Are all bikes RHD?

Cookie_Monster

As in do all have the chain on the right, or do the majority? Is it country dependant like cars?

If so is there any particular they're all right handed?

Vast majority have the chain on the right. It's the same in all countries. Not sure why the right hand side was decided upon as the standard.

Lumen

Most people (other than the left handed freaks) would carry a bike on their right hand side. Having the drivetrain on the opposite side means less chance of getting crud over yourself.

ROK ON

To have the drivetrain on the left would be sinister, very very sinister :-)

bcmf

so it prob originated from cyclo cross...

CramCycle

it was an effort to help beat the Citeog out of the children

tomasrojo

I did wonder about this.

Also most motorbikes seem to have the drivetrain on the left. I've been wondering why for a while.

Victor

tomasrojo wrote: »

I did wonder about this.

Also most motorbikes seem to have the drivetrain on the left. I've been wondering why for a while.

To stop people lifting them, well, except for the citeogs. :pac:

Captain Havoc

Victor wrote: »

To stop people lifting them, well, except for the citeogs. :pac:

I'm mixed-handed (not ambixetrous) would I just get confused in cyclocross?

trad

There's some kind who use the skate park near where I work who have lhd trick bikes. Most tandems would be lhd from the front to rear rider.

CramCycle

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I'm mixed-handed (not ambixetrous) would I just get confused in cyclocross?

And I quote: "strap the citeog behind his back or if that didn't work, hack off the devil's paw" :eek:

Vélo

Lumen wrote: »

other than the left handed freaks

Oi, who are you calling a freak?

Lumen

Vélo wrote: »

Oi, who are you calling a freak?

"...left-handers are more likely to develop neurological disorders like schizophrenia, dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and other emotional problems."

More Left Handed Madness - Why I Hear Voices

markcroninbsc

i think the real reason is because of threaded freewheels. if the chains on the right it tightens it if its on the left it would have loosen it as you turned the pedal

Vélo

Lumen wrote: »

"...left-handers are more likely to develop neurological disorders like schizophrenia, dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and other emotional problems."

More Left Handed Madness - Why I Hear Voices

I also heard were more prone to murder and suicide, so just be careful:p

fenris

Don't mess with the lefties, 'cos the lefties don't mess (unless they are writing with a fountain pen)

manwithaplan

50% of my offspring are lefties. I still haven't gotten used to sleeping with a gun under my pillow. On the up side, I can enter two teams into the Junior World Rest-free Doubles Pool Championships.

droidus

manwithaplan wrote: »

50% of my offspring are lefties. I still haven't gotten used to sleeping with a gun under my pillow. On the up side, I can enter two teams into the Junior World Rest-free Doubles Pool Championships.

Im right handed and I usually dismount on the right and carry on the left shoulder.

enda1

The brakes are usually the opposite* on the continent too as far as I recall.
Anyone confirm?

* meaning right hand brakes rear wheel and left hand breaks front

TinyExplosions

enda1 wrote: »

The brakes are usually the opposite* on the continent too as far as I recall.
Anyone confirm?

* meaning right hand brakes rear wheel and left hand breaks front

That's very common in the US and Europe

seamus

enda1 wrote: »

The brakes are usually the opposite* on the continent too as far as I recall.
Anyone confirm?

* meaning right hand brakes rear wheel and left hand breaks front

Primarily to do with the side of the road that cars drive on afaik. It's quite difficult to indicate with one hand and brake with the front brake on the other - it pitches you forward more sharply and puts you off balance. Since indication is more critical when you're crossing traffic (indicating right in Ireland), then you put the front brake on that side and use the rear brake to slow down.

I have it set up euro-style on the road bike because it allows me to change gear on the back while braking, but I have it set up IE/UK style on the MTB.

manwithaplan

I now have an idea of braking strategies and select the front or back brake or mixes thereof for the jobs they are better at but before all that I used mainly use the front brake because I am right handed. I wonder do back brakes get more wear on the continent and in the US than they do here.

