I've sometimes wondered if anyone will ever invent a system that I'd best describe as a kind of hybrid between fixed wheel, free wheel and a rear hub brake. Someting like, when driving a motor vehicle down a steep winding road, you drop down into a lower gear and use the braking effect of the engine, this concept would let you feed reverse power back through the transmission. You could freewheel if you wanted to, but there would be a way of pedalling backwards and having that effort translated into slowing you down. Thereby reducing the effort needed by your hands on the brakes.
There's probably a good reason why it wouldn't work. I get these ideas, but I'm [censored] at the practical mechanics.
I've sometimes wondered if anyone will ever invent a system that I'd best describe as a kind of hybrid between fixed wheel, free wheel and a rear hub brake. Someting like, when driving a motor vehicle down a steep winding road, you drop down into a lower gear and use the braking effect of the engine, this concept would let you feed reverse power back through the transmission. You could freewheel if you wanted to, but there would be a way of pedalling backwards and having that effort translated into slowing you down. Thereby reducing the effort needed by your hands on the brakes.
There's probably a good reason why it wouldn't work. I get these ideas, but I'm [censored] at the practical mechanics.
-- beerwolf (remove numbers from email address)
I remember reading something a while back, could have been a post from here, about some old bikes where you could pedal backwards for a lower gear, I am also useless at mechanics, but that could be heading in the right direction.
I've sometimes wondered if anyone will ever invent a system that I'd best describe as a kind of hybrid between fixed wheel, free wheel and a rear hub brake. Someting like, when driving a motor vehicle down a steep winding road, you drop down into a lower gear and use the braking effect of the engine, this concept would let you feed reverse power back through the transmission. You could freewheel if you wanted to, but there would be a way of pedalling backwards and having that effort translated into slowing you down. Thereby reducing the effort needed by your hands on the brakes.
There's probably a good reason why it wouldn't work. I get these ideas, but I'm [censored] at the practical mechanics.
-- beerwolf (remove numbers from email address)
I think you are referring to a coaster hub brake (remember BMX days?)
I've got a better idea - how about pulling on a simple lever connected to a cable and cantilever or caliper brake?
On 2006-04-21, Wilfred Kazoks (aka Bruce) was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
Quoted message said:
I've been dwelling a bit on just how much "better" are the sloping top tube frames compared to the what I regard as the traditional horizontal top tube frames? How much is driven by a derivative sort of fashion in bicycle design started by the BMX craze. Which completely passed me by.
Sloping top tubes are better, in that the frame is stiffer because of the smaller triangle, according to the frame builder who spoke on Thursday...
-- TimC "Consider a spherical bear, in simple harmonic motion..." -- Professor in the UCB physics department
