abominable snowman covered in snow and she ran for the bed room!
Well at $3.29 a galleon its still about a buck to get to work and back. Well worth it not to live in the city.


MBCC

The price of a barrel of oil went up over 9% the last 24 hours!

The price of a galleon of regular gas was $3.09 per galleon as of this afternoon.
I went through town tonight and the price is now $3.29 a galleon a jump of 20 cents a galleon why?
Maybe big oil along with the US guberment stirring up trouble in the mid east to jack up their profits?
Who knows! I sure don't! What I do know from my line of work is that a semi tractor and loaded trailer gets about 7 miles per galleon of diesel and what that means for everyone out there is higher prices for everything and I mean a big general inflation if gas hits 5 bucks a galleon. Glad I bought that motored bike kit off of GEBE while I can still afford one!

MBCC

2400 miles and counting on that GEBE system

Today I did a bit of maintenance on my bike and changed the oil on the Robin motor. The salt on the roads this time of year is tough on bikes. So, I clean them up about every three days or so of commuting.
I rebuilt my front  hub meaning I took it apart and put new grease into the bearings. I cleaned off the GEBE drive ring and see no damage to that Velocity wheel at all. Really a bullet proof wheel!
The GEBE drive ring however has a bit of the plastic peeling off of it but it seems to be no big deal. Will keep an eye on it! This is a wear item. I plan on wearing it out!
The Robin 35 is a superb motor bike engine and I must say that the bike I have built is both fun and affordable to ride down the road.
Do you love the police? I love the police...
Just coming home from work in a freezing rain storm when ya can't see and ya can only go 20 mph in your car and I get pulled over by the cop. He says "just wanted to remind you that your tag is about to expire". I mean you stupid ass you have nothing else to do but to pull me over to remind me that my tag is about to expire?
You see all law enforcement has to do is run your plate through their data base and they can pull all sorts of stuff up about you. But on a motored bike in Wisconsin there is no plate and they simply will have to pull you over but alas no revenue for the pork on that issue so you get a buy while on your bike for now!
The cop was a young guy of about 20 and I was the only one I bet that came through town that night. I asked him if he was having a busy night and he just said "sorry sir and have a nice night" 'bought says it all!
That little deal just makes me more motivated to ride that bike in any weather that you can imagine!

The crazy motored biker

To the average 300 pounder its grim for you

Food will be the real deal in the coming months as well as fuel for transportation.
All things in America are trucked and with rising fuel costs your costs will increase to!
Who is to blame for this mess? Just don't know but for now I could hang a few folks up on the public light post.
But the guilty always get a buy!
That's the way things are you get a buy but every one else gets the shaft.



The real crazy commuter

What is motorizing a bicycle?

As austerity comes to the United States you best be prepared for high food prices and high energy prices.
On my GEBE system I can commute 60 plus miles per day for about seventy cents per day!
A motored bicycle is freedom as I see things! Who needs a car? who needs the insurance costs and maintenance costs of the automobile?
Me thinks the big struggle will be the freedom to use a system such as GEBE provides to get from point A to point B. And it is no ones business as how one travels from point A to point B.
That kind of stuff is pointed out in our Constitution but many view this document to be irrelevant!
So, if that is true why are you restricted on your choice of motor bicycle to get down that road?
Just a question.

The crazy motored bike commuter

The snow storm of the century!

I went out today while off of work for a couple of hours on my motored bike. The pics below show how things developed. It got so tough that my eyes hurt from the snow and wind that pounded me on this ride. This is one of the worst snow storms that I have ever seen. I am now at home hunkered down to wait it out and see how much it takes to get my community moving again...

The really crazy motored bike commuter

Tough landscape

The Terrain is absolutely beautiful! With the snow its just an alien landscape for sure! But that's what makes the Kettle Moraine what it is...

