Silver Case

Daydreaming recently about some earlier ideas I had on replacing a 4×4 truck with a bicycle.

This photo sequence proves the concept is valid:  I can pack a full bicycle into a 26″x26″x12″ case.

Now the question is implementation.

Clearly the S&S Torque Coupling is key, but it’s almost irrelevant to the project because it is so solid and so dependable.

My question is what should the rest of the bike be.

Absolute simplicity comes in screaming First Place.  That’s why my initial instinct is to have only a single Shimano Nexus internal 8-speed hub in my rear, and just a single chain ring in the front.   The  Nexus works so beautifully on my Dahon that I am delighted if I can incorporate it into another bike.

One question is, “is eight speeds enough?”  I mean it would be nice to have a front derailler.  Of course the packing picture above showed a three-speed chainring.  Then it dawned on me: forget the derailler system.  I can always just move the chain by hand.  So I could reduce the derailler into just have a simple chain tensioner. I lose the ability to shift front gear on the fly, but I probably can live without that capability.  The Nexus gives me enough flexibility  in general around my main chainring.  If I am about to embark on a major epoch change (say I’ve pedalled across a valley, and now about to ascend the hills) I can always hop off and in twenty seconds flip the chain over to the granny chainring.  I have to find out more about chain tensioners, though. I don’t know about that technology, but it clearly should be simpler than a derailler system.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 12:43 am and is filed under Dahon Mu XL Folding Bicycle.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.