spinningmagnets wrote:...I love the geared to DD prototype idea !!!
At 1:14:45 near the end. It sounds like a retro-direct (Miles?), and it looks like he is showing a prototype running (9C sized) at 1:16:39. In a geared hub, the motor normally runs in reverse, and the "torque improving" gears convert that movement into forward motion in the process of transmitting the power from the motor to the rim.
When he reverses the motor, it locks up like a direct drive for higher RPMs at the same volts?
E-motorcycles desperately need this, and its the next major improvement that I think would benefit them the most...
I think that's where he says my name, "Mick." He was just mentioning that we started work on this years back, and yes, e-motos are very much in need of this, and I personally can't wait for that since I'm kinda out of the ebike scene now (health). Like Justin said, the system can be automated to switch drive modes on the fly automatically, or it can be done manually, but auto would be the obvious choice for a motorcycle. 2-3 times the thrust of a direct-drive motor off the line would be pretty sweet

To answer your question: when the rotor is in reverse, the hub is in low mode -- like a typical geared motor -- and the hub (outer casing / wheel) spins forward at a rate set by the planetary gears and voltage on the rotor, but when the rotor is reversed, into the forward direction (so, same as the hub), it goes into direct-drive mode, which means it spins the hub much faster (1:1) for the same voltage. It's somewhat hard to see on this particular video the reversal happening, but it does so literally faster than one can discern. One moment is running backwards, the next instant forwards, with seemingly no transition. It's pretty cool to watch up close.