Actual, Real Life Working Hubless, Spokeless Bicycle

I was more impressed with the kids from a Penn State branch campus who pulled off a spokeless trike with probably fewer resources. Though their transmission was quite flawed.

http://www.recumbentjournal.com/news/gear/item/53-hubless-wheels-emerge-on-recumbent-trike.html

It needs 2 cranksets because this arrangement multiplies the gear ratio prior before reaching the single large gear that is the rear wheel. If you had just one chainring in the front, driving the freewheel hub that meshes with the 26″ epicycloid gear along the inside of the rim, you’d have a super low gear ratio and you’d have to pedal like mad to get anywhere. Great for climbing maybe, but that’s about it.. They ought to have used a multi-speed hub instead of a single speed hub — this might have made the gearing mechanism a little less awkward.

This means of transmitting power to the wheel is more elegant and functional than the yards of drooping, figure-eight reversing chain that the Penn State students used. Neither system is ready for mass production though.

“Not sure if all these bike terms are right, but that’s the general idea” Pretty much encapsulates what’s wrong with all of these designs. The designer has no idea whatsoever of what it’s like to ride a bike in the real world. Perhaps these bikes would actually work if they shut down the 3d rendering programs once in a while and put in some saddle time. Not that they need to ride 150 miles a week to be able to design a bike, but they need to ride further and faster than across the quad for another round of Starbucks.

Does the bike ballence well? The spokes have a giro affect on the bike.

nice concept but i agree a lot more research needs to be done with serious bike users. the use of two cranks was something i wouldn’t have thought of. good job. it would handle the speed issue but i simultaneously imagine a huge effort to initiate movement. for a work in progress it not bad.