Old 11-21-10 | 11:31 PM
  #7  
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Doohickie
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Joined: Sep 2008
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From: Fort Worth, Texas Church of Hopeful Uncertainty

Bikes: 1966 Raleigh DL-1 Tourist, 1973 Schwinn Varsity, 1983 Raleigh Marathon, 1994 Nishiki Sport XRS

Okay. How much do you weigh? 200 lb.? Maybe a heavy rider is twice that? Apply 400 lb. through your drivetrain, applying the various mechanical advantages (crank arm > chain ring > cog) and that should give you a pretty good idea. I have a 46/18, not sure about the crank length, but let's say it's a 170 mm.

So, force is applied at 170 mm = 6.7 inches

Torque applied about the crank is 6.7 x 400 = 2,680 in-lb (= 223 ft-lb)

With an 46/18 gear ration, the torque at the rear axle is 18/46 x 223 = 87.4 ft-lb.

So the torque applied at the rear axle by a 400 lb. rider putting all his weight on one crank through a 46/18 gear train is 87.4 ft-lb. That gives you a factor of 2 over a 200 lb. rider. If you're looking for a rating for the torque on the freewheel, it's probably somewhere around there, like maybe 100 ft-lb. I suspect the actual rating is a little higher than that.
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Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
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