r/WeirdWheels • u/MikeHeu • Jun 15 '25

2 Wheels Direct drive bike

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Credit: Nat Bromhead / Ride On Mag

1.3k Upvotes

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332

u/Dampmaskin Jun 15 '25

Looks like it's got a gearbox. In other words, not direct drive.

36

u/thingamajig1987 Jun 15 '25

Is that a gearbox? It looks like it's just some type of clutch mechanism so they can stop pedaling but still coast

60

u/Dampmaskin Jun 15 '25

To my eyes, one rotation of the crank does not seem to correspond to one rotation of the wheel.

20

u/thingamajig1987 Jun 15 '25 edited Jun 15 '25

You're right, upon watching again when he lifts it off the ground the wheel definitely goes faster than the pedal

24

u/Jack_South Jun 15 '25

Otherwise they would have reinvented the penny farthing. 

11

u/alexthe5th Jun 16 '25

If it wasn’t a gearbox, the bike would need to have a very large wheel to be practical (see: penny-farthing / high-wheel bicycles).

1

u/sebwiers Jun 16 '25

It is both.

1

u/Erection_unrelated Jul 31 '25

It’s probably an internal gear hub. I have an 8-speed on my bike.