Inside the Honda Gearbox

by MTBcut

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Jan 15, 2008

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We shot this at the Worlds in Fort William, luckily just before they melted all the bikes down!!!

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whitetux (Jan 15, 2008 at 8:34)

that is cool, i already seen it on mtbcut though, but hint hint to bike companys

kolya (Aug 20, 2008 at 19:33)

stupid f*cks you should sell that frame i want one, and i bet some more out there want it too.

kenny4kookie (Dec 17, 2008 at 4:11)

yeah i would like one

JoeDaMan (Sep 7, 2009 at 7:13)

that is actually amazing idea in my opinion the only thing i would worry about is the weight

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+ 12

jonesym3 (Jan 20, 2008 at 9:17)

thats awesome - i don't know what i thought was going to be in there but i didnt think it would be so simple. gearbox bikes will be the norm in like 5 years time for sure

dirtbiker327 (Dec 11, 2008 at 21:20)

Thats cause this is the second one they made, the first generation were far more elaborate and had infinite adjustment, this is just a derailer in a box.

jonesym3 (Dec 15, 2008 at 9:14)

i'd have it over normal gears any day, they felt so good to ride too

dirtbiker327 (Dec 15, 2008 at 10:26)

O god yeah this is far superior to derailers. I really want to know what the first generations were like too.

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+ 47

tommymay (Jan 23, 2008 at 8:47)

all that and its a regular shifter....

i taught there would be little gremlins inside or something

lewievans69 (Oct 6, 2008 at 0:40)

Yeah so did I, something magic inside there. He opens it up and there's a chainring and derailer in there. I laughed.

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+ 10

benji333 (Jan 31, 2008 at 10:42)

wow all that secrecy and all it is is a normal derailiur... that is why they were keeping it a secrete

+ 10

stepheniskool (Jan 31, 2008 at 19:13)

no what they are keeping secrete is how it can change gears without pedaling and while pedaling backwards

Borgschulze (Jan 31, 2008 at 19:21)

Probably just a fixed gear on the back wheel...

Trials bike with front freewheel do this already, as long as the bike is moving you can shift gears.

Fezzari505 (Nov 10, 2008 at 8:49)

yea because there is a freewheel in the front and it is a direct drive

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StealthX (Feb 10, 2008 at 12:49)

whery amazing!

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dropking85 (Mar 3, 2008 at 15:21)

its amazing that nobody thought about it sooner! very clever but so simple.

bikemonkey (Mar 25, 2008 at 6:12)

it has been done before, many times, bcd has an early all carbon prototype built quite a few years ago. and like bcd there has been a number of home builders that has done so as well

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alexzero13 (Apr 3, 2008 at 13:47)

Im not a good fan of it, but its a good concept

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tgunn (Apr 21, 2008 at 16:08)

VOD....amazing.....now get it into production honda and earn yourselves even more money

t3aSeR (Apr 25, 2008 at 13:47)

Thats not gonna happen. Honda DH was only an "experiment".

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johntino (Apr 23, 2008 at 7:33)

looks mega tech

charleyboy14 (Sep 17, 2008 at 3:32)

for spastics

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Flam3job (May 13, 2008 at 12:30)

I'm gonna make me one of those...
*heads off to machine shop

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Flam3job (May 13, 2008 at 13:48)

Beautifully machined carbon/alu cover; interesting to see a shimano chain and cassette; I suppose the mech was bespoke to make the total width narrower (mech is the same depth as the cassette)

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xltrider (May 26, 2008 at 8:52)

the freewheel is on the "front" chainring. it can't shift at a complete stop though.

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Mingermouse (Jun 10, 2008 at 2:01)

I didnt know honda made bikes....

why did they melt the bikes down?? Frown

Giant-Rider-Sam (Jun 15, 2008 at 10:01)

=O How did you not know honda made bikes? *GASPS*
they melted them down because they stopped running their dh racing team as apparantly there wasnt any money to be made in it...so they therefore had no need for them so melted them...

plus i doubt that their idea can be coppied as it was more than likely patented to them ?=/

Unhallowed (Nov 12, 2008 at 14:15)

All you need to do to get around a patent is change one small detail.
IIRC theres 1 bike out there somewhere being ridden and showcased... but it got stolen or something a while back?I just caught a glimpse of the story in a mag

charleyboy14 (Jan 3, 2009 at 14:01) (Below Threshold) show comment

they didnt melt them you spastic

thestigmk1 (Jul 15, 2009 at 3:10)

mate, they melted them. pretty common knowledge there. read up before dishing that out...

charleyboy14 (Jul 15, 2009 at 4:05)

lets face it it was one of there bigest achievements they didnt melt them down

thestigmk1 (Jul 15, 2009 at 7:22)

hardly. Hondas MTB team doesnt even come close to their top ten achievments! I think they have more pressing priorities than MTBing. A statement they issued even said that they melted them, what possible use would they serve to primarily a car, bike and powerboat manufacturer?

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djbiker01 (Jun 18, 2008 at 14:39)

yea they probally did make them patented, they looked like awesome bike....seems such a waste that they melted them...

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alex-dh (Jun 23, 2008 at 8:59)

i want one Frown

i wish they did still make Frown

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Carlsarv (Jul 1, 2008 at 13:08)

Wow nice! Now I want to build one.

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GLORY225 (Aug 12, 2008 at 6:07)

can you build one, is it easy?

aflo661 (Jan 24, 2009 at 12:04)

sure why not

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JConner (Aug 18, 2008 at 10:55)

Thats awesome, amazing, wouldn't the chainline be messed when it shift's though?

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DarkElement101 (Aug 26, 2008 at 21:11)

thats it NOX did that years ago..www.noxcycles.com

Lancia (Sep 2, 2008 at 23:08)

Nox bikes are wicked!

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godfried (Oct 5, 2008 at 7:35)

WHAT AHPPENED TO THIS BIKE? Has it been kept in Smithsonian Museum? That's sad! I wish they would make it to publics to purchase and let its legacy to live on..

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kjmkjm (Oct 19, 2008 at 12:34)

its just looks like a complicated mec and casette in a box?

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bikrben (Nov 17, 2008 at 17:11)

god i was waiting for like millions of tiny parts to come flying out when he opened it. it is so simple..f*ck

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bxxer-rider (Dec 24, 2008 at 2:21)

its like drum roll please...*lift case*....."eh? your having us on arnt you?????????"

oh wot i disappointment, i wanted it to be some thing magical, like a rabbit would jump out or summert, but no

i had been trying to work it out for a few years, now im very disappointed, still and shame they melted them all, did they melt all of them?

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aflo661 (Jan 24, 2009 at 12:03)

I bet that wasn't the real gearbox, they probably just made that one to shut people up. But if thats hat its really like, disappointing. May as well just use a normal bike that uses normal parts that cost a normal price. Razz

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konakid7 (Mar 12, 2009 at 17:46)

no more broken hangers or derailers, i want one, how much will this set me back ?

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