ALENAX! or, Something bike-tech related for us to talk about

Sorry to distract from the world-shaking policy decisions being made on
this group, but here's a bizarre bit of bike tech. Hmmm... "tech" seems
a bit too strong...

The pro-bono nonprofit shop I volunteer at had an ALENAX bike donated
last October or so.

A Youtube video of a very similar model is he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAlFpcph1LM
-the video is a pretty good summary of the bike's weirdness.

The donated bike was rusted up to the point of being unrideable (even
more than when it was new), so I volunteered, took it home, and
proceeded to do a restoration.

Disclaimer #1: Alenax bikes are for entertainment only, and should not
be used for bicycling purposes.

Disclaimer #2: No dollars were harmed in the restoration of this bike,
just time wasted and a deep dive into my stash of used (junk) parts.

Part of the fun was opening up the rear hub. Puzzler: If you *just*
had two opposing freewheels on the rear hub, (see the video above to
clarify) what happens when you roll the bike backward in the garage?
Turns out there's a whole 'nother level of Rube Goldberg inside the hub
(photos to follow, I think).

Part of the fun working on the Alenax was the intense kludgery required
(that's "Bodging" - I think - for you Brits). As just one example, the
shift cables had some proprietary lugs on 'em, and were rusted into the
housings. No way was I gonna find replacements, and I don't know how to
kludge cable lugs, so... Did you know you can get a rusted cable out
of the housing by cutting the housing axially with a Dremel cutoff wheel?

The wheels were 27" steel rimmed and rusted badly, but the shop had a
pair of worn 27" alloy rims. The alloy brake tracks were scored badly,
but I figured this bike is gonna run, what, a half mile at a time?
Those rims will last the rest of this bike's life. So I built up a pair
of wheels with ... old, used zinc-plated spokes I had in a drawer. Had
to go 2-cross to make 'em fit. Please don't ask why I had used
zinc-plated spokes in a drawer.

Got the whole thing cleaned and even shined up a bit, took it to the
local large park with bike trails. It was just as weird as you'd expect
to ride the thing, but I kept at it for about 3/4 of a mile, and near
the finish the crank-chain linkage gave way. Not sure if the
already-weak design was further weakened by rust or not. One part (a
proprietary irreplaceable one, of course) went flying off the trail
never to be found; Another was mangled and shredded, so I walked 1/4
mile back to the car. At first the thing wouldn't even freewheel, so I
was carrying it, then I got tired and fished the chain free so I could
walk it.

The lost part is tiny, and the mangled part isn't that complicated, so I
may try to kludge up another one of each so I can re-donate the restored
"rideable" bike back to the shop. Again, this is for entertainment
purposes only, and only then about half a mile at a time.

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing freewheels on
the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what happens when you
roll the bike backward in the garage?

2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on the pedals?

Enjoy,

Mark J.

On Tuesday, 31 March 2020 17:28:59 UTC-4, Mark J. wrote:
Sorry to distract from the world-shaking policy decisions being made on
this group, but here's a bizarre bit of bike tech. Hmmm... "tech" seems
a bit too strong...

The pro-bono nonprofit shop I volunteer at had an ALENAX bike donated
last October or so.

A Youtube video of a very similar model is he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAlFpcph1LM
-the video is a pretty good summary of the bike's weirdness.

The donated bike was rusted up to the point of being unrideable (even
more than when it was new), so I volunteered, took it home, and
proceeded to do a restoration.

Disclaimer #1: Alenax bikes are for entertainment only, and should not
be used for bicycling purposes.

Disclaimer #2: No dollars were harmed in the restoration of this bike,
just time wasted and a deep dive into my stash of used (junk) parts.

Part of the fun was opening up the rear hub. Puzzler: If you *just*
had two opposing freewheels on the rear hub, (see the video above to
clarify) what happens when you roll the bike backward in the garage?
Turns out there's a whole 'nother level of Rube Goldberg inside the hub
(photos to follow, I think).

