Is this company using Golden's?

[erdurbin]

Click on this website and check out their pre-made electric bikes.
http://www.campsolution.com/index.asp

[myelectricbike]

You betcha.  But only for the first and several other similar looking hub motors, unless the other ebikes are fitted with the original hub motor unworthy of buyer support.

That company is not far from Perfecteam, the dubious Golden distributor.

[mustangman]

   Hey, ahh guys, I thought it said some where that you were not supposed to have a fork with shock sspension on it and use a front hub motor on it? The Mongoose x-75 (aka $99 wal mart special) clearly has a suspension fork! Did I miss something here? 

[myelectricbike]

Depends on the material and mechanics of the suspension. Original front suspensions may have presented a problem. Although the springs are too weak to handle the heavier wheel, the suspension is not in danger of coming apart owing to a cross member brace at the top of the shock cylinders into which the fork pistons coming from the headset fit. The paranoid need only drill a hole through the cylinder and piston and insert a bolt fastened with a nynut.

[mustangman]

 I can assure you the mongoose bikes have a steel fork and steel rear triangle (X-75 to X-200) because I have personally checked them out at my local Wal-Mart store. The Next brand bikes also have the same arrangement, however some schwinn bikes have a aluminum rear tiangle suspension and fornt steel forks. I looks like in the photographs and the descriptions of the bicycles, this company uses bikes with steel forks. As far as my own concern, I was thinking of a full suspension bike (bad Back) with a golden in front but was leary of fork failure leaving me splattered on the asphalt asking myself "why did I buy this #*%* bike?"  With this problem resoved I think I will give that dual suspension bike another look.     

[myelectricbike]

Unfortunately this may be the reason recumbents were invented. I of course notice a much stiffer jolt when not using a bike with a suspension but even though the major jolts of pothole and curbs and the smaller jolts of rough roads are smoothed with a dual suspension my back now keeps me on aspirin all of the time. I was thinking the higher speed permitted by a motor might also smooth things out but maybe not. An inertial damper test might be able to resolve this question for sure.

Using my back in place of an inertial damper I can say that even with dual suspension cranked down to the lightest spring tension the spinal compression is still too much for my back on a regularly scheduled and prolonged basis. My current solution is to put as much space between trips as I can.  If I make a final commitment to do a recumbent, a reduction in the degree of spinal compression will be the reason.

[mustangman]

 I agree with you, however my financial situation dictates what I can do presently. A recubant trike with 26" wheels (more ground clearance and higher visablity for cars) would be ideal with a semi-enclosed cab (like the velomoblie) for those rainy and/or cold days. primary power would be an electric hub motor with a gasoline backup for extended range.(sorry, fuel cells are not cheap enough yet and good lightweight batteries are still a few years off to be economically feasable) 
    Well in the mean time I am actively looking for an good quality inexpensive dual suspension bike under $200 (preferably $150 range maybe less if I am luky to spot a great sale) so I can mount airless tires and assesories to have a bike that is capable of getting small items from the local grocery store, errand running, etc..

[Dave]

I agree with you, however my financial situation dictates what I can do presently. A recubant trike with 26" wheels (more ground clearance and higher visablity for cars) would be ideal with a semi-enclosed cab (like the velomoblie) for those rainy and/or cold days. primary power would be an electric hub motor with a gasoline backup for extended range.(sorry, fuel cells are not cheap enough yet and good lightweight batteries are still a few years off to be economically feasable) 
    Well in the mean time I am actively looking for an good quality inexpensive dual suspension bike under $200 (preferably $150 range maybe less if I am luky to spot a great sale) so I can mount airless tires and assesories to have a bike that is capable of getting small items from the local grocery store, errand running, etc..

I don't know what bike shops there are in your area, but around here there are a couple that take in trades and sell them pretty cheap. I stopped by one of them this morning and there were several decent mountain bikes selling from $40 - $100. None of the nicer ones had suspension though (there was a full-suspension Mongoose for $30 though.)

