No-Fork project, bicycle geometry hacked

My biggest question to the OP is: what do you do about the cranks?. Do they lean over too? Do you just accept awful chainline? Or do you have some kind of universal linkage to run the sprocket at an angle to the wheel's axle?

My biggest question to the OP is: what do you do about the cranks?. Do they lean over too? Do you just accept awful chainline? Or do you have some kind of universal linkage to run the sprocket at an angle to the wheel's axle?

This picture should answer your question:

impossible to get right chainline then, unless that is the detail he shopped.

doubt the chainline is that big a deal

^^^ brake and no foot retension ....... is the least of his worries !

Luckily, the tires would pop of the rims before that happened...

Wheel chairs have road tyres and tilted wheels. Yet they're OK........

......Unless they're not, and thats why so many people are in them. As once in one you are doomed to repeated accidents. Which keep you in a wheel chair.

Two words:
Camber steer

All the wheel forces are fine, they're close enough to regular bicycle loads and bicycle wheels are usually more than capable of tolerating substantial out of plane loadings, both in the main wheel structure and at the axles/bearings. As pictured, it does seem to be lacking spoke bracing angle on the drive side of both wheels, but that's a surmountable problem. As a proof of concept, it's an interesting demonstration of just how far one can deviate from correct design while still ending up with something ridable, in much the same way as some of Olli Erkkila's builds are, but that's more down to the room for error in the standard bicycle and the standard cyclist than it is evidence that such novel designs are really worth pursuing. We've all ridden old wrecks with the wheels out of line and non-circular and the headset either as loose as a goose or indexed, so it's no surprise that an ordinary rider can maintain control on a well constructed but wrongly designed bicycle.

Thanks for all the replies guys!
The bike is now on its way to Germany where it will be showed on the European Handmade Bicycle Show. I will be there as an "amateur". So Ive had a million things to do and arrange today...

There are some more pics up on flickr(here) and a couple of video's on Vimeo(here).

Let me try and address some of the concerns there are in the comments here for you:
The stuctural concerns have been covered quite adequate by other competent members. The lefty is a proper example of single side wheel suspension, but there are others. If executed properly there should not be a reason for the construction to live up to expectations. That goes for the construction, and also for strains induced by the angle of the wheels etc.
Tire wear is a valid remark. The angle of the wheel is somewhere around 3-4 deg. That does change the wear patern on the tire. Most tires are made to be on cycles that go through corners and so the tires are made to have their structures set up to cope with stress and wear upto a certain angle, mostly upto 30 deg. or more. So that gives enough margin, but it sure is something to watch out for. And fortunately turning the tire around is done in a matter of minutes. (provided the tires are bidirectional. Good remark there)
Design vs Technology. The no-fork bike is not just a design exercise, at least it wasnt meant to ;-) Tester mentioned the camber steer, and that is certainly something that is present in wheels that are at an angle to the frame and would compromise the steering and straight line stability of a normal bike. But I mentioned that the bike rides like a normal bike and it does. I wont comment on my rider skills here, but I would like to stress that the No-Fork bike is not just a bike with its wheels mounted skew to the frame. And thats where it sets itself apart from being a design. It incorporates a very intricate technology (read geometry) that compensates the camber steer under all (well, almost all) circumstances. It has taken me a fair bit of time to adjust, discover and comprehend all the forces at work here. Design is not patant-able, technology is, and thats why i have applied for one.
last but not least the practical applications and advantages. The bike that ive made is the bike how I wanted it to be. The sheer simplicity of the (absence of) the front a rear forks is something that after a year still boggles my mind when looking at the bike. Ive seen people turning their eyeballs, and blinking their eye's to make sure that it is true what they are seeing... haha. Sometimes it takes more then 5 min for people to discover the wheels are at an angle! (srry, getting carried away here). The point is this bike is not made to show off the advantages and/or practical application. The technology however presents a new possibility. ie. it takes away the requirement (read constraint) that both wheels need to be in the vertical plane. And that should enable designers to come up with completely new designs! Probably some that I cant/havnt thought off. It can have a profounf influence on folding bike design, but maybe also transport cycles, or even electric cycles.. errr.
Have to catch a plane in cple hours, back on monday...

good luck!

Mike Burrows has designed and built asymmetrical bikes with no canting of the wheel, and he reckons the biggest issue is remembering the offset when avoiding pot-holes.

He says there's no issue with cantilever hubs either, try thinking of a vehicle that uses forks apart from bikes and wheelbarrows.

videos are ace. good luck with this.

All the best for Germany.

This is a great project, really interesting. good luck with it.

I like the idea.. And hardheadedness in getting it done.. I really believed that there's a market for this.. But then, I watched the video "No Fork Amaizing steering, and the rattling of the chain was louder then the wind.. Chainline's an issue, I suspect that to be too with beltdrive..Good luck though, I'm sure you'll work it out..

I like the idea! Once you sort out chainline/beltdrive and tension for it this will be really cool. I'd prefer to have the chainstay to the BB, but maybe thats just me.

love this. if it's going to be on display somewhere near Amsterdam let me know. + i want to have a go :)

A shaft drive would solve the drivetrain problems, since there is no problem with rotating the final drive about the shaft axis to any arbitrary angle. It would also have the virtue of being enclosed, eliminating the potential brake disc contamination issue highlighted by other commentators above, and the shaft enclosure tube could also provide the main 'chainstay' structure, simplifying the looks even more. The clean drivetrain would also go well with some of the proposed uses for the concept.

Bonkers bike! Love it.

Can I just ask, what was that cryptic mention that belt drive will have issues?

can I fit one of these on it?

you'll have to find tynan first

All the best for Germany.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QczyNaIu9Mo

This is fantastic. Whether it works or not, well done for trying something new. I can't believe it rides 'normally' given those canted wheels! Very cool.

are these really tynans arms ?

Thanks again for all the praise and inspiring comments. much appreciated!

The EHBE weekend was one great experience, there has been so much acknowledgement and interest in the project that is was overwhelming. A big thank you also for the organization and the exhibitors, what a charming lot of people! And special thanks to Jelle of singlespeed.nl and Casper of Le cadre for them taking the no-fork bicycle with them to the show. Without their help it would not have been possible! Thanks again!

Here are a couple of shots from the weekend:

As is clear from the pictures many people (with a reputation ;-)) had the opportunity to test the no-fork inside and outside.

Small remark about the drive/chainline. There is no problem there. The noise on the video is cause the camera rack was mounted on the frame transmitting and amplifying the chain rattle to the camera mic. The 3 deg. defection on the cog is negligible.

edit: more pictures of No-Fork at EHBE 2012 here

This morning I had some time to work on a design for new hubs. The idea is coming along nicely. Very simple and clean design emerging.

Riding the No-fork yesterday around town I was talking to some interested people. For the n-th time I had the same experience. It takes a couple of minutes for people to grasp the idea of the bike. Even with the bike in their hands people can sense there is something "different" and they keep on looking and wondering what it is they are seeing.

Its even harder to catch the essence on photograph. So ive made this 180 degree slider to show the No-Fork from both sides at the same time. Operated by left clicking and sliding your mouse over the image. Click on the Image to go to the animation.

Let me know what you think.