A couple of things I've always wanted to experiment with but didn't have the time........a left hand drive and an elliptical chainring on fixed gear. The Super Le Tour was abandoned at a local college. No wheels or cables and the wear from winter weather. I was able to utilize the headset, stem, bars, brakes and seatpost. The rest was found in my basement.

The pedals are a concern for left hand drive fixies. Pedals will want to self-extract, unless you use some sort of thread locking compound. Polarized pedals, with a definite front and back, such as some clipless models, can't be used. Even on quill pedals, the toe clip mounting holes and flip tab will be on the wrong side.

Realizing that it's not an ideal scenario.........I did snug the pedal threads, set the chain tension with the rotation of the elliptical in mind. I did orient the chainring the same as it would be on the normal drive side. Conditions on the fixed cog and lock ring are probably not ideal either. It does have a little slop in the drive train. Cartridge BB should not be an issue. I can assure you, it will not be ridden very aggressively by me. We have a quarter mile paved loop at our Quarantine Compound for test rides and such experimentation.

curious: why other than to see if it can be done?

Just for fun. The LHD and fixed elliptical are a couple of things I remember reading about some years ago on Sheldon Browns page and just wanted to try for the fun of it.

I knew a guy that did that years ago. I think he used the crank set up for a tandem's stroker.

I believe the track bikes for some USA Olympic teams (at least in ‘16) were lefty. Had to do with aerodynamics in the track.

Mel Pino had a track bike at the Nationals, mid 70s, with left drive crank. Had to do with COG and centripetal force, and angular momentum. Not that I understand that stuff. Was supposed to be faster. In the end, you need a rider who is up to the task.

Now you need some mirror-image decals.

The benefit of LH drive with RH threading is that your cog won't unscrew during hard deceleration, leaving you with braking, although you fortunately do have a separate front wheel braking system. Some people use questionable judgment and ride brakeless track bikes on the street, in traffic, or around college campuses.

Not sure what a stroker is, but a tandem stoker crank would have a timing chainring on the left side, and one or more drive chainrings on the right side. That would look silly. You'd want a tandem pilot crankset, and just use a larger chainring than a typical timing ring.

Going to add a Lefty “fork”?

Tandem cranks. Pino was walking around the track infield at the 1974 national championships with his ti brazed wonderbike, drivetrain on the left. His reasoning was to reduce chance of scraping a pedal on a steep track, such as the Montreal velodrome.( newly built temp track prior to the indoor Olympic venue ). I did laugh to myself as the Northbrook track was a near pancake.

As an old Commie, I fully endorse left hand drive.

On many tandems the front crankset only has the chainring on the left.
plenty of ways to set up a tandem.

That's what I said (well, wrote). The pilot crank has the timing chainring only, and usually on the left. That's what would work for the OP, NOT a stoker crankset.

Is it really necessary for the threads to resist precession? Can't you compensate with extra tightening? That's what we do with right-threaded fixed cups.

could be a winner boy, you move quite well...

I seriously had to check the initial post date when I read the elliptical chainring part. I really thought you were pulling my leg, especially with your comment about Sheldon Brown and having read some of the silly things he has posted around the first of April in the past

But lo and behold, it's there, and not satirical!

So they come loose every 26,200 years?

I had a lefty, once. I liked to think of it as the Worlds Ugliest Fixie (and that's saying something!) Mid-70s Univega Viva Sport with faded and peeling-off woodgrain vinyl shelf paper wrapped around the tubes, handlebars and seatpost, saddle slathered with about an inch thickness of black duct tape, dried out knobby tires, and enough thread lock to keep the pedals in place. I think I remember the guy I bought it from ($50) telling me to keep an eye on the pedals if I was actually going to ride it.



After I put together a proper fixie in my size, I built the old one up as a decent commuter bike for my sister, replacing her badly bent Motobecane.

This build deserves a right-handed front brake.

The things COVID hath wrought!

This is such a stupid thing I want one so badly.

I have an advisor at college who is severely dyslexic. On his office wall is a backwards clock, so I asked him about it. He said he actually doesn't notice it. Left and right mean virtually nothing to him. Amazing to me.

Here you go. But now it's right hand drive.