Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Alan Ortiz on August 4, 2009 at 6:18am

YAAAAAH!! Totally Awesome. I'd love to test that thing out and stress it.

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Permalink Reply by cutifly on August 4, 2009 at 6:21am

Amazing, I am VERY impressed ....

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Permalink Reply by Joe TV on August 4, 2009 at 6:41am

As someone else commented, where's the drivetrain? Are the pedals actually connected to anything? Interesting that the bike is never shown actually being pedaled!

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Permalink Reply by Alan Ortiz on August 4, 2009 at 6:56am

So true.. the devil is in the details, yet I'm still curious as to the design potential. Someone mentioned a drive shaft. There seem to be existing designs out there for that, but I don't know if they've been proven.

Joe TV said:

As someone else commented, where's the drivetrain? Are the pedals actually connected to anything? Interesting that the bike is never shown actually being pedaled!

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on August 4, 2009 at 9:10am

It's an interesting concept but I find the lack of a drivetrain to be a huge issue; I can't see a way to easily get around that although they may have a solution they are not showing until the bike is released or a patent is complete.

The one other thing I noticed is that if you look closely the seemingly smooth transition to the folded package seems to require a lot of precise movement and control; it all looks VERY practiced. I have to wonder how well it folds up for a first timer with little to know mechanical aptitude.

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Permalink Reply by Andy K> on August 4, 2009 at 9:48am

While cool in how small it gets, the fact that they haven't been able to put a functional drivetrain or brakes (look closely, no pads on the rotors) kind of hints to me this won't be on the market anytime soon. Wish I didn't have to be skeptical though.

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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on August 4, 2009 at 3:01pm

Here's a quote: "The prototype pictured right uses hydraulics instead of the traditional chain; oil pumped inside tubes through the frame of the bike powers the back wheel, doing away with the oil and grease that comes with chains."
From this website: http://www.eta.co.uk/2009/08/04/new-folding-bicycle-true-contortionist

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