Part of the fun working on the Alenax was the intense kludgery required
(that's "Bodging" - I think - for you Brits). As just one example, the
shift cables had some proprietary lugs on 'em, and were rusted into the
housings. No way was I gonna find replacements, and I don't know how to
kludge cable lugs, so... Did you know you can get a rusted cable out
of the housing by cutting the housing axially with a Dremel cutoff wheel?

The wheels were 27" steel rimmed and rusted badly, but the shop had a
pair of worn 27" alloy rims. The alloy brake tracks were scored badly,
but I figured this bike is gonna run, what, a half mile at a time?
Those rims will last the rest of this bike's life. So I built up a pair
of wheels with ... old, used zinc-plated spokes I had in a drawer. Had
to go 2-cross to make 'em fit. Please don't ask why I had used
zinc-plated spokes in a drawer.

Got the whole thing cleaned and even shined up a bit, took it to the
local large park with bike trails. It was just as weird as you'd expect
to ride the thing, but I kept at it for about 3/4 of a mile, and near
the finish the crank-chain linkage gave way. Not sure if the
already-weak design was further weakened by rust or not. One part (a
proprietary irreplaceable one, of course) went flying off the trail
never to be found; Another was mangled and shredded, so I walked 1/4
mile back to the car. At first the thing wouldn't even freewheel, so I
was carrying it, then I got tired and fished the chain free so I could
walk it.

The lost part is tiny, and the mangled part isn't that complicated, so I
may try to kludge up another one of each so I can re-donate the restored
"rideable" bike back to the shop. Again, this is for entertainment
purposes only, and only then about half a mile at a time.

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing freewheels on
the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what happens when you
roll the bike backward in the garage?

2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on the pedals?

Enjoy,

Mark J.

Sounds like a good candidate for a person with very limited leg movement.

Good luck and cheers

On Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 2:28:59 PM UTC-7, Mark J. wrote:
Sorry to distract from the world-shaking policy decisions being made on
this group, but here's a bizarre bit of bike tech. Hmmm... "tech" seems
a bit too strong...

The pro-bono nonprofit shop I volunteer at had an ALENAX bike donated
last October or so.

A Youtube video of a very similar model is he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAlFpcph1LM
-the video is a pretty good summary of the bike's weirdness.

The donated bike was rusted up to the point of being unrideable (even
more than when it was new), so I volunteered, took it home, and
proceeded to do a restoration.

Disclaimer #1: Alenax bikes are for entertainment only, and should not
be used for bicycling purposes.

Disclaimer #2: No dollars were harmed in the restoration of this bike,
just time wasted and a deep dive into my stash of used (junk) parts.

Part of the fun was opening up the rear hub. Puzzler: If you *just*
had two opposing freewheels on the rear hub, (see the video above to
clarify) what happens when you roll the bike backward in the garage?
Turns out there's a whole 'nother level of Rube Goldberg inside the hub
(photos to follow, I think).

Part of the fun working on the Alenax was the intense kludgery required
(that's "Bodging" - I think - for you Brits). As just one example, the
shift cables had some proprietary lugs on 'em, and were rusted into the
housings. No way was I gonna find replacements, and I don't know how to
kludge cable lugs, so... Did you know you can get a rusted cable out
of the housing by cutting the housing axially with a Dremel cutoff wheel?

The wheels were 27" steel rimmed and rusted badly, but the shop had a
pair of worn 27" alloy rims. The alloy brake tracks were scored badly,
but I figured this bike is gonna run, what, a half mile at a time?
Those rims will last the rest of this bike's life. So I built up a pair
of wheels with ... old, used zinc-plated spokes I had in a drawer. Had
to go 2-cross to make 'em fit. Please don't ask why I had used
zinc-plated spokes in a drawer.

