Another mid drive

[DBye]

Video here:

Valeo automatic transmission. Claimed to be more powerful than other systems (probably because it is a 48v system). Also has an immobilization feature.
Interesting anyway though not sure I'd be tempted to switch from my hub motor.

 

[Woosh]

very impressive design.

 

[cannon]

It is about time the gearbox was integrated with the motor. Current e-bikes remind me of vintage motorcycles when they had separate engines and gearboxes....imho

 

[mike killay]

It is about time the gearbox was integrated with the motor. Current e-bikes remind me of vintage motorcycles when they had separate engines and gearboxes....imho

Quite a number of pre 1914 motorcycles had oversize Sturmey Archer type hub gears.

 

[mike killay]

I am not too sure about it being more powerful than other systems unless they care to tell us why.
Also, just how many gears does it have and what are their range.

 

[vfr400]

It looks very expensive and heavy. I don't think we're going to see it on many road bikes. I can imagine it's quite battery hungry too. I wonder whether there was any partnership with Continental, who did all that development, then hardly put it into production for whatever reason.

 

[Woosh]

I am not too sure about it being more powerful than other systems unless they care to tell us why.
Also, just how many gears does it have and what are their range.

their website says it's from effigear 7-speed.
Valeo is a huge company. Bosch should take notice.

 

[MikelBikel]

Drool! How many zero's on the price tho? And needs a new custom frame to fit? Kerching. Retrofit version please.

 

[Benjahmin]

Apart from, could I repair/tinker with it in my shed, it's the 'smart adaptive software' that would bother me. For instance would this mean the system governing my cadence rather than me?
Who's gonna be the guinea pig and report to us all after 2000 or so miles?

 

[DBye]

Apart from, could I repair/tinker with it in my shed, it's the 'smart adaptive software' that would bother me. For instance would this mean the system governing my cadence rather than me?
Who's gonna be the guinea pig and report to us all after 2000 or so miles?

Not me!

 

[Nealh]

Looks a pretty ugly unit to me and almost makes Bosch, Yamaha drives etc look nice.

 

[vfr400]

I am not too sure about it being more powerful than other systems unless they care to tell us why.
Also, just how many gears does it have and what are their range.

It's 48v, so 30% more power than a 36v one with everything else the same. I didn’t count the gears in the exploded diagram, but it looked like a lot - maybe 8 or 9 or even more.

It looks very ugly compared with the version from Continental. Does anyone know why Continental packed up?

 

[Nealh]

Continental I believe decided that the other big names (Bosch,Yam, Steps etc) were to well established to compete against.

 

[Woosh]

It looks very ugly compared with the version from Continental.

It's France vs Germany. Same with cars. The French have a very distinctive sense of aesthetics.
Also, the Valeo kit looks about right to handle the massive 130NM torque. The Conti kit is smaller in size and torque (Conti kit has 70NM torque).

 

[Croxden]

Apart from, could I repair/tinker with it in my shed, it's the 'smart adaptive software' that would bother me. For instance would this mean the system governing my cadence rather than me?
Who's gonna be the guinea pig and report to us all after 2000 or so miles?

Ooh, I would. I like the idea, makes all the existing stuff look right old. But it's French....

 

[vfr400]

Also, the Valeo kit looks about right to handle the massive 130NM torque. The Conti kit is smaller in size and torque (Conti kit has 70NM torque).
[/QUOTE]
Originally, Bosch was 25km/h, 40Nm and rated at 250w, then it went up to 60 NM, then 80N, still 250w!

Power = torque times speed, so it's a bit difficult to rationalise how 40Nm and 80Nm are both 250w when the speed is the same. Now we have 130 Nm and presumably 25km/h, will it still be 250w? I'm not complaining.

 

[Ocsid]

Too many eggs in one basket for me just at the moment, "nice" as integrating things might be.
In engineering I pay for, I tend to be conservative with a little "c", liking my issues to be in individual, affordable and ideally serviceable packages.
However, very keen for the trailblazers to move the products on, or find their limitations, though academically very interested technically.

 

[Woosh]

Power = torque times speed,

that's angular speed (radians per second), not road speed though.
What I like most about the design is the philosophy.
Remove as much single points of failure as possible. You end up with a robust bike that everyone can understand, one frame + two wheels and that's it. No derailleur, gear cable, adjusting thumb screws etc. All the magic belongs to one single supplier, if anything goes wrong, you know who to ask.
Weight isn't a big issue when you ride a cargo bike.

 

[sjpt]

if anything goes wrong, you know who to ask.

Good as long as they are helpful when you do ask, and don't charge an arm and a leg for repairs and parts.

 

[Woosh]

Good as long as they are helpful when you do ask, and don't charge an arm and a leg for repairs and parts.

the battery looks like generic. The controller is in a separate box. The speed sensor looks generic too.
I am puzzled about one detail. There is a wire going from the motor to the seat tube. What is it for?