Hardware request - Bottom Bracket

Hello,

I would like to request a Zwift Bottom bracket. A strong bottom bracket with gears that allows the chain or belt drive to always drive forward, even when pedaling backwards.

Something like this exist for screwdrivers.
Craftsman’s SpeedDrive.
Kobalt’s Double Drive.
Husky’s Continuous Drive.

This would be a great feature for riding inside with Zwift, or outside. It would allow you to use more muscles, and would constantly keep you moving forward. It could also allow for people with limited range of motion to pedal without completing a full circle. They could rock back and forth.

Thank you for your time.

what now?

I don’t represent Zwift but I’m pretty confident that having released a bike with only one crank arm length, they are not going to get into this sort of thing. It might make more sense to talk to a manufacturer of adaptive bikes about your range of motion.

Thanks for the reply Paul.

I have full range of motion (maybe even a little extra). I was suggesting that it could also be beneficial for someone that didn’t. I’ll look into adaptive bikes, but I think what I am suggesting doesn’t exist yet.

Thanks your suggestion,
Steve

Hello Rich,

A bottom bracket where if you pedal forwards or backwards a chain ring is rotated only forwards. Those screwdrivers are existing examples of what I am taking about, and I think it would great to apply that idea/technology to a bottom bracket that could mount a chain ring or two.

They ventured into the drive train hardware market with the Zwift Cog and this could be a unique way to get more people using Zwift, or give Adult trike riders with limited range of motion a new option. Seems win, win to me. I’ll keep looking into it.

Hi @Steve_Paltzer, this is Monica reaching out from Zwift. I truly appreciate the significance of your suggestions and how they can shape our future developments. Your insights are invaluable to us, and I want to extend my gratitude for sharing your thoughts. I want to assure you that I will be forwarding your feedback to the appropriate team, ensuring that your ideas are considered for implementation. Thank you once again for your contribution; it really makes a difference.

Hello @MonicaP,

Thanks for taking my suggestion into consideration. One of the things a spin bike can do that a regular bicycle can’t do is provide resistance while pedaling backwards. My suggestion of a type of universal Bottom Bracket that always rotates forward (clockwise) regardless of the direction the crank arms rotate (clockwise, or anti-clockwise). It is almost like a fixed gear bike, in that pedaling backwards provides resistance, but you would be propelled forward. You could still coast (not pedal) because the free-wheel is in the rear hub.

Initially it might be for a small market, but once people get to see and understand how useful it would be, you would see a spike in demand. The rotating section that drives the chain ring and one set of bearings would be on the drive side. I haven’t reverse engineered the screwdrivers to see how the gears work yet.

Thanks again,
Steve