Innovative/futuristic/weird bike stuff

[Pampa]

I'm not talking here about the next version of the 1x12 drive train but stuff that's way out there. Every now and then I come across ideas/prototypes that look very interesting. Most of the times, if not always, these are impractical, too expensive, etc. and it's easy to list 100 reasons why these wont work. However, every innovation starts like this.

Here's one to start: The hub less, carbon-fiber Cyclotron looks straight out of "Tron"

 

[qclabrat]

I've been intrigued by the hubless design for a few years, the first one I saw was on a motorbike
the starting price is pretty reasonable IMO

 

[Norm]

Interesting.

The lack of stability of the rider in the video is curious. I mean, I am sure it's all a rush to get the prototype out but I think they would have wanted to get that piece nailed down a little better for the sake of presentation.

How's the power transfer from the cranks to the wheel?

Why do the tires look flat?

 

[Karate Monkey]

Interesting.

The lack of stability of the rider in the video is curious. I mean, I am sure it's all a rush to get the prototype out but I think they would have wanted to get that piece nailed down a little better for the sake of presentation.

How's the power transfer from the cranks to the wheel?

Why do the tires look flat?

I can replicate that handling with the finest walgoose with a backwards fork. Pass.

 

[Magic]

It looks cool at night, but the daytime pictures are terrible. The guy seems to be struggling to pedal in addition to the steering wobble. Feenburg's constructivism... this will never make it.

 

[JimN]

It looks cool at night, but the daytime pictures are terrible. The guy seems to be struggling to pedal in addition to the steering wobble. Feenburg's constructivism... this will never make it.

 

[Patrick]

i'm amazed the chain is still on current bikes. perhaps it can't be beat for efficiency - esp in combination with the derailleur? or it is cost/benefit?
there are a few belt drives out there, and a few drive shaft systems - with improvements in internal gearing, you'd think they would be more popular - esp in the non-race communities.

why isn't there a transmission in the bottom bracket? no reason for the chainring to be connected to the crank arm.

 

[rick81721]

I like the lights

 

[Pampa]

Interesting.

The lack of stability of the rider in the video is curious. I mean, I am sure it's all a rush to get the prototype out but I think they would have wanted to get that piece nailed down a little better for the sake of presentation.

How's the power transfer from the cranks to the wheel?

Why do the tires look flat?

My thoughts exactly! I didn't have time to look for info on how it works...

 

[Ian F]

It looks like it was designed and built by someone with a good background in industrial design, but with zero input from someone who actually knows something about bikes and bicycle geometry. Otherwise, not a bad looking "form over function" proof of concept. Needs a Version 2.0 with proper design input.

 

[Ryan.P]

This is very reminiscent to a custom cafe style motorcycle i built , looks cool but is god awful to actually ride

 

[Pampa]

Interesting bikes for city commuting.

 

[jnos]

i'm amazed the chain is still on current bikes. perhaps it can't be beat for efficiency - esp in combination with the derailleur? or it is cost/benefit?
there are a few belt drives out there, and a few drive shaft systems - with improvements in internal gearing, you'd think they would be more popular - esp in the non-race communities.

why isn't there a transmission in the bottom bracket? no reason for the chainring to be connected to the crank arm.

There are a bunch of Gates belt drive commuter bikes with Alfine or Rohloff hubs with internal gearing.

 

[Ian F]

i'm amazed the chain is still on current bikes. perhaps it can't be beat for efficiency - esp in combination with the derailleur? or it is cost/benefit?
there are a few belt drives out there, and a few drive shaft systems - with improvements in internal gearing, you'd think they would be more popular - esp in the non-race communities.

why isn't there a transmission in the bottom bracket? no reason for the chainring to be connected to the crank arm.

It's definitely an efficiency thing as well as cost. When power output is rated in Watts rather than HP (1 HP = ~746 Watts), you're looking for every way possible to reduce drivetrain drag and increase efficiency.

A Cannondale DH bike (team only) in the mid-90's had cranks that weren't directly attached to the chain ring, using jack-shafts and additional chains to transmit power. This was done so they could adjust the gearing for different courses without changing the main chain-ring and it's relationship to the suspension. The concept was abandoned after one season when they discovered the added weight and complexity were more of a hindrance.

Shaft drive has been around almost as long as the bicycle itself. Again - rarely used because of efficiency losses (power changing direction costs energy), but I have seen them on city bikes where reliability (and a desire to keep pants grease-free) can out-weigh efficiency. I could see shaft-drive becoming more used on E-Bikes where the motor mitigates some of the inefficiencies.

 

[blackburn1973]

... A Cannondale DH bike (team only) in the mid-90's had cranks that weren't directly attached to the chain ring, using jack-shafts and additional chains to transmit power ...

Would that be like teh setup of some of the old Brooklyn Machine Works DH bikes?

 

[qclabrat]

the OP bike looks worse each time I look at it, one major flaw is keeping the insides of the wheels perfectly round, to do things like this and look pretty

most hubless bikes have the drive connected to the inside of the rim like this

Not sure if you can tell but almost all of the black round portions around the wheels are part of the carbon frame, there appears to be a flat opening at the bottom where the tire is exposed to the road, which is why it looks flat. Since the area is covered by the frame, and there are so few close ups of the bike, it may have a split tire design like this where the teeth are between the tires. I actually like the design of this one below quite a bit.

This is apparently their "new" project, I don't get it. Isn't this just a rickshaw bike? This is 2.0...

I used to have a friend who worked in precision metal working, he moved to the DC area and no longer a shop guy, otherwise some of these designs would be fun to try out.

 

[Karate Monkey]

I can only imagine the nightmare of picking up a rock/the like and it getting stuck in the fairing, if it is a split-tire design. It's easy enough to stick a stick in a regular fender to work something out if you don't want to remove the wheel, but that doesn't look too easy to get in to.

I could be way off base here, but I still haven't seen anything that would show that the OP bike is a market ready design, even if it is something I would [almost definitely] never buy.

 

[Ian F]

Would that be like teh setup of some of the old Brooklyn Machine Works DH bikes?

Not exactly, although similar in principle. There's a youtube video that describes how it works fairly well:

 

[Patrick]

I can only imagine the nightmare of picking up a rock/the like and it getting stuck in the fairing, if it is a split-tire design. It's easy enough to stick a stick in a regular fender to work something out if you don't want to remove the wheel, but that doesn't look too easy to get in to.

I could be way off base here, but I still haven't seen anything that would show that the OP bike is a market ready design, even if it is something I would [almost definitely] never buy.

the split tire looks like it is designed using a std spur gear system. although there must be an extra gear to reverse the direction. seems a pawl system might help pass through, or allow the sweeping of debris (and coasting, which is good if you aren't delivering food in the city) - then the braking system no longer can use that surface.

maybe put the belt in between the split tire? 80 teeth in back, 8 in the front?

I think Pete has a winter project!!

 

[qclabrat]

if this were a Cannondale, I'd consider, cause that carbon work looks pretty amateur
@fidodie @wschruba, any interest in mtbnj a collaboration concept bike just for the fun of it?