abdon 

I must say I'm mesmerized by the total package they pulled here.

jon c. 

Quite the cruiser. Not sure I'd want to ride it, but I admire it.

Small cog

A "new old" autocycle.

Bad Lag

I'm really lusting after one of these. They are reproductions of board track racers from way back when (1920' and 1930's). So, they are very C&V.

etherhuffer 

Are those the ones with cutout switches on top?

Andy_K 

This is almost 2024. Time to go electric.

cyccommute 

Schwinn and Whizzer made a lot of them. I’ve ridden one that is similar to this model. It was started by simply pedaling. It was great fun but the whole time I kept thinking “I’m going to die!” while having a stupid grin plastered on my face. If I recall correctly it only had a coaster brake for stopping. That’s when the “I’m going to die!” really kicked in.

Mr. 66

In my archives I have a picture of a Schwinn exercise bike converted to bicycle motorized with a wizzer. It came out quite well, he used a 3 speed grip shifter for the throttle, springer front end

Kai Winters

We've had two home made gas engine bikes come in to the shop for repairs. We refused to work on either of them and had the customers immediately take them out of the shop. They both had oil/gas leaks which started dripping on our floor, shop immediately reeked of gasoline. One bike was using a two liter soda bottle as the gas tank which was bungi corded to the rear rack and silicone/??? used to seal the hosing lines. The other was barely bolted to the frame and looked like it was going to fall off. We did not want the liablity nor did we want a tank of gas sitting in our shop. We had both riders take the bikes outside and show us how they ran. While they did run it was very sketchy and I'd not ride one of them on a dare, bet or paid to...very dangerous. Both used rim brakes which were in rough shape. Both spewed blue smoke out the exhaust in large, smelly clouds. They were also so loud it was awful.

Mr. 66

The blue smoke is normal for the 2 cycle motor fuel oil mix.

cyccommute 

The original Whizzer motor was a 4 stroke engine according to this history. Cheap knockoffs were 2 stroke.

chain_whipped

This outstanding bike was at the MADE show in Portland. Styling que from various balloon era bikes and motorcycle. The Coloral bottles to mimic a V twin is fitting!

notenoughdaylig 

love the bike but does anyone else think the saddle looks out of place?

sd5782 

A buddy of my son has one that is built on an industrial Worksman bicycle frame. Kinda a small industry around these. Originally no front brake and only a crude friction one on the rear tire. He got a different fork incorporating a drum brake. It is 4 stroke and loud and probably capable of 40 mph. I haven’t seen it since he got the new fork, but a real front brake is way better. Lots of engine braking too he says. Looks dangerous though.

Jeff Wills

Yes. It needs to be one of those saddles with springs at all corners, like a Brooks B33.

RichSPK

There are these:
https://www.vintageelectricbikes.com/pages/our-bike

Andy_K 

Yep, that's where I took the picture.

tiger1964 

In the post #1 photo, the frame has a "tank" but apparently there's a fuel tank on the rear rack? The didn't/wouldn't/couldn't make the frame tank functional?

cyccommute 

The “frame tank” on Schwinn and other bikes of that era was mostly a useless affectation. They may have had horns and batteries but to actually build one that could be sealed to carry fuel would have been difficult and costly. The Schwinn in the photo wasn’t built for an engine. The engine was adapted to it. You can still buy these kinds of engine add ons today. Heck, if you want to risk life and limb, Amazon sells the kit for a staggering $64.99

noglider 

It's 2023 as I write this, and I think putting an internal combustion engine (ICE) on a bike is rather unconscionable. Those cheap kits are insanely loud, and the thought of the fumes -- which are not probably directionally controlled -- is a bit upsetting. We are adopting electric cars rather quickly now, and while there are still valid reasons for using an ICE car, I can't see much reason for an ICE two-wheeled vehicle and plenty not to use one.

New York City, where I grew up and now live, has had a whole lot of delivery bicycles ever since it was technologically possible. In recent years, the fixed gear bike has been replaced with the cheap electric bicycle with a throttle. Now we are seeing a lot of electric cargo bikes of many shapes. Some could even be called trucks, though even the three- and four-wheeled varieties are very narrow compared with cars. Their space efficiency and energy efficiency is proving to beat out trucks for delivery. The city is changing the layouts of streets and roads to accommodate small delivery vehicles so we can have fewer of the big ones. I'm glad about this, and I feel we are not making these changes fast enough.

The styling of the photo that started this thread is admirable because it hearkens back to old days, but I don't want to live in those days anymore.

52telecaster

Well put tom! I am thrilled with the way last mile delivery is going electric these days. Can't wait till it's affordable for all and we can quit using gas in the city.

Mr. 66

I found the pictures, here is the stationary bike convert. Lol


I don't have the before pictures, it was a coppertone with the heavy steel wheel like this.

cyccommute 

Just to be clear, I’m not endorsing motorizing a bicycle. It’s a stupid idea…and it’s stupidly fun to ride for about 15 minutes. I was just pointing out that the kits are out there.

Frankly, I include electric motors in the above statement. Back when I was 30, I knew loads and loads and loads of old people who were fully capable of riding bicycles under their own power. Several of them were in their 60s and a couple took up mountain biking…off-road, single track, technical trails…in their 80s. Old people don’t need electric bikes and young people don’t need them either. Lazy gits!

noglider 

I don't own a car. Until August, my spouse owned two. They both died that month. She bought one new car to replace them both, a Tesla Model Y. I've driven it a fair bit. There are some things about it I don't like, but overall, I like it. There are some problems with electric cars, but they're being worked out, and I can see that this is the future. I'm still opposed to building our society so dependent on cars, and that's one reason I refuse to own one, but if you have to have a car, and if it's feasible to have an electric one, it's a good idea.

52telecaster

My only issue with electric cars is they don't make a utilitarian version like my entry level Honda fit. The day that happens I will be very tempted. Meanwhile I drive the fit when needed.