How can I put the derailleur on left side?

[Archie_tect]

That's a brilliant idea zack... it would remove the need for the inefficient long chain, reduce friction on the drive and simplify recumbent bikes in one fell swoop.

Having thought about it a bit more.... front wheel drive would be better but would need a bit more technology to steer the driving wheels, which would then need to be bigger.... it's starting to unravel now...

 

[Dogtrousers]

the reason im asking is im building a new recumbent trike and iv been looking at ways for the gearing i have at the front a triple just as normal this is to go on the left and a chain runs to a second bottom bracket in the centre this has a single on the left that is the same size as the middle gear on the front triple. then on the right hand side there is a normal triple in the middle bottom bracket driving a standard rear wheel freewheel.
basically the idea is if i have the front gears on the middle gear its a 1:1 so ride will be as normal but if i chose the smaller gear at the front i will achieve a lower gearing for hills ect and if i chose the large gear at the front then i will have higher gearing ideal for flats and down hills.
i know there are drive systems on the market that will give me the same things with less hassle, but 1 iv not got the cash to splash about on things like that and 2 i like to make things and enjoy a challenge lol

I've seen the stuff you do in other threads, and am amazed by your skill and ingenuity, but I think the deal breaker in this would be the freehub/freewheel block. Put it on the left hand side and it'll only work in reverse! At least it does when I try to do this in my head. Maybe it's different in real life.

If I've understood you properly, you want this is because last chain ring before the chain goes to the back will be on the left, and on the RH side of that BB will be a chain ring connected to the triple at the front. Surely it would be easier to flip the triple at the front to the other side, and flip the middle BB round, so that the last chain ring before the chain goes to the back is on the right as normal? I imagine wrong-sided front derailleurs would be much easier to make than wrong sided rears. Or have I misunderstood?

 

[Archie_tect]

Stuee,
Could you just put tandem gear on it to avoid the crossover with another compact chain ring on the pedal set to get an extra set of gearing ...shouldn't have any worse drag or friction than a tandem set-up would?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

the reason im asking is im building a new recumbent trike and iv been looking at ways for the gearing i have at the front a triple just as normal this is to go on the left and a chain runs to a second bottom bracket in the centre this has a single on the left that is the same size as the middle gear on the front triple. then on the right hand side there is a normal triple in the middle bottom bracket driving a standard rear wheel freewheel.
basically the idea is if i have the front gears on the middle gear its a 1:1 so ride will be as normal but if i chose the smaller gear at the front i will achieve a lower gearing for hills ect and if i chose the large gear at the front then i will have higher gearing ideal for flats and down hills.
i know there are drive systems on the market that will give me the same things with less hassle, but 1 iv not got the cash to splash about on things like that and 2 i like to make things and enjoy a challenge lol

stuee

If I understand it correctly, the only thing as proposed that is unusual and on the left is the triple up front, driving a single on the left in the middle (presumably there is a tensioner), which drives directly another triple at the middle this time on the right, which in turn drives a conventional rear train again on the right as normal.

The challenge of that is if the front mech for the front triple is mounted upside down (so that it is on the left) it will be facing backwards in terms of chain direction since it has to be rotated 120 degree to derail the driven/upper chain.

If I were you what I would consider is to keep the triple in front on the right and let the chain drive the inner or outer ring of a triple/quad* chainset at the middle again on the right, leaving 2/3 rings driving the rear conventionally. You will having to play with bb/chainring spacers/bolts to ensure no clash between the two chains, but it is simple, cheap and should be efficient.

* via a triplizer ring e.g. With a trike I would have thought you have quite a bit of freedom re chainline.

 

[stuee147]

It would be easier to make your bike, front wheel drive with the mech on the left and just convert it to rear wheel steering.

iv thought of that but i think a delta trike with that method would work best as in my experience rear steering is a bit tricky on the roads, and best suited to a trike im thinking of doing just for off road with suspension front and rear and having rear steer for manoeuvring around trees and tight turns

I've seen the stuff you do in other threads, and am amazed by your skill and ingenuity,

thanks but i think its more luck than skill lol you dont see the 20 attempts that failed loln

If I understand it correctly, the only thing as proposed that is unusual and on the left is the triple up front, driving a single on the left in the middle (presumably there is a tensioner), which drives directly another triple at the middle this time on the right, which in turn drives a conventional rear train again on the right as normal.

The challenge of that is if the front mech for the front triple is mounted upside down (so that it is on the left) it will be facing backwards in terms of chain direction since it has to be rotated 120 degree to derail the driven/upper chain.

If I were you what I would consider is to keep the triple in front on the right and let the chain drive the inner or outer ring of a triple/quad* chainset at the middle again on the right, leaving 2/3 rings driving the rear conventionally. You will having to play with bb/chainring spacers/bolts to ensure no clash between the two chains, but it is simple, cheap and should be efficient.

