Planetary gearing taken to excess

August 21st, 2009
bikes, transport
The schlumph mountain drive bottom bracket with planetary gears looks pretty cool. It is foot actuated and allows a reduction of 2.5. I was curious what sort of gears it would give my bike so I calculated:
front gear rear gear gear inches
1 1 18.6
1 2 25.5
1 3 34.6
2 1 44.6
2 2 61.1
2 3 83.1
No wasted gears, a nice shifting pattern with only one double shift, as low a gear as I could want for a really steep hill or a really heavy trailer. A total range of 501%, which is almost as good as a rolholff's 526%. The schlumpf is rated for use with coaster brakes, and my SRAM T3 is tough enough for the schlumpf. But how to justify $.5K for a new bottom bracket?

For reference, my current gearing is based on approximately 28 inch wheels (622mm rims, largeish tires), a 48 tooth front cog, a 22 tooth rear cog, and a SRAM T3 hub that offers 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at 73%, 100%, and 176%.

Referenced in: Markov Me

Comment via: facebook, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Linkpost for May

Effective Altruism

via Thing of Things May 4, 2026

Fiddle Practice

For a while I wasn't learning how to play violin very well because whenever it was time to practice I didn't want to. I didn't really like practicing, because (1) it's boring, (2) I have better things to do, and (3) actually I guess there …

via Anna Wise's Blog Posts May 3, 2026

New Pony

I have a new pony. I got her from the Goodwill. Her name is "Rainbow" and her nickname is "Sparkles". We went the usual way, in the pink stroller. We went downstairs and I played with some of the toys. I found the pony in the toy area. …

via Nora Wise's Blog Posts May 3, 2026

more     (via openring)