The real super crazy motored bike commuter

My GEBE experience

I bought the GEBE kit a few months ago. The following 5 pics are about that experience.
I have had very few problems with this kit and it is a system for transporting a bicycle down the road for a commuter such as myself! I am very impressed with this company and I recommend their products to others that might be interested in motorizing the common bicycle. These pics show the kit from box to finished bike that has now over 2100 commuter miles on it.
As always no censorship will happen here except for obvious reasons. You can figure that out!

The Crazy Motored Bike Commuter

I ordered this Wheel from GEBE. It has super tough American spokes on it and it might be the heart of the system. The Drive ring came installed from the factory so the installation of the kit was really easy onto my Gary Fisher bike.
I have been out riding in all kinds of weather and all kind of roads on this Gary Fisher/Gebe bike/kit and I am most impressed with its performance! Think what ya want and of course ride what ya want but I need to get there to make a buck! So GEBE systems seem to be at least to me a no brainier.

The most Crazy Motored Bike Commuter

This Wisconsin Winter has been a bit brutal! I have not commuted to work for a couple of weeks but the night time temps have moderated a bit so maybe today I might do the commute on the motored bike. I just mounted some fenders on the bike to go along with the great IRC studded tires. None of this is perfect of course just my little experiment. But I have to say that GEBE has given me to date 2000 miles of commuting with a power assist on my Gary Fisher CR-7! Lets go figure, it does cost about 50 cents a mile to operate an auto in America so that means I saved over 1000 dollars including fuel costs on this GEBE system.
I am indeed ahead of the game already.
Ride what ya want...

Happy times to all in this great new year...

The crazy motored bike commuter

Duck tape does indeed fix all things!
My drill got borrowed out to a relative or a friend or who knows...
So I was mounting fenders on this bike so the closest thing on hand was a roll of duct tape. Red to match the frame set!
It will last long enough for me until I can get a couple of holes drilled into those GEBE mount brackets for the fender struts.

The super crazy motored bike commuter

This bicycle is a Gary Fisher CR-7 mountain bike set up with a power assist GEBE internal combustion system with a very clever clutch and drive train mechanism.
This bike has done and will do many hard core commuter miles in all types of weather.
I am extremely impressed with this GEBE motor kit!
In Wisconsin this set up for commuting is perfectly street legal. It is reliable and very fuel efficient. Is this the best thing out there for the motored biker? Me thinks so. If ya can prove other wise please post. No bans here for honest opinions!
The traditional definition of a bicycle like mine is a moped.
Maybe in some other post at some other time I will address this historical issue.
But for now and for me the crazy commute must continue...

The motored bike crazy commuter

Motored bikers beware

You folks simply need to read the bike snob to see what is going on.
I mean getting a ticket for riding a bike in New York City for heavens sakes! But it seems that a lot of cyclists don't want to follow the law. And to the law in New York City any type of power assist seems to be illegal.
So the thugs win at least in New York State as I see things.
Me thinks that it is a greater plan to control transportation of humans. A simple motored bike? Not going to happen man. Does cooperation with the "man" give us any more right to ride down the road on a motorized bike?
Just a simple question in light of what is going down...

The super crazy motored bike commuter

Motored bicycles are currently under the radar

Since I have been commuting on my motored bicycle I have noticed that law enforcement does not care at the present time if you have a power assist motor on your bicycle. Nor have I seen in almost 2000 miles of riding another  motorized bicyclist. So, one can assume that as for right now it is clearly business as usual for the Happy Time industry in the motored bike world.
So for now you have a buy. But how long this buy lasts in this current police state economy who knows? Maybe I will turn you in to home land security for being suspicious on that motored happy time bicycle.
Naw... don't care a bit what ya ride around on but as snitch culture gets ramped up who knows?
Well not to harp on the GEBE product here. But why not harp on it? If ya want to get there as Augie says run with GEBE. That's what I am running and its a great reliable product. Great to see that GEBE has adds on those questionable forums. Those adds point the way to folks to have a reliable motorized bicycle experience!
For me anyway out on that open road at night on the way home from work reliability is king!
I know that I am simple minded but that's simply the way I see things!

