Back to the Future: The “Less is More” Bicycle Technology
The simplicity of the bicycle explains in part its beauty. Maybe that's why we like aesthetics of “fixies” bicycles, although, to be sure, getting a fixie is a bad idea for many riders. But what if we could have a simple and minimalist technology that was both reliable and robust?
Today there are already many bicycle manufacturers that are eliminating the external gear shift, replacing them by “in the hub” systems. or replacing the chain transmission by other cleaner systems. One of them is the belt drive of relatively recent appearance, because its technology is based on new synthetic materials. Another, less well known, is the cardan transmission, (or shaft drive) long used in bicycles, but at that time, by not easily allowing the gearshift, it was replaced by chain-based systems.
But it has continued to be used on high-end motorcycles and recently it is also recovering for bicycles (thanks to internal-gear hub development).