Triangular Wheels Aren’t The Most Impressive Part Of This Bicycle

May 08, 2023

Reinventing the wheel required re-imagining the suspension for this bicycle

When somebody attempts to reinvent the wheel it's often newsworthy and that's the case again today. This time, a three-sided approach is the subject and it actually works better than one might believe. What's really impressive about this bicycle isn't the wheels though.

This video comes to us from the folks over at the YouTube channel "The Q". It's the same one that came up with the square-wheeled track bike recently. That was a one-off design all its own and this triangular wheel is also unique but shares almost nothing with previous builds.

For example, instead of metal frames as the wheel structure, this new bike uses wooden wheel frames and bicycle tire tread that's stapled on. Conventional bearings, hubs, and disc brakes are then attached to the wooden wheel. Then The Q begins the real magic.

More: Square-Wheeled Bicycle Looks Like An Optical Illusion Come To Life

One of the biggest problems with a triangular wheel is that it constantly changes the height of the axle, bouncing up and down as it moves forward. Typically, this would translate to an incredibly rough ride. The Q has a clever fix that comes in two parts though. First, a pair of flat roller sections are fitted to the bicycle above each wheel. Each one forces the wheel to flex below that upper limit.

Secondly, a suspension system allows the axle to change the height based on the orientation of the wheel without transmitting that bounce to the main frame section of the bike. It's a very clever way to fix the main problem with wheels of this shape. The very short clip of a person riding the bike makes it almost look comfortable.

No doubt this is, like most other bikes on the channel, more of an engineering study than a usable means of transportation. Nevertheless, it's fascinating to see how one manufactured problem led to a creative solution.

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