Re: Insane 7 speed friction roller drive with common engines (tanaka, pocketbike, etc
Here is a pic of my trusty old Mongoose. This bike is ridden more than any I have. Imagine the engine on a rack mount further back and the derail hub basically mounted where the cross bolt is in the engine mount clamp, and engaging the tire. This really works well with a suspension bike which is normally harder to FD. Should work with a rigid frame as well but not all would have the distance needed. The derail would be mounted in a normal fashion at the hub axle and function with just a cable hook-up. Clutching is going to be an issue. A cent. clutch is the easiest/best choice and I believe can be made to work with the bike chain with a little modding. However due to the clutch drum it will have to be indexed with the chain in a straight run to either the outer or inner gear and travel away from the drum to shift. All not a big deal. The trick is in having the longest chain run possible.
All that said I have to agree with happeyvalley. This complicates the really simple, reliable concept of direct drive. As I said earlier, if Im going to travel 50mi from home it aint gonna be on my shifter bike.
Still this is an interesting concept.
Here is a pic of my trusty old Mongoose. This bike is ridden more than any I have. Imagine the engine on a rack mount further back and the derail hub basically mounted where the cross bolt is in the engine mount clamp, and engaging the tire. This really works well with a suspension bike which is normally harder to FD. Should work with a rigid frame as well but not all would have the distance needed. The derail would be mounted in a normal fashion at the hub axle and function with just a cable hook-up. Clutching is going to be an issue. A cent. clutch is the easiest/best choice and I believe can be made to work with the bike chain with a little modding. However due to the clutch drum it will have to be indexed with the chain in a straight run to either the outer or inner gear and travel away from the drum to shift. All not a big deal. The trick is in having the longest chain run possible.
All that said I have to agree with happeyvalley. This complicates the really simple, reliable concept of direct drive. As I said earlier, if Im going to travel 50mi from home it aint gonna be on my shifter bike.
Still this is an interesting concept.