Weird Bike Wednesday - Carroll Gear Drive Bicycle

!897 Carroll Gear Drive Bicycle

Lots of people have wanted to get rid of the chain on the bicycle. Major Taylor set some of his speed records with a gear-driven bicycle. On his bike, the front sprocket rotated a shaft which transferred power to the rear wheel. The 1897 Carroll design used a third gear instead. This design came along as the bicycle boom was coming to an end, and never became very popular. It was built in Philadelphia by the Carroll Chainless Bicycle Company. One of these bikes sold for over $30,000 at an auction in 2007.