Imagine not having to deal with greasy bike chains ever again. It’s annoying maintaining them, and a complete pain when they come undone. Stringbike is trying to change that with an innovation that replaces its almost 150 year old predecessor. The solution features a virtually unbreakable, unstretchable, and completely silent paracord that’s wrapped around a spring-loaded drum. The interesting bit is the metal member on the front that uses a rather unique cam-system to pull and release the string that in turn rotates the drum on the back wheel. The Springbike also features a balanced, two-string system on both sides of the bike, connected to both pedals (unlike the bike chain that’s only on one side), to help distribute power equally. Stringbike says that their unique stringdrive systems “are transferring the leg power to the rear wheel on a silky, smooth way, while filtering all vibrancy. The pedaling experience is improved by the symmetrically balanced drive system.”
I’m particularly in awe of the gearbox that’s included in the stringdrive system (shown in the second-last image) that seamlessly allows you to switch between gears using what now seems like a much a much simpler system that what we’ve been seeing on our chain-based bikes for decades now. The stringdrive system can accommodate 19 different non-overlapping transmission ratios within a single integrated gearbox, and the gears can be changed at high speeds, or even when the bike is stationary with zero risk of the chain falling off or coming undone. Plus get this… No grease!
Designer: Stringbike
Image Credits: Bálint Jaksa