* via a triplizer ring e.g. With a trike I would have thought you have quite a bit of freedom re chainline.

i think i have confused most folk on here what im thinking is getting a standard rear section of bike with gears chain pedals ect then remove the pedal on the left and fit a single gear this would be driven by a second bottom bracket on the left at the front and i was thinking of using a old rear deraillier to provide tension on the chain so its just changing the gears on the front triple.
i have been thinking of turning the derallier upside down and then maybe making new chain guide arms. it seems to work but im not sure how to make strong enough guide arms,

Stuee,
Could you just put tandem gear on it to avoid the crossover with another compact chain ring on the pedal set to get an extra set of gearing ...shouldn't have any worse drag or friction than a tandem set-up would?

iv never thought of a tandem gearing ill have to look at that iv no experience in tandems yet lol

i did have an idea last night i thought maybe try and make up spacers and bolts to fix a 4th gear to the triple on the rear half of the trike that will still give me what im after with the normal, extra low and extra high gear sets but all the gearing and chains will be on the right it should make it easier i just need to work out where the chains will run and how far out it will be under the seat. its just another idea iv had but i always look forward to anyone else's input

stuee

 

[stuee147]

If I were you what I would consider is to keep the triple in front on the right and let the chain drive the inner or outer ring of a triple/quad* chainset at the middle again on the right, leaving 2/3 rings driving the rear conventionally. You will having to play with bb/chainring spacers/bolts to ensure no clash between the two chains, but it is simple, cheap and should be efficient.

* via a triplizer ring e.g. With a trike I would have thought you have quite a bit of freedom re chainline.

thats just the sort of idea i had last night lol and yea i do have a good area to play with for the chain run

 

[Dogtrousers]

i think i have confused most folk on here what im thinking is getting a standard rear section of bike with gears chain pedals ect then remove the pedal on the left and fit a single gear this would be driven by a second bottom bracket on the left at the front and i was thinking of using a old rear deraillier to provide tension on the chain so its just changing the gears on the front triple.

Duh. I see, sorry.

 

[stuee147]

Duh. I see, sorry.

dont worry i get myself confused all the time as you can tell from some of my posts lol

 

[voyager]

Just read this thread
There are other ways to get over the gear ratio problems without resorting to these measures that can be done at home .

RX4ray on the AZ site and I have experimented with dual rear mechs and a Jackshaft this combination would allow if developed further could make an interesting low cost alternative . Quite happy to expand on the way it can be done ( more details on my 20/20 e-trike thread on AZ shows an easy to build jackshaft that drives all the way down on the right .and fits in the bottom bracket position on the MTB rear triangle .
The reason I used a 21t take off cog was I was using ( like Ray ) 20" wheels and the maths are 26/20 = 21/16 for a standard final drive .
I converted a 6 speed freewheel less pawls to a 4 speed with 21t take off ( to correct the gearing and be a totally free freewheel ) this requires disassembly of the freewheel and rearrangement of the sprockets . That gave me 12 speed with the triple on the front ( 16 withn a quad ), IF the 21 ( on 26" wheels was changed to 18 or 20 and drove a 7speed 11 to 32 freewheel on the rear whee from the take off cog l then 84 gears would be available from very low silly gears to super high of 140" plus ratios .
There are other little opportunities to watch out for but if this is the way for you to progress then PM me
.
regards emma

 

[ReverseBike]

Here's one I did earlier

View attachment 272270

Hey Brian,
What Derailleur did you use for your left hand drive bicycle? Or did you have to build it? I'm building a reverse bicycle for a university project and this is one of the last components I need.

Thanks!

 

[Ian H]

It might be possible to remove the side plates from a front derailleur and fabricate a pair of mirror-image ones. The mechanism itself should work adequately in reverse. You might need to change the angle at which it's mounted.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Hey Brian,
What Derailleur did you use for your left hand drive bicycle? Or did you have to build it? I'm building a reverse bicycle for a university project and this is one of the last components I need.

Thanks!

I think he's managed to fit LH brakes too

 

[winjim]

I think he's managed to fit LH brakes too

He's even got a left handed bird bath.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I'm building a reverse bicycle for a university project and this is one of the last components I need.

By using a longer chain you could set the chain up in a figure of 8 - with the tensioned section of the chain running from the top of the chain ring to the bottom of the cassette (rear flipped round obv) - and with a bit of fabrication mount a 'normal derailleur' upside down to allow rear sprocket changing and sufficient chain tension (cage axis might need a stronger spring). The freewheel/freehub pawls would work 'as normal'. Probability of some chain rub here and there but not project threatening. Maybe best with a 5 speed freewheel to minimise the chainline angles (more risk of chain coming off the chain ring without the benefit and with the detriment of gravity) or when proving it at the project demonstration, limit rear sprocket changing to the three middle sprockets. Would need a braze on cable stop on the left chainstay.

This could allow the bike to operate as designed: in reverse (so maybe add some stabilisers onto the back dropouts).
Edit: I think the presentation at the end of the OP's project could be highly entertaining.

 

[mickle]

Why?