No Pedal Stand Up Bike

No Pedal Stand Up Bike FARM HOME Miscellaneous 15-3-32 There's no place to sit down on this new "stand up" bike that's propelled by treadles that you pump with your feet. "It's a great way to travel," says inventor John Sandgren, Fargo, N.Dak., who FARM SHOW first spotted at an equipment show. He wasn't exhibiting. He was gliding around smoothly on his bike, taking in the exhibits as he went. One of the first things we noticed about the bike is that you can move fast or at a slow creep, unlike a conventional pedal bike which has to be kept moving at a minimum speed. If you see something you want to look at, you just slow down. "It moves along at 10 to 15 mph using only the effort required for normal walking but without the jarring damage of ground impact to your legs and feet. For kids, it's a great alternative to bikes, scooters and skateboards," says Sandgren. Riders work two toe-hinged treadles with their feet. The treadles connect to a pair of roller chains that drive sprockets on a counter shaft, which in turn chain-drives the rear wheel. Conventional derailleur mechanisms can be used so it shifts gears like any other bike. "It's much more efficient that pedal-type bikes because torque is delivered in a continous flow through the entire stroke of each treadle, unlike conventional bike pedal-cranks that use a lever arm which delivers an intermittent flow of torque," says Sandgren. He built the first prototype in 1986, and recently received a patent. He's fitted the drive system to both 2 and 3-wheel models. He's looking for a manufacturer. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John A. Sandgren, 903W Twin Towers, 1110 N. 3rd Ave., Fargo, N. Dak. 58102 (ph 701 293-7014).

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