My 5 year old asked me this – Why do all bicycles have the chains on one side only?

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I tried answering, maybe something to do with being right handed etc. but nothing really made much sense. So why did we achieve such consistency in bicycle design, while we struggle with other things (metric Vs Imperial, left hand Vs right hand drive cars)?

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8 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Old style cassettes (cog on back wheel) were screwed into the hub, having the drivetrain on the right means chain pressure tightens the cassette instead of loosening it. Using modern designs there is no advantage, but LHD needs twice the number of frame, chainring, cassette, derailleur and hub designs.

In the last decade or so left hand drive BMXs have become available, these keep the drivetrain out of the way when grinding if you prefer to grind on the right side of the bike, this makes the extra design time worth it.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Good: chain/gear longevity since pressure is split
Bad: increased weight, increased maintenance complextiy, ugly

Anonymous 0 Comments

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Left side drive (lsd) bikes do exist! In the single speed track bike and freestyle bmx space the drivetrain is moved to the other side for aerodynamic reasons and to get it out of the way for grinding tricks.

Anonymous 0 Comments

People saddle on to horses from the left side, bicycles were built with the same intent back in England with the driving on the left side in mind, that is why the chain is on the right sight, as well as due to older and some modern builds having rear cogs attached, and they will tighten the chain clockwise and loosen counterclockwise, that is why the chain is always on the right side.

Correct me if I’m wrong.

Anonymous 0 Comments

I would note that metric vs imperial isn’t a struggle: Only around 5% of the world population uses imperial as their primary system. Metric won, and pretty damn hard at that!

Anonymous 0 Comments

There really is no point to having both (outside of specific instances where they do make them). Its easier if all the machinery is designed for it to be on the same side, then you dont need to have parts for left and right. Its also easier and cheaper for all companies to agree to the same side, because then you can sell parts to everyone that will work with their current bike.

Let me ask you this: What would the benefit of having both sides available (again in mass quantities, as there are outliers)