Gadgets

marchant

Has anyone else out there seen any unusual or off-the-wall gadgets for bikes which seemed a great idea but disappeared completely? The other day I was thinking of a couple of things I'd come across and never saw again; the first was a shaft-drive commuter style bike, probably heavy as hell but also I imagine nearly maintenance free. The other was a kind of fly wheel attached to the derailleur on an MTB-style bike. The fly wheel shifted up/down the gears depending on the speed of rotation and thus (I guess) removed the need for a shifter completely. Obviously of little or no use to someone used to gears but nevertheless for a nervous/new cyclist it removed the worry of shifting gear or looking at the shifter. I remember seeing video footage of it (maybe on a shopping channel :oops: ) and it seemed to work. Any other finds?

cntl

>>thus (I guess) removed the need for a shifter completely

Cool, an 'automatic bicycle'

fossyant

Got to be electronic gear shift for road bikes. Mavic did one years ago, but wasn't reliable, and now Shimano and Campag have prototypes in the peleton.

Cunobelin

Neither idea disappeared at all - but are still alive and doing well!

Shaft driven bicycles are still produced and have a following!

http://www.zerocycles.co.uk/




This one actually got a reasonable write up in C+ if you believe the makers!

Shimano also do an "automatic" gear change - the Coastingr series!. Trek, Giant and Raleigh all feature these in their 2007 catalogues



So both are still going strong!