The motored bike crazy commuter

Some changes to this blogs formats

I changed the nature of how the subjects are posted on the main page of this blog. All the entries are on the main page.  On the sidebar is a monthly link to each month of the posts. It reads more like a book on the main page. With all of the great information posted that is how I was trying to present it.
All are welcome here both motored bikers and traditional cyclists.
I want to thank one of the guru's and founding members of this new cycling tradition "Augiedog" as he goes by for providing history and incite into this new and very fascinating perspective on the simple traditional bicycle.
Putting a motor on the simple bicycle seems to change things for a lot of folks but for me as long as that motor is only a power assist it changes very little as far as I see things!
Basic transportation is a big issue with fuel prices approaching 5 dollars a gallon! And a power assist bicycle powered by GEBE and strapped on to a solid Gary Fisher mountain bike are my answer to my personal transportation dilemma's.
As always the politics of the motored bike world are welcome here as are the issues of the legality of motored biking and power assist. Everything is political in my opinion. From politics come policy for how one can or can not ride down a road on a bicycle with a power assist motor on it!
From motored bike society comes motored bike politics to real motored bike policy's that are enforced by law enforcement. Some need to learn and understand how the system works or suffer for not doing so...

Kevin the crazy motored bike commuter

I went out today in a snow storm on my motored bicycle. It has been a tough winter here in Wisconsin. Little snow for us cross country skiers and plenty little to do for any out door fitness activities except for motored biking on winter roads that is!
I snapped a few pics out on my motored bike today. Its better to look at some pics of some beautiful winter roads in Wisconsin than to concentrate on some of the negative things about motored bikes of late. Let me tell ya how beautiful it was today to be out on the open road...
Me thinks that this is what cycling is all about even if the bike has a power assist motor on board! On Blogger if you left click the pick will enlarge to near full screen for these images. The pics are full quality so there is a bunch of detail to them enjoy.

Kevin

Happy Times yet well made

This bicycle has a very stout frame set with its mounted Happy time motor to it. This is an edit to my original post. The motor on this bike is under the 50cc threshold for legality in most states. I am impressed with its quality and have no problems with its use as a power assisted bicycle. The look is artistic and cool. However its design as a bicycle leaves me to wonder how much actual pedaling will occur with this bike? I suspect very little.
Its kind of that ghetto chopper style of bicycle not meant for much pedaling but for much "cool". To each his own. As long as its safe to ride I have little problems with this type of bike.
Steel is real for this type of app and I think that with some thought one would use this material to its best advantage. Its not that expensive to be safe either.
Motored bike manufacturers need to step up or step out the way I see things...

Kevin

The Happy Time Attitude

This is a perfect example of the Happy Time Bike with a cheap bone shaking Chinese engine on it. This cheap frame set is not made for a power assist engine. This bikes frame is so poor that simply pedaling one is dangerous!
This is a picture of the problems that I have with your culture and this industries obvious void of character! Pardon my rudeness but as a cyclist this bicycle is so poor in quality that the notion of a motor on it to power it over 30 miles per hour is just ludicrous in the extreme.
This is what Augie means when he speaks of the Happy Time Attitude and I agree.
With the rack mounted systems it is less dangerous than on one of these with a mid frame mount. These cheap frames were not designed nor intended to have a powerful motor attached to them! Especially one that can cause a lot of vibration on the critical frame structure.
However some of the rack mounted systems such as the roller drive and GEBE ring system seem to be gentle on the bicycle as long as one power assists.
I think that folks that want a Happy Time motorcycle set up need to first find a very strong preferably steel very stout frame set for this type of application. Department store bikes simply do not fit the bill they were never intended to be motorized. Simply put the average Walmart bike customer might ride his bike once a month at best and that's what these frames are designed for. Its simply a price point for a bicycle.
Happy Times to all in this new year...

