General Information
All text by Lee Richards. Copyright 2012. Linear Pedal Reactor Bicycles, LPR Bicycles, and LPR TM
All text by Lee Richards. Copyright 2012. Linear Pedal Reactor Bicycles, LPR Bicycles, and LPR TM
"A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds" -- Mark Twain
-- First Things First --
-- First Things First --
Why? Why design a new type of bicycle pedaling mechanism anyway? The old one has been around for a very long time now. Hasn’t it proven itself yet? Millions upon millions of circular crank/derailleur bicycles have been manufactured over the years, and the circular pedal crank to rear wheel via chain system has performed consistently, has it not? Even the common derailleur mechanism, with all its shortcomings, is still accepted as being the best.
Today, look to the most exotic, the most technologically advanced, and the most expensive bicycles that money can buy. You will find these machines, assembled from the art’s most prestigious components, still incorporate the same circular pedal crank, to chain, to rear wheel, and to (if it is a multi-speed model) the rear and most likely front derailleurs. The Best. End of story.
Now isn’t it obvious that this described cutting-edge bicycle must be the result of rather current design technology? Here, I am not speaking of the aesthetics of the frame, forks, handlebars, seat, etc. I am not even referencing the assembly’s materials, such as high strength steels, titanium, aluminum, or carbon or aramid fibers. I am referring instead to the rudimentary design of the machine's most important elements. Meaning, the placement of components, their movements and motion, and fundamental device geometry.
With that criteria in mind, a quick search on the ‘net tells us this high-dollar ride may not be so cutting-edge after all.
Turns out the chain driven bicycle was first seen shortly after the end of the first Industrial Revolution (1760 - 1840). The very first patented bicycle incorporating a semi-modern rear wheel chain-drive blueprint was built in 1879 by Mr. H. J. Lawson. Although his design incorporated a larger diameter front wheel, as compared to the rear, the lineage to the modern bike described in the previous paragraphs is unmistakable.
The first commercially manufactured and marketed bicycle chain derailleur was apparently invented and patented by Edmund Hodgkinson. He was a London based engineer who applied for a patent on his ‘Gradient’ derailleur system in 1896. It only provided the rider with two speeds, and was slow and cumbersome to use. This took place well over one hundred years ago.
Fifty years later, Italy's Mr. Tullio Campagnolo designed the Cambio Corsa. It too was a bit difficult to operate, as the rider had to completely stop pedaling, and then back-pedal, in order to shift gears. After that, Tullio patented the first truly modern single cable parallelogram derailleur. The year was 1951.
Increased accuracy and convenience in hand operated gear-shifting actuators, low friction cables, low friction parallelogram pivots with refined geometry, and specialized sprockets and chains have all improved the original derailleur no doubt. There's even a battery powered electric shifting model available. But still, today's derailleurs are a very close copy of Tullio's 1951 model. Close enough, in fact, that they may have infringed on his now expired patent.
In this age of nearly unlimited technological resources, we then have the modern pedal-crank/chain/derailleur bicycle: Designed sixty to one hundred plus years ago, but still going strong.
So what does all this history tell us? Answer: That only one of two things can be true.
Thing One: These men of incredible vision were able to peer deep into the future and come up with inventions that would still be viable in some cases well over one hundred years later. Their work produced bicycle drive-train designs that fully took into account the biology of the human body. They understood the relationship of machine-versus-man, and were able to produce a device that took all relevant factors into account.
The fact that their circular crank/chain drive mechanism was the most obvious, easiest, and simplest way to build a bicycle was of no concern. They didn't care about easy and/or simple.
Thing One says:.. "Mr. Lawson's 130 year old circular crank/chain drive mechanism without question is the best that can ever be".
That’s some vision.
Thing Two: Those sharp-minded individuals did indeed have a vision. They put it to good use, and most all bike riders since have benefited. However, in the last century or so we have witnessed a huge revolution in freedom of design. The last one hundred years has brought a fresh understanding of human-to-machine bio-mechanics, along with efficient ways of adapting that knowledge. Within that span of 100 years inventors have been able to build on, and expand on, ideas and designs of those that have come before.
The advent of computer technologies, including sophisticated CAD programs (Computer Aided Design), have been highly instrumental in the rapid and exceedingly accurate development of complex designs and their corresponding products that just a short time ago were unimaginable. The application of this technology has redefined common examples of a field's “State of the Art”. Today, if you wish to be competitive, good enough is no longer good enough. Change happens fast these days, and if we do not embrace that change, we will be left behind.
The designers of standard bicycle drive-trains, by any definition, have not embraced evolutionary change in any major way.
Thing Two says:.. "There must be something better out there. It's time for improvement. It's time for a change".
Designers and engineers of standard bicycles, even the high-end models, have taken the easy way out. Current bicycle state of the art still gives us a contraption that forces the human body to comply to the inefficient and energy wasting course of the machine. Linear Pedal Reactor designers feel it should be the other way around:
"The machine must be made to comply to the eccentricities of the human body".
Wouldn't you agree?
These same LPR Bicycle designers strongly adhere to the maxim rule of K.I.S.S: “Keep It Simple, Stupid”. But sometimes, in order to perform as desired, a design must become more complex than originally hoped for. The LPR design has evolved somewhat in that direction.
