• Hello ES! We could use some help to get us past the finish line on building the new knowledgebase for the forum.
    Can you donate? Please see our fundraising page. Thank you!

CVT for pedal bikes

NuVinci now Enviolo already showed us how to do that with better efficiency and less bulk.

If someone wants to drive an ebike that is like a stupid car, he should drive a stupid car. But he should drive it into a body of water and stay strapped in.
 
Bafang is also releasing/has released their CVT hubs that integrate with their mid drives (3 speed and 5 speed)

As a long time cyclist, I'll likely be in the manual camp for awhile, but I see these as a great development for getting more people on bikes and out of cars
 
Well this didn't take long. I imagine derailleur manufacturers will be trying to develop one also.
I'm guessing mountain biking has changed a lot since I was on the trails. I spent hundreds (thousands?) on titanium bits, just to reduce my bike's weight a few ounces. The article avoids mentioning weight, except as a pro, saying it improves weight distribution by moving it to the center. I look at all those gears and pulleys and can't imagine them being lighter than a freehub, cassette and derailleur, and if it isn't lighter, it's heavier.
In the end, the goal has nothing to do with the equipment, it's about being out riding and having fun. My wife and I rode up Mt Tam close to a 100 times during the years we were into mountain biking. We rode lots of other places too, and walked the dangerous parts, all on 26" tires and rim brakes. I'm not sure we would have had more fun or excitement using a Gates gearbox, but it might have gotten some looks.
 
My wife and I rode up Mt Tam close to a 100 times during the years we were into mountain biking. We rode lots of other places too, and walked the dangerous parts, all on 26" tires and rim brakes.

In those days mountain bikes were built to ride on hiking trails because those were the trails that existed. Anymore, so-called MTBs are designed to ride on courses that were designed for those bikes to ride on. It is a recursive consumer phenomenon built for extracting more money rather than doing anything worthwhile.

Hiking trails still exist and the bikes that rode on them still exist. No squishy plastic wonderbike with N+1 inch wheels and overflowing geegaws required or even desired.
 
I'm guessing mountain biking has changed a lot since I was on the trails. I spent hundreds (thousands?) on titanium bits, just to reduce my bike's weight a few ounces. The article avoids mentioning weight, except as a pro, saying it improves weight distribution by moving it to the center. I look at all those gears and pulleys and can't imagine them being lighter than a freehub, cassette and derailleur, and if it isn't lighter, it's heavier.
In the end, the goal has nothing to do with the equipment, it's about being out riding and having fun. My wife and I rode up Mt Tam close to a 100 times during the years we were into mountain biking. We rode lots of other places too, and walked the dangerous parts, all on 26" tires and rim brakes. I'm not sure we would have had more fun or excitement using a Gates gearbox, but it might have gotten some looks.
I had a mountain bike in the 90`s hated the brakes. Then bought a mtn bike in 2022 to convert, what a difference 29 inch tires and hydraulic disc brakes make added a bbso2 and was ready to totally commit to bikes as my transportation choice.
 
I had a mountain bike in the 90`s hated the brakes. Then bought a mtn bike in 2022 to convert, what a difference 29 inch tires and hydraulic disc brakes make added a bbso2 and was ready to totally commit to bikes as my transportation choice.
If you’re having fun, you’ve met the goal. 👍
 
In those days mountain bikes were built to ride on hiking trails because those were the trails that existed. Anymore, so-called MTBs are designed to ride on courses that were designed for those bikes to ride on. It is a recursive consumer phenomenon built for extracting more money rather than doing anything worthwhile.
This was a worthwhile upgrade. Prior to suspension forks coming out, our arms and wrists were suspension components. Well legs too, but they stayed part of suspension until somebody thought about making full suspension bikes. I upgraded both of our bikes and suddenly we’d climb faster. Not because they made climbing faster, but we just wanted to get to the top so we could descend. We were flying down the hills. Of course that led to the creation of speed limits on trails, but I think we had already slowed down anyway after seeing a guy coming down the trail once, hit a big rut, and fly about 20yards through the air. Not a pretty sight, but at least he didn’t hit a tree or boulder.
Ours were the first model year and had the 1” threaded steering tube. That was the same year the 1-1/8” threadless tubes were introduced. After all of that riding without suspension, it felt like a miracle, and well worth the extra weight, even with less than 2” of travel.

