# "mbi gear"



## 10speedbiopacefreewheel (Aug 19, 2008)

i could post a picture of this hub i got but you wouldnt notice anything weird from a picture.
this "MBI GEAR" rear hub is from a older guy i work with. he got it years ago. i think it was a prototype. its never been laced up. heres what it does: it has a 14t cog on it held by a snap ring, so i think you could change the cog pretty easily, but i havent messed with it yet. when youu pedal forward it goes forward pushing a 100% of 14t. when you BACKPEDAL it goes forward at 75% of said 14t cog. you can pedal forward OR backward and the wheel drives forward. forward is 1:1 backward id 1:0.75 and yes it can coast. also its a flip flop w/ fw threading on the other side of the shell. - so the deal is i wanna build it up but 1. its 20 hole. i think i'll redrill to 40 hole and lace it to a tandem rim. any thoughts on that? 2. its 113mm spacing locknut to locknut. so i think i'll run chain tensioners on the inside of the dropouts to add spacing and play chain line by ear. any thoughts on that? no i dont have a frame picked out yet but i think i'll just find a ratty old steel mtn bike cause i was planning on doing a 26" wheel. but any ideas, input, or jibs at me would be welcomed.:thumbsup: 

thanks


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## eccentricbottombracket (Nov 13, 2006)

Do you backpedal just to switch gears, or do you have to actually keep pedalling backwards?

Other than the novelty factor, I do not see pedalling backwards as very sensible.


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## Surestick Malone (Jan 24, 2004)

Google found this: http://mbigear.com/. 
It sounds like the RGA233 model.

I've heard of similar systems: http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/torpedo-duomatic-fs/


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## 10speedbiopacefreewheel (Aug 19, 2008)

malone, excellent links. yeah mbigear.com, if you look at the fg5. that is what my hub does. the guy who gave me this hub has the fg5 crankset on one of his bikes. 
yes you do have to continuously backpedal to keep the 0.75 it doesnt shift like a kick back hub. its this simple: pedal forward-bike goes forward. or pedal backward-bike goes forward(easier gear). or coast. no internal brake (cb). 
and yes it is totally a novelty. they made it to stimulate the brain and work different muscle groups but they stopped making it as far as i know. mine is from the 90's never laced up. 

so any idea's???


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## 10speedbiopacefreewheel (Aug 19, 2008)

Surestick Malone said:


> Google found this: http://mbigear.com/.
> It sounds like the RGA233 model.
> ]


no it is not that


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## itsdoable (Jan 6, 2004)

The MBI hub was a IGH version or retro-direct gearing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-Direct
http://members.westnet.com.au/rjharrop/recumbents/retro-direct/Retro-Direct2.htm

People actually tour with these, it's not bad once you get use to it. Just like learning to ride a bike...


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## 10speedbiopacefreewheel (Aug 19, 2008)

itsdoable said:


> The MBI hub was a IGH version or retro-direct gearing:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-Direct
> http://members.westnet.com.au/rjharrop/recumbents/retro-direct/Retro-Direct2.htm
> ...


yeah that is exactly what it does, but it looks like a normal igh, with one cog. not some crazy rube-golberg pos like the retro-direct on these above links. it doesnt require additional cogs and extra chains and funky tensioners that pull forward.

anyway, i'm still just looking for a little help on building it into a bike. some advice about the fact that it is drilled 20h. and some advice about the 113mm spacing, how i can retro it to work w/ modern frame w/ least problems and work.

i think i'm just gonna redrill it to 40h and lace it to a rhyno lite, it seems qbp has a 40h. i think chain tensioners on the inside of dropouts will fix spacing close enough but could always use suggestions.


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## itsdoable (Jan 6, 2004)

10speedbiopacefreewheel said:


> ....anyway, i'm still just looking for a little help on building it into a bike. some advice about the fact that it is drilled 20h. and some advice about the 113mm spacing, how i can retro it to work w/ modern frame w/ least problems and work.
> 
> i think i'm just gonna redrill it to 40h and lace it to a rhyno lite, it seems qbp has a 40h. i think chain tensioners on the inside of dropouts will fix spacing close enough but could always use suggestions.


I have the same problem, I have a Sachs kick back hub I'd like to use, and it can probably at most be respaced out to 120mm, mayby 125mm. I'm just keeping my eye out for an old steel frame with a campy semi-horizontal dropout and can be respaced in to match the hub. I had one in the back yard for a while, but it got thrown out during a spring cleaning. How far you can space it out depends on how much axle you have, and how thick the frame mounts are. Nuts, washers & spacers are available for this. I usually try to avoid tensioners with bolt on hubs.

As for spokes, if the flange can take it, nothing wrong with drilling it out to 40. Or you can lace it with 20 spokes. The hub was probably ment for a recumbent with a small wheel.


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## 10speedbiopacefreewheel (Aug 19, 2008)

itsdoable said:


> I usually try to avoid tensioners with bolt on hubs.


why is that? when i was younger and rode bmx, before ss mtn ever existed we swore by tensioners. and not the ones you see today that are basically rear ders. i'm talking about the ones that pull axels back in horizontal drops. ran em all the time. even on the inside of the drops to protect them from grinds. but that was then. but still i dont see why they wouldnt work. out of curiosity why are you against them?


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## itsdoable (Jan 6, 2004)

10speedbiopacefreewheel said:


> why is that? when i was younger and rode bmx, before ss mtn ever existed we swore by tensioners. and not the ones you see today that are basically rear ders. i'm talking about the ones that pull axels back in horizontal drops. ran em all the time. even on the inside of the drops to protect them from grinds. but that was then. but still i dont see why they wouldnt work. out of curiosity why are you against them?


I have nothing against the BMX style tensioners, I just don't like using something if I don't really need it. A well made horizontal wheel mount mated with a proper bolt on hub generally does not need a tensioner. Bikes have been made that way for over a century, long before BMX tensioners appeared. With BMX, the loads due to jumps, and the use of really cheap parts (price-pointing in the lower end) lead to some poor wheel mounts (that and young mechanics), which got patched with tensioners. Some people find it easier to align the wheel with a tensioner, I find it easier without. I have used them when needed, say when I used a QR hub on a slippery 6-4 Ti track mount.

Some people like the beer bottle opener you get with the tensioner.


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## 10speedbiopacefreewheel (Aug 19, 2008)

yeah i think we probably are in agreement. 
i wouldn't use them normally, i was just thinking that by including them, specifically on the inside of the dropouts i could add spacing without messing with the hub. i really want to avoid modifying the hub as much as possible. but your bmx rant is pretty on point.


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