At 7/2/2006 10:03 AM -0700, Don Wilson wrote:
>So: have any drive train designers tried to design a
>drive train that distributed gearing/leverage
>asymmetrically between the left and right legs to
>optimize this difference in leg strength (not leg
>length)?
IMHO feet, shoes, pedals etc. are an effective enough flywheel to make up for most differences. For someone with one almost worthless leg, I would make an eccentric adaptor with a 130mm or 110mm bolt circle on the outside and the inner would bolt to a Cyclotouriste 2" BCD or compact MTB cranks 64mm BCD.
At the other end of the cost spectrum (and decidedly O.T.) Rotor cranks with one arm bent so that the pedals are at 180 degrees when the strong leg is at TDC and at 150 degrees when the strong leg is at BDC could be very effective.
For almost 20 years my leg strength discrepancy must have been in the range of 30-40%. It's somewhat better now, but it's still quite apparent which leg is bigger. While I have the capacity to make an eccentric adaptor, I've never felt the need.
Mark Stonich;
Minneapolis Minnesota
http://mnhpva.org
http://bikesmithdesign.com