cerewa

I recently bought, for $10 US, an old 10-speed. The stickers tell me it's a Schwinn Caliente. It definitely doesn't seem like a high-end bike; it's a lot heavier than my other bike. I bought it just for the purpose of taking the good parts and using them as spares for my road bike and as parts for the recumbent i'm trying to build.

But I noticed some features that make me laugh. I don't know that they have any purpose, but they certainly make it unique in my eyes. (Of course, some of you may have seen lots of bikes like this, but I've never heard of this business before.)

Here's the deal: the rear cogs turn independently of each other, AND the front chainrings can turn independently of the crankarms. So i can turn the chainrings backward and only one cog moves. I can turn the pedals backwards and all of the gears stay put. When I roll the bike forward, the crankarms don't rotate but the cogs, chain, and chainrings do. It's bizarre.

Sierra

The Caliente was a low end bike in the Schwinn heirarchy of it's time. I don't remember for sure if it was an imported bike or not. If it has a lugged frame it was likely an Asian import. The gear system you are describing was the Shimano Front Freewheel System. There were a number of lower end Schwinn models that sported this unusual system. I guess it was for folks who weren't used to shifting derailleurs and the need to keep pedaling to make the shifts. With this system you could shift without pedaling as long as you were moving forward. I think it only lasted a few years before being discontinued.

The_Pitts

I have the same system on a lower end Ross (early 80's?) It worked fine but I had to get new wheels for it so now I have 2 freewheels 1front 1 rear. It works fine.