Kevin

The motored bike world is a peculier world

I have been cycling for 40 plus years and am seriously trying to understand motored bike culture. In this culture there are folks that sell motors and kits that make a simple bicycle into a motorcycle and that on some of the cheapest of frame sets!
In most states there are laws that define what a bicycle is or is not and how much power assist can be added to a bicycle and still have it be legally classified as a bicycle. You know if you are classified as a bicycle you need no insurance nor registration and in some states no drivers license. The restrictions are reasonable in most states yet some in the motored bike community insist on pushing this issue with law enforcement. Trust me they will figure it out!
The cheap China revolution consists of a motor designed in Russia and now moved over to China and imported by a number of "American" distributors of dubious character.
I will quote Augidog one of the founders of the motored bike culture of the last few years on the China bike thing.


"i agree with you that the leading forums hosting MBcontent have taken on an unsavory commercial flavor, and like you i no longer send folks to them.

the Happy Time, a phrase i coined some years ago ("Chinese super bicycle happy time" as a play on words referring to Chinese fireworks that go off unpredictably) DOES offer one politically-correct option, imo: the 48cc version, while still of dubious quality, can be installed on a suitably safe frameset/wheelset for entry-level riders, altho i am aware that is hardly ever the case.

i think the large majority of the MB'ing populace, both buyer and seller, shamefully & stupidly ignore the safety considerations involved."

These cheap Chinese engines are so unreliable that Augie has coined them and compared them to cheap unreliable Chinese fireworks!
Augie is very funny but is spot on in his analysis of this peculiar culture.
Many company's sell Happy time motors but they all come from the same place no matter how many American distributors hawk them. Its the way things are man. I am in a sea of BS just trying to find some truth. Well Augie the truth is told on my blog. I plan on inviting a number of my hard core cycling friends to check out this blog. That might get interesting! I am hard core cycling yet need to get to work in an economical manor. I am of course a huge fan of GEBE! Me thinks that they have superb engineering into their kits but of course I am biased this is my personal blog....

Kevin

Hard core commuter GEBE/Fisher setup

This bicycle has two inch studded tires for winter roads. A GEBE super reliable engine with its patented drive train. The frame is a valued Gary Fisher CR-7 road frame which pioneered many many mountain bike innovations. It makes a superb road bicycle with a power assist.
Kevin

The New York Bike Snob has a blurb about motored bikes

The Bike Snob has a few words to say about a new electric motored bike.
I would love to here his critique of the Happy Time motored bike culture. Please scroll down a bit to see this gem! And to the faint of heart and to most motored bikers this site could be a little hard to handle that's why its on my sidebar of course! This guy is a great read with a great sense of humor about the absurd things going on in cycling culture. Happy time culture is indeed absurd! I love the little midget Harley look but I don't want to discriminate against midgets so I will leave it at that! Seriously, a GEBE bike could be humorously criticized but would ultimately pass muster. Just my thoughts on this subject.
Maybe I should send him an email...

Kevin

Some Wisconsin Winter photos

I really am going to take some pictures of our recent snow fall in the Kettle Moraine forest and post them for you folk on this blog. Maybe today if I can find some time to take a few pictures.
Its been brutal cold up here in Wisconsin the last few weeks with a break of warm weather with driving rain than back to brutal cold weather. One of the toughest winters that I can remember! The night time lows are always in the single digits.
It was 12 for a high today. So I should get out tomorrow with that camera.

Kevin

The Corps of Discovery

I am a huge fan of Thomas Jefferson and of Lewis and Clark! Imagine what Jefferson had before him with the Louisiana purchase and a whole contenent before him! So he sent out this expidition paid for by the new US government. This trip was very profound in my opinion on our history as a nation. It was almost greater in magnitude than the trip to the moon! But I guess that is a matter of perspective.
It's great to hear that Augidog wants to go over these great roads that our forefathers built this great country on!
And hopefully the spirit of Jefferson will come back to our shores! And that's what I think motored bicycling is all about. It could be the last way for the common man to get around without the "man" around to control how he gets to and from whatever.
Getting to or from "whatever" is what the experiment in freedom is all about according to men like Jefferson!
It is hard to imagine what would have come to our world with the freedoms that our new country had in 1805 with the technology of today could have built so in a nut shell there is no perfect world but there always is that ideal.

Kevin

Happy New year Motored bikers!!!