ROK ON

All of my bikes have front brake a§ the left lever. IMHO it makes no sense to have it any other way in a country that drives on the left.
As our primary brake is the front brake it is incompatible with safe signalling at right turns to have front brake lever on the right.
I don't buy the BS about people being right handed etc. I am right handed and rarely use my right hand to break.

tomasrojo

ROK ON wrote: »

All of my bikes have front brake a§ the left lever. IMHO it makes no sense to have it any other way in a country that drives on the left.
As our primary brake is the front brake it is incompatible with safe signalling at right turns to have front brake lever on the right.
I don't buy the BS about people being right handed etc. I am right handed and rarely use my right hand to break.

Sheldon Brown used to change his bikes to have the UK/Ireland set-up, as he liked having his strongest hand braking when turning left (given that he was in the USA).

Lumen

ROK ON wrote: »

All of my bikes have front brake a§ the left lever. IMHO it makes no sense to have it any other way in a country that drives on the left.

Me too. Not sure my brain knows the difference, in a critical braking situation I just slam them both on, usually locking up the rear and sliding around a bit.

Cookie_Monster

enda1 wrote: »

The brakes are usually the opposite* on the continent too as far as I recall.
Anyone confirm?

* meaning right hand brakes rear wheel and left hand breaks front

yep, I remember back in 98 I think we were mountain biking in France at a scout jamboree. One of the lad found out the wrong way that the brakes were reversed. Cue hilarious looking flip over the handlebars followed by a rather painful landing, bike landing on top of him and a short slide down the hill. Not a pleasent day for him

manwithaplan

Braking is a simple action and can be equally well performed by right or left hand. Having said that, the great unwashed will use their right hand out of sheer habit. This should not the basis of which brake to select but it's a consideration when deciding which cable to connect to which lever when you are mass producing bikes.

doozerie

All of my bikes have the back brake lever on the right. I switched to that when I was a teenager, probably 'cos I thought it was cool to mimic the continental pros but in actual fact it makes things a lot more logical for me as all of the back controls are on the right and all of the "front" controls are on the left. I've never found any issue with lack of strength in my left hand to control the front brake, and I've not put myself over the bars when making a right turn while slowing and indicating either.

Using brakes is not exactly natural/innate anyway, so whichever side you choose as your back brake requires some initial learning when you start to cycle for the first time - so either side works just as well as the other, it's just a matter of what you've made yourself familiar with. Just like with driving, where I'd find it hard to deal with the pedals in a different order only because I've grown used to them in their current order. Mind you, the first time I ever felt the need to apply the car brakes in a hurry my hands reached for non-existent brake levers on the steering wheel (thankfully my right foot did go for the brake pedal at the same time) so maybe the brake in my car shouldn't actually be a pedal at all.

Anyway, here is an interesting bike which has no bias to either the right or left side, that I can see. Or arguably it is biased towards both sides. So it gives you either the best or worst of both worlds depending on your point of view. Here's one picture of it, though only the videos really convey how it works:

superrdave

markcroninbsc wrote: »

i think the real reason is because of threaded freewheels. if the chains on the right it tightens it if its on the left it would have loosen it as you turned the pedal

The thread could easily be done the other way. The parts would generally only be engineered depending on the design requirements, so it could be done either way.

enda1 wrote: »

The brakes are usually the opposite* on the continent too as far as I recall.
Anyone confirm?

* meaning right hand brakes rear wheel and left hand breaks front

Very strangely, my brother and I both have trek 1.2s, mine 2007 and his 2008, and our brakes are aligned differently. Both bought here (well, his in the UK and mine second hand down here).

Slideshowbob

its weird the way cycling is more popular on the continent

yet u cant show off a fancy chain set over there as much cos people drive on the right side of the road

kumate_champ07

threading for pedals on the crank arm would also be a problem.
there is no real reason why anyone would need a left hand side drivetrain.


which side you put your brake levers on is a personal choice and usually made because you heard someone say they do it a certain way or theres 1 right way to do it. theres no wrong way, I changed to having right lever for front brake and I prefer it that way but, actually its not much of a difference really.