I was just looking at Ben's Cycle & Fitness. They have listed an ACS Southpaw left hand drive freewheel (http://benscycle.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=39&SKU=FW1233). A drive train on the left side sounds pretty trick. Do any of you have your bike set up this way? I wonder what would be involved to do that. Would there be any bottom bracket issues when flipping the cranks around? Anyway, sounds like a fun idea suited for SS/fixed.

Thanks,
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I thought about it last year and remember a thread on it as well. The freewheel you spotted is made for 20" BMX vert bikes with a left side drive (LSD) for grinding ramps, etc. on the right side. The threading works for a left drive hub only, so you would have to build up a rear wheel using the 48-spoke hub from a left drive 20" bike.
<img src="http://www.harobikes.com/bmx/bikes/large/mir_540.jpg">

If you flip a regular wheel around with the freewheel on the left side, the ratcheting would be opposite, allowing backward pedaling only. You could flip a fixed to the left side, but the now backward threading might force the cog to loosen just from regular pedaling.

I never got around to thinking about the bottom bracket and spindle problems, but the threading of the crank arm's pedal threads on a flipped set creates more problems. You'd have to swap the pedal axels between the pedal bodies in order to mount them in the right direction, unless you use Eggbeaters or Speedplay's.

It can all be done, but at the cost of safety and reliability.

A drive train on the left side sounds pretty trick. Do any of you have your bike set up this way? I wonder what would be involved to do that. Would there be any bottom bracket issues when flipping the cranks around? Anyway, sounds like a fun idea suited for SS/fixed.


A guy I ride with in the local club has his setup that way. He said he alternates sides every year. He must be bored easily....:-) The first time I saw it a few weeks ago, I did a double take. It seemed so WRONG! But, as I thought about it, I decided why not.

I'm gathering parts for a left hand drive fixed mountain bike. I'm replacing the LH crank arm with a tandem crankarm w/spider (so my pedal doesn't unthread if I just swapped cranks)

for the rear I have a XT disc hub that will get a Boone ti cog bolted on to the rotor holes, instead of a rotor. Weird, but fun :D

Dude...so you'd roll your other pant leg up? Doesn't that mean you're sellin' rather than buyin' drugs?

Tig,

Oh, those are for BMX bikes, thanks. Sounds like there is a lot to consider. I feel like Mark Hammel in Corvette Summer...

Thanks,
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Dude...so you'd roll your other pant leg up? Doesn't that mean you're sellin' rather than buyin' drugs?

I don't want to be sending the wrong signals! If guys start whistling, I'm changing it back pronto.

Smoke screen option: leave both drive cranks on w/chainrings and bashguards, only one has a chain on it though. woah....

There are 2 ways to do it, and I've seen both done.

The first, most common, and most dangerous is to switch things over and rely on the strength of LocTite to keep parts from spinning off. Stupid, if you ask me.

The other way is by using a combination of LSD BMX parts (LSD hub with freewheel, a few have fixie possibilities...), and either BMX cranks (yuck) or a tandem pilot crank ($$, usually).