Mark,
You're correct. This _was_ one of Pino's arguments for left hand drive, however, so I suspect that reversing the threads on the cog and lockring was not all there was to it in terms of modification. His second argument is true without doubt but there's a question in my mind as to its significance. Argument two is that the chain, chainring, cog and lockring being now closer to the center of the track, during the race their weight is moved for a smaller distance than if they were on the right side. Remember that Pino was the worlds biggest weight weenie. The story is that he performed calculations for various distances and concluded the "virtual" weight saved by left hand drive could be significant over the long haul.
Martin Needleman Annapolis, Maryland
"Mark A. Perkins" wrote:
>
> On Sun, 16 Mar 2003 11:20:36 -0500 Martin Needleman <mrndlmn@toad.net>
> writes:
> >
> > Yes! This is exactly the reason that Pino Morroni was an impassioned
> > advocate of left hand drive for track bikes and produced a number of
> > such bikes fitted with his hand made reverse threaded left hand drive
> > wheels. His rationale was that since all track races in the world are
> > run counter clockwise, left hand drive allows the right crank to be
> > closer to the frame thus giving additional track clearance.
> >
> > Once again, years ahead of his time!
> >
> > Martin Needleman
> > Annapolis, Maryland
>
> Martin & all:
>
> I always thought that was cool too. But is it not true that both pedals
> are (should be) the same distance from the center plane of the frame and
> rims/tires? If so, the only component, other than the crank arms &
> pedals, that would be close to the track's banking, would be the
> chainring and the chain going around it. Which should be several inches
> farther from the banking than a pedal or crank arm.
>
> "Bicycle Mark" Perkins
> Fresno Cycling Club - Historian
> Fresno, California, U.S.A.
>
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