4 miles? Pshh... EASY!

[MadisonMPG]

Let me actually be able to ride to school and not die, and then we'll talk about aero.

EDIT: Actually, give me some suggestions on what I could do. Let's say, 30% of max aero mods.

[Christ]

But aero would help you be requiring that you expend less energy... :P

It's a great goal, you have, though. I think you'll end up enjoying the ride.

[thatguitarguy]

I still say pedal the damn thing.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, it's just that I'm speaking from personal experience. If pedaling for 3 miles is the hardest thing you've done in 6 months, then it's without a doubt something that you should do more. If you pedal for 3 miles everyday for a week, it won't feel so bad. If you pedal 3 miles a day for a month it will feel like nothing.

It took me 2 years to lose a hundred pounds, but the thing that really took me over the top was when I got back into biking after a long hiatus. Once I got my momentum going it felt so good that I committed to riding a hundred miles average a week. That quickly turned into a minimum of a hundred miles a week. It did wonders for my body, mind, and soul. And a bicycle (that you pedal) is the perfect eco vehicle.

OK - I'm stepping back off the soapbox...

[Christ]

thatguitarguy -

I'm not disagreeing, but the point has been made earlier, and he's made it obvious that he wants to go forward with the motorized vehicle. I'm just giving advice to aide his thoughts.

I'd probably just pedal it myself, because as lazy as I can be at times, it'd be too much work for me to really convert a bike. That's the reason I haven't done a pedal-trike yet, besides lack of time.

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by thatguitarguy

I still say pedal the damn thing.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, it's just that I'm speaking from personal experience. If pedaling for 3 miles is the hardest thing you've done in 6 months, then it's without a doubt something that you should do more. If you pedal for 3 miles everyday for a week, it won't feel so bad. If you pedal 3 miles a day for a month it will feel like nothing.

It took me 2 years to lose a hundred pounds, but the thing that really took me over the top was when I got back into biking after a long hiatus. Once I got my momentum going it felt so good that I committed to riding a hundred miles average a week. That quickly turned into a minimum of a hundred miles a week. It did wonders for my body, mind, and soul. And a bicycle (that you pedal) is the perfect eco vehicle.

OK - I'm stepping back off the soapbox...

Well, to be perfectly honest. I'm in shape. I squatted 285 for 3 sets of 5 a week ago, and I benched 185 for the same number of reps. (I weigh 150) I just am not "in shape" as cardio goes. I can pedal fast, I can run fast, I just can't keep tempo. I do plan on pedaling it, but I need a cheap project to work on.

If I end up liking it, I may get a road bike and start biking A LOT!

[Frank Lee]

Christ pissed me off one day, I don't remember what it was about, but i'm good now.

I talk to him a lot, especially when I wreck something.

Is your route hilly or fairly level? You are nice and light; for a level route I have found the bicycle's weight to be not very important i.e. I've been favoring my heavy steel mountain bike over my (relatively) light Fuji because it doesn't seem to be harder to pedal or slower but man is it more comfy. But I'm sure if I brought my MTB to my old college town and tried to scale that hill I'd probably only get half way up and then there better be some EMTs waiting!

Give yourself some time at first too, you don't have to work like a madman if you have time to take it easy. Maybe no sweating then either.

I see you mentioned 24" wheels- my guess is that bike is too small for you. Get into something like a MTB with 26" wheels and you can put smoothies on there and lemme tell ya, I couldn't pull top gear for long on my bike with the knobbies but with the smoothies I can pull top gear the whole ride- and they aren't running higher psi either! Another nice thing about 26 inchers is the wide selection of cheap tires. 27 inchers are good too. I live in hickville so the 700c stuff is pretty much non-existent here yet- can't comment on any pros/cons for that.

[MadisonMPG]

I'm 5'7" on a good day, if that helps you decide if the bike is too small. The bike was free, and the whole point in my riding to school would save me money. I am going to do some math today and figure out how long it would take me to pay back say a 100 dollar bike.


I lost the battery charger to this scooter, can I use another type of battery charger? (like one from Harbor Freight?)

[thatguitarguy]

At 5'7" a 24" bike is small for you. Look in your area on craigslist. I did and this is the first thing I saw: Schwinn Varsity Road Bike

A 24" bike limits your tire selection, as you have already found, and since they are made for a smaller person, it's not made very strong, and probably wouldn't be adequate for a motor conversion. A bike that fits you well is a lot more important than most people realize, but if it doesn't fit you well, you won't ride it, and it won't help you. Would you like to walk those 3 miles in shoes that don't fit? Get a bike that fits with a comfortable saddle, before you start thinking about aero and motor conversion.

If you get a 26" or 27" bike you have a lot more tires to choose from. Even with a knobby tire, if you pump it up to about 50 lbs, you are reducing the RR a lot. Be careful though, because it's easy to over inflate and pop it off the rim. That will blow the tube and you'll have to buy a new one.

Aero doesn't make any difference on a bike until you get above 15 mph, and if you have a hard time with 3 miles, you're a long way from being able to maintain that speed long enough for it to make any noticeable difference.

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by thatguitarguy

At 5'7" a 24" bike is small for you. Look in your area on craigslist. I did and this is the first thing I saw: Schwinn Varsity Road Bike

A 24" bike limits your tire selection, as you have already found, and since they are made for a smaller person, it's not made very strong, and probably wouldn't be adequate for a motor conversion. A bike that fits you well is a lot more important than most people realize, but if it doesn't fit you well, you won't ride it, and it won't help you. Would you like to walk those 3 miles in shoes that don't fit? Get a bike that fits with a comfortable saddle, before you start thinking about aero and motor conversion.

If you get a 26" or 27" bike you have a lot more tires to choose from. Even with a knobby tire, if you pump it up to about 50 lbs, you are reducing the RR a lot. Be careful though, because it's easy to over inflate and pop it off the rim. That will blow the tube and you'll have to buy a new one.

Aero doesn't make any difference on a bike until you get above 15 mph, and if you have a hard time with 3 miles, you're a long way from being able to maintain that speed long enough for it to make any noticeable difference.

REALLY? I finally bought a bike too small! I've never done that before.

I will look around for a 26" bike, thanks. I am actually looking for a road bike, one that I can ride once I get the hang of biking again. I wouldn't mind biking 20 miles or more a day, for the hell of it.

[Christ]

Hell, I used to ride a 20" six speed. If you're comfortable, I don't believe it's too small.

However, it's easier to ride taller bikes long distances without fatigue.

If you're any good with welding, you may have the room to upgrade your rim size without getting a whole new bike... you could get 26" rims, they might fit.

In fact, fronts probably will go right on, rear might need the brake bracket moved up.