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BACKPEDAL Brake Actuation

 

Backpedal stirrup schematic.

bucketOn a 5 speed. Watch Video

bucket Ratchet tripped, arm swung back, brakes pulled, chain slacked

bucket

Farthing Penny & cargo bucket

    ReCycle trailer from scrap frame

Pedal axles in rear wheels

Storage with axles unscrewed

 

 

    Rear front wheel stored by front

 

 

 

·         Strong controllable braking independent of hand position/signalling/cargo

·         Ideal for the rear stirrup brake of traditional English/Indian/Chinese bikes

·         Also very simple for cable braking and rear derailleur gearing

·         2 or 3 moving parts very simple to make

FARTHING PENNY   Bouquet Cargo Bicycle 

·         Carries a 20L bucket of cargo with multi- pocket organiser 

·         Small bike handling and manoeuvrability with big bike power

·         Silent, powerful and jam-free backpedal braking with derailleur gearing

·         Sit up & Beg handlebars provide elbow rests for Praying extension

This design arose from use of standard bucket and bucket organiser to transport cargo (mainly groceries) in living without a car. Panniers require extensive frames and support points to keep them out of the spokes, complicating removal. In the front their weight and volume capacity is limited by turning with the wheel. Rear panniers or racks do not allow monitoring the contents when riding and add extra spoke-breaking load to the rear wheel which already bears 110 lbs  of a 175 lb  rider.  Backpacks have a particularly high center of gravity again too far back and exacerbate the differential cooling problem that leads to a wet and clammy back yet a frozen front. A cheaper system is to take advantage of the ubiquitous 5 gallon bucket and the cheap pail organisers that are mass produced for the building trades. These hang over the bucket rim with numerous pockets on the inside and outside. Instead of adding wind resistance, a front mounting provides a bit of a round entry fairing to the body behind.  The maximum 45 lbs of  5 gal bucket full of liquid then evens the weight on each wheels at 100lbs  for a 175 lb adult.

At first a bucket was suspended inside the “praying” handlebars of a standard 10 speed but a full load then affected the steering a bit severely. So it was clamped in front of the steering tube to the frame with a quick release lever whilst straight handlebars on a simple gooseneck gave sufficient steering movement behind it.  In fact the movement was often annoyingly more restricted by the near interference of the toe in front of the pedal hitting the back of the front wheel. This begs for a smaller front wheel which would also lower the weight of the cargo and the top of the bucket below the arc of the handlebars. The grocery delivery and Paschley Post Office bikes in the UK have slightly smaller front wheels under their trays attached to the frame  The stability and control of a bicycle are largely governed by the steering front wheel, and folding bicycles have shown that a small front wheel has very good balance as well as high manoeuvrability.

But the standard rear frame is a lighter way to stiffly support the seat and a fullsize rear wheel allows light yet high derailleur gearing. So the idea was to just change the frame ahead of the seat-tube to allow a small front wheel but to keep it and the handlebars stiff.   Since the steering tube is parallel to the seat tube, the front end can be lowered by parallel cutting the front and top tubes through their lugs at the seat tube. Then the interchanged lug cuts fit well and weld easily even with rods. Then another steering tube can be welded on top more or less in the original location. Since these are the largest diameter tubes in a standard frame this is far stiffer than a long gooseneck.  A section of straight steel handlebar can be welded in a cut in the fork tube to extend it inside the longer steering tube. A bracket to hold the bottom lip of the bucket is welded to the bottom of the steering tube just above the tire, and a semicircular bracket welded from its middle from which straps encircle the bucket. 

The prototype also has backpedal braking with a silent ratchet on the chainwheel and a small chain pulley on the same ratchet brake lever which causes top side slack with the backpedalling (to allow forward pedalling and so brake release.) The handlebars are an inverted “sit up and beg” so that there is a hollow for the elbows to locate in when the forearms are resting on a delta “praying tuck” extension.

  ReCYCLE Cargo Trailer

    An old bike frame with the seatstays cut off makes a lightweight trailer bed with an offset arm for loose vertical bolting to your bicycle for short loads. To carry long lengths such as lumber, tie their middle to the trailer and suspend the heavier end from your bicycle's seat tube.   The trailer axle can be a 1" EMT (electrical conduit) which just fits the head tube of the lugless frame. To fit old 10-speed rear wheels, replace the axles with ˝" pedal axles. To mount the cone on the small end of the pedal axle, cut the 10-speed axle generously around a cone and drill it out (or ask me to send you 2 such sleeves) DIY:  Punch the center of the axle end and  chuck the axle segement in a drill press and use a stationary center drill and then H&J letter drills clamped in the table vice. Set those upright by lightly chucking the wrong ends.                     .     Cut the bike crank threaded end off to weld it flush to the end of the 1" crosstube. Make sure you mount the wheels freewheel-side in, as they are dished, and mount the lefthanded crank thread on the lefthand side.
     The trailer doesn't take much room at all to store, as the pedal axles are easily unscrewed to remove the wheels. Make the box and axle wide enough to store the wheels inside. Whilst the frame would normally remain bolted to the box it can be stored inside a long enough box, especially at an angle so the axle can be a bit wider than the inside of the box; then with thin box sidewalls (say 3/8“ ply) , the mounted wheels will still clear the outside of the box enough. Or visit me and buy a prototype cheap. Or try
www.CarryFreedom.com

Tow-a-Bike to a Friend

      This is an easy way to tow an empty bicycle behind your bike, for instance to public transport to provide your visitor with a bike. Basically the idea is to remove the front wheel of the bike to be towed and carry it bolted on one side of your front fork. And then mount the front fork of the rear bike over the ends of your rear axle either directly or with some flat bar with holes for the axle and hose clamps for the forks. The connection must be strong but allow the fork to pivot to conform to bumps in the road. The empty rear bike will then tow obediantly behind you with very little drag. The connection is not strong or stiff enough to make this a tandem. Please don’t try