I wonder if it is necessary to continue to try to work on improving this technique? First of all bicycle manufacturers have developed a pretty near perfect design, as related to strength, usability compared to as effective use of material.
The levers could be made longer, true, but the size of pedals on bicycles are as long as possible to be 1: safe enough to use without the feet or the pedals hitting the ground or the kerb, and 2: apply the leg force as effective as possible without becoming uncomfortable big radius for the knees and foot joints to turn around
I must also comment on your suggested new design, whereas it is impossible to keep the foot or hand on the pedal for a whole revolution, you must at some point remove your foot, lift it up around the central crankshaft and to replace it on the other side. But as far as your way of thinking on extending the levers to improve strength ratio, exactly, longer levers can make it easier to turn around, if you have unlimited space around the central point. But with much longer levers, the speed of which you will have to turn to generate same effect also needs to be increased, and people with shorter legs/arms will not be able to use it as comfortably as you might think. And you will also spend more amount of material, and increasing the total weight of the whole construction, and that is most often negative.
Good job on trying to attack a problem with "out-of-the-box-thinking"! however it seems to me like you can only improve upon this with fractions. There are appropriate enough designs already out there. I am just adding my relative little knowledge and opinion, and will be very glad to assist in any other of your projects --Yeahvle 03:20, 21 June 2011 (PDT)
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