Lets hope that the new year lets folks ride what they want down the road with out harrassment from law enforcement and that all may get along and find a way to fight the five dollar a galleon thing that I think that is coming!
It's all about getting down the road the way I see things.
I will continue to let my personal blog be an avenue for serious debate about motorized bicycling what ever the definition of that happens to be.
All opinions will be respected but subject to some control. I would love to see a network of writers about motored bikes emerge in the new year.
This site is not about control but about decentralization of information about motored bikes.
I am pretty open to most if not all ideas on this subject but in an imperfect world we have law enforcement breathing down our backs as laws are passed with who knows what will happen in the future that I think even pedaling a simple bike down the road might be illegal some day in the former great US of A.


Kevin

The man with the plan can not be banned

The beauty of the Internet is its decentralization. Information is difficult if not impossible to censor or keep secret for very long. In the Motored bike community there seems to be a philosophical rift that is as wide open as the Grand Canyon! My interest in motored bikes is as a hard core bicycle commuter not to be a motor cycle rider. I have some money and if I wanted to ride a motor cycle I would simply buy one. The engine and kit that I have chosen reflect this philosophy and is legal in just about all 50 US states. I am a cyclist first and a motored biker second yet the two have kind of merged when I ride that GEBE/Fisher bicycle. And bicycle it still is under Wisconsin law even with the motor and I want to keep it that way!
The way that I have chosen to power assist my bicycle is proven and safe and legal. Its engine is well under the states regulations yet it can do 30 mph on the flats with a good power assist. What more does a bicycle need to do? Augie has a plan of action for the motorized bicyclist and that plan is to cooperate with the authorities and follow their restrictions that keep our motorized bikes legally bicycles. Trust me we all want to remain as bicyclists in the legal sense otherwise you will have to purchase insurance and pay registration fees and have all kinds of additional headaches and expenses that we don't have right now.
Its time for the adults to take over the debate and provide some guidance to what the children are discussing.

Kevin

Please join Augie's web ring

I know that on my blog of late there have been some serious issues discussed on the subject of motorized bicycles. But what I am hoping for is for some folks to just put up their personal web sites or blogs about their motorized bicycle experiences. I mean things like I took the bike over to the post office or I stopped for a cup of coffee on my motorized bike. Or I commuted to work. Or I just went for a ride!
No need to tackle the big issues but their is a need to show how useful for everyday activities these motorized bikes can be. Me thinks that this is the bottom line...

Kevin

Man combined with machine

I went out today for one hour and twenty three minutes for a cycling work out on my GEBE/Fisher bicycle.
The course was hilly and very icy in parts and totally free of snow and ice in parts. I pedaled the whole way about 32 miles. It was 20 degrees and sunny.
I should put a heart rate monitor on my rides it certainly got up there! Well its a great work out.
I could go over for a bunch of cyclists why this was a good workout and how spinning the cranks is a great thing but for the audience that is reading this blog its all about speed. And all about going fast. And all about the cutting edge. But that cutting edge as far as motor sports goes was over 100 years ago and a lot of folks just need to come back to reality. The age of the motorized bicycle has past at least for pure performance purposes. But for transportation issues its still a way to get from point A to point B quite efficiently.
My use of a motorized bicycle is simply a way to get to work and back very economically at that!
I think the way to look at this issue is historically. I am no expert on this subject but a power assist on a modern bicycle is just a no brainier option for a commuter such as myself!
Think what you want and ride what you want or pump gas into your four thousand pound cage at three bucks plus a gallon. 200 plus miles per gallon or  12 miles per gallon take your pick.
My choice is clear.

Kevin

Merry Christmas motored bikers!

