1 bike, 1 chain, 2 gears, no shifter. How? Pedal backwards!

[Crispy]

This is (mad) genius

http://imgur.com/a/aZrMC/layout/blog

Pedal forwards and get a high gear



Pedal backwards and get a low gear!

 

[joustmaster]

no.
its too early for this sort of business.

 

[sleaterkinney]

Why?

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Clever, but.... Why?

 

[Dogsauce]

This is pretty ace, very inventive.

I guess some kind of Sturmy-Archer type mechanism could also be devised that would allow bi-directional pedalling with different gears, and keep a simpler chain line.

 

[gentlegreen]

My legs hurt at the very thought of it.

 

[Dogsauce]

Could a simpler arrangement be created with having chain rings on both sides of the crank, two chains and a flip hub with different sized and directional freewheels on each side? You could vary the chain ring size to achieve a larger difference in gearing.

 

[Crispy]

Why?

Because!

 

[a_chap]

The inspiring Drew Buck rode PBP and last year's LEL on a 1900 Peugeot which was a two-speed-pedal-backwards-to-engage-low-gear bike. I rode with him for a while and it's the oddest thing to see someone pedalling backwards but assures me it's as easy and natural as pedalling forwards when you get used to it.

A picture of the mechanism here - http://ragbrai.com/2012/07/25/264618/

I think I have a clip of him riding it on a video somewhere. I'll see if I can dig it out.

 

[weepiper]

say goodbye to functional knee joints in old age.

 

[Dogsauce]

Looks like the same mechanism, presumably that is later than 1900? Did they have freewheel mechanisms then? Crank ring is identical to my lodger's early 70's Peugeot.

 

[a_chap]

Looks like the same mechanism, presumably that is later than 1900? Did they have freewheel mechanisms then? Crank ring is identical to my lodger's early 70's Peugeot.

My mistake, the back-pedalling bike in the photo is a 1920s Hirondelle he rode LEL on. The 1900 Peugeot was a different bike he rode PBP on another time.

say goodbye to functional knee joints in old age.

Surely the knee joint goes through exactly the same range of movement pedalling backwards as forwards.

 

[twentythreedom]

Steer left, turn right

 

[fredfelt]

Or you could get a two speed kick shift hub.

 

[weepiper]

Steer left, turn right

View attachment 51882

 

[twentythreedom]

I had a go on one once on ketamine

 

[fredfelt]

I had a go on one once on ketamine

I bet you fell off before going 45 cm!?

 

[a_chap]

I had a go on one once on ketamine

You mean kittymine, Surely.

 

[Sprocket.]

I wonder how pedalling backwards going uphill to use the lower gear would feel ?

 

[WouldBe]

Bike takes off?

Why can't you have an automatic gear box on a bike?

 

[Crispy]

http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/03/20...ontinuously-variable-automatic-shifting-bike/

 

[gentlegreen]

There was a Bristolian inventor about 30 years ago who came up with a spring-loaded segmented chainwheel that reduced in size as you put more effort into pedalling.

 

[a_chap]

.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Steer left, turn right

View attachment 51882

They used to have similar at Thorpe Park, but instead of handlebars they had a steering wheel. Plus the hubs on the wheels were off-set to make you bounce up and down, whilst bashing your knees on the steering wheel.

 

[Sprocket.]

They used to have similar at Thorpe Park, but instead of handlebars they had a steering wheel. Plus the hubs on the wheels were off-set to make you bounce up and down, whilst bashing your knees on the steering wheel.

I had a Ford Escort that behaved like that!

 

[T & P]

Someone gave me a rally drive experience, and as well as various muscle/ rally cars you could have a go through an obstacle course with an old Land Rover Defender with its steering inversed. My brain was hurting within 30 seconds.