Shaft Drive Chainless Bike

"Shaft Drive Chainless Bike - What You Should Know!"

...The shaft drive system for chainless bicycles is simple in design and hence very reliable. The drive uses chrome molybdenum bevel gears front and rear all fully encased in a lightweight aluminium housing, hence no dirt can get into the system to create additional wear.

The main drive mechanism is similar to that used on shaft drive motorcycles. The bicycle shaft drive system uses bevel gears front and rear with a Nexus Shimano or Sturmey Archer internally geared 3 and 7 speed hub. The shaft drive replaces the traditional chain and crankset, and the internal hub gears the derailleur sprocket system.

The performance of the shaft drive system ranges from 90 to 95 % efficiency. In comparison, the efficiency of a good clean chain may be up to 98.5% efficient. Due to exposure to dirt and the elements however, the efficiency of a chain drive will reduce more dramatically over time than the shaft drive system.

Shaft drive advantages over the traditional chain drive bicycles:

• Safe: no chain to fall off, no chain bite on pants or skirts.
• Clean: axles and gears enclosed - no grease/oil exposure.
• Low maintenance: durable bevel gears remain true year in and year out. Quiet and smooth ride: less loss of power due to better efficiency.
• Simple: no complex derailleur/ chainwheels; use internal gear/speed-shifting system.

Unfortunately existing bikes can't be fitted with a shaft drive unit to enjoy this trouble free riding.
The bicycle shaft drive system needs a wider and shorter bottom bracket shell and special dropouts.

One question that is often asked is how does the gearing compare to a chain and sprocket system?
Well, with the Nexus hub, the gear ratios are designed for commuter and trail riding, and hence give you typically 85% the range of a 21 speed equivalent system. The table below gives further gear ratio details.

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The chainless bikes are shaft driven: the pedals spin the internal shaft drive transmission which in turn powers the back wheel. This drive mechanism and rear axle gear system are all fully enclosed, hence the bicycle requires very little maintenance.

The idea of using a shaft drive transmission on a bike is not a new one. The first shaft driven bicycle was built in France in the early 1890’s and was quickly copied by the American League Cycle Co. The famous black athlete Marshall ‘Major’ Taylor rode an Orient Chainless bike in his races and became cycling world champion in 1899.

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These early models were single speed bikes. This combined with the weight penalty that the shaft drive system added meant that they soon fell out of favour once the new chain-driven multi-geared bikes appeared.

The new breed of shaft driven bikes are no longer single speed. For example: Zero’s range of bikes incorporate a Shimano Nexus 7 speed hub gear system as standard. The weight penalty has also been reduced to approximately 1 Kilo.

The low maintenance aspect of the chainless bike has attracted people who want to use their bikes as a simple, clean alternative to walking or driving.  They are also used by an ever growing number of riders, who find their bikes ideal for touring and commuting.

Shaft Drive Bike >>

Ride for Life...
Chip Clark
Famous Bike Guy

     Shaft drive chainless bike