Through Hub Front Wheel Drive Recumbent Bike

My home designed and built Through Hub Front Wheel Drive Recumbent Bike with 21 gears possible as per normal ..made up with mostly scrap parts..I think the drive assembly is unique,but maybe someone will correct me
With this design any amount of 'rear ends' could be made...I.e penny farthing type or tricycle or unicycle if you're brave
Handling seems excellent (assisted by steering damper) and speed is impressive..30mph behind my pickup/camera truck while filming but ran out of gears/leg power...apologies for dodgy camera work..single position solid mount
Quick specs:Seat height 500mm Wheel base 1400mm Head angle 34deg (from vertical) Castor 25mm Wheels 700 weight 19kilos Material costs about £100 including two new tyres and tubes, two new freewheels and a new chain everything else was recycled bits of bike and spare bits of stainless steel tube/box...Update to specs:.As of 04/05 2013 seat height is now 350mm! will try to fair machine

[@rakeshkumarlb]

Very nice. Trying to build one similar for myself.

[@Lasombrosidad]

Imagine this beautiful vehicle with the Christini 2WD system.

[@GavTatu]

guernsey !!! i'm a homebuilder in jersey.... first time i've seen this vid ! awesome work !

[@NigelLoller]

Appreciate it! Cheers

[@DugNorth]

Very nice! I like that you don't have look down or back to see what's happening with the chain and sprockets.

[@dalewildey4102]

I built a low racer recumbent like the atomic zombies marauder. Love it. It's longer than yours as it has remote steering. Yours looks awesome... Good job. Low racers are fast and don't plow the wind. I put lots of miles on mine, very comfortable and fun to ride

[@dittyjamz]

This is outstanding craftsmanship. Thank you very much for sharing it. What an inspiration. To me this makes much more sense then versions with the crank over the wheel. For the last few days I've been trying to break down what you've done in an effort to make my own. It's quite a challenge, I think I understand the broad strokes concepts, but I'd love to see the front gearing in more detail.

[@NigelLoller]

Hi Christoph..Yes ! saw your video..Like the bike and mechanical idea,not sure about the linear leg movement and gearing it would be a challenge ! Kind regards Nigel

[@NigelLoller]

Thanks for your positive comments,glad you like it I'm having fun ( and exercise) riding round Guernsey on it..I have posted longer explanation on your page Nigel

[@NigelLoller]

Thank you nitrosmd for your interest .In brief..the pedal sprocket (normal 3 gears from mountain bike) drive the frame mounted rearset of seven gears which are mounted on a lay shaft on the tube above the wheel. On the other side of the lay shaft is a sprocket which delivers the drive at ratio 1-1 to the wheel via a single speed freewheel sprocket mounted on the wheel hub. The pedal shaft is free to rotate within the wheel hub and the fork bearings..and that is the tricky bit I hope this helps

[@josephcarlat9414]

Yes that does help. I’m going start scratching my head to figure out one for myself. Would you consider building and selling just the drive line set up. Or maybe doing a how to video for KZbin/for sale?

[@madaboutvoice]

This is really cool. Great job putting it together. Would absolutely love to take it for a spin :)

[@richsmith4884]

Nice. I've been thinking about a similar design for years. There's a patent (might be expired now) on at least a similar design. I started taking welding classes last January so that I can build one. I was thinking planetary gears as alternative to external gearing - not sure there's an improvement there.

[@bobvista76]

Wow! Very impressive engineering skills. I have looked for a bike like this for years and just found this. I hope you could do a how to video,Please. I wouldent even know where to begin and I have a strong engineering background. More info please. This design would make a great compact and stable ride? Great work!!

[@jaekib]

Big thumbs up for novel, definitely novel! Next on the agenda might be biasing the pedals somehow so the don't help you to sreer;). Maybe pedal arm angle, or some more rake on the forks or the like. Very likeable design. Nice job!

[@cesarsoto852]

Great job, very compact design

[@encimadelarmariom19]

impressively well done, I'd love an asembling walkthrough

[@NigelLoller]

Thanks..home made extra long crankshaft..Use a rear wheel with hub machined for bearings and fit freewheeling (ratchet) sprocket to it,make wider forks with bearing seats..the rest is self explanation !

[@Calibike]

Amazing build

[@NigelLoller]

I used four 16 x 31 x8 ball raced bearings,two in the forks and two in the (modified) hub , and machined ( ground) a square taper on each end of a new 16mm bar that was as long as I needed to get through the entire assembly including spacers where required..The pedal cranks, when pulled up onto the tapers, served along with the spacers to eliminate any end float and the shaft therefore required no shoulder like a standard shaft has and is free to rotate either way (with no chain fitted) Good ?

[@josephcarlat9414]

Excellent!!!

[@agustinvelazquez4767]

Hermosa idea

[@AyanMullick]

Thanks for sharing the video. Is there a list of items and a set of instructions on how one could build it.

[@thomasswedlund1097]

Do you have a patent? This idea is better than any I've seen in the web. It puts the center of gravity right were it needs to be.

[@NigelLoller]

Thankyou ! No Patent ,But interested parties can contact me for design details if it could be monetised

[@thomasswedlund1097]

@@NigelLoller this is one of those times when I wish I had a few million dollars to invest. I fancy myself a bit of an invdntor6 myself and this is such a great idea I wish I had thought of.

