Re: [Bikies] Bicycle drivetrain and my dreams

[Eric Westhagen]

In reply: If bike shops, sales and repair represent a large constituency,  your new invention would be fought tooth and nail and probably so with the aid of the government--not their support.  Claude Frédéric Bastiat was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly and  was most noted for his satires on political economic questions.  Possibly his most memorable satire was his CANDLEMAKERS' PETITION.  It purported to present the "union's" (guild)  petition demanding  the Government pass a law forcing windows to become shuttered to support the flagging candle business.  Basiat has remained current and popular from his time span of the first half of the nineteenth century because experience of pressure groups and governments proves his satire to succeeding generations of libertarians. But if you do perfect a maintenance and wear-free bicycle with lifetime parts and tires--I surely will buy one. --and Wallmart will no doubt be the seller. Eric Hans Noeldner wrote: India Rose, Kirks, thanks for your suggestions!  I am familiar with Triflow; we used it on some scientific instruments where I worked years ago.  But I had not thought about using it on a bike; I will try it!  I think it's loaded with Teflon and graphite powders; they should be good for cold weather.   I think about how the best engineering minds in the world have devoted so much effort to making motor vehicles, aircraft, and weaponry as astonishingly reliable and robust as they are under all kinds of extreme environments.  In this day and age no automobile company would dare to market a vehicle with an open chain drive!  Much less vehicles which require 1/10th the frequency of adjusting, cleaning, fiddling, and replacement of "consumables" (chains, brake pads, cables, etc.) as bicycles. Dear President Obama: Instead of bailing out the car companies, how about spending a few stimulus dollars on a "Man on the Moon" project to design and bring to market a PRACTICAL, affordable, lightweight, year-round, virtually maintenance-free drive system for that most efficient of all transportation machines – the bicycle.  A totally-enclosed, modular, sealed transmission and shaft drive which approaches the efficiency of a chain/derailleur; one which requires adjustment and lubrication no more often than, say, once every four years.  (As a mechanical engineer, I can assure you that this is entirely feasible.)   The people engaged in the project could pretend that ordinary people getting on their bikes and going where they need to go – without any #...@#!!  fiddling or f**king around – is as IMPORTANT AS GOING TO THE MOON.  Duh.   Oh well…maybe the Trek drive belt plus enclosed hub gearboxes will approach this level of…not perfection, but ADEQUACY.  However, I have a hunch that the Trek belt will be susceptible to chunks of ice getting caught in the teeth and rupturing it.   Hans Noeldner _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list Bikies@lists.danenet.org http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org

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