In article ,
Captain Dondo wrote:

Werehatrack wrote:

As noted, if there's no freewheel, within a few minutes there will be
no rear derailleur either. I suppose that someone with the requisite
machine tools and skills could create the world's most nukeproof rear
der to solve this particular problem, but I'm not sure I want to think
about the cost and/or weight.

Didn't one of the earliest shifting systems involve reaching back and
opening the QR, then using a fork sort of thing to push the chain on to
the next cog?

Yes.

Wouldn't this work on a fixie? (My interest is purely theoretical, I
have no desire to actually try this, mind you.

Probably, but it would be diabolical. The reason you opened the QR was
to let the wheel slide forward and back to take up the chain slack. So
you're suggesting releasing the QR, tapping the lever to shift the
chain, then re-engaging the QR, but oh yeah, since it's a fixie, you
can't stop pedalling.

You know, there's a reason the derailleur was invented,
--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club