Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Sheldon's Latest Madness...

http://sheldonbrown.org/gunnar/thumbnails/gunnar-asc.jpg

Click for the gory details (http://sheldonbrown.org/gunnar)

Sheldon "Why Be Normal?" Brown


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| What sane person could live in |
| this world and not be crazy? |
| --Ursula K. LeGuin |
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False advertising!!! That's a three speed!!!

nope, it's fixed.

nope, it's fixed.

also, sheldon, looking at that thing hurts my brain.

nice work!

Yeah, just saw that. But it is a three speed fixed...

http://www.sheldonbrown.org/gunnar/pages/gunnar-asc16.htm

why left side drive? just for the insanity of it all?

why left side drive? just for the insanity of it all?

Yep. Myahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah...

Yeah, just saw that. But it is a three speed fixed...

http://www.sheldonbrown.org/gunnar/pages/gunnar-asc16.htm

if you can't coast it's fixed, right?

And I thought I was weird!!! You covered it all! Left hand drive, ridiculously big chain ring, light weight frame with a ton of hanging accessories, goofy handlebars, and to top it all off - (the pièce de résistance) FENDERS! sacré bleu!

Sheldon, I justwannamakeonethingperfectlyclear; you rule!

That's awesome. The style nazis in another forum I know of will go apoplectic when they spot this, might even drink the koolaid due to all the signs that the end of world is nigh, all on one bike; saddlebag, biopace ring, up-slanty stem, mudguards. You are indeed mad!

I love it.

Mr. Brown

Off the topic but I would like to thank you for introducing me to the fixed world. You have provided some much information to the cycling community.

Once again another amazing creation by Sheldon Brown

Sheldon, that thing is definitely weird, but hey, I can dig it. I find myself saying "Hey, why not?" as I look at each feature. And, at the very least, I can point to your bike as being way more oddball than mine when my Steamroller (with a carbon fork!) hits the streets. You guys are gonna love/hate it.

By the way, when do you work over at Harris, Sheldon? I stopped by a few weeks ago to get some stuff for my IRO and I don't think you were in, although I was there during the hours when you say you're typically there. I think I'll probably be coming back over there in a few weeks to get some goodies (aero levers, freewheel, etc.) for the Steamroller.

[Edit: Man that hub is (still!) so cool. I'm geeking out on it. Ok, enough gawking. Back to verk.]

- i like it, but i'm not sure it's my size...

:-)

- btw, i saw a Sturmey- Archer equipped cyclemobile (Raleigh) for sale this morning at the Salvation Army on 66th St. here in Pineapple Junction... components, shifter looked as good as SB's new ride, but were most likely at least 20 years younger!

- the price tag was $37.95 (overpriced, IMO, as the tires didn't hold air)...

:-)

sheldon I thank you as well for introducing me to fixed riding.

nice... I think. I guess it will depend on my mood.

Left hand drive sort of reminds me of an idea I once had — is there any benefit to having a dual drive bike? I mean, I could set up the chainline ok on both sides using identical drive-side cranks, etc., jb weld the cog on the left side (or something) but is there any benefit to this except satisfying curiosity?

Too much Q. IOW, your feet will be too far apart. That would eliminate a torsional stress, but that's not a big deal. Something I'd like to see is an internal hub wedded to a typical bike with front and rear derailleurs. You could have a gear for climbing at 2 mph, and
another drafting a semi at 70 :eek:
Imagine a bike with 210 gears :eek:

Nice work Sheldon, very impressive.

This raises two questions for me:

1) Are your pedals now opposite-threaded? ie LH thread on right, RH thread on left.

2) What happens if you're barrelling along in high gear and you accidentally knock the shift lever into
a lower gear? Does it only shift under light load? Or destroy the hub? Or the rider?

sheldon I thank you as well for introducing me to fixed riding.
Secon-... errr... Thirded!

Something I'd like to see is an internal hub wedded to a typical bike with front and rear derailleurs. You could have a gear for climbing at 2 mph, and
another drafting a semi at 70 :eek:
Imagine a bike with 210 gears :eek:
Sheldon's already ontop of that one. 63 speeds.

http://www.sheldonbrown.org/otb.html

I am not surprised. He is really something.

Please explain the front spoke count...

And good point on the pedal threading - isn't it now reverse-standard?

And the tires don't match, must be intentional to keep with the "strange" motif.

It's almost like he works at a bike shop or something!

{this bike kicks ass**

Truly the mad genius of fixed gear...

ive always wanted one of those archey-sturmer thingys....

clever duck

big ups, sheldon
:beer:

you the man!@

<----- in awe

That's one funny machine... I don't really see why one would put the shifter and brake lever on the same side, but hey, the crank is on the wrong side, too!

the lacing on the front wheel is an especially nice touch. good on you, mr. brown!

that is pure madness...and completely utilitarian

Sweet God, chain that beast. If Frankenstein's monster rode a fix that'd be it. Sweet build man.

Brown saddle on a black bike? The icing on the cake of madness.

Top notch for sure. I love it.

why the long exposed cable and pulley system for the gears? isn't that vuilnerable to breakage/crud?

That's one funny machine... I don't really see why one would put the shifter and brake lever on the same side, but hey, the crank is on the wrong side, too!

