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66KiB, 679x637, bike.jpg

Anonymous Sat 10 Feb 2024 00:52:34 No.1978900 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>1979937

>TL;DR version
>my 70 year old uncle lives with me, nice guy but weird.
>he has a truck but prefers to be outside so walks everywhere
>should i build him a motorized bicycle?

i'm thinking of building him a motorized bicycle, like a nice 4 stroke 100cc one, cops in our town are chill, i don't see it being a problem.

does this sound like a good gift?

he has done a lot for me. i let him live rent free but he does all the house maintenance, yard work and helps me with my pets. i have some extra cash right now and 600$ wouldn't hurt me on a motorized bicycle so his old ass doesn't walk everywhere but he can still be outside seems like something he might like.

i've brought it up to him in passing that i might build one implying it was for me and he seems like he might be into it.

>so /o/. do i just go for it and build him one? or does it seem silly.

pic is the bicycle i'm considering building on.

this engine is the one i'm looking at.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CRHFKPYS/ref=ewc_pr_img_2?smid=A2Y46GC8N6ATF4&psc=1

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Feb 2024 01:09:28 No.1978904 Report

Quoted By: >>1978906

How fit is he now? Has he used a lot of bikes in his life? Old people don't repair like you do. Old guy breaks something and he might be down for a year. Being down for a year means health deteriorates rapidly and there's no turning back, at best you recover the ability to be somewhat independent but you're never close to what you were.

It's worse for women but it's not great for men. 70 isn't super duper old, but it's old enough where picking up cycling from scratch is something you don't just do on impulse. Motorized is even worse.

You might consider a trike though. Cargo bike, recumbent, something like that.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Feb 2024 01:16:13 No.1978906 Report

Quoted By:

>>1978904
he's a life time brick layer. i'm 33 and he might be in better shape than me if i'm honest.
i forget how old he is sometimes.but you are right about wrecking out. he probably wouldn't recover great from that.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 20210227_170159_58bc432d481d228e (...).jpg, 1MiB, 2000x1500

Anonymous Sat 10 Feb 2024 01:51:46 No.1978909 Report

Quoted By: >>1978912 >>1978920

That kind of thing can be fantastic for him.
When my parents (65+) got e-bikes, it changed their lives. They bike everywhere now and hardly ever use the car. This is a very common experience.

I don't really like janky petrol kits on shit cheap tourney hybrids though. The engine rattles the fuck out of what is already a rather harsh might fall apart type of bike. They're pretty obnoxious even when they're working.

I would instead much prefer to purchase a used bike (doesn't have to be classic, just has to be decent), overhaul it, and convert with a mid-drive kit like tongsheng or bafang

cost is around $800 for the kit, $50-$200 for the project bike, and ~$200 for consumables to overhaul the bike.

You may be able to pick up the e-bike kit or parts locally used from some failed/regret project although i would be pretty careful about getting a dangerous or dying battery or a kit someone has already fucked up.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Feb 2024 02:08:44 No.1978912 Report

Quoted By:

>>1978909
Also, you can start here, get the used bike,
fully overhaul it mechanically (bearings, cables, true wheels), get nice tires, brake pads, grips, etc

mount racks/baskets

Then you can think to convert it to a motor. If you can't do the overhaul then you're gonna do a shit job on a conversion. And he may be quite happy just riding a nice bike you do up for him, without a motor, especially if his walking trips involve shopping or fishing or whatever and you give him a bike with cargo capacity.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Feb 2024 03:07:52 No.1978920 Report

Quoted By: >>1978921

>>1978909
This, convert to electric instead of gas. An e-bike convert is helluva lot better than a ratty two stroke kit. I used to be full /o/-tist, from bicycles to cars to motorcycles but I've gone full tree hugger and now only believe in human powered if possible but about 10 years ago I built a suicide tier 1.6kw lead acid e-bike during a time when the technology wasn't quite there yet. It was stupid heavy, stupid fast, and stupid dangerous, and that's coming from someone who has rode 600cc+ motos. I eventually converted it back to human power then sold the kits separately. The tech is much better and refined now than it was 10 years ago, you might have to bump your budget up higher though, maybe another 200-400 if you want decent batteries

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO sui-e-cycle.jpg, 570KiB, 2173x1229

Anonymous Sat 10 Feb 2024 03:08:26 No.1978921 Report

Quoted By:

>>1978920
here's my suicide tier 'sui-e-cycle' btw

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 16 Feb 2024 05:08:37 No.1979937 Report

Quoted By:

>>1978900
I'd equip it with a 2 stroke instead of a 4 stroke. 4 strokes vibrate a lot and I only feel comfortable putting them on a heavy frame beach cruiser. That looks like a hybrid(?), so putting a 2 stroke will also be much easier as well. This thread is more sutable for /diy/ tbqh.

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