Wow! What a great bunch of information served up on my personal blog in the last couple of weeks. I got attention from some of the founders of the motored bicycle revolution and it was great stuff to hear about.
My personal hope for the new year is that folks might get along and focus on the common goal of keeping power assisted bikes both legal and reliable.
I am a very hard core ultra marathon cyclist but I still need to get to work and back and motorizing an old obsolete mountain bike seemed sensible to me when gasoline is now over three bucks a galleon and climbing. The powers that be simply plan on robbing us blind! However the best weapon in the new year is the idea of consuming less gasoline and going motored biking. It is a sensible idea to me but if ya need your four thousand pound cage around ya God bless you!
I also feel that keeping things legal is a critical idea in the "snitch" culture that seems to be heading our way big time. A motorist calls 911 about some lunatic on a bicycle with a motor on it and all of the sudden you have big time attention from law enforcement coming your way. But in most states their are reasonable restrictions on our bikes and power assist motors and keeping things legal and going along with the laws can prevent many problems. Some think that this is an irrelevant topic but I think that this topic will be getting a lot of billing in the new year.

Merry Christmas motored bikers

Kevin

The best way to motorize a bicycle

What is the best way to motorize a bicycle?
That is a huge question I think and one that needs to be debated. And that debate should never end. It should set up a system of competition among the engineers and designers of any products that would come to market. Instead of suppressing ideas the Internet should spread those idea's and decentralize them. That is why Augi's web ring idea is a good one for this small but growing part of cycling culture. I went by the gas station today and it was three dollars and nine cents a gallon. That hurts everyone. And a motor assisted bike is a way to fight this trend.
Right now the technology goes hands down to Golden Eagle Bike Engines for their pure simplicity of design and their great customer service.
The key to their system is their drive ring  and engine clutch and drive belt. No one else in the industry comes close to this level of technology and innovation.
I am living with this system through all kinds of commuting environments including rain snow and cold weather yet this system is super reliable.
The most important aspect of a motor assist bicycle kit at least for me is reliability. And I can say that GEBE is a very reliable one at that.
Total miles now over 1900 with a 25 mph average speed. Not to shabby! If I could pedal a real bike like that I would be at the head of the pack next July with Lance and the gang....

Kevin

The Grin Factor

I had my Gary Fisher CR-7 bike looked over by all of my friends. And I had them all take it for a ride and there was a huge grin factor to the experience. Many traditional cyclists would frown on the addition of a motor to a bicycle but that GEBE system makes it so easy and fun!
When I explained to my cycling friends that this bike was simply an addition to my transportation needs to work and back in addition to my car it just made perfect sense to them. No judgment nor anything. But on riding the bike they all got that experience of something that was different and special. The women in particular got it more than the men did! You pedal the bike forward and hit the throttle and your at 25 plus mph just in a few seconds.
That was the grin factor for my pals at the local bike shop this past fall.
Its all about building bridges the way I see it and fighting is a waste of time and energy!
I have simply added motored biking as a way to get to work to my other cycling activities.
As many cyclists say its not about the bike its about the motor. And GEBE at least for now has the best one out there for the motor assisted bicyclist.
I have shown the grin factor to a lot of folks and believe me GEBE is a cool topic among my cycling pals.

Kevin

GEBE'S website

Here is why that I think that this company GEBE has the best motored bike kit on the market.
Go over to their page and read the customer reviews. There are dozens and quite a few of them are mounted on to cheap Walmart bikes. I am a huge hater of cheap Walmart bikes and the notion of powering one of these things to 30 mph out on the road just made me go wild. But what I discovered instead of these poor quality bikes breaking they seemed to be fine under GEBE power assist. That led me to change my opinion quite reluctantly about these bikes and motorizing them! Many folks find them selves up against it with gas at over three bucks now!  Mounting of this kit on one of these cheap bikes shows how gentle the belt drive and the drive ring is to the bicycle frame. I simply do not understand what is going on with that when I have seen strong riders simply tear these bikes apart pedaling them! I am not an engineer and simply have no answer for this fact but fact it is. That was another reason that I choose GEBE. If a Walmart bike can handle it what could my classic Fisher CR-7 do with this kit? I have that answer now with over 1900 miles on this kit.
The words are awesome technology!

