Improvement of Bicycle Ball-Type Overrunning Clutch Operation

A comparative analysis of well-known literary sources has been conducted to identify and summarize the main shortcomings of existing freewheel ball clutches used in bicycles. The need to improve the operational characteristics of existing clutches in order to completely eliminate ball slippage during transitional modes of operation has been convincingly demonstrated. This is due to the fact that they transmit torque through the frictional forces between the jammed balls and the working surfaces of the semi-clutches.