A Spokeless Bicycle



For a class project, nine mechanical engineering majors at Yale built a bicycle with a spokeless back wheel. One of them, redditor zhoalander, described the design in a thread at reddit:

It's a single speed setup. We used two cranks and two bottom brackets in the front to gear up the ratio. It goes from (IIRC) 53 to a 13, which is connected to the second crank and another 53 which connects to the rear hub. The rear hub is just a normal ratcheting rear hub that we mated to our belt pulley. Not sure if all these bike terms are right, but that's the general idea.

The front wheel would be almost exactly the same as the rear wheel except that it could be a little lighter. Some of the aluminum can be shaved off since there's no powertrain to connect to.


At the top of the thread, there are imgur links to more pictures of the bike.

Link via CrunchGear

Comments (11)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

Maybe not as pretty (as the virtual rendering!) but it looks like a better design from what I can see. The rear load is centered over the wheel, rather than the rendered design which would put a pretty significant prying force on the wheel. I would love to see these in action. Maybe not an immediate benefit over a spoked wheel, but Rome wasn't built in a day. nice job!
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
This is a class-project. So they did it for school and it was mainly done just to prove that they could make a working model instead of only the umptenth virtual rendering. So it lacks a bit on the design. So it lacks a bit on the refinement. But they did it and it works. And they are a mechanical engineering class. Not a design-class.

So I take my hat off for these people. Neat!
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
OH NO, Someone had an idea that wasn't OMG %100 ORIGINAL (tm)! That makes them a HACK. MY DAY IS RUINED!

people should never do anything I guess.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
It seems just as likely to me that some entries on this list should instead be on "ten most bloodthirsty soldiers of all time"; or maybe "ten soldiers driven most obviously insane by the horrors of war".

Reader's choice. We are unlikely to actually know, after all.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Wow. This is neat.
Can the next list be 'Who took the longest to die.' or some such.

Sometimes I just couldn't be bothered to sign in for these.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Now, being ambushed and driving your Humvee directly at the enemy's entrenched position, after which you leap into the trench, shoot terrorists until you run out of bullets for your Marine-issue guns, then take two AK-47s and kill some more terrorists, and then you find a rocket-propelled grenade and blow the hell out of even more terrorists?

Yeah, the Iraqi invaders sure proved themselves to be total terrorists when they fought the brave US soldiers that were defending their homeland.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
No we humans defintely are not violent. We are peaceful beings.

This is best illustrated by our glorification of our fiercest bloodiest fighters.....

Wheeeee real Neat these killers!
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Hey Jill, tell my dad who fought in WWII that it's ancient history. These stories depict men who did what needed to be done at the time. Whether the conflict was right or wrong these soldiers were in a kill or be killed situation and they stepped up to save the lives of their fellow soldiers. War isn't pretty or neat but once the conflict is happening a soldier better do everything in their power to inflict casualties on the enemy because that is definitely what the enemy is trying to do.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
@D Bozko

Probably the first time I actually agree with you. They were defiantly strict times for everyone not in control of the situation. My grandfather on my mother's side fought for the side of Hungary, because if he didn't, he was shot and killed as a traitor. A more interesting story with my dad's side is his father trained as a pilot for Germany in WWI, and fought against Germany for Canada as a pilot in WWII.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.
Email This Post to a Friend
"A Spokeless Bicycle"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More