The Rise and Fall of String Drive: A Revolutionary Chainless Drivetrain

⚙️String Drive is a chainless drivetrain that uses Dyneema ropes and offers advantages like no maintenance and easy gear shifting.

💡String Drive was specially designed and required a dedicated frame and components, limiting its compatibility.

📉The wear life of Dyneema ropes was shorter compared to chains or belts.

🔩String Drive faced competition from disc brakes, electric bikes, gearboxes, and belt drives, which gained popularity in the bike industry.

🚲Despite not taking off, String Drive offered unique features like pedaling backward and customizable gear ratios.

Why didn't String Drive become popular?

—String Drive faced limited compatibility with existing bikes, wear issues with Dyneema ropes, and strong competition from disc brakes, electric bikes, gearboxes, and belt drives.

What were the advantages of String Drive?

—String Drive offered advantages like no maintenance, easy gear shifting, automatic favorable starting position, and the ability to set different gear ratios for each crank arm.

What were the downsides of String Drive?

—The downsides of String Drive included limited compatibility, shorter wear life of Dyneema ropes, clunky grip shifters, additional weight, lower drive efficiency, and a small gear range.

Can String Drive be installed on any bike?

—No, String Drive required a specially designed frame with the right guides, attachments, and wide dropouts to fit the two rear drums.

What made String Drive different from other drivetrains?

—String Drive offered unique features like pedaling backward and customizable gear ratios for each crank arm.

00:00Chains have been used in bicycle drivetrains for over a century, but technology has evolved, giving rise to chainless drivetrains.

01:54String Drive is a chainless drivetrain that uses Dyneema ropes to propel the bike forward, offering advantages like no maintenance and easy gear shifting.

05:32String Drive faced limited compatibility as it required a specially designed frame and components.

06:36The wear life of Dyneema ropes used in String Drive was shorter compared to chains or belts.

09:52String Drive faced competition from disc brakes, electric bikes, gearboxes, and belt drives, which became more popular in the bike industry.

10:32String Drive offered unique features like pedaling backward and customizable gear ratios for each crank arm.

11:53String Drive didn't gain popularity due to limited compatibility, shorter wear life of ropes, clunky grip shifters, additional weight, lower drive efficiency, and a small gear range.

12:32Despite its limitations, String Drive revolutionized bicycle drivetrains with its innovative design and maintenance-free features.