1783646127574.jpeg
 
This was a worthwhile upgrade. Prior to suspension forks coming out, our arms and wrists were suspension components. Well legs too, but they stayed part of suspension until somebody thought about making full suspension bikes. I upgraded both of our bikes and suddenly we’d climb faster. Not because they made climbing faster, but we just wanted to get to the top so we could descend. We were flying down the hills. Of course that led to the creation of speed limits on trails, but I think we had already slowed down anyway after seeing a guy coming down the trail once, hit a big rut, and fly about 20yards through the air. Not a pretty sight, but at least he didn’t hit a tree or boulder.
Ours were the first model year and had the 1” threaded steering tube. That was the same year the 1-1/8” threadless tubes were introduced. After all of that riding without suspension, it felt like a miracle, and well worth the extra weight, even with less than 2” of travel.

View attachment 390309
315 Dollars, I just bought a Rockshox 35 gold for 99 dollars and it's way more suspension than I need but sure does give you the confidence to hit huge pot holes at speed with no worries.
 
315 Dollars, I just bought a Rockshox 35 gold for 99 dollars and it's way more suspension than I need but sure does give you the confidence to hit huge pot holes at speed with no worries.
Admittedly I paid that 35 years ago, and like any other hobby, if you buy one for yourself, you’re buying one for the wife. Unfortunately after a few more years and crashes, she stopped riding; but the silver lining was I could then afford to go full suspension. :sneaky:
 
CVT for a bicycle is intellectually attractive but IRL turns out to be kind of-- meh (for me at least). Girlfriend had a Nuvinci rear hub Dahon that I rode rode quite some distances. Granted, at first there was a wow factor but that quickly wore off and I couldn't see a workable cost/benefit ratio for it. IMO, its best feature was the ability to functionally downshift while stopped.

From the article:

"I'm not sure what the overall crank-to-wheel efficiency of this system will be like, but it's sure to be less efficient than a derailleur."

This drawback will be hard to overcome for the enthusiasts.
 
NuVinci now Enviolo already showed us how to do that with better efficiency and less bulk.

If someone wants to drive an ebike that is like a stupid car, he should drive a stupid car. But he should drive it into a body of water and stay strapped in.
I don't want to drive. I don't want to pedal. I don't want to walk. I don't want to shift gears. I only want to transport my 150 pounds of lazy human 6 miles.

Prediction for the future. Most all bicycles will shift like magic. Like the automatic transmission in my car and truck. Only Apartunis and a few other greasy finger old bicycle mechanics will be playing with manual bicycle gears.

I want a self driving car.
 
Prediction for the future. Most all bicycles will shift like magic. Like the automatic transmission in my car and truck.
You predicted the past. Shimano Coasting and Auto D failed decades ago. You can probably get an Enviolo version of the same thing now but you will be alone.

Useless car drivers prefer useless cars.
 
First, I'm just an old time bike rider who likes working the gears. I like how they multiply power. Ebiking lets my aging body still contribute to the ride.

Next, neuroscientist Professor Ryuta Kawashima, Tohuku U in Japan, has studies that say driving a manual transmission in a car improves brain function, because of the extra thinking required. I still drive a six speed for fun.

Sure, some folks just want to slog onward in a commute. I get it, I'll take the gears, There will be a whole line of automatic two wheeled hybrid vehicles that I won't appreciate. I don't know why they even need pedals,
 
First, I'm just an old time bike rider who likes working the gears. I like how they multiply power. Ebiking lets my aging body still contribute to the ride.

Next, neuroscientist Professor Ryuta Kawashima, Tohuku U in Japan, has studies that say driving a manual transmission in a car improves brain function, because of the extra thinking required. I still drive a six speed for fun.

Sure, some folks just want to slog onward in a commute. I get it, I'll take the gears, There will be a whole line of automatic two wheeled hybrid vehicles that I won't appreciate. I don't know why they even need pedals,
There is something uniquely fun about driving a manual transmission
 
Back
Top