It Has been faultless...

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FYI - The crankset has been on our big cargo bike for about 9 years now, and here in Dunedin we have steep hills and no ebike speed limit, so I switch between the ratios dozens of times every day. It has been faultless, and the only maintenance has been a clean and re-grease every couple of years.

F. 

Hi Sam,

I wrote you some time ago with various questions about the PM, which I use in combination with a NuVinci N360. This email is an update.

In June I flew my little folder from Kuala Lumpur, where I live, to Bangkok where I started my journey to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. The trip of 800 km lasted 9 days, 730 km and 8 days of which were on the bike. Aside from a hot and steamy ride past some incredible countryside, the real news is that I experienced not one mechanical issue. The PM and the N360 complimented one another perfectly. You may recall that the bike is a folding, 20″, movable-bottom-bracket conversion, which can a bit of tricky thing to ride. Being able to be in my lowest gear with a simple twist (left and right) is priceless.

Thanks for your remarkable creation. I’m preparing for next June’s ride, and look forward to seeing your next invention.

Cheers,

Chris Blessing

Dear Sam

I would like you to know that your invention is awesome!

It was easy to fit with good clear instructions.
It worked perfectly first go.

It will now enable me to pull away on my trike on any incline by dropping the ‘front cog’ while stationary.

That used to be a real problem if I pulled up in high gear on the old front derailleur at traffic lights, …with a Mac truck snarling behind me.

Finally it looks so much better than the cog system that looked like a medieval weapon on the front of the trike.

Rob

Hi: I have recently purchased a Patterson drive and would like to provide a little feedback. I have many bikes and have purchased many specialised components for bicycles over the years. This is without doubt the most impressive, value for money product I have ever purchased. In this case I have fitted it to a recumbent trike and it has turned it from a good machine into a great one and vastly improved my riding experience. 

Graham Laslett

I recently purchased some Metropolis cranks for my 2011 Kona Unit.

I have installed the cranks and I am really happy with their performance! Currently, I am looking at cleaning up the cable routing as I have had to McGyver a way to make the shifting mechanism work with the cable tabs on the frame and the shifting linkage on the crank. . . . . .

Again, amazing cranks! Awesome Engineering!

David Hermens

Since I originally emailed, I purchased an FSA Patterson Drive and installed it on my Surly Big Dummy with an old XTR 9 speed rear derailleur (11-34) and absolutely love it. It’s great being able to drop into the low gear while stopped at stop signs, the much cleaner looking installation and that it raises the chain off the ground a bit more. I’m currently in the process of building another bike for my wife with one on it too. Thanks for the great product.

Ed Drysdale

Plenty of time on my Metro/N360 bike. I’d have to consult my records but I am approaching 3,500 miles on it and there has been no issues except adjusting the cable tension. I do mostly utility or social riding on this bikes through easy to moderate hills and terrain, and regularly loaded down with groceries, hardware or beer for sharing with my friends. The bike handles well, loaded or unloaded, and I am able to keep a high average speed.

Jeremy Leffingwell
Bicycle Engineering Technician
Fallbrook Technologies Inc.

Jeremy Leffingwell

Hello, I recently installed your Patterson on my recumbent trike and it is AWESOME. I will say though that the ability to get a different gear ratio would be very nice, I saw on an online forum that you were thinking of offering up different chainrings? I would love something in the 32/51
range or so…

I work at Coventry Cycle Works in Portland Oregon.

Robert Holler

“Sam, I do a lot of road biking in the summer probably travel about 2500 miles in 4 months if not more .. I have an 8 speed sturmy archer internal hub on my terratrike rover.. before I got your patterson crankset I maxed out my requmbent.   I could go no faster or get any harder work out.. I averaged a cruising speed of about 17 mph and now that I have your crank-set I have a cruising speed of about 21mph .. I love the crank …” –   Tom Davis, Wounded Warrior

“I am pleased as punch with my Patterson drive. A common problem when I bike in the winter is my derailleurs gumming up and failing. The Patterson has a sealed mechanism that protects it. Another reason I bought the Patterson drive is to give my bike, which has an electric motor, very high gearing so that I can pedal with the motor even at high speeds.”