Got the whole thing cleaned and even shined up a bit, took it to the
local large park with bike trails. It was just as weird as you'd expect
to ride the thing, but I kept at it for about 3/4 of a mile, and near
the finish the crank-chain linkage gave way. Not sure if the
already-weak design was further weakened by rust or not. One part (a
proprietary irreplaceable one, of course) went flying off the trail
never to be found; Another was mangled and shredded, so I walked 1/4
mile back to the car. At first the thing wouldn't even freewheel, so I
was carrying it, then I got tired and fished the chain free so I could
walk it.

The lost part is tiny, and the mangled part isn't that complicated, so I
may try to kludge up another one of each so I can re-donate the restored
"rideable" bike back to the shop. Again, this is for entertainment
purposes only, and only then about half a mile at a time.

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing freewheels on
the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what happens when you
roll the bike backward in the garage?

2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on the pedals?

Enjoy,

Mark J.

Here's the 10-K for the company: https://tinyurl.com/vfm556a I like this part:

"Between 1983 and 1993, over $7.9 million was spent by Alenax Corporation (TRB's predecessor), owned and operated by Mr. Byung Yim, president of both TRB and TRB Systems International Inc., developing and marketing a line of TPS bicycles. In April, 1994, TRB Systems Inc. was incorporated to continue TPS technology development, and to manufacture and market the finished product lines worldwide."

Wow. There are modern iterations of that bike and probably suitable replacement parts somewhere, assuming you want to add to the $7.9M development figure.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 3/31/2020 4:27 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 2:28:59 PM UTC-7, Mark J. wrote:
Sorry to distract from the world-shaking policy decisions being made on
this group, but here's a bizarre bit of bike tech. Hmmm... "tech" seems
a bit too strong...

The pro-bono nonprofit shop I volunteer at had an ALENAX bike donated
last October or so.

A Youtube video of a very similar model is he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAlFpcph1LM
-the video is a pretty good summary of the bike's weirdness.

The donated bike was rusted up to the point of being unrideable (even
more than when it was new), so I volunteered, took it home, and
proceeded to do a restoration.

Disclaimer #1: Alenax bikes are for entertainment only, and should not
be used for bicycling purposes.

Disclaimer #2: No dollars were harmed in the restoration of this bike,
just time wasted and a deep dive into my stash of used (junk) parts.

Part of the fun was opening up the rear hub. Puzzler: If you *just*
had two opposing freewheels on the rear hub, (see the video above to
clarify) what happens when you roll the bike backward in the garage?
Turns out there's a whole 'nother level of Rube Goldberg inside the hub
(photos to follow, I think).

Part of the fun working on the Alenax was the intense kludgery required
(that's "Bodging" - I think - for you Brits). As just one example, the
shift cables had some proprietary lugs on 'em, and were rusted into the
housings. No way was I gonna find replacements, and I don't know how to
kludge cable lugs, so... Did you know you can get a rusted cable out
of the housing by cutting the housing axially with a Dremel cutoff wheel?

The wheels were 27" steel rimmed and rusted badly, but the shop had a
pair of worn 27" alloy rims. The alloy brake tracks were scored badly,
but I figured this bike is gonna run, what, a half mile at a time?
Those rims will last the rest of this bike's life. So I built up a pair
of wheels with ... old, used zinc-plated spokes I had in a drawer. Had
to go 2-cross to make 'em fit. Please don't ask why I had used
zinc-plated spokes in a drawer.

Got the whole thing cleaned and even shined up a bit, took it to the
local large park with bike trails. It was just as weird as you'd expect
to ride the thing, but I kept at it for about 3/4 of a mile, and near
the finish the crank-chain linkage gave way. Not sure if the
already-weak design was further weakened by rust or not. One part (a
proprietary irreplaceable one, of course) went flying off the trail
never to be found; Another was mangled and shredded, so I walked 1/4
mile back to the car. At first the thing wouldn't even freewheel, so I
was carrying it, then I got tired and fished the chain free so I could
walk it.

