Why can my bike peddle backwards downhill, but not while going uphill?
In: Engineering
I think this comes down to the freewheel mechanism and how it works. It disconnects the drive shaft from the pedals when the shaft is moving faster than the pedals, such as when you are coasting without pedaling.
It does this by engaging when rotating in one direction and not while in the other, such as via a ratchet system or overrunning clutch. But if something strange is happening, like your drive shaft trying to rotate backwards, then it will still engage as this is the same situation as you trying to pedal faster than the drive shaft is rotating forwards.
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