No chain, It'll never catch on

[Artstu]

I don't like this idea at all.

 

[LeighPing]

I like it's possibilities.

 

[Ducknald Don]

Interesting idea, Shimano won't like it of course.

 

[Woosh]

here are some similar examples of e-bikes without chain:

The Mando Footloose:

the JIVR:

They all have one thing in common: instead of trying to make a better bike, they are obsessed with re-inventing the wheel.

 

[Nealh]

Ok until it breaks/doesn't work then you are up the swanny.
Chainless oil/maintenance free good for town/city or short commutes but can see the exercise rate being even less then a chain/belt drive ebike.

Have a feeling AK would love it though but may be not the price.
Talking of price any ideas ?

 

[MG.]

I think that once the idea is refined and iterated there's no reason to suppose that it won't be more reliable than a mechanical chain drive and all the associated gubbins. I wouldn't buy one yet but I reckon that something like this is the way that electric bikes will mostly go eventually.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Too much energy loss, a derailleur is 98% efficient this will never be close to that. Great for Copenhagen and Amsterdam useless in the Alps.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It's a good concept for some circumstances, like for riding in places without steep hills; however, there's several disadvantages. You're permanently limited to the motor's torque (70 Nm), so on a hill, standing on the pedals will only charge the battery faster. The motor will still slow down and stall out on anything above 15%. Secondly, there's a weight penalty. Thirdly, the efficiency loss of your pedal effort must be something like 25% compared with 5% for a chain drive. That's not a problem as long as your battery has some charge in it. lastly, it's 650w, so not legal as a pedelec.

It's a great idea with some potential, which, no doubt, will gradually be improved on, but I don't see it being any use to me at the moment.

 

[MikelBikel]

And it looks heavy with the crank genny *and* a hub motor.
Now if they made it a combined crank motor/generator doing double duty, if thats even possible, they might have something.

 

[shemozzle999]

http://chainless-bike.com/html_news/Shaft-Drive-System-Design-Pholosophy-7.html

 

[Woosh]

no chain? they should have gone for belt drive.

 

[anotherkiwi]

1. It is a bad idea trying to solve a problem which doesn't exist. OK so Denmark and the Netherlands are not exactly tiny niche markets but I don't see having a chain being a problem there.
2. It will not work where I live. As soon as you leave town you have 14% inclines that are over 1 km long. That motor is going to need so many Wh/km that you will need a huge battery to go the shortest distance and it isn't the 100 W or so that you are putting back into the battery which will improve range much.

 

[mike killay]

Quite what is the problem with chains?
When you read the advertising blurbs about 'No more greasy legs and trousers etc.' it is obvious that the poor old blurb writer is struggling to find anything positive to say, clearly does not ride a bike and seems to think that all cyclists are constantly covered in black grease and hate their chains.

 

[MikelBikel]

I have a problem with naked chains, i think they're naughty and should be kept covered at all times.

 

[rich_r]

Not fitting into the current definition of a EAPC could be an issue - although I'm sure a new class could be created.
But yes, chains and belts do a pretty good job of transferring power from legs to wheels, and using a generator and motor doesn't really seem to bring anything that useful. I guess there may be some niche applications where removing the external mechanical link is desirable. It's always nice to see ideas put into real products though.

 

[topographer]

http://chainless-bike.com/html_news/Shaft-Drive-System-Design-Pholosophy-7.html

Wonder how efficient that is.