Bicycle BOVS

[Lightspeed]

(27 May 2013, 07:54)Binnie Wrote:

(26 May 2013, 22:05)Mosstrooper Wrote: If I were to choose a bike specific BOV it would be a 26” aluminium bike as it’s a popular size so acquiring wheels wouldn’t be an issue. I would make it a single speed (no gearing) so there’s less to go wrong but would be a simple fix to the chain.

I see this as a major mistake, it totally limits your wheel selection!, ok you COULD just slip on a multispeed rear, and slip the chain onto the ring that it fitted onto best, but chances are it'd be walloping about and at danger of falling off.

if the worst came to the worst (most likely failure would be a broken gear cable), you could just turn the endstop screws of the derailluer and "manually" select a gear!

the derailluer's function in this case would just be an elaborate chain tensioner, but then you could use almost any back wheel as long as the chain pitch was the same!

Good idea Binnie,

I'd not previously considered your solution. In case of having to go single speed I'd planned on removing chain links to shorten it. Locking down the derailleur to a single position and using it as chain tensioner would be a simple and effective option, and a whole lot less messy. It would also allow fairly simple selection of alternate gearing to suit terrain / tiredness.

For training I ride a fixed gear bike with a flip flop hub. To get the second gear ratio I have to flip, re-tension, and realign the wheel. This again takes greater time and effort than that needed to re-align a derailleur in the way you described.

Great idea. Thanks mate.