All of my bikes have the front brake lever on the right. I explain why at:

http://sheldonbrown.com/brakturn

If I put the shifter on the left it would look weird...can't have that! ;-)



And I thought I was weird!!! You covered it all! Left hand drive, ridiculously big chain ring, light weight frame with a ton of hanging accessories, goofy handlebars, and to top it all off - (the pièce de résistance) FENDERS! sacré bleu!

Don't all serious cyclists who don't live in the desert have fenders? ;-) Fenders and lights are the accessories that let you tell the serious cyclists from the fair-weather diletanttes!


1) Are your pedals now opposite-threaded? ie LH thread on right, RH thread on left.

2) What happens if you're barrelling along in high gear and you accidentally knock the shift lever into
a lower gear? Does it only shift under light load? Or destroy the hub? Or the rider?
1) Yes. It is a tandem crank.

2) Sturmey-Archer hubs tend to upshift easier than they downshift, this has never happened to me, though the opposite has. The jumps aren't so big anyway--the "C" in "ASC" stands for "Close ratio."

Sheldon "Why Not?" Brown
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| I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation... |
| I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse --|
| I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD. |
| --William Lloyd Garrison |
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sheldon I thank you as well for introducing me to fixed riding.

nice... I think. I guess it will depend on my mood.

Left hand drive sort of reminds me of an idea I once had — is there any benefit to having a dual drive bike? I mean, I could set up the chainline ok on both sides using identical drive-side cranks, etc., jb weld the cog on the left side (or something) but is there any benefit to this except satisfying curiosity?

You mean like this?:

http://sheldonbrown.org/doublechain-fixed.jpg

The guy who did this did it mainly as a hack.

At the Paris bike show in 1988, I talked with a guy who had a booth full of dual chain bikes like this. Most of them were single speeds, but he had built a 10 speed where the left and right derailers were synchronized to operate both sides from a single shift lever. Looked like a LOT of work, manufacturing backwards derailers and a backwards freewheel body.

He claimed it was "much more efficient" but my opinion was that it was merde du boeuf.

Sheldon "One Is Enough" Brown

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| Millions of people say I exaggerate. |
| --Marty Gasman |
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Secon-... errr... Thirded!
Uh, thanking you is like thanking my big brother for his collection of vintage Penthouse, you don't know what you did for er to me dude.

Sheldon - what type of stem raiser did you use :) ?

Sheldon - what type of stem raiser did you use :) ?

There is no stem raiser. The fork came from a 25" frame Cannondale, the steerer was longer than the Gunnar frame required. I extended the threads and added spacers between the headset adjustable race and the locknut.

Sheldon "Don't Try This At Home" Brown
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| I don't hold much with dictators, but I think |
| the whole country oughta be run by... |
| ...ee-lectricity. -- Woody Guthrie |
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why the long exposed cable and pulley system for the gears? isn't that vuilnerable to breakage/crud?

That's the standard setup for Sturmey-Archer hubs, aside from being on the left side.

Sheldon "Normal" Brown

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| Never worry about theory as long as the |
| machinery does what it's supposed to do. |
| --Robert A. Heinlein |
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...anything...

^^ this is why I love Bike Forums. Thanks Sheldon!

Hmm, that's one sinister bike. I like.

should be a centerpiece for the sheldon brown museum. i just looked at all the close ups and it is one cool funky ride. it's an s.brown masterpiece of mad bicycle science for sure. always outside the box.

I was talking about doing the dual drive fixie earlier this year on the forums but never went ahead and did it... oh well. If you skid the back wheel on a Sturmey ASC do you strip it out?

Don't all serious cyclists who don't live in the desert have fenders? ;-) Fenders and lights are the accessories that let you tell the serious cyclists from the fair-weather diletanttes!




I concur, nothing like a cyclist who respects the utility of his bike. I drooled over the left hand drive btw...would make my Raleigh more English than the folks who made it. Thanks for converting me to fixed. Maximum respect!

I was talking about doing the dual drive fixie earlier this year on the forums but never went ahead and did it... oh well. If you skid the back wheel on a Sturmet ASC do you strip it out?

I don't know. Mine is geared pretty high, and I've never tried to skid it. These hubs have a reputation for being not the sturdiest things ever made. That's one of the reasons i've got it geared high...less stress on the internals.

Sheldon "Got A Good Front Brake" Brown
8
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| It is amazing how much "mature wisdom" resembles being too tired. |
| --Robert A. Heinlein |
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My roomate and I have had conversations about building 3 speed fixies and left hand drive fixies at separate times, but leave it to Sheldon to combine the two and actually go through with it.

Ya know what we also talked about... a 2 wheel drive bike. We still have no idea how we would even begin to try to make it work, but it's an interesting thought.

Don't bother, it exists. KTM, I think. It's crap, of course.

Didn't find the KTM they basically made to promote their 2WD motorcycle they sent to the Dakar Rally, but here's some other 2WD madness: http://www.spicercycles.com/index.cgi?cat=33&cat_desc=Two-Wheel%20Drive%20Bikes&sub_cat=Two-wheel%20drive%20bikes

Christini also makes one
http://www.christini.com/

Is there a prize for being the first person on this thread to get it?