The lost part is tiny, and the mangled part isn't that complicated, so I
may try to kludge up another one of each so I can re-donate the restored
"rideable" bike back to the shop. Again, this is for entertainment
purposes only, and only then about half a mile at a time.

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing freewheels on
the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what happens when you
roll the bike backward in the garage?

2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on the pedals?

Enjoy,

Mark J.

Here's the 10-K for the company: https://tinyurl.com/vfm556a I like this part:

"Between 1983 and 1993, over $7.9 million was spent by Alenax Corporation (TRB's predecessor), owned and operated by Mr. Byung Yim, president of both TRB and TRB Systems International Inc., developing and marketing a line of TPS bicycles. In April, 1994, TRB Systems Inc. was incorporated to continue TPS technology development, and to manufacture and market the finished product lines worldwide."

Wow. There are modern iterations of that bike and probably suitable replacement parts somewhere, assuming you want to add to the $7.9M development figure.

-- Jay Beattie.


A quick scan of the link you posted makes me think it dates to 1992, but
I didn't read closely. Even I have limits to what I'm willing to waste
time on. The Alenax I'm working on is the 80's variety, I believe.

Intensive googling last fall seemed to pick up some promotional videos
from ?China? ?Taiwan? of "modern" Alenax-brand bikes that appeared to be
more traditional rotary-style cranks but which ratcheted independently
as with the "Power Cranks" brand.

So I'm not at all convinced that there are "modern" iterations of the
lever-based Alenax, if modern means post-1992.

Speaking of "Power Cranks", that's another cycling oddity. A friend
actually installed them on a real bike. All I really remember about his
experience is that he isn't using them now, and a dimly remembered
statement that they made for a really hard workout.

Any takers on the puzzlers?

Mark J.

On 3/31/2020 5:28 PM, Mark J. wrote:
So

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing freewheels on
the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what happens when you
roll the bike backward in the garage?

Can it even be pushed backward? I don't think it can, unless there's
something else in that hub. It seems the double ratchets would forbid
backward rotation.


2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on the pedals?

I see a horizontal cable and pulley system linking the left and right
bottom ends of the two chains. Seems like if you lift up on the right,
the top run of right chain goes slack, so the horizontal cable goes
slack, so the other chain goes slack. Maybe the chain falls off the
sprocket and jams?


--
- Frank Krygowski

On 3/31/2020 6:40 PM, Mark J. wrote:
On 3/31/2020 4:27 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 2:28:59 PM UTC-7, Mark J.
wrote:
Sorry to distract from the world-shaking policy decisions
being made on
this group, but here's a bizarre bit of bike tech.
Hmmm... "tech" seems
a bit too strong...

The pro-bono nonprofit shop I volunteer at had an ALENAX
bike donated
last October or so.

A Youtube video of a very similar model is he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAlFpcph1LM
-the video is a pretty good summary of the bike's weirdness.

The donated bike was rusted up to the point of being
unrideable (even
more than when it was new), so I volunteered, took it
home, and
proceeded to do a restoration.

Disclaimer #1: Alenax bikes are for entertainment only,
and should not
be used for bicycling purposes.

Disclaimer #2: No dollars were harmed in the restoration
of this bike,
just time wasted and a deep dive into my stash of used
(junk) parts.

Part of the fun was opening up the rear hub. Puzzler:
If you *just*
had two opposing freewheels on the rear hub, (see the
video above to
clarify) what happens when you roll the bike backward in
the garage?
Turns out there's a whole 'nother level of Rube Goldberg
inside the hub
(photos to follow, I think).

Part of the fun working on the Alenax was the intense
kludgery required
(that's "Bodging" - I think - for you Brits). As just
one example, the
shift cables had some proprietary lugs on 'em, and were
rusted into the
housings. No way was I gonna find replacements, and I
don't know how to
kludge cable lugs, so... Did you know you can get a
rusted cable out
of the housing by cutting the housing axially with a
Dremel cutoff wheel?

