Shimano Gearbox (I'm excited)

madstace

Likes Dirt
Ooof, I hope this comes to fruition: (Effigear with concentric output and Pinion mount)
Nice find @beeb. Be interesting to see if the internals get an upgrade along with the redesign. Would like to see it at least go to 10 speed to narrow the ratios but at least it would likely still have trigger shift :p

Will say I'm surprised they went this way, looked like they'd finally nailed the packaging with this beauty (except for the clown wheels):
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/first...-carbon-gearbox-bike-garda-trentino-2019.html
 

No Skid Marks

Blue Mountain Bikes Brooklyn/Lahar/Kowa/PO1NT Raci
Ooof, I hope this comes to fruition: (Effigear with concentric output and Pinion mount)
Oh, sorta bummed. They're loosing their higher output sprocket. It opened the door to not making suspension designs based on chainring location. Sad day. Their original design was on point for output location. Wish it'd happened the other way around and pinion copied their design with their refinement. I'm Fussing over little things though.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Oh, sorta bummed. They're loosing their higher output sprocket. It opened the door to not making suspension designs based on chainring location. Sad day. Their original design was on point for output location. Wish it'd happened the other way around and pinion copied their design with their refinement. I'm Fussing over little things though.
Their original design is great, if you're okay with having bugger-all anti squat. The original box design pretty much means the only place you can have the suspension pivot is on the output axle, which is extremely limiting for suspension design. To my mind, the concentric pivot is the better option as it allows for so many different linkage designs, including the option to utilise a high-idler designs. That would mean you could feasibly design a high anti-squat, low pedal kickback gearbox transmission bike. I just love the flexibility of the concentric design, and it will hopefully see the Effigear designed gearboxes become as common (if not possibly more) than the weighty Pinion boxes.
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
And speaking of the Effigear, I do like the look of the Cavalerie Anakin.

Not sure how it would go with the fixed hub though... But they do say you could use it with a regular hub, much like the Pinion I'd think, with the 2 points of engagement...

 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Were you thinking of something like this @beeb?

Looking at about 53mm of rearward axle path there.



http://www.peregrineindustry.com/frame-sets/
Well, that looks really, err... ...um... ...something.

In terms of what I'm thinking - think more like a Craftworks ENR with a gearbox installed. Still a long way off reality though.

And yes, you can run the Effigear with a regular rear hub and changing to a harder/faster gear is normal - but to change to an easier gear you have to backpedal a bit to get it to engage.
 
Last edited:

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Unno also filed a gearbox patent.





On their design it runs a cassette inside the box that moves axially to shift, instead a fixed cassette and a moving derailleur. Kind of interesting way of packaging a fairly familiar system into a weatherproof shell, bet it takes up some real estate though! The Pinion box might look big in photos, but in person it's really quite a compact size.


Now the real point of interest, is that Karl Nicolai hinted at a new gearbox design recently, and he filed a patent back last year. So here's a sneak peak of that patent.


Holy shit - that see-saw shift mechanism in the Nicolai design is clever - should be relatively efficient in terms of both weight and drivetrain losses. Wonder how smooth the gear engagement would be as it's not like you can run synchronisers on bevel gears? I'm thinking electronic shifting is more likely with that design to ensure accurate gear selection though.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Zaf

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
Wow! That is an impressive idea but also adds a chunk of complexity.
A silent acknowledgment that a one design that will work with both uphill and DH is unattainable.

I love the look of the test mule frame. That would sell by itself if it was more of a conventional bike.
 
Top