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Backwards Bike

 Like a normal bike but in reverse
  (+4)
(+4) 		  [vote for,
against]

A normal bike always pedals in the direction of the tire movement. Any bike that has those ratcheting center hubs means you can pedal backwards to no effect, and it's a fun way to pass the time.

I recommend a few gears to reverse the output on the bicycle. Normal operating mode would be to pedal backwards.

Increased workout means less dsitance to get the same amount of exercise.

—metarinka, May 21 2011

World record http://www.recordho...kwards-cycling.html
[pocmloc, May 21 2011]

Backwards bicycle http://www.youtube....watch?v=70O8XZyycWk
Two wheels on top of each other on each side. How do you even get started riding something like this!? [jutta, May 23 2011]

Retro-Direct Gearing (early 1900s) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-Direct
A second gear that kicks in when you cycle backwards. [jutta, May 23 2011]

The Hirondelle bicycle in action http://www.youtube....watch?v=HcTgbPQonVc
Looks like a perfectly normal bike. Then your brain says, "waitaminute!" [jutta, May 23 2011]

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       could you poss re-write this to make sense of this +1
—po, May 21 2011
   

       I've ridden such a bike. It was built by a friend of mine. Rather than extra gears, it has two rear wheels, one above the other, in tyre to tyre contact. The wheel configuration is thus:   

       8 o   

       The upper rear wheel and the bottom bracket are on back-to-front, so the chain and sprockets are on the left. Thus, pedalling backwards causes the upper wheel to rotate backwards, which in turn causes the lower wheel to turn forwards.
—spidermother, May 22 2011
   

       Those world records are truly amazing... Some club cyclists would be trying not to be embarrased by someone passing by like this.
—Ling, May 22 2011
   

       I like the use of the word "dsitance" to illustrate the principle of the idea. [+]
—xenzag, May 22 2011
   

       spider mother, instead of using 2 tires you could simply use 2 gears, Just more mechanically efficient.
—metarinka, May 23 2011
   

       Absolutely. The simplest method is simply to cross the chain over in the middle - so the chain is like an infinity symbol.   

       This one had the extra wheel not for efficiency, but for sheer outlandishness.   

       (BTW, didn't you want less dsitance to get the same amount of exercise? Isn't mechanical efficiency counter to that?)
—spidermother, May 23 2011
   

       //How do you even get started riding something like this!?// One foot on a pedal (a bit of a stretch); scoot along with the other to get some speed; quickly, in one move, stand up and swing leg over; start pedalling. The most difficult part is to convince yourself to do something so silly. It's actually surprisingly easy.
—spidermother, May 24 2011
   

       I am really quite taken with the retrodirect setup. Now thinking hard about starting to collect pieces...
—pocmloc, May 24 2011
   

       It would sound like you are free-wheeling in both directions!
—Ling, May 25 2011
   


 

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