NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/rec/bicycles/misc/1795

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-30 | 2.9 KB

Xref: sparky rec.bicycles.misc:1795 rec.bicycles.tech:2868
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.tech,aus.bicycles
Path: sparky!uunet!nwnexus!beauty!josh
From: [e-mail] (Joshua_Putnam)
Subject: Re: Automatic transmissions for bikes
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Happy Man Corp., Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <tommy.725663704@hoodlum> <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 19:47:18 GMT
Lines: 50

In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David Keppel) writes:

>If we're only worried about the casual riders, it's even easier than
>that, but generally doesn't work for *marketing* reasons rather than
>technical reasons.

>Use just a rear derailleur.

>11-13-16-19-23-28-34 gives more than a 3:1 range (30" to 100") with
>modest steps between gears, reshuffle cogs to suit your favorite gaps.
[....]
>I've been pushing this kind of gearing for over a decade and bike shop
>owners, managers, and floor people alike say "It wouldn't sell."  If
>they aren't willing to sell it, it won't sell.

We have one of these, used, in the back room of the local shop.
Eventually we're going to fix it up and sell it -- there's a lot
of demand for simple commuting bikes, especially women's frames.

Actually, it's too old to be a 7-speed, just a 5-speed, and the
freewheel is something like 12-32 instead of 11-34, but it does
exist and was sold commercially for a while.

In a further concession to casual riders, its shift lever is
stem mounted so the rider doesn't need to reach down for a
downtube shifter.

Beisdes being simpler, leaving off the front derailleur allows
for a simple front chain guard, though the rear derailleur makes
a full chain guard impossible.

I could see a modern version of this using a 7-speed rear with an
indexed thumbshifter and upright moustache bars, sold stock with
fenders and a rear rack/basket, as a good commuter.  7 gears is
more than enough for most commuting, even in a place as hilly as
Seattle.  Besides comfort, good fenders keep bearings and chains
much cleaner in sloppy weather.

We recently sold a Worksmen 3-speed adult tricycle, too.  It uses
a SA hub, with a transfer chain driving a rear axle hooked to
both rear wheels.  It looked like a very practical cycle, and
most of the company's sales are industrial, so I'd expect
durability.  The stock rear basket could hold two full grocery
bags easily, and being a tricycle makes it easier to keep upright
on rough surfaces when carrying heavy loads.
--
 [e-mail]    Happy Man Corp.  206/463-9399 x102
 4410 SW Pt. Robinson Rd., Vashon Island, WA  98070-7399  fax x108
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