Radical new electric bike drive system requires no chains or belts, entirely ride-by-wire

[Deus]

Hmmm

Radical new electric bike drive system requires no chains or belts, entirely ride-by-wire

German company Schaeffler has just revealed an innovative new drive system for electric bicycles that eschews traditional bike chains and...

electrek.co

 

[slowcoach]

Hmmm. What happens if the electronics have a failure? I believe on very rare occasions that sort of thing can happen.

 

[richtea99]

A generator at the front and a motor at the back, just to avoid a chain. Hmm, that just doesn't feel efficient. Whether it's more or less efficient than a chain (which will beat a belt) isn't clear. Over to the electricians...

 

[flecc]

A generator at the front and a motor at the back, just avoid a chain. Hmm, that just doesn't feel efficient. Whether it's more or less efficient than a chain (which will beat a belt) isn't clear. Over to the electricians...

Much less efficient and not radical or new either.

It was preceded by the Mando Footloose in 2016, using a near identical system., except that the Mando incorporated a lithium battery as well, giving it more flexibility:

Information Link 1

Information Link 2
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[Deleted member 16246]

"One key downside to the setup is a reduced pedaling efficiency. Chains are still the most efficient way to power a bicycle and belt drives offer only a slight efficiency loss."

That looks like a pretty big understatement to me. A bike chain and sprockets in decent order puts a very high percentage of the pedal power on the roads - high nineties of percent. I bet this generator and motor combo don't do anything like that. They say five percent loss, I'd suggest more like twenty.