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This appeared in todays VNS.
This Bike's Pedals Go Up And Down
Alenax Corp.'s transbar power bike has an unusual propulsion
system that swaps levers and ratchets for gears and spockets.
The levers keep the pedals always poised for for a power
stroke. That reduces the motion wasted in cranking a normal
pedal back to the power position.
Alenax Corp., a company setup five years ago to refine and
market the Korean designed mechanism, has been struggling.
Last fall it finally introduced seven models in Japan that
start at $250 and top off at $500 for a racer. It recently
sent its first shipment to Australia. Alenax has also sold
about 1,000 bikes in the US, but it doesn't expect to begin
full scale marketing until spring, and even then it will
concentrate on New England. "We're introducing this as a
high tech bike at relatively high prices," explains Alenax
founder Byung Yim. "We want everything to be perfect."
The next model will include a fifth 'gear' even though the
current four speed version covers a much broader range of
power than conventional 10 speed bikes. It shifts speed merely
by moving the the drive chain along the levers used for
pedaling. That system dispenses with the complicated
deraileur gear mechanism used on most multispeed bikers,
which is one reason the Alenax uses 28% fewer parts.
{Business Week Jan 18, 1988}
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| Yeah. These guys show up at IHPVA events every once in a while.
They are SLOW. Good riders try them and say they are Slow. Forget
it. - Chris
ps. Why did this get into VNS Technology Watch or whatever
it's called. I put this akin to someone trumpeting a new 8" floppy
drive. (Up and down pedals have been around since the late 1800's.
They didn't work then, they don't work now. And it's not because
they haven't been developed, haven't tried modern materials, or
anything. They are just less efficient.) Which brings to mind the
world's worst hillclimbing bike: a heavy, up-and-down-pedaled recumbent.
- Chris
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