Standard bicycle design is a textbook example of simplicity. That is likely the foremost reason those early designers chose it. Standard bicycle design can also be light in weight, and on that level, it is hard to beat. Current wisdom dictates that absolute light weight holds sway as the factor of factors, the holy grail of quality and performance. While light weight is very important, it is definitely not the most important bicycle feature.
So, what is? What is the most important bicycle feature?
In a word... efficiency.
Today, look to the most exotic, the most technologically advanced, and the most expensive bicycles that money can buy. You will find these machines, assembled from the art’s most prestigious components, still incorporate the same circular pedal crank, to chain, to rear wheel, and to (if it is a multi-speed model) the rear and most likely front derailleurs. The Best. End of story.
Now isn’t it obvious that this described cutting-edge bicycle must be the result of rather current design technology? Here, I am not speaking of the aesthetics of the frame, forks, handlebars, seat, etc. I am not even referencing the assembly’s materials, such as high strength steels, titanium, aluminum, or carbon or aramid fibers. I am referring instead to the rudimentary design of the machine's most important elements. Meaning, the placement of components, their movements and motion, and fundamental device geometry.
With that criteria in mind, a quick search on the ‘net tells us this high-dollar ride may not be so cutting-edge after all.
Turns out the chain driven bicycle was first seen shortly after the end of the first Industrial Revolution (1760 - 1840). The very first patented bicycle incorporating a semi-modern rear wheel chain-drive blueprint was built in 1879 by Mr. H. J. Lawson. Although his design incorporated a larger diameter front wheel, as compared to the rear, the lineage to the modern bike described in the previous paragraphs is unmistakable.
The first commercially manufactured and marketed bicycle chain derailleur was apparently invented and patented by Edmund Hodgkinson. He was a London based engineer who applied for a patent on his ‘Gradient’ derailleur system in 1896. It only provided the rider with two speeds, and was slow and cumbersome to use. This took place well over one hundred years ago.
Fifty years later, Italy's Mr. Tullio Campagnolo designed the Cambio Corsa. It too was a bit difficult to operate, as the rider had to completely stop pedaling, and then back-pedal, in order to shift gears. After that, Tullio patented the first truly modern single cable parallelogram derailleur. The year was 1951.
Increased accuracy and convenience in hand operated gear-shifting actuators, low friction cables, low friction parallelogram pivots with refined geometry, and specialized sprockets and chains have all improved the original derailleur no doubt. There's even a battery powered electric shifting model available. But still, today's derailleurs are a very close copy of Tullio's 1951 model. Close enough, in fact, that they may have infringed on his now expired patent.
In this age of nearly unlimited technological resources, we then have the modern pedal-crank/chain/derailleur bicycle: Designed sixty to one hundred plus years ago, but still going strong.
So what does all this history tell us? Answer: That only one of two things can be true.
Thing One: These men of incredible vision were able to peer deep into the future and come up with inventions that would still be viable in some cases well over one hundred years later. Their work produced bicycle drive-train designs that fully took into account the biology of the human body. They understood the relationship of machine-versus-man, and were able to produce a device that took all relevant factors into account.
The fact that their circular crank/chain drive mechanism was the most obvious, easiest, and simplest way to build a bicycle was of no concern. They didn't care about easy and/or simple.
Thing One says:.. "Mr. Lawson's 130 year old circular crank/chain drive mechanism without question is the best that can ever be".
That’s some vision.
Thing Two: Those sharp-minded individuals did indeed have a vision. They put it to good use, and most all bike riders since have benefited. However, in the last century or so we have witnessed a huge revolution in freedom of design. The last one hundred years has brought a fresh understanding of human-to-machine bio-mechanics, along with efficient ways of adapting that knowledge. Within that span of 100 years inventors have been able to build on, and expand on, ideas and designs of those that have come before.
The advent of computer technologies, including sophisticated CAD programs (Computer Aided Design), have been highly instrumental in the rapid and exceedingly accurate development of complex designs and their corresponding products that just a short time ago were unimaginable. The application of this technology has redefined common examples of a field's “State of the Art”. Today, if you wish to be competitive, good enough is no longer good enough. Change happens fast these days, and if we do not embrace that change, we will be left behind.
The designers of standard bicycle drive-trains, by any definition, have not embraced evolutionary change in any major way.
Thing Two says:.. "There must be something better out there. It's time for improvement. It's time for a change".
Designers and engineers of standard bicycles, even the high-end models, have taken the easy way out. Current bicycle state of the art still gives us a contraption that forces the human body to comply to the inefficient and energy wasting course of the machine. Linear Pedal Reactor designers feel it should be the other way around:
"The machine must be made to comply to the eccentricities of the human body".
Wouldn't you agree?
These same LPR Bicycle designers strongly adhere to the maxim rule of K.I.S.S: “Keep It Simple, Stupid”. But sometimes, in order to perform as desired, a design must become more complex than originally hoped for. The LPR design has evolved somewhat in that direction.
Standard bicycle design is a textbook example of simplicity. That is likely the foremost reason those early designers chose it. Standard bicycle design can also be light in weight, and on that level, it is hard to beat. Current wisdom dictates that absolute light weight holds sway as the factor of factors, the holy grail of quality and performance. While light weight is very important, it is definitely not the most important bicycle feature.
So, what is? What is the most important bicycle feature?
In a word... efficiency.
LPR Design
"Everything should be made as simple as possible... but not simpler". -- Albert Einstein
"Everything should be made as simple as possible... but not simpler". -- Albert Einstein