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  • Bicycle with front wheel drive - any mechanical advantage?

    Kaustubh Katdare

    Kaustubh Katdare

    @thebigk
    Updated: Oct 23, 2024
    Views: 1.0K
    I'm wondering if turning a bicycle into a two wheel drive locomotive will offer any mechanical advantage to the system. I just wrote about Tretta AWD bicycles that have the rear wheel connected to the front wheel through an assembly of 3 chain drives. {Read: #-Link-Snipped-# }

    [​IMG]
    I look forward to a discussion on any advantages this system offers. I'm also curious to know what joints they might have used at various stages (especially on the extension of the chassis)?
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  • Ramani Aswath

    Member • Nov 28, 2012

    I feel with Prof. Papanek of California Institute of the Arts that there is case for simplifying the bicycle, incidentally the only vehicle I have ever driven(?).
    All these extra drive trains with possible mismatched speeds does not seem to give any specific advantage. Probably it may help on very slippery surfaces. Bicycles have narrow tyres and very little contact. The extra purchase of two wheel drive may be useful on snow laden roads. Most cycles are maintained by the owner. This may be a nightmare.
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  • zaveri

    Member • Dec 5, 2012

    Now since the chain sprockets are on one side of the chassis frame, then this might result in some slight unbalance (or so i feel).

    This however does not offer much advantage, apart from increased traction.

    the disadvantages however are :

    the chain connecting to the sprocket near the handle-bar, might interfere with the movement of the rider's legs.

    since there are three chain drives, the rider's effort might increase, due to the excess moment of inertia.
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  • Gurjap

    Member • Mar 9, 2013

    When I saw the topic, I thought,"a bicycle with only front-wheel drive? COOL!" 😀

    If only this dude used hydraulic pumps and motors, we could have tweaked the RPMs of both the tires to not be mismatched. This is a very interesting idea right here, and armchair analysis might not be sufficient to tell us the "feel" of the front-wheel bicycle (although if I may hazard a guess from using some automobile engineering, the 'swinging weight', ie. the weight of the front wheel+power transmission components that would need to be rotated by hand for steering the bicycle would be more, meaning a little more difficult steering).
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  • Mohit Kamat

    Member • Mar 14, 2013

    I don't think so it is possible because the chain would interfere with the turning of the wheels...also as an example, if the chain is to the right hand side then a tension will be observed while turning to the left, also due to the turning the length of the chain will have to be increased, which in turn will decrease power transmitted...
    Please post if my answer is justified...as I would like to know if I though it out wrong. 😀
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  • Kaustubh Katdare

    Administrator • Mar 14, 2013

    #-Link-Snipped-# - the bike design above solves the problem of chain interfering with the chasis or pedals. I think it's a very interesting design. I think if a mechanical design can reduce the efforts required to drive a bicycle, we'd solve world's energy problems to a great extent 😀
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  • Mohit Kamat

    Member • Mar 14, 2013

    The_Big_K
    #-Link-Snipped-# - the bike design above solves the problem of chain interfering with the chasis or pedals. I think it's a very interesting design. I think if a mechanical design can reduce the efforts required to drive a bicycle, we'd solve world's energy problems to a great extent 😀
    I missed out on the picture above sorry...actually i'm online via cell, and hence must have missed it : sorry
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