HAYES TO MARKET CHAIN-DRIVEN GEARBOX SYSTEMOCT 5
HAYES TO MARKET CHAIN-DRIVEN GEARBOX SYSTEMOCT 5
Hayes Disc Brakes has announced that it holds the exclusive rights for the manufacture and sale of the PeteSpeed gearbox, which was raced by BeOne’s downhill team in this past season. PeteSpeed’s patented « gearbox » The PeteSpeed patented?gearbox? is actually a small derailleur, which is enclosed in a machined-aluminum box and mounted in the frame’s bottom bracket area. A freewheeling sprocket is contained within the box. It drives the crank arms and powers a cogset similar to a road bike. To shift the chain through the cogset, a compact set of jockey pulleys are attached to the crank-side shaft. They slide back and forth on their bottom bracket shaft. The shifting is actuated by a standard cable.
Honda has patented a similar system to its RN01 downhill bicycle. It has been in use with the team for a lot of the past season. The PeteSpeed or Honda transmissions are not secret. They are essentially derailleurs in a box. However, the PeteSpeed/Hayes system offers downhillers some big advantages over the traditional external rear derailleur.
1) Anytime shifting: Because the freewheel is at crank and not the cogs so long as the bike moves, the transmission is also moving. This means you can shift regardless of whether you’re pedaling or coasting.
2)Precise drive-sprocket positioning: The final drive sprocket may be placed near or concentric to the swingarm pivot. This helps to reduce pedaling torque.
3) No more flailing chains: A derailleur contained in a box has an extremely short chain that is not easily bent. Conventional external derailleurs have weak chain tensioners, which allow the chain to flop all over.
4) Say goodbye to muddy cogs. Only the last chin drive, and a few sprockets, are exposed to the dust and goo.
WHAT’S THE FUTURE?
It must be enclosed in a reinforced housing bolted to a frame to reduce its weight. It will not be able to cover enough gearing to make it a true mountain biking transmission. The PeteSpeed transmission’s small-diameter gears are subject to greater torque loads than standard systems. This will lead to increased wear on the PeteBox’s sprockets, and chain.
