Quote:
Originally Posted by KSagal
They seemed excited about the belt drive, instead of a chain. You seem to be somewhat of a sprocket headed fellow, how do you feel about this? Is it significant?
My question with it would be that of gearing. Most bike gearing I know of simply consists of a series of sprocket of varying sizes, and a device that moves the chain laterally. I suppose a similar arrangement could be in place for a toothed belt, but they do not work the same, so I suspect not.
I do recall a 3 speed axle/transmission that existed on some bikes of my youth, but I do not recall ever owning one, nor taking one apart. I suppose that may be in play here, or something like it.
A single speed bike seems less than efficient for today's commuter, though it would still work okay, especially with the electric assist for the up hills.
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The brochure indicates it does have a 3-speed hub.
3-speed hubs are pretty solid technology these days -- they make hubs with a lot more speeds than that. But the classic 3-speed hub is based on planetary gears, with a clutch mechanism varying whether the drive is applied to the housing, the sun gear, or the planetary carrier.
I don't know if it was the very first, but Sturmy-Archer's patent was granted in 1902. It was old technology when we were kids. And certainly more reliable and robust than derailleurs.