Re: what historical figure Deacon, I was thinking about your question regarding a workable sprocket on the front.
If you found a rear rim the size you wanted with the 5 (or more) gear cluster that's shifted with the derailer..........and could get the gears dismounted from the axle. (takes some special tools) Then find a sprocket diameter/circumfrence to pair up to the engine
sprocket (to get the drive ratio you need for the specific engine you're using)
then it could be a possible solution. Just a matter of adapting a setup. You'll only be using one sprocket (instead of a cluster of 5 or more) thus the axle won't be as wide and give a better fit into the front forks. The rim may be from a mountain bike to get the size of the front tire to match the rear. The sprocket may be from the front of a salvage one speed bike which uses an ashtabula pedal crank (one piece). That sprocket may have to be drilled out
or whatever to fit up to the end of the hub that the cluster came off. The hub itself may have to be modified, cut down etc..........but it's worth looking into.
I'm sure you could find some of these old rear rims laying around to experiment with. It would be interesting if you were able to have that sprocket free wheel just the same as if it were in it's original install. Thus if you throttled back or killed the engine it would still coast. With a centrifugal
clutch rolling downhill the wheel could coast with the engine still running if
the bike began to travel faster than the engine would propel it. Just a thought. |