The wheels were 27" steel rimmed and rusted badly, but
the shop had a
pair of worn 27" alloy rims. The alloy brake tracks were
scored badly,
but I figured this bike is gonna run, what, a half mile
at a time?
Those rims will last the rest of this bike's life. So I
built up a pair
of wheels with ... old, used zinc-plated spokes I had in
a drawer. Had
to go 2-cross to make 'em fit. Please don't ask why I
had used
zinc-plated spokes in a drawer.

Got the whole thing cleaned and even shined up a bit,
took it to the
local large park with bike trails. It was just as weird
as you'd expect
to ride the thing, but I kept at it for about 3/4 of a
mile, and near
the finish the crank-chain linkage gave way. Not sure if
the
already-weak design was further weakened by rust or not.
One part (a
proprietary irreplaceable one, of course) went flying off
the trail
never to be found; Another was mangled and shredded, so I
walked 1/4
mile back to the car. At first the thing wouldn't even
freewheel, so I
was carrying it, then I got tired and fished the chain
free so I could
walk it.

The lost part is tiny, and the mangled part isn't that
complicated, so I
may try to kludge up another one of each so I can
re-donate the restored
"rideable" bike back to the shop. Again, this is for
entertainment
purposes only, and only then about half a mile at a time.

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike
closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing
freewheels on
the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what
happens when you
roll the bike backward in the garage?

2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on
the pedals?

Enjoy,

Mark J.

Here's the 10-K for the company:
https://tinyurl.com/vfm556a I like this part:

"Between 1983 and 1993, over $7.9 million was spent by
Alenax Corporation (TRB's predecessor), owned and operated
by Mr. Byung Yim, president of both TRB and TRB Systems
International Inc., developing and marketing a line of TPS
bicycles. In April, 1994, TRB Systems Inc. was
incorporated to continue TPS technology development, and
to manufacture and market the finished product lines
worldwide."

Wow. There are modern iterations of that bike and
probably suitable replacement parts somewhere, assuming
you want to add to the $7.9M development figure.

-- Jay Beattie.


A quick scan of the link you posted makes me think it dates
to 1992, but I didn't read closely. Even I have limits to
what I'm willing to waste time on. The Alenax I'm working
on is the 80's variety, I believe.

Intensive googling last fall seemed to pick up some
promotional videos from ?China? ?Taiwan? of "modern"
Alenax-brand bikes that appeared to be more traditional
rotary-style cranks but which ratcheted independently as
with the "Power Cranks" brand.

So I'm not at all convinced that there are "modern"
iterations of the lever-based Alenax, if modern means
post-1992.

Speaking of "Power Cranks", that's another cycling oddity.
A friend actually installed them on a real bike. All I
really remember about his experience is that he isn't using
them now, and a dimly remembered statement that they made
for a really hard workout.

Any takers on the puzzlers?

Mark J.

That and nearly every 'new' thing is in this book:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...cles_Tricycles

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 3/31/2020 4:40 PM, Mark J. wrote:
On 3/31/2020 4:27 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 2:28:59 PM UTC-7, Mark J. wrote:
Sorry to distract from the world-shaking policy decisions being made on
this group, but here's a bizarre bit of bike tech.Â* Hmmm... "tech" seems
a bit too strong...

The pro-bono nonprofit shop I volunteer at had an ALENAX bike donated
last October or so.

A Youtube video of a very similar model is he
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAlFpcph1LM
-the video is a pretty good summary of the bike's weirdness.

The donated bike was rusted up to the point of being unrideable (even
more than when it was new), so I volunteered, took it home, and
proceeded to do a restoration.

Disclaimer #1:Â* Alenax bikes are for entertainment only, and should not
be used for bicycling purposes.

Disclaimer #2: No dollars were harmed in the restoration of this bike,
just time wasted and a deep dive into my stash of used (junk) parts.

Part of the fun was opening up the rear hub.Â* Puzzler:Â* If you *just*
had two opposing freewheels on the rear hub, (see the video above to
clarify) what happens when you roll the bike backward in the garage?
Turns out there's a whole 'nother level of Rube Goldberg inside the hub
(photos to follow, I think).