Laurence

My husband wants to thank you for you help in removing and installing your Metropolis Patterson Crank drive. Here is his message to you and a picture of his bike:

So, Mr.Patterson, thanks for helping my wife install your internal crank invention, the Metropolis Patterson crankset, on my Soma Saga. And also thanks for the parts that you sent her. What a wonderful invention! As a semi-old man who mostly likes to ride around our retirement park and also doesn’t like too many complications in my life, it was nice to find this crank. Most of the park we winter in is level, has lots of twists and turns and stop signs. Old men pull out of driveways unexpectedly. So I quite like the simplicity of having just a simple shifter that makes one significant jump in gearing at any time. I always at least slow down in intersections, and each time a quick downshift is at my finger tips. My wife put a little H and L on the levers just so I don’t get too confused in my old age. This simplicity of shifting lets me keep my primary attention on the road and what’s going on around me. If someone pulls out of a driveway and I have to make an immediate stop, I don’t bother worrying about downshifting beforehand. I can always do it after stopping. This seems like a simple thing, but not paying attention to shifting during maneuvering makes my biking so much more enjoyable. Of course, when I’m out of the park and on rolling terrain, bike paths, and such, I do use my more nuanced rear cassette shifter oftentimes, but almost always my front crank shifting is my go-to first choice.

Martha – Tucson AZ

Hello Sam

I hope your enjoying your weekend.

Attached is a pic of my touring/commuter. It’s a Surly Crosscheck, with your Metropolis crank, 3speed Shimano Nexus, and Shimano generator hub supplying power to the E3 front light, rear light and headset charger with an Adamo saddle.

I’ve put at least 6k miles on this bike with your drive train and the Metropolis has not failed me once!!

Thank you again for the spare parts. Best regards
,

Julio

(Nice bike Julio! Is the weight balance better with the three speed IGH than a heavier eight or more speed hub? . . . Sam)

Hello Sam

You are absolutely right about the weight balance, it feels so much better. I did notice that the crank felt smoother at around the 1500 mile mark, I thought maybe that was the break in point. The shifting has been smooth, though

I am more likely to use my rear gears for shifting rather than the crank shift unless I’m doing some major climbing.

The next 5k miles, will be a while in the making, I recently started work at an art foundry and the commute is next to impossible considering our really early start time. My previous job as a shop mechanic allowed me to come and go as I like allowing me to log almost forty miles daily round trip on top of weekend riding. I’m hoping to work it out to where I can commute but foundry work is a bit

taxing on the body on top of commuting to and fro, but I’m willing to give it a go!

I’ve set the odometer and once I get there (another 5k miles) I’ll be happy to send it your way for

inspection.

You can absolutely use my bike pic and commentary on your website.

Best Regards,

Julio

I’m am vary happy with this product and with your prompt response I will gladly continue sharing how cool this product is. I put the control plate on last time by myself I have a friend that works at a local bike shop and we used their BB-cup tools.

George Gusses

One really cool thing, …is that the removal of the front derailleur (along with the removal of the big ugly chainrings) gives a bike a much sleeker look.

One really cool thing…

Dear Mr Patterson,

Ted did an excellent job! His buddies Mike in New Orleans and Michael in Mt. Vernon (luxury car mechanic) helped and it’s all good.

I’ve been riding it everyday and playing around with the gears. Yay!!

I took a bike ride on Sunday afternoon and here is me riding along the Bronx River bike trail.

Earlier on Sunday, I had an older Italian gentleman who makes & sells handmade mozzarella & provolone cheese at the Tuckahoe farmers market google-eye my bike with envy. He said to me: “what is that fancy interesting chain system on your beautiful bike?” peering intently at the Metropolis Patterson crank!!

Thank you! I have a feeling I’m going to get more comments soon!

Penny

I just picked my bike up from the shop where I had it installed and that is one sweet piece of engineering. It’s way better than any of the prototypes, and not only performs well, it looks great too. Plus, my pants wont get caught on the chain anymore. Nice bonus in case bellbottom pants come back, ..again. – Joe Navas

Wow! – Slick New Bike Transmission

Thanks again, …for hooking me up with the Patterson drive. Worked great on the way home. Smooth and pleasant shifting, I’m happy!  Have a nice week off! You’ve done a great thing.

Thanks again…