[@humanpowervehicleclubrussi6746]

Hi, there are many different fwd designs at kzbin.info as well, just if interested

[@dittyjamz]

Yes great information! Thank you very much. Bearings in the fork eh? How long does it take to change a tire (not that it matters much; love the design)? So you're basically sliding a 16mm bar through the whole assembly like you would a bolt through a fixture? I'm sure I'm oversimplifying it. Sorry for all the replies. I think youtube is botching my comments.

[@NigelLoller]

Hi Sean It's surprising what you can build with a lot of old bike bits eh?. I like your fwd bevel gear arrangement.

[@dittyjamz]

Seems like solid construction. I found another video /watch?v=rQZaVPI_pH4 where a guy modifies his trike but clamps around the big bearings. Thought you might be interested. I'm not sure how reliable it would be on a 2 wheel bike (especially if you wanted to add a hub motor to the back), but it's thought provoking. Also I've been thinking a lot about the idea of having the 1:1 gears one side of the wheel and the shifting gears on the other but maybe that's harder, I'm not sure.

[@Westsatsop]

Is the difficulty in removing the wheel the reason for not extending "the lay shaft" through the frame tube and driving the sprocket on the other side of the wheel? It seems to me that if you did this you could narrow the pedals by an inch or more.

[@TheElyes123]

Bro you are awesome

[@agustinvelazquez4767]

A poner a prueba

[@MrMyneworld]

buen esfuerzo, gracias por compartirlo. Yo tenía esperanza en ese sistema, pero lamentablemente el pedaleo desestabiliza la dirección, lo lamento, no me gusta. La dirección debería ser rigurosamente estable para que sea de uso práctico. Además los pedales quedan demasiado separados, y las piernas no encuentran un apoyo estable, imagino que puede causar lesiones de rodilla en poco tiempo. El efecto en el cuerpo es lo principal, y creo que por eso tratamos de buscar alternativas a la bicicleta tradicional. Pero lo que sí me parece bien es la posición del cuerpo, no tan acostada como en otros diseños. Las posturas muy acostadas pueden ser más aerodinámicas, pero la verdad es que cuanto más bajo estás, menos entorno puedes ver, y también eres menos visible. Es preferible sacrificar algo de aerodinámica, o estas cosas se quedarán para siempre como meras curiosidades, a menos que los automóviles desaparezcan de las calles.

[@NigelLoller]

Yep!

[@sweeney37]

I missed the comment from Marc le Borgne . I wonder if it's his inspiration for the kervelo bike ?

[@dittyjamz]

"The pedal shaft is free to rotate within the wheel hub and the fork bearings..and that is the tricky bit".... yeah that's what I'm racking my brain over... It seems a standard threaded shaft wouldn't fit the forks AND the extra pedal sprocket (unless it was longer). Does the shaft go through a standard bearing or did you put in a bigger bearing and wider/longer shaft?

[@davidwatson2363]

is it an improvement over a cruzbike?

[@GoldenSim27]

so , how you made this ? longer stronger axle and bearing where the wheel mount to the fork ? i would love to have more details, i want to build my self a lowracer using a 700 front wheel and i don't have legs long enough to put the crank past the wheel so having it in the hub sounds perfect

[@NigelLoller]

.home made extra long crankshaft..Use a rear wheel with hub machined for bearings and fit freewheeling (ratchet) sprocket to it,make wider forks with bearing seats..the rest is self explanation !

[@Lechoslowianin]

Can be turned around in a narrow street?

[@NigelLoller]

Yes something going on eh? Repeats of "comment removed"..NOT BY ME No you havn't over simplified it To change a tyre you need a crank puller thats all remove the 'lazy' pedal and withdraw the shaft far enough to clear the spacer..then there is room to pull out the tyre and tube without removing the whole wheel if you wish..It all works !

[@jobvdboom5000]

do you have to deal with odd steering behaviour when accelerating with this setup?

[@liyawei]

I want one,

[@zafar78600]

Do u have plans available?

[@sweeney37]

Hi great work , how do you find pedal inteference over steering

[@NigelLoller]

Thanks Fryn It's not an issue once you are up and running.... Starting off up hill is not so easy !

[@sweeney37]

Im working on a similar project , have tried the Cruz / python style . Perhaps I will try a steeper stem angle to counter act

[@sweeney37]

@@NigelLoller just wondered what fork angle is ?

[@NigelLoller]

@@sweeney37 I think I would have set the head angle to 30 degrees ..trail about 100 mm

[@HighRisk50]

You get a FLAT tire & show us how to FIX it ! ;-)

[@NigelLoller]

+HighRisk Easy..one bolt,remove pedal crank and withdraw the shaft !

[@liangkaree2881]

I bet he drive a honda civic.

[@dittyjamz]

This is outstanding craftsmanship. Thank you very much for sharing it. What an inspiration. To me this makes much more sense then versions with the crank over the wheel. For the last few days I've been trying to break down what you've done in an effort to make my own. It's quite a challenge, I think I understand the broad strokes concepts, but I'd love to see the front gearing in a more detail.