Curiosity- why chain on right?
 

Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located on
the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way we've
always done it"?

TIA

Tom Weaver

On Tue, 17 May 2005 22:27:29 -0400, Tom Weaver
wrote:


Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located on
the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way we've
always done it"?

TIA

Tom Weaver

Dear Tom,

I get horribly confused about left and right hand threading,
but possibly the reason is that pedal force will tighten a
normally threaded sprocket onto a normally threaded hub when
the chain and sprocket are on the right?

Dyslexically,

Carl Fogel

Tom Weaver wrote:
Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located
on
the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way we've
always done it"?

TIA

Tom Weaver

Because it's tough to put it down the middle?

Some BMX/freestyle trick bikes are set up with the drivetrain on the
left in order to facilitate right-side "grinder" tricks. This requires
left-threaded freewheels and hubs or left-side drive cassette hubs.
These are quite easy to find at BMX online sites.

I conjecture that the drivetrain ended up on the right side because
this allows right-hand threaded sprockets on the hub. Early chain-drive
bicycles used power-transmission parts from industry, and I would
assume that right-threaded sprockets would be more common than
left-threaded sprockets. I dunno for sure- I wasn't around then.

Jeff

Tom Weaver wrote:

Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located on
the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way we've
always done it"?

The latter, going back to the days when we mounted horses from the left side.
You can mount your bicycle from the right side too, but you're likely to get
chain goo on your right leg.

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole wrote:
Tom Weaver wrote:

Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located
on the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way
we've always done it"?

The latter, going back to the days when we mounted horses from the
left side.

Do we get horse goo when we mount from the right?

Why do we mount horses from the right?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Tom Weaver wrote:

: Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located on
: the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way we've
: always done it"?

It's because of the way the wheels are dished. If you put the chain on the
left, you'll just end up breaking spokes.

- Mark

On Wed, 18 May 2005 01:17:49 -0400, "Phil,
Squid-in-Training"
wrote:

Matt O'Toole wrote:
Tom Weaver wrote:

Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located
on the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way
we've always done it"?

The latter, going back to the days when we mounted horses from the
left side.

Do we get horse goo when we mount from the right?

Why do we mount horses from the right?

Dear Phil,

Er, you mean the left. Switching sides makes me nervous and
prone to stomping people flat.

Since most people are right-handed, they carried their
swords in scabbards on their left. It's darn near impossible
to mount from the right if you have a three-foot sword
dangling in a scabbard on your left.

Few modern equestrians wear swords, but it's still a good
idea to approach incredibly stupid, skittish creatures from
the same side--like I said, I get nervous and might kill you
if flustered.

This might explain mounting bicycles from the left and
drives on the right, but since your leg ends up right next
to the chain anyway, I'm a little skeptical. Does anyone
know if there were reverse-threads on a bicycle before the
Wright brothers got clever with one pedal? Right-hand drive
simplifies things by tightening a normally threaded sprocket
onto the hub.

Pardon me now while I get rid of that nylon thing that they
stuck under my lip to make me talk. Everyone thinks that it
was peanut butter, but it wasn't:

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/curtis1643/mred.html#lips

Mr. Ed

"Tom Weaver" wrote in message
...

Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located on the
right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way we've always
done it"?

TIA

Tom Weaver

I once read that the chain was on the right as the military wore their
swords on the left and therefore it was more practical to walk or carry a
bike on your right side.

Dave

Matt O'Toole wrote:

Tom Weaver wrote:


Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located
on the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way
we've always done it"?

The latter, going back to the days when we mounted horses from the
left side.

....which we still do.

An apprentice mollusc asked:

Do we get horse goo when we mount from the right?

You get horse goo anywhere around horses.

Why do we mount horses from the right?

We don't.

This probably originated to accommodate swords, but modern horses are
trained for a left side mount (NDS if you prefer.) Some horses become
seriously unsettled if approached from the right (DS) side.

Sheldon "DS is BS" Brown
+------------------------------------------+
| To have doubted one's first principles |
| is the mark of a civilized man. |
| -- Oliver Wendell Holmes |
+------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Tom Weaver wrote:

Is there any technical reason that the chain on bicycles is located on
the right and not the left? Or is it "because that's the way we've
always done it"?

All the other theories are good, but I like the one that says "it's
because cyclists usually crash on their left side".

It's probably because Mr Starley was British and therefore kept the
messy bits away from the kerb, so when he dismounted to chat to the
village bobby he didn't get oil on his plus-fours.