TRAVELLING BACKWARDS IN TIME
as
printed in Velovision issue5 March 2002
Gear-changers – who needs them?
I recently uncovered an interesting bike in the evolution of gearing systems. It's the Hirondelle of 1905, which devised its gearing system from an earlier Barbarian and Meunier 1869 idea. As the bulk of bikes of this era had only a single fixed gear, any move to multi-gears and freewheeling was to be welcomed, whatever compromises may have been entailed.
So it was that the Hirondelle had two gears: one engaged when pedalling forwards and another, lower gear activated by pedalling backwards. Both gears propelled the bike forwards.
Impossible, you say, but not so. It was achieved by using two free-wheels a jockey wheel and both sides of the chain. This idea intrigued me so much that I just had to build one.
For my first ride I tackled a moderately hilly 80km and pulled up only slightly sore. I soon became accustomed to swapping instantly and automatically from forward to back-wards and vice versa. Moving up through the gears works as follows: You start off backwards in first, pedal forwards for third, and then shift to the large front chainwheel for 4th. These ratios give a spread equivalent to most three-speed hub gears. Pedalling backwards on the large ring gives second gear.
Thinking of those early pioneers covering great
distances on these early bikes on rough dirt roads inspired me to tackle the
annual Great Victorian Bike Ride of 2001. This recreational nine-day ride
traverses 650km of rural
The day soon came. During the bus trip to the start all I could think of was would the bike cause me trouble? It was made up from a discarded 1950’s roadster-style bike: were my frame modifications adequate? Would the gearing be OK? And would extended pedalling back-wards stress my legs? All these worries would soon be answered.
Off loading the bikes, I overheard "Why do people bring old bikes like this rusty thing?” "Hey. That's my masterpiece, that's my steed", I said to myself as I put it together. After Teflon-taping the pedal threads and screwing them on, and straightening the handlebar, I was ready to ride. Taping the threads helps prevent unscrewing with bi-directional pedalling.
Once under way the comments and questions began. Why are you pedalling backwards? Is it easier? He must have a disability! Are you back-pedalling all the way? Wrong way mate! Cool, are you in training? (for what?) How does it work? Did you think of it? I've never seen that before! If you keep that up you'll end up back at the start! Answering that lot provided some interesting travelling companions and the kilometres disappeared.
Later that week the hills became much steeper and at least half of the riders began walking. I was only able to climb by pedalling backwards standing on the pedals, and a very unnatural feeling it was - but effective all the same. Passing those walking with their much newer and lighter bikes I realised there's no substitute for fitness and training. The early pioneer riders were possibly much fitter than current crop, as bikes were their only transport.
My bike posed no problems the entire ride, much to
my relief. My impressions of bi-directional pedalling?
Well, my knees never felt sore, lactic acid didn't seem to build up as much,
and high cadences seemed limited. It was a good mental work out and a lot of
fun. It was also very satisfying to reveal an unusual piece of bicycling
history that didn’t make it to Australian shores.
You
can find out more on the history and practice of retro-direct gearing" and
the Hirondelle on Ross Harrop's: website:
http://members.westnet.com.au/rjharrop/recumbents/retro-direct/Retro-Direct2.htm