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