Part of the fun working on the Alenax was the intense kludgery required
(that's "Bodging" - I think - for you Brits).Â* As just one example, the
shift cables had some proprietary lugs on 'em, and were rusted into the
housings.Â* No way was I gonna find replacements, and I don't know how to
kludge cable lugs, so...Â*Â* Did you know you can get a rusted cable out
of the housing by cutting the housing axially with a Dremel cutoff
wheel?

The wheels were 27" steel rimmed and rusted badly, but the shop had a
pair of worn 27" alloy rims.Â* The alloy brake tracks were scored badly,
but I figured this bike is gonna run, what, a half mile at a time?
Those rims will last the rest of this bike's life.Â* So I built up a pair
of wheels with ... old, used zinc-plated spokes I had in a drawer.Â* Had
to go 2-cross to make 'em fit.Â* Please don't ask why I had used
zinc-plated spokes in a drawer.

Got the whole thing cleaned and even shined up a bit, took it to the
local large park with bike trails.Â* It was just as weird as you'd expect
to ride the thing, but I kept at it for about 3/4 of a mile, and near
the finish the crank-chain linkage gave way.Â* Not sure if the
already-weak design was further weakened by rust or not. One part (a
proprietary irreplaceable one, of course) went flying off the trail
never to be found; Another was mangled and shredded, so I walked 1/4
mile back to the car.Â*Â* At first the thing wouldn't even freewheel, so I
was carrying it, then I got tired and fished the chain free so I could
walk it.

The lost part is tiny, and the mangled part isn't that complicated, so I
may try to kludge up another one of each so I can re-donate the restored
"rideable" bike back to the shop.Â* Again, this is for entertainment
purposes only, and only then about half a mile at a time.

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing freewheels on
the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what happens when you
roll the bike backward in the garage?

2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on the pedals?

Enjoy,

Mark J.

Here's the 10-K for the company: https://tinyurl.com/vfm556aÂ* I like
this part:

"Between 1983 and 1993, over $7.9 million was spent by Alenax
Corporation (TRB's predecessor), owned and operated by Mr. Byung Yim,
president of both TRB and TRB Systems International Inc., developing
and marketing a line of TPS bicycles. In April, 1994, TRB Systems Inc.
was incorporated to continue TPS technology development, and to
manufacture and market the finished product lines worldwide."

Wow.Â* There are modern iterations of that bike and probably suitable
replacement parts somewhere, assuming you want to add to the $7.9M
development figure.

-- Jay Beattie.


A quick scan of the link you posted makes me think it dates to 1992, but
I didn't read closely.Â* Even I have limits to what I'm willing to waste
time on.Â* The Alenax I'm working on is the 80's variety, I believe.

Intensive googling last fall seemed to pick up some promotional videos
from ?China? ?Taiwan? of "modern" Alenax-brand bikes that appeared to be
more traditional rotary-style cranks but which ratcheted independently
as with the "Power Cranks" brand.

So I'm not at all convinced that there are "modern" iterations of the
lever-based Alenax, if modern means post-1992.

Speaking of "Power Cranks", that's another cycling oddity.Â* A friend
actually installed them on a real bike.Â* All I really remember about his
experience is that he isn't using them now, and a dimly remembered
statement that they made for a really hard workout.

Any takers on the puzzlers?

Mark J.

D'oh! Make that "think it dates to 1999" (went back and wasted a bit
more time). Still don't think the lever-based Alenaxes date to later
than mid 90's, would love to hear if I'm wrong.

Mark J.

On 3/31/2020 4:43 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 3/31/2020 5:28 PM, Mark J. wrote:
So

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing freewheels
on the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what happens when
you roll the bike backward in the garage?

Can it even be pushed backward? I don't think it can, unless there's
something else in that hub. It seems the double ratchets would forbid
backward rotation.


