Ever Seen a Chainwheel Like This One?

[49autocycledeluxe]

I figure if you can't figure out how to shift a derailure bike or a 3 speed type bike this won't do you any good either. we've all see people walking a bike up a small hill or freeway overpass with the chain on the big chainring up front.

 

[Duchess]

I can't seem to find how it shifts. Obviously, the inner spiral has to rotate independently of the crank speed, but I don't see how that's achieved. I would think coaxial bottom bracket with a shift cable inside the frame, but these were sold as retrofits, so that's highly unlikely.

CVTs work completely differently, though they both offer an infinite gear ratio choice within its range. A CVT is basically two sets of opposing cones that form pulley shapes mounted parallel to each other—one on the input shaft, one on the output shaft—with a belt linking them. To adjust ratios, the noses of the cones are either pushed together or apart depending upon demand. The CVT isn't a new idea, just recent in its common usage in cars as it is a poor design for high torque transfer due to slip. Subaru licensed it for the Justy and I remember reading in the late nineties how they couldn't get it to work with a bigger engine and that the inherent technical hurtles would likely relegate it to tiny engines for the foreseeable future without a lot of R&D devoted to it. A couple years later, Nissan started putting them not just on the backs of V6s, but in a heavy vehicle to top it and I laughed. Sure enough, you could line the broken SUVs with transmission warranty claims around the block. Now with about 20 years of R&D from multiple manufacturers behind them, as a whole, they suck a little bit less.

 

[catfish]

Wild design. Never seen one of these before.

 

[Rusty Klunker]

Never seen one but it is interesting. In the first clipping it says "pick a gear you want" made in sound like you manually set it. Now reading the last clip sounds like the leaver is like a clutch or in and out box. Sounds like it locks the spiral. Squeeze the leaver, pedal forward and the spiral expands the sprockets. Squeeze the leaver again, pedal backwards and the spiral retracts the sprockets . Pretty cool!

 

[Rusty Klunker]

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Are you able to read the trike's head emblem?

In your photo I can read -

ELBA

RYKE (presumably a T at the front had been rubbed off)

ORLANDO

Is this correct? Do you think the Orlando refers to the city in Florida?

Thank you for any clarification.

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Blowing the picture up it does look like it says Orlando FL, or FLA

 

[RaleighRich]

Blowing the picture up it does look like it says Orlando FL, or FLAView attachment 927511

Here is an alphabetical list of bicycle manufacturers, none contain the letters ELBA after the first (missing?) letter on the head badge.
Hmmmmmmm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bicycle_brands_and_manufacturing_companies

 

[kngtmat]

May be from some small store putting their own sticker on it. Looks like a Murray or Columbia bikes fork. But the frame itself doesn't look like Columbia trikes I seen like the one my brother had.

Looks like a Wald stem. So the numbers might at least give a year of the bike.

 

[juvela]

Blowing the picture up it does look like it says Orlando FL, or FLAView attachment 927511

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Thanks so much for this post!

I had completely missed the FLA.

...must be these elderly peepers I be working with

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Fine Sherlocking on the ELBA name Rich!

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[RaleighRich]

May be from some small store putting their own sticker on it. Looks like a Murray or Columbia bikes fork. But the frame itself doesn't look like Columbia trikes I seen like the one my brother had.

Looks like a Wald stem. So the numbers might at least give a year of the bike.

That is a good point -- the split arrow E may have been their logo.

 

[RaleighRich]

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Thanks so much for this post!

I had completely missed the FLA.

...must be these elderly peepers I be working with

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Fine Sherlocking on the ELBA name Rich!

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Well, Im still working on it I emailed Hagen Engineering International (now in St. Paul, MN) and inquired about the chain wheel.
They have nothing to do with bicycles now, but who knows 45 years ago.
How many Hagen Internationals can there be in the Twin Cities??
Maybe we will find out something.