Another option would be to post something on your local Craig's List, or maybe Freecycle. Lots of bikes get replaced every year and go wanting for a new home. Since most bike shops don't take trade-ins, it's just a matter of hooking up the guy with the spare bike with the guy what needs one.

[myelectricbike]

Another option (no longer available in my area) is the police and sheriff impound. At one time every Friday morning you could go to the impound lot and bid on cars and bikes, tools and jewelry and a mired of other things that had been recovered or confiscated by the local police. Now a days they just put this stuff up for sale on a site run by a former LA chief of police but the name slips me now. The local sheriff now has a deal with a local church that he donates all the bikes so they can get get youthful offenders to fix them up as part of their community service so the church can then give then to victims. A great program I might add.

[cadstarsucks]

    Well in the mean time I am actively looking for an good quality inexpensive dual suspension bike under $200 (preferably $150 range maybe less if I am luky to spot a great sale) so I can mount airless tires and assesories to have a bike that is capable of getting small items from the local grocery store, errand running, etc..

Did you check Walmart?  They have a steel frame dual suspension mountain bike for $70

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4231518

Dan

[mustangman]

 I have not checked the Goodwill store or any other reputable second hand stores in my area.(It seems like the students at the local univeristy have beat me there first!) As for the big box stores like Walmart, Target, etcetera... , they have reduced their stocks temporarly until the BlackFriday/Christmas rush. I have found the leftovers at both stores(the NEXT brand 21speed with plastic pedals @$89.97, Mongoose X-75 @$99.97 and Schwinn w/alumimnum rear triangle c-50 at Target @ 204.95) however they all looked well picked over. The online deals are not that much of a bargain either so I will wait for the black friday deals. Last year, Amazon threw a Mongoose dual Domain for under $100 shipped and Walmart had a 21 spd for $50. Time is on my side since I have not recived my motor yet although my SLA's from RAGE have(4 -18Ah @$24.05 each shipped).

[Dave]

Did you check Walmart?  They have a steel frame dual suspension mountain bike for $70

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4231518

Dan

Ugh. Don't think I'd trust that bike with a motor attached. You'd surely be doing some serious repair work on it or replacing it in short order. I've been riding bikes for a long time, and have spent a fair amount of time fixing them professionally. The old maxim, "You get what you pay for", may not hold true for many things, but it really does for bikes. At least when buying a new bike. An older well-built bike can be had for about the same as you'd pay for that Walmart POS, but will last longer. A lot longer. You may not get the suspension as with this one, but suspension on cheap bikes is a dodgy proposition anyway.

[myelectricbike]

Yeah, I pretty much agree, especially with Wal-Mart bikes. The dual suspension NEXT bike from Wal-Mart with an aluminum center "triangle" and steel front forks and rear triangle for $140 looks real nice in the store from a distance but the spokes are zink plated and the front suspension is pretty much there for show. Although it might not break from adding a motor the action of the front suspension is pretty much a joke. My Target CFS dual suspension bike that is fitted with a front motor bottoms out from a one inch pothole at almost any speed.

[erdurbin]

I got a dual-suspension bike from Amazon if you want to check it out. I actually got it during Christmas for $60. It has held up very well and I don't think I could put a motor on a bike now without full suspension. The bumps are smoothed out very well.

http://goldenmotor.com/SMF/index.php?topic=53.0

I have about $450 total in this now, which is a few hundred dollars cheaper than what they are offering to sell for. Plus, I have a rack that is rated for 60 lbs. instead of their cheapo 15 lb. racks.

[myelectricbike]

My rear suspension is a different story. The way I have my battery pack mounted on two swing arms means that whenever I hit a deep ravine or a high projection that throws the whole bike in the air the impact is absorbed by the swing arms and a banded halter chain which aid the rear suspension and keep it from bottoming out. The front suspension simply can not handle much of a shock at all as if it were just and extension tube rather than a shock absorber. Narrow 1/2 inch deep cracks in pavement is barely all it can smooth out.