MAB

I guess I'm in the narrow category of MABers (motor assisted bicyclists) whose primary interest is first retaining all the functionality of the original bicycle and only looking for a bit of power assist over accommodations made to motorize it. I've spent a lot of time building up bikes with quality components and really dislike, for example, the idea of having to replace a quality crankset in favor of some one piece affair to accommodate mounting a motor.

It's a good discussion, one that I appreciate and I continue to wrack my brain and be on the lookout for solutions that meet my needs.

Early motorcycle history was born from motorized bicycles and as transmissions and other accommodations were added weight increased to the point more power was needed....and so on.

Motorized bikes heretofore are throwbacks to the backyard, funky, DIY contraptions. I'm glad for that though there are limitations. Complexifying a MAB beyond a certain point will probably just begin a new round of the weight/power/costs cycle.