| Today more than ever people are looking to save | | | | can get exercise when I want and not have to switch |
| money on transportation. As the cost of gasoline | | | | bicycles. Riding the bike without the motor on is also |
| continues to rise you will see more vehicles designed | | | | important when you are in areas that don't allow them |
| to be less fuel thirsty to requiring no fuel at all. One of | | | | or quiet areas. Operation of these bikes is really simple |
| these vehicles that are starting to become popular and | | | | and requires you to pedal and release the clutch while |
| very affordable are motorized bicycles. These are fully | | | | giving it throttle to turn the motor on. |
| functional bicycles that have engines attached to them | | | | To turn the motor off you just disengage the clutch |
| and get up to 150 miles per gallon. I have been seeing | | | | and push the engine kill button, that's it. They are single |
| them sporadically around town and they always catch | | | | speeds and come with a standard 44-tooth rear |
| my eye as they wiz by. They are usually on simple | | | | sprocket, which is the best for all around riding. These |
| beach cruisers and mountain bikes with riders of all | | | | bikes can be easily modified to go faster, but with the |
| ages. | | | | standard 44-tooth sprockets you can reach speeds of |
| In the summer of 2008 during the peak of the gas | | | | 20+ mph even with riders weighing 260 pounds, very |
| prices, I decided to build a motorized bicycle. I had | | | | impressive! I now can leave my car parked more |
| recently purchased a mountain bike and decided to put | | | | because I have an alternate means of transportation |
| one of these 2-cycle engine kits on my mountain bike, | | | | and most importantly I am not spending as much in |
| which took many hours to complete. The build was | | | | gasoline, which makes me feel like I made a wise |
| challenging for me as I have never done this before, | | | | investment. |
| but rewarding because of the joy it is to ride. | | | | 1000 miles later the motorized bicycle is still running |
| Also not needing a license to ride these motorized | | | | great and has proven to be bulletproof. Maintenance |
| bicycles was a plus, as I wanted to avoid dealing with | | | | has been light and simple as it is continuing to prove to |
| licensing. What is required in order to ride a motorized | | | | be a great investment. I also found some great |
| bike is that you be 16 years of age or older and | | | | support info through a company in Northern California |
| always wear a helmet. So, now when I want to get | | | | who sells assembled motorized bicycles and ships |
| around town I can jump on the bike and go for a | | | | nationwide. On their support page they have frequently |
| cruise. The motor does not take away the functionality | | | | asked question that are very informative. For question |
| of the bicycle. | | | | they also have a live chat area and other ways to |
| I can pedal the bicycle with the motor turned off just | | | | contact them. They also touch on the significance of |
| as if it were a normal bicycle, or when I get tired of | | | | the green affect you will have on the environment |
| pedaling turn the motor on. This is possible because | | | | riding one of these small engine bicycles instead of |
| the motor has a separate drive chain from the normal | | | | driving when possible. |
| bicycle chain. This feature is important to me because I | | | | |