Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

cyclingtips.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 226 posts

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#61

Post by ohmaigad »

GhostVII wrote: post #22
leoh wrote: post #9

Great chain, but the Gates Carbon Drive is likely a superior technology. Europe has largely adopted it, but it is rare in the states. I have a Riese & Müller bike with a Gates Carbon Drive and it is absolutely lovely. Silent, but best of all, no grease on my pants or hands, ever. They handle dirt and dust super well (just dry off and wipe down with a cloth/no gears get jammed with a sealed planetary gear system). It…

If you want to shift gears using the carbon drive you have to use an internal gear hub, which has a lot less range than a traditional derailleur and is less efficient. So if you are riding a racing or mountain bike a chain system is probably a better way to go. Also it looks like you can't shift under load with the internal hubs which is a problem if you are trying to climb hills quickly.

You can't/shouldn't shift under load with a derailleur either. Pinion gearbox has an option of 18 gears with a 600%+ ratio while something like SRAM Eagle 1x12 has 500% ratio. I don't know about the efficiency but i think something like this should be the future - https://www.pinkbike.com/news/allen-millyard-part-1-2008.htm... or maybe there is proper reason why nothing like this has come into the market - shifting without pedalling or under load, closed system (don't care about dirt/water) and no noise.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#62

Post by bigbubba »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #40

Side note: I used to work in a bike shop for about ten years. One time had a guy come in who worked with Kyronics. We all made jokes about freezing dead people - but he said you can apply Kryonics to a wide array of stuff not just dead people. One of the many things some of the team riders were seriously considering was having their cranks, chains and frames frozen since its supposed to alter the molecular structure…

Applied Science found that cryogenic treatment of steel drill bits made them last twice as long: https://youtube.com/watch?v=hAxi5YXTjEk

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#63

Post by tigerBL00D »

Tomte wrote: post #54
Sunspark wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't it be? My bike is a fixed gear track frame. If the threads of the sprockets are compatible with the rear wheel, then it should be able to fit.

The belt is a closed loop and under high tension when installed. Your frame needs to be able to be opened to let the belt in, then your sprocket pack needs to be able to move backwards, so you can put tension on it.

> then your sprocket pack needs to be able to move backwards, so you can put tension on it

I am assuming that's what the poster meant by putting emphasis on his frame being a fixed gear one. Those normally have horizontal dropouts to put tension in the chain.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#64

Post by Lev1a »

Cactus2018 wrote: post #16

Gears! - But Were Afraid To Ask (MiniLathe) - This Old Tony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-XOM4E4RZQ

Great channel about machining stuff with mills, lathes etc. with some comedy mixed in while also being very informative.

Also I found that watching machining of all kinds of stuff is strangely relaxing to me.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#65

Post by layoutIfNeeded »

leoh wrote: post #9

Great chain, but the Gates Carbon Drive is likely a superior technology. Europe has largely adopted it, but it is rare in the states. I have a Riese & Müller bike with a Gates Carbon Drive and it is absolutely lovely. Silent, but best of all, no grease on my pants or hands, ever. They handle dirt and dust super well (just dry off and wipe down with a cloth/no gears get jammed with a sealed planetary gear system). It…

>Europe has largely adopted it

I'm a European cyclist and only ever seen conventional chains.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#66

Post by rdiddly »

I'll tell ya what I see: no rollers. Pins rubbing (wearing) both sides of the tooth. Including the back side, which will never exert any forward longitudinal force on a chain unless it's made of magnets. I also see a highly suspect FEA diagram on the right, where teeth not even engaged still show non-zero stresses (lighter blue, not the darkest blue), indicating that the color/stress scale has been changed compared to the baseline on the left. So it's not an honest comparison. Add to that the fact that this is a 'better mousetrap' that requires you to first replace all the mice in the house, and I guess I'm a bit (to use one of Bike Snob NYC's favorite words) nonplussed.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#67

Post by mpol »

lostlogin wrote: post #26
usrusr wrote: post #11

I really don't get it: what power are they claiming to be transferring on the side of the tooth that isn't engaging with a roller chain? Also note that this is only for track bikes with a perfectly straight chainline (technically speaking it would also work for internal gear hubs wish are increasingly driven by belts in the upper price range). The shifting chain that is deployed diagonally more often than straight is…

Internal hubs are amazing and so great to use, until you get a puncture. It’s such a nightmare and I went through so many of those dumb proprietary nuts that strip so easily. Bikes like the Cannondale Bad Boy have got me thinking, what if the single fork was at the rear? Then you could have an internal hub and change the tube without the extra suffering. Yes, the loading at the read would be significantly greater, bu…

I don't think internal hubs are amazing :)

Derailer systems only absord energy in the chain and bearings, and a well maintained system can maybe lose 1.5% of energy. Internal hub gearing can lose around 15% energy.

The shop keeper won't tell you this, he just wants to sell you a bike. If he starts talking difficult things, buyers might just go to the next shop to buy what they had already chosen.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#68

Post by turbinerneiter »

usrusr wrote: post #58
Sunspark wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't it be? My bike is a fixed gear track frame. If the threads of the sprockets are compatible with the rear wheel, then it should be able to fit.

Unlike a chain the belt is a closed loop, you can only use it with a frame that can be opened in the rear triangle.

There is however a belt drive systm with a split belt. Seems to be quite new and expensive and propably come switch its own upsides and downsides.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#69

Post by usrusr »

ruined wrote: post #39
petre wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People concerned with dirt do not concern themselves with chain efficiency but rather stuff that removes dirt.

reliability in adverse conditions is an important facet of any design. nobody cares about a new hyperefficient vehicle if it has to operate in a vacuum

This design is specifically aimed at track cycling which is as close to vacuum conditions as you can get if you intend to run the rider on ambient oxidizer.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#70

Post by Tomte »

tigerBL00D wrote: post #63
Tomte wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The belt is a closed loop and under high tension when installed. Your frame needs to be able to be opened to let the belt in, then your sprocket pack needs to be able to move backwards, so you can put tension on it.

> then your sprocket pack needs to be able to move backwards, so you can put tension on it I am assuming that's what the poster meant by putting emphasis on his frame being a fixed gear one. Those normally have horizontal dropouts to put tension in the chain.

Thanks, I had no idea!
Post reply on HN