burnfingers

I've been coming across some fairly interesting and unusual bikes / bike parts while looking for a decal set, thought it might be fun to share some of them and see what you've come across lately that made you do a double take.

Dig that roller cam brake and mechanical (suicide) shifter! Also, a Oriole road bike conversion? Half tempted to do the same with mine, what a look!





*not claiming everything here is stock, thats not the point

Velocivixen

Here's another SunTour Power (roller) cam Cunningham designed brake, off my 1986 Fuji Sundance ATB.

Homebrew01

That's wacky !! I wonder what they were thinking.

"Hey, let's make it more complicated " ?

noglider 

Note that you have to turn the handlebars in the opposite direction of your turn!

Homebrew01

Probably would deter theft as the crook crashes every few feet.

repechage

C'dale or Specialized made a show bike just like that concept, they called it the unridable bike.

If you were to learn to ride on a bike like that...

jimmuller 

It also looks like a gear reduction of maybe 20%. Not as much steering as you'd expect happens when you turn the bars. Shucks, we could make one with no steering input at all. At least it wouldn't matter which way you turned the bars.

seedsbelize 

That can be accomplished as easily as loosening the stem. I have personal experience with that one, and i can tell you it works very well in that regard.

dddd

Funny thing about "reversed" steering is that there are kind of two ways to go about it.

The geared reversal as shown, needs no explanation.

But another big influence on the "direction" of a bike's steering is whether the grips are ahead of, or behind the steering axis, i.e. the head tube.

When larger offsets are used, as on cruisers (grips well behind the head tube) and on racing bikes (grip options well ahead of the head tube), the steering becomes less of a "turning" motion but rather is either a "toss it to the inside of the turn" or a deliberate "push away" counter-steering, either of which gets the bike leaning into a turn.

I've ridden racing motorcycles also that were fully on opposite ends of the grip-position spectrum, and the bikes with pulled-back handlebars are much more controllable by sheer intuition in either a panic situation or when a corner has a decreasing-radius to it, allowing the rider to literally push the bike toward the desired direction, with the bike's lean angle following on cue. Perfect for muscling a bouncing/sliding dirt bike toward the inside of a turn.

The bikes with grips located forward of the steering axis require "push away" counter-steering input to the grip pointing toward the inside of a turn, which for less-seasoned riders can mean inadvertantly going almost straight when a sudden, sharp steering input is desired.
No exaggeration to say that many riders have died who failed to get their bike leaned over as needed to stay sufficiently to the inside of one of an unfamiliar road's curves, while never coming anywhere close to their bike's traction or cornering-clearance limits.
So, the geared steering, on a bike with certain frame and handlebar geometry, might work ok given a bit of rider adaptation, and might have certain advantages, likely out-weighed by considerations of weight, cost, complexity, maintenance and possible unwanted freeplay in the gearing.
Perhaps there was a particularly slick sales pitch that went along with the sale of such a bike? Never a shortage of those!

Cougrrcj

Wow, through-toptube brake cable routing in 1947!



This one, if you were to flip the frame upside down is almost believable as a 'normal' girls' frame bike - of course you'd have to weld on another bottom bracket... Maybe I'm just looking at the world differently???

michael k

Nice work on these gender benders!

https://thecabe.com/vbulletin/images/...4_n_zps1-1.jpg

aixaix 

Serious headlamp.

JohnDThompson 

The "Impaler:"



Yes, it's rideable, but the small radius of that front skateboard wheel means it doesn't like bumps.

TiHabanero

Interesting how what has been done is being done again and considered "new". In tube cable routing, large diameter BB bearings and axles, generator hubs, monocoque frames, etc. The bicycle is so thoroughly developed that there is little left to develop that will dramatically change things.

Neat, huh?

phoebeisis

Maybe they were trying to undo "counter steering"-
but it is never a problem-especially on bikes-or motorcycles
you do it naturally-and on bikes-at low speeds-you point the wheel where you want to go-
a solution to a problem that isn't a problem

Or maybe it is to fix something else?

wrk101

I did that on a test ride once. Worked fine until I did a u-turn to turn around. Needless to say, I bought that bike.

RobbieTunes

I know a few people who'd be naturals at it; everything they do.....

A guy here has recently been turned on to cycling, worked his way through a dozen bikes and groups to where he's entered himself in some time trials, and he's having problems cornering. I've explained countersteer to him, and he's doing it on his road bike, but when he gets on the TT aeros, things change. He's wiped out a couple of times because "the bike won't turn."

Velognome 

How 'bout some Tensegrity frames:





Project stalled

TiHabanero

Neat. I imagine it is vertically rigid, but horizontally compliant. Wonder why someone would want that combination in a bike frame?