Bicycle Chain Vs Shaft

The mc garage final word on the final drive.

Bicycle chain vs shaft. Before using this site please read the site disclaimer. But less than a chain driven bike. A normal bike chain lasts a few years in mountain road riding and keep in mind rear derailleurs play a huge part diminishing a chain life. Check out the number of heavy cruisers and touring bikes which use shaft drive.

However the dark side of the shaft drive is that they are heavy and tend to transmit more of the terrain s shocks up through the bike. Motorcycle final drive systems explained with their characteristics share on facebook share on twitter share on google it s all too common to see a pair of sprockets connected through a chain driving the rear wheel of a motorcycle. On a single speed bike the chain pretty much has no wear and just lasts and lasts. Chain vs belt vs shaft drive.

A shaft drive can. The sprockets are made up of hardened steel and generally has 12 to 23 teeth on the front and 30 to 72 teeth at the rear. The company first introduced shaft drives to their models on the r32 in 1923 and since then the shaft drive has been an integral part of their touring bike line up. A shaft driven bicycle is a bicycle that uses a drive shaft instead of a chain to transmit power from the pedals to the wheel.

With a carbon shaft you can only run a single gear hub maybe with internal gears but that s not the point. Of all the shaft driven motorcycles ever produced bmw far outweighs the competition. The shaft costs the bike up to 25 of power transferred to the rear wheel and power costs mean fuel costs too and this power transferred in to the shaft system also creates run on momentum on deceleration. Shaft drives were introduced over a century ago but were mostly supplanted by chain driven bicycles due to the gear ranges possible with sprockets and derailleurs recently due to advancements in internal gear technology a small number of modern shaft driven bicycles.

Shaft which drivetrain is best. The disadvantages of shaft drive are that it is a lot heavier than a chain and absorbs more of the engine s power before it reaches the rear wheel compared to a chain system. On the right type of bike for longevity low maintenance and cost a shaft drive is hard to beat. Also please note that any links provided may be part of an affiliate programme viz.

March 7 2020. Simply greasing the shaft splines when you have the rear off to change the tyre and the drive train will last as long as a similar set up on your car hundreds of thou. Ebay amazon which helps support the site as i will earn a commission when visitors make a qualifying purchase. But neither chain nor shaft dominates in the touring or sports touring bike market.