LH drive?

[youngoldbloke]

Just received an email from Halfords - is this a first?

 

[Rooster1]

The designer obviously hit the Flip Horizontal button in photoshop!

Why are the mechs always on the right anyways!

 

[AndyRM]

What @Rooster1 said.

One of our stock images features a flipped bike image. Fortunately it's nowhere near as obvious, though it still drives me and my manager (also a cyclist) mental. Annoyingly, the flipped version seems to fit most layouts better.

I think that the drive-train is always on the right because it would un-thread as you pedalled on the left? Though I've seen a BMX knocking about here with a left side set up. Hopefully someone has a more detailed explanation as I've often wondered the same.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Given that the majority of cycling in the world is actually performed on the 'wrong' side of the road anyway, that's an interesting question.

 

[MontyVeda]

Would it be because most right handers 'mount' their bike from its LH side, the non-oily side?? Just a guess.

 

[jefmcg]

If they did flip it - which they must have - they then went and flipped the writing back on the downtube. Some effort, and obviously someone who didn't know that mechs are always on the same side.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Would it be because most right handers 'mount' their bike from its LH side, the non-oily side?? Just a guess.

Maybe - but in the rest of Europe, and the US, etc, etc???

 

[MontyVeda]

Maybe - but in the rest of Europe, and the US, etc, etc???

I was thinking it's more to do with the rider being right handed (as most poeple are) and not the side of the road one rides/drives.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I was thinking it's more to do with the rider being right handed (as most poeple are) and not the side of the road one rides/drives.

I don't know - do cyclists mount from the road side in those countries that drive on the right? rather than the 'pavement' side? I can only assume it dates from the early days of bicycle development - in the UK - where it would have made sense to keep the 'complicated' bits of the drive train away from the nearside.

 

[MontyVeda]

I don't know - do cyclists mount from the road side in those countries that drive on the right? ....

not necessarily... being left handed, i only ever mount my bike from the RH side, which is why i'm leaning towards it being about rider dexterity rather than what side of the road whatever country uses.

 

[AndyRM]

Some interesting facts and discussion which covers all our theories over here - http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/5164/why-do-bikes-have-their-drivetrains-on-the-right

 

[MontyVeda]

interesting... so if it's about thread dexterity... can i have a point?

 

[Apollonius]

Having hired a bike in Italy recently (a very nice Cannondale CAAD something or other) I can reveal that bikes on the mainland of Europe have their brakes wired the other way round. This means the front brake is on the left. I only noticed this when coming down a substantial hill that required both brakes. Up till then I had only used the back one. I normally only use the front.

 

[arranandy]

Having hired a bike in Italy recently (a very nice Cannondale CAAD something or other) I can reveal that bikes on the mainland of Europe have their brakes wired the other way round. This means the front brake is on the left. I only noticed this when coming down a substantial hill that required both brakes. Up till then I had only used the back one. I normally only use the front.

That caught me out the first time I hired a bike on Mallorca. Nearly went over the handlebars

 

[numbnuts]

Would it be because most right handers 'mount' their bike from its LH side, the non-oily side?? Just a guess.

Right handed and mount on the right, there is always one