Modified gear system for rickshaw
Nishant Ray
Khagariya, Bihar
Scout: Direct
Hailing from Khagaria, a small town in Bihar surrounded by seven rivers, Nishant Ray (27) is a passionate innovator with a fertile mind that has spawned several innovations. Undeterred by discouragement and the criticism faced, he has always pursued his proclivity.He has made a modified gear system for rickshaws/bicycles to reduce effort in pulling the load.
A creative childhood
Born to Prakash Chandra Yadav and Puspa Devi on 28th February 1983, he was drawn towards science since childhood. His father runs a watch repairing shop while his mother is a housewife. On one hand, he defied the boundaries of conventional science by activities like model making, testing gadgets, while, on the other hand he picked up interest in fine arts, music and poetry.
har manjil ko jaane waale rasten kai honge,
magar wo rasta jo yah ahsas dilay
ki mazaa manzil me nahin raste ke daramyan hai,
chune gaye sabon me wahi sahi honga
(A number of roads may lead to a destination but the best road to take is the one, which makes you feel the importance of journey itself more than the destination)
He explored a variety of books ranging from technical to science magazines and journals. Growing up he developed a wide range of innovations. Starting with something as elementary as a pencil, he redesigned it so as to retrofit a sharpener and a rubber inside a cap fitted to the pencil top. Using rubber bands, he made a small timer device when he was only seven. By the time, he reached class eight, he had been playing with electronic instruments- motors, dynamos and the like. Next, he developed a simple device to clean the food grains by removing all the stones and other undesired particles, by using vacuum pressure in custom designed chambers.Hehas nurtured his passion through his limited resources which middle-class upbringing could afford.After graduating in arts, he is preparing for MCA and other competitive examinations.
The call of compassion
Nishant was touched by the effort put in by the rickshaw-pullers when they had to pedal uphill with a heavy load. They had to struggle on bumpy roads or on uneven terrains. In existing ratchet arrangement in cycle rickshaws, one rotation of foot pedal necessitates two full revolutions of the cycle wheel. Many a time the rickshaw would roll backwards and the puller would laboriously try to push it uphill, often annoying the passenger for the delay in the ordeal. He wanted to help them and hence, he started searching for solutions to reduce the drudgery of rickshaw-pullers. Nishant decided to make a unit with gear system, which could be retrofitted to a cycle or rickshaw and succeeded in developing the first rudimentary model in 2007 in plastic. This consisted of a main wheel with pedaling unit, two freewheels and a spring loaded clutch unit activated by pulling the clutch wire.
Modified gear system
It is a modified gear system for rickshaws/bicycles to reduce effort in pulling the load.
When one pedals in anti-clockwise direction the rickshaw/bicycle runs like an ordinary rickshaw/bicycle, and when pedaling is done in the reverse direction the modified gear system comes into effect by reducing the effort but moving the vehicle forward only. Effectively it also acts as brake during reverse pedaling by restricting rearward movement of rickshaw over slopes. However, if one wants to enjoy freewheel action during reverse pedaling, like ordinary bicycle/rickshaw, he needs to disengage gear by pulling the clutch wire.
This unit is an assembly that replaces the conventional front sprocket of rickshaw. It consists of a main shaft, a front sprocket drive, a reversible gear assembly, a planet gear assembly, a clutch subassembly housed enclosed inside a single covering. The annular ring of the planetary gear system has 44 teeth, with a pitch of 1.4 cm. There is a 6 cm diameter cavity in the central hub with two free wheels attached to the shaft. There is a small gear with 24 teeth attached to the free wheel. When the rickshaw is pedaled in forward direction, only one freewheel gets activated and this works just as in conventional rickshaws.
When encountering potholed or inclined surfaces, the user commences with reverse pedaling. This activates the other inner free wheel. This in turn drives the smaller gear with 24 teeth in reverse direction, which meshes with a pinion on the clutch plate with identical teeth and it rotates in opposite direction. Being attached to the inner teeth of sprocket – the motion is passed on to the cycle wheel, which rotates in the forward direction. This action of the pinion also facilitates locking and prevents backward movement of the wheels on inclined surfaces.
When the road is smooth and for an easy ride (and speed is more important than torque) the rickshaw puller would pedal normally and this transfers human power through pedal to sprocket at same RPM after bypassing the mechanism. When there is need of high torque and low speed as in the case of upward slope, potholed or muddy road conditions, the driver has to start reverse pedaling to activate this unit.
NIF supported Nishant for prototype development and facilitated its testing at BIT, Mesra Ranchi where the performance was found to be satisfactory. User trial was also undertaken by driving the rickshaw on a steep gradient, the result of which was also satisfactory. However, the report added that value addition in design could be done to increase the efficiency.
The innovativeness[i] lies in using ‘reverse pedaling” selectively in tough terrain to change power shaft direction and drive the vehicle forward with lesser user effort. This has been achieved by using the epicyclical gear train arrangement realised in a simple but effective manner. A patent (1714/KOL/2007) was filed in his name by NIF in 2007.
The journey thus far
His father never wanted him to waste time in pursuing such things. Instead he wanted him to study well and later work like his brother, who is a software engineer. But his love for doing such creative things was more than any thing else. He did like studies but not much. He mostly used junk and scrap to make different things, but whenever money was needed to buy something from the market, he had to approach his grandfather or purchase it from his pocket money. Many times, he also had reservations in his heart about the feasibility and success of his ideas but always gave in to his inner feeling.
His friends did not take much interest while he did something new but whenever he completed it and showed to them they did take good notice of it. His maternal cousins were quite appreciative and he could easily discuss his ideas with them. His two younger paternal cousins always looked at him with curiosity.
Apart from developing the modified gear systemfor cycle-rickshaw for pedaling uphill, his other notable designs include a low cost water filter, an arrangement to wash clothes fitted inside a bucket and a battery operated wrench.He wishes to get the technology of this innovation licensed so that it gets replicated soon and thousands of rickshaw pullers get benefit from it, proving himself to all his detractors at the same time.
Nishant was also felicitated during the 22nd Shodh Yatra in Bihar in January 2009 for his creativity.
[i]The product compares favorably in value (function/cost) and simplicity with other comparable modified transmission units such as Sheikh Jabbar’s variable speed rickshaw ( NIF Database) that has number of chain and sprockets and drum brake, VK Hegde’s eight geared tricycle (NIF database) which is a rickshaw with gearbox of bullet bike in combination with existing chain and sprocket, Kanak Gogoi’s modified rickshaw which can accommodate three people comfortably (NIF database) and the IMPRA rickshaw with its variable speeds and aerodynamic design ( The rickshaw developed by Nutan Sehgal ( is lighter in weight and fitted with a 10-speed gear system where as the cycle rickshawdeveloped by Soumitri G V Professor, Instrument Design Development, IIT, Delhi ( is a light weight multi gear rickshaw and provides comfortable and safe seating with adequate suspension hence giving a jerk free ride.
Gear system for cycles or cycle-rickshaws is not a novel idea. There are a number of patents likePatent no. GB190601237A (January 17, 1907), which discloses improvements related to gearing for bicycles, or light three wheeled vehicles driven by motors where as Patent no. CN 1876475 (Dec, 13, 2006) reveals a folding gear transmission mechanism of rickshaw. A couple of patents e.g.CN 1876480 (Dec, 13, 2006) and CN 1482040 (Aug, 19, 1992) are for devices that claim to regulate the speed of rickshaws. Another interesting patent come across is US20030151225 (August 14, 2003) which is for a foldable tricycle that extends and transforms to accommodate one two or three riders.