Kevin

Lets debate the Happy Time motor here

My interest in motored bikes started when my long commute by car became expensive. I am a cyclist but felt that my 67 mile round trip was just a little to long to pedal so I became interested in power assisting the traditional bicycle.
I looked into this for a long time and happened on some of the online motored bike forums that I read a lot of stuff on. A man on one of the forums who rides his bike like crazy had a lot of posts on this site. He rides a cool custom framed steel bike with a GEBE motor kit on it. I looked at all of the kits out there and came to the conclusion that GEBE was the best on the market. I also came to the conclusion that marketers of the Happy Time motors, and BTW that phrase was coined by Augi, were a bit unethical. It seemed to me that this sites purpose was to sell happy time motors and kits. Then Augi got banned and I am like what is going on here?
Then I got banned for posting a link to Augi's blog?
The table is open for debate. Show me that I am wrong that GEBE is not the best system out there to motorize a bike and that HT engine kits are reliable for hard core commuters like me.
I am all ears and will let all posts stay up unlike some venues with the exception of huge flames or profanity and remember the delete button that some forum moderators love is just a push away....

Kevin

Happy Times are not so happy

Some forums  promote kits for bicycles to motorize them that are made in China from just a few sources. There website is a tool to get customers to buy these products of dubious quality at great profit to the sellers of these products and to the disadvantage of the consumer a pretty noticeable trend of our times. Doing a Google search I could not help but notice that this site got top billing over on Google(another reason to use another search engine)since the folks on this site paid Google to put their site at the top of the heap.
There greatest tool to do this is there message board billed as the greatest thing for the motored bicyclist.
On the side bar are numerous adds for a plethora of company's that sell motored bike kits but in the true scheme of things there is only one motor sold by these folks and that is the Happy Time motor. Its origin is from a few Chinese factories and its distributors in the US are many. Many claims of speed and fuel economy have come from some of these "company's".
Golden Eagle Bike Engines also has an add on this site but any opinion of there product on these message boards is closely regulated and to post about GEBE one must go to a sub category of motored biking "the rack mounted engine"! I guess that is not really a motored bicycle after all!
Cycling is a very mature sport and to put things in perspective let me tell a few story's and give some examples of our culture. The first bikes were before the turn of the 20th century and by 1900 it was a hit and even roads were fixed to accommodate the riders. By the latter half of the Century there were many cycling print publications one of which was Bicycling magazine which is still in print to this day. Many cyclists feel that this publication should be renamed "Buy Cycling" for its very commercial content for the bicycling retailers and manufacturers but in the end this publication has some great stories from time to time and does report on abuse from retailers and manufacturers. In traditional cycling there is so much competition between manufactures that it is beyond belief! Yet this simply gives the consumer a grand choice of high quality products! In the motored bike industry this is not the case. Poor performing company's are protected with censorship from the moderators of some sites and real cutting edge company's like GEBE are ignored and forced to the back of the bus!
So as a reasonable journalist I am just cautioning anyone planning to motorize their bike to observe the motto buyer beware!
Here is an example of this sites censorship.

You have been banned for the following reason:
Posting that link is enough.
Date the ban will be lifted: Never

I posted a review of my GEBE kit along with a link to Augi's web ring site and this was their response.
That link is proudly displayed in my side bar and I would invite any reasonable person with a blog or web site to join.
Golden Eagle Bikes feels that Augi is so important that they have sponsored him as a rider!
Well, I am banned with Augi and proud of it!

Kevin

What makes for a good motored bike?

