Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Largest ss/fixed chainring ever?

I was browsing the crazy collection of old school rides on the Cycle Smithy website when I came across this picture, third photo on the page: http://www.cyclesmithy.com/images/rides_bikes/rides_bikes12.htm
http://www.cyclesmithy.com/images/attic%20bikes/DSC03470.JPG

Yeah, that's my old bike. I needed a bigger gear. (RIGHT!)

Looks like an old Motorpacing chainring...otherwise, someone from a Psych Ward started working for Shimano.
Check out the seat pin too...looks like a motorpacer from long ago

LoL...I've never motorpaced in quite that big of a gear. ;) What? That chainring looks like an 98? :)

I wonder how much overlap there is on that puppy.

I was flipping through a book called "Bike Cult" at my library the other day and saw bikes like that when they were talking about motorpacing. The current record is something like 156mph. The bike went 90 feet for every turn of the cranks and the rider had to be towed up to 50mph before he could even pedal by himself. The setup was different though. The bike used two successive chainwheel/cog combinations to reduce the gear twice as to eliminate the 3 foot diameter single chainwheel. Someone good in mechanical enginering would be able to explain it better. But I've seen it done on some downhill bikes now too.

There is a chainring like that at my local shop too! I'm in Québec. Thoses have been made in limited number I guess.

Originally posted by TimArchy
I was flipping through a book called "Bike Cult" at my library the other day and saw bikes like that when they were talking about motorpacing. The current record is something like 156mph. The bike went 90 feet for every turn of the cranks and the rider had to be towed up to 50mph before he could even pedal by himself. The setup was different though. The bike used two successive chainwheel/cog combinations to reduce the gear twice as to eliminate the 3 foot diameter single chainwheel. Someone good in mechanical enginering would be able to explain it better. But I've seen it done on some downhill bikes now too.

Pretty simple, you're just adding to the gear w/each new chain/cog combination. Kinda like micro drive. Exactly like it, actually.

Jose Meiffert set a longstanding motorpace record w/a 130 tooth cog. Read all about it at:

http://www.63xc.com/ahands/meiffert.html

According to Bike Cult, the book (published in '95), the current record is 167.051 mph. The w/a 403" gear, which from the looks of it was a pretty simple double nested set up.

There are also some pretty cool big ring pix at:

http://www.bikecult.com/works/chainring.html

Weird ****,

Bill

Thanks for the link to all the chainring pics, I love the pic at the top of the chainring that has "Armstrong" written on it, just something about it:)

Thought this was interesting:

http://www.bikecult.com/works/chainring/StronglightSPth.jpg

-Jason

I wonder what the name of the bike mechanic was who shot the inventor of that crank...

165: hehe....yeah. that is just sick...in the bad way.