# TriVelox



## dnc1 (Nov 19, 2017)

Thought you might like to see the TriVelox 3 speed system as fitted to a glorious 1930's Raleigh 'Golden Arrow' on our club run yesterday.....


 
Arising from the British fear (unfounded) of friction caused by a chain running out of line, they decided that moving the rear cluster laterally was a better option!
That's British ingenuity for you.....

 
Unfortunately this meant that it never got beyond 3 gears as the width between rear dropouts would have to increase relatively to the size of the cluster.....

 
Somewhat crazy, but an interesting survivor.
Can anyone suggest any other cul-de-sacs of gearing development?


----------



## mongeese (Nov 19, 2017)

Put a 3 or 5 speed internal rear hub on it as well. With a seperate shifter.


----------



## SirMike1983 (Nov 19, 2017)

dnc1 said:


> Thought you might like to see the TriVelox 3 speed system as fitted to a glorious 1930's Raleigh 'Golden Arrow' on our club run yesterday.....View attachment 711892
> Arising from the British fear (unfounded) of friction caused by a chain running out of line, they decided that moving the rear cluster laterally was a better option!
> That's British ingenuity for you.....View attachment 711900
> Unfortunately this meant that it never got beyond 3 gears as the width between rear dropouts would have to increase relatively to the size of the cluster.....View attachment 711903
> ...




Bottom bracket freewheels - these sometimes still turn up on oddball 1970s bikes. The idea was the coasting mechanism would be in the bottom backet. As you coast, the drive train keeps going except for thr cranks. It allows you to shift a 10 speed while coasting.


----------



## mongeese (Nov 19, 2017)

I have a BB freewheel positron on a 70s electric Schwinn. It is Ideal for such a bicycle. IP system I believe it is called off the cuff of my head. Assumption is he is looking for more gears but unsure.


----------



## bikemonkey (Nov 20, 2017)

mongeese said:


> I have a BB freewheel positron on a 70s electric Schwinn. It is Ideal for such a bicycle. IP system I believe it is called off the cuff of my head. Assumption is he is looking for more gears but unsure.



It's called a Front Freewheeling System (FFS) and was scorned by bike shops everywhere in the mid to late 1970s (and still is). There are three versions, the one with the standard cable is the least sucky.


----------



## bulldog1935 (Nov 20, 2017)

thanks for sharing - what a jewel - to collect and ride.


----------



## dnc1 (Nov 20, 2017)

bikemonkey said:


> It's called a Front Freewheeling System (FFS) and was scorned by bike shops everywhere in the mid to late 1970s (and still is). There are three versions, the one with the standard cable is the least sucky.



Do you have any photos? I've never seen one!


----------



## sam (Nov 20, 2017)

About the only option Trivelox  offered was two different blocks.So you could get lower or higher gearing. I have a 35 sun tandem so I used the lower gearing on it.


----------



## sam (Nov 20, 2017)

my 35 sun


----------



## sam (Nov 20, 2017)




----------



## GTs58 (Nov 20, 2017)

dnc1 said:


> Do you have any photos? I've never seen one!




Shimano FF system.


----------



## dnc1 (Nov 20, 2017)

GTs58 said:


> Shimano FF system.
> 
> View attachment 712546
> 
> ...



Thanks @GTs58. Different!


----------



## bikemonkey (Nov 21, 2017)

dnc1 said:


> Do you have any photos? I've never seen one!




I think Sheldon Brown has a section on them. Here is an 18 second video of one spinning.

I have two '70s Schwinn Suburbans I will be cleaning up soon...both are FFS, each with different cable types. There is apparently a small subset of folks who like it..kinda like spinner wheels on your car a few years ago I suppose...it is different.

I remember when they first came out...everyone in the shop was like, "Wha....? damn people, just take 30 seconds and learn how to shift".

Pro Tip - never buy one with a frozen gear wire.


----------



## sam (Nov 23, 2017)

Retro direct is another odd

 ball


----------



## dnc1 (Nov 23, 2017)

sam said:


> Retro direct is another oddView attachment 713723 ball



I've seen a few of these in action, always make me smile. Apparently they're quite hard on the legs when you have to pedal backwards to use the low ratio, using different muscles than you're used to hurts!


----------



## bikepaulie (Nov 24, 2017)

Here’s a 9-speed ‘49 Schwinn New Worlds. Like mentioned above, this uses two shifters, one on the handlebar for the internal 3sp SA rear hub and another shifter on the top tube for the 3sp Cyclo external cluster.


----------



## dnc1 (Nov 26, 2017)

bikepaulie said:


> Here’s a 9-speed ‘49 Schwinn New Worlds. Like mentioned above, this uses two shifters, one on the handlebar for the internal 3sp SA rear hub and another shifter on the top tube for the 3sp Cyclo external cluster.
> 
> View attachment 714022



Would love to see a close up picture of that gear setup @bikepaulie


----------



## bikepaulie (Nov 26, 2017)

There’s a 60+ page Cyclo magazine online somewhere. It’s amazing, with articles of early day riders and accomplishments along with much detail about all the Cyclo line.


----------



## bulldog1935 (Nov 26, 2017)

bikepaulie said:


> There’s a 60+ page Cyclo magazine online somewhere. It’s amazing, with articles of early day riders and accomplishments along with much detail about all the Cyclo line.
> 
> View attachment 714867



chase it down for us - this is a great place to post the link


----------



## Duchess (Nov 26, 2017)

That front freewheel system might work well with a mid-mount AC electric motor—not only would allow power without pedaling, but it could be used for regenerative braking with an appropriate controller. Might be something that will show up in the next few years as a "new" invention.


----------



## sam (Nov 26, 2017)

bikepaulie said:


> Here’s a 9-speed ‘49 Schwinn New Worlds. Like mentioned above, this uses two shifters, one on the handlebar for the internal 3sp SA rear hub and another shifter on the top tube for the 3sp Cyclo external cluster.
> 
> View attachment 714022



Being a 49 Schwinn your cyclo matches it good being a post war cyclo unit


----------



## sam (Nov 26, 2017)

You might search for a bricknell hand gear ----  not sure what they were, some kind of front wheel drive addition I think.


----------



## bikepaulie (Nov 27, 2017)

bulldog1935 said:


> chase it down for us - this is a great place to post the link




Here it is. Good stuff in here, http://threespeedhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Cyclo-Gears-1938-UK.pdf


----------



## dnc1 (Nov 27, 2017)

sam said:


> View attachment 712504



Apologies @sam, don't know how I missed your post!  Nice tandem, I'm in the process of restoring a 1930's James 'Arrow Ace' tandem at the moment. It has a convertible gents/ladies rear top tube.


----------



## dnc1 (Nov 27, 2017)

A Bricknell Hand Gear, now that opens up a whole new can of crazy worms!



Don't ask me how it works!!!!!


----------



## sam (Nov 28, 2017)

dnc1 said:


> Apologies @sam, don't know how I missed your post!  Nice tandem, I'm in the process of restoring a 1930's James 'Arrow Ace' tandem at the moment. It has a convertible gents/ladies rear top tube.



A separate before and after photo would be nice. I also have a 37 E F  Russ Gents/Gents tandem Chater Lea lugs/ pre war cyclo.


----------