First off I would like to point out that the most important choice for any bicyclist and that includes one with a motor on it is the frame. Once you have found a suitable frame you can change anything out. Like the wheels or drive train. My opinion at least for a motored bike is that steel is real. I mean its the oldest choice for a frame material. Its strong and tough an malleable. One can repair it inexpensively.
Unfortunately this material at least in quality bike frames seems to be getting quite rare with most of the interest in exotic carbon for most of the high end market and Aluminum for the low end market.
What is a motored biker to do? First look on Craigslist for a good used preferably steel framed hybrid or mountain bike second look for a good quality used aluminum frame set from one of the top manufactures such as Fisher or Trek. I can spot old bikes that will work a mile away.
The next thing to consider is your motorized drive train. GEBE is the absolute leader in reliability and quality of design and pure speed for there small engines mounted on a simple bicycle.
There are many kit providers out there to supply the motored bikers needs but most if not all of them other than GEBE are all of the notoriously unreliable Russian/Chinese motors that come with most if not all of these kits. Listen to me here. If you commute 60 plus miles a day on a motor that has to be mixed with 17/1 oil and gas the oil costs more than the gas to operate the motor. Or one can get a Robin/Subaru engine that is a 4 stroke and needs no oil added to the fuel! Or if ya need the 2 stroke power you can get the Tanaka engine that is fuel efficient and powerful for the commuter. This engine has a 50/1 oil fuel mix and is an extremely low emission engine.
So to recap to be a successful motored biker one needs to have a solid bicycle frame with reliable wheels and a good drive train powered by a great engine and power transfer system like GEBE's.
This is the stuff that powers a great reliable motored commuter bicycle the way I see things!

Kevin

Todays Ride

I went out today on my motorized Gary Fisher/GEBE bike today for about 35 miles.
It was maybe 20 degrees today but it was sunny and beautiful. As usual I used this motored bike as a work out machine. I hit snow covered icy rural roads with my studded tires mounted this week! I thought that those studded tires would really slow me down but with that great GEBE system I only lost about a mile per hour! I went from a 26 mph average to a 25 mph average!
I mounted an old pair of IRC studded Blizzard tires that are about 2 inch in width that just barely fit the drive belt from the engine mount. But every thing was working out just fine!
What is really remarkable about the GEBE system is how it lays down power to the rear wheel. I mean with out a power assist I would barely be able to hold 15 mph average on these super heavy tires with metal studs in them....

Happy Time Motors

I became interested in motor assisted bikes about a year ago.
Golden Eagle Bike Engines had the best concept for motorizing a pedal bicycle.

 The reason for this sentiment is the "Happy Time" motor. These motors and kits that surround them come from an engine designed in Russia in the mid '40s and maybe were popular there until the '60s. The Engine was then cloned by the Chinese for there domestic transportation needs and later imported to America under various vendors but all the engines are basically from Chinese factories. There quality is notoriously poor and with there mid frame mount on cheap bicycle frames are at least to me some what problematic! They all have chain drives to the rear of the wheel and the kits and bikes very much resemble small motor cycles.
All of these engines would be illegal in Wisconsin where I live. We have a 49cc restriction and a speed limit of 30mph or less in our state. All reasonable restrictions.
The problem as I see it is engine displacement and all of the problems with that and a human powered bicycle especially the cheap bikes from places like Walmart.
The best cyclists such as Lance Armstrong can generate 500 watts for about an hour in events like the time trial in the Tour De France. The bikes like Lance rides are designed to take the rigors of super strong pro athletes like lance Armstrong. A strong pro rider could simply tear apart a cheap Walmart bike in just a few rides. My point with all this is simple. My Robin/Subaru EHO 35 is rated at about 1200 watts plus the power I can muster as a really fit cyclist of maybe 300 watts with the average untrained cyclist able to muster maybe 150 watts. My point here with this is simple. Once you add a motor you place a lot of stress on a bicycle frame that it was not designed for and risk that frame set failing with catastrophic results!
I believe that these oversised HT engines are simply to much for the common bicycle and that there are serious safety concerns with these cheap kits!
I also believe that the best engine mount on a traditional pedal bike should be a rear rack mount such as what I use. With the frame mount model all of those stresses are added to the frame which it was not designed to handle. GEBE proves to me how well there system integrates with cheap Walmart bikes since many of their customers use the kits on these bikes with little problems. They have hundreds of testimonials about their product on their website! I think that there is something to their belt drive system mounted via a rack on the rear of the bicycle that is gentle to the bicycle as long as one power assists the bicycle.
So, in a nut shell I have become really opposed to these cheap Chinese Happy Time motors. I believe in personal freedom and personal responsibility.

Kevin