2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on the pedals?

I see a horizontal cable and pulley system linking the left and right
bottom ends of the two chains. Seems like if you lift up on the right,
the top run of right chain goes slack, so the horizontal cable goes
slack, so the other chain goes slack. Maybe the chain falls off the
sprocket and jams?

Heh. If I wanted to be cagey, I'd respond to your question in #1 with
"how far?" In fact, it can be rolled backward for whatever distance one
desires. *IF* it just had the opposing freewheels, you could maybe back
it up a foot or so, depending on how the cranks/treadles/levers were
positioned.

But as I said, there's some amazing Rube Goldberg stuff inside the rear
hub. I have the strong suspicion that the first rough prototype lacked
the funky hub internals and that they are patches on the design.
Honestly, it's hard to believe what I found in there.

SAY, CAN ANYONE HELP ME - Since comcast quit hosting personal webpages,
I need another cheap/free way to post pictures to the web. Suggestions?
Then I can post pictures of the Alenax rear hub internals.

To your answer #2, yes, you got it right about the chain slack. It
seemed fairly jam-resistant (until I broke it) due to some pretty close
cog and pulley covers that act as defacto chain/cable retaining devices.

Mark J.

On Tuesday, 31 March 2020 20:01:42 UTC-4, Mark J. wrote:
On 3/31/2020 4:43 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 3/31/2020 5:28 PM, Mark J. wrote:
So

Two puzzlers for you; you may want to examine the bike closely in the
video first.

1) The puzzler above, i.e. If you *just* had two opposing freewheels
on the rear hub, (see the video above to clarify) what happens when
you roll the bike backward in the garage?

Can it even be pushed backward? I don't think it can, unless there's
something else in that hub. It seems the double ratchets would forbid
backward rotation.


2) What happens if you install toeclips and pull up on the pedals?

I see a horizontal cable and pulley system linking the left and right
bottom ends of the two chains. Seems like if you lift up on the right,
the top run of right chain goes slack, so the horizontal cable goes
slack, so the other chain goes slack. Maybe the chain falls off the
sprocket and jams?

Heh. If I wanted to be cagey, I'd respond to your question in #1 with
"how far?" In fact, it can be rolled backward for whatever distance one
desires. *IF* it just had the opposing freewheels, you could maybe back
it up a foot or so, depending on how the cranks/treadles/levers were
positioned.

But as I said, there's some amazing Rube Goldberg stuff inside the rear
hub. I have the strong suspicion that the first rough prototype lacked
the funky hub internals and that they are patches on the design.
Honestly, it's hard to believe what I found in there.

SAY, CAN ANYONE HELP ME - Since comcast quit hosting personal webpages,
I need another cheap/free way to post pictures to the web. Suggestions?
Then I can post pictures of the Alenax rear hub internals.

To your answer #2, yes, you got it right about the chain slack. It
seemed fairly jam-resistant (until I broke it) due to some pretty close
cog and pulley covers that act as defacto chain/cable retaining devices.

Mark J.

I use Flickr to host my images.

This design is rther interesting in some ways. I mean alot of people riding normal bicycles basically jut push down on one crankarm and then push down on the other crankarm and never really pedal in circles as we think of it. I wonder if this design of bike was created to cater to such bicyclists? Then again, it does look like it could be of use to someone with limited knee flexation.

Cheers

On 3/31/2020 8:01 PM, Mark J. wrote:

To your answer #2, yes, you got it right about the chain slack.Â* It
seemed fairly jam-resistant (until I broke it) due to some pretty close
cog and pulley covers that act as defacto chain/cable retaining devices.


One of the first gizmos I designed as a young plant engineer used an air
cylinder to pull on a chain, to rapidly rotate a sprocket on a shaft
through a partial revolution. A spring on the other end returned the
chain and shaft. The very first problem was chain slack and resulting
jamming. It was solved with a close cover over the sprocket.


--
- Frank Krygowski