Mind blown by weird chain line
03-03-14 | 12:33 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Si Senior
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,669
Likes: 11
From: Naperville, Illinois
Bikes: Too Numerous (not)
Mind blown by weird chain line
I just switched over my Bicycle Quarterly Bike calendar to March and was quite intrigued by the chain line on the bike pictured.
Pedal forward for high gear and backward for low gear...
Pedal forward for high gear and backward for low gear...
03-03-14 | 12:38 PM
#2
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 30,225
Likes: 649
From: St Peters, Missouri
Bikes: Catrike 559 I own some others but they don't get ridden very much.
I wonder how hard it would be to get used to pedaling backward to climb a hill.
__________________
My greatest fear is all of my kids standing around my coffin and talking about "how sensible" dad was.
My greatest fear is all of my kids standing around my coffin and talking about "how sensible" dad was.
03-03-14 | 12:55 PM
#3
Senior member
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,371
Likes: 897
From: Oakville Ontario
It has a name. It's called retro direct. Never seen one up close, but I remember an article by Sheldon Brown about it years ago.
03-03-14 | 01:48 PM
#5
just keep riding
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 13,560
Likes: 44
From: Milledgeville, Georgia
Bikes: 2018 Black Mountain Cycles MCD,2017 Advocate Cycles Seldom Seen Drop Bar, 2017 Niner Jet 9 Alloy, 2015 Zukas custom road, 2003 KHS Milano Tandem, 1986 Nishiki Cadence rigid MTB, 1980ish Fuji S-12S
There is no task so simple that an engineer can't find a complicated way to accomplish it. 
03-03-14 | 02:38 PM
#6
astro
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 360
Likes: 52
From: Pennington, NJ
Bikes: Raleigh Sports, '72, Bianchi Volpe, '97 (no more, it died), Greenspeed GTVS6, '05, Trek 520, '13
Hmmm... I think each of the two rear cogs must have an independent ratchet and pawl (freewheel) mechanism.
03-03-14 | 05:22 PM
#7
Dharma Dog
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,073
Likes: 2
From: Vancouver, Canada
Bikes: Rodriguez Shiftless street fixie with S&S couplers, Kuwahara tandem, Trek carbon, Dolan track
A guy rode one of these in the 2011 Paris-Brest-Paris. His name is Drew Buck, I think. His schtick is to ride a strange bike in each PBP, dressed in appropriate costume. The other interesting rider was French rider Sophie Matter, who rode an upright Euro-style commuter bike with a basket of flowers, wearing a long dress. But don't let her fool you; she did one of the best times at the Rocky Mtn 1200 a few years back, and on one occasion climbed Mt. Ventoux some huge number of times in 24 hours (dressed in appropriate cycling kit). These are typical of cyclists who reach a certain level, and they KNOW they can easily do the ride on a standard geared bike, so they decide to do it on something more interesting just for the laughs and/or the challenge. I wouldn't want to ride a retro direct on a long ride; I think pedaling backwards is bad for the legs.
Luis
Luis
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
supercruiser
Classic & Vintage
3
01-17-15 09:11 PM
