livedarklions

I think people are giving this guy a lot of credit for having thought this thing through beyond coming up with a cool little model that doesn't even have moving parts to prove concept and some nifty renderings. Nothing about this smacks of a serious proposal by someone knowledgeable about bicycling..

The tire in this thing is actually doubling as the transmission, how can it be flexible enough to flex (which would definitely change its length), but rigid enough to transmit with any efficiency? Is that a pneumatic tube or a solid belt of some kind? He's certainly not giving any indication in the video or on his website that he's given any of this any thought.

Here's some fun facts about the timing here--he won a "creative award" with this concept at the IBDC in 2009 (they appear to give a lot of those--I believe it was 13 that year alone), the video was made in 2020, so in 11 years, he couldn't come up with a model with moving parts? Two years after the video, the article appears. So basically, in 13 years, he hasn't taken this concept any closer to actual implementation. Why would we assume he's done anything to address whether this is practical?

njkayaker

Look closer. The handle bar is supposed to turn the front wheel.

njkayaker

This (and not anything more).

It's not that (or at all) serious.

79pmooney

So this bike is, literally; a tank. A single tracked tank. Just add armor and weapons. (And up the horsepower.)

And on a BF note that both C&V and Road will appreciate - that brake cable housing is way too long!!

Kapusta

OK. I missed those two pivots. In that case, the lack of a differential between the two wheels is going to be a problem.

njkayaker

People are being careless about analyzing this.

It's also not worth much analyzing.

This thing <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< something that might possibly work <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< something that works

Reynolds 

It could be improved - that endless track should be shaped like a Moebius strip.

70sSanO

The handlebar design is the most puzzling part of this concept. A single hand position high rise bar. That is best the designer could come up with?

John

livedarklions

And honestly, how does one turn a front wheel that in a very true sense of the word, cannot be said to exist? The "wheels" are just loops of the single tire. I can't tell from those renderings whether the piece the handlebar is attached to can actually move laterally in any way. I don't even think it's clear what the handlebars are attached to.

In the absence of any explanation or demonstration from the designer, I'm not inclined to believe that the designer has actually solved the VERY obvious problem.

njkayaker

It's really not worth much consideration.

As bad as the steering design might be, some people here, after spending time looking at it, didn't think it had any.

Kapusta

No sense being a d!c# about it.

Those pivots are very hard to see and frankly make no sense in that location for the reason I pointed out.

njkayaker

But people are being careless. I pointed out that people should look more carefully too.

They aren't that hard to see. They are more apparent in the video.

The idea isn't as serious as some people are making out either.

But people concluding it doesn't steer is amusing.

Litespud

If the "tread" has some lateral flexibility, I imagine it could allow the front wheel to turn. However, if the goal is an AWD bike, wouldn't a simple power-assist front hub be easier and simpler?

Kapusta

I think that in fact it WON'T steer for *****.

Yes, there are two pivots shown, but how are they supposed to actually turn the bike? They would have to bend the track laterally , and if the track can do that, how is it supposed to not be a floppy noodle in the front and back where it is unsupported?

And that still does not address the issue of no differential.

Darth Lefty 

As a design exercise it's a cool idea.

It would be a lifetime project making it work and getting it to market. The tread alone...

2WD e-bikes and e-motorcycles should be much less difficult than they were with chain drive or hydraulic drive like the systems we saw before.

njkayaker

The "tire" (track) is like an escalator hand rail that that is linked so it can turn in the vertical plan and in the horizontal (you've likely had first hand experience of what I'm trying to describe). That's enough to keep it from being a "floppy noodle" where it's unsupported.

Criticizing the steering it has is different that concluding it doesn't steer.

The original idea doesn't seem well thought out in the first place. Expecting it to steer well (etc) is expecting too much.

It's not a serious proposal.

Kapusta

Think for a minute of the implications of a rim that easily bends laterally.

70sSanO

Not to derail this thread, but I think our grandson got a similar looking toy in his Happy Meal last week.

John

livedarklions

I can't tell if those are supposed to be pivots or are part of the very elaborate-looking suspension system. If the pivots are supposed to be turned by the handlebars, how? I see absolutely no evidence that the mechanisms have been designed to function at all. Frankly, the thing looks more like a movie prop than a prototype.

It's also significant that none of the renders show it with a rider. I again see no evidence of thought about how someone would actually ride this monstrosity.

50PlusCycling

I have seen a few 2WD bikes here in Japan. If you are fascinated by complex machines, they are pretty interesting, and I have actually been tempted to add one to my stable. On the negative side, you have twice as many things which can go wrong, and front tire changes are more complicated.

son_of_clyde

many levels of garbage there

njkayaker

Again, you aren't looking at it carefully.

The track is captured (on a rail) where it's sitting on the ground.

Think for a minute that this is not a serious proposal.

You and others are way-too-invested in this poorly-thought out idea being wrong.

livedarklions

This thing got the equivalent of a participation trophy at the 2009 Taipei show. It has student project written all over it. The biggest mystery to me is why the article linked in the OP was posted in 2022.

Kapusta

Who is too seriously invented in this? The one using 42pt font?

Pot, meet kettle.

The only thing I really care much about is what they are doing to that poor crab.

livedarklions

Here's a completely different approach, chain drive in the back, shaft drive in the front: https://cyclingtips.com/2020/07/this...ss-continents/

I'm skeptical that any of this actually leads to increased traction, but I don't know how much you lose due to the efficiency loss in the more complex transmission. However, I've got to think this woman must be seeing a real gain or she wouldn't be using these bikes for her incredible cross-continental rides, especially as she has bad knees.