48v Continental Mid Drive on its way

[JRA]

I have seen before that Continental makes a mid drive but never any real world experience with it. Apparently they are looking to get in the game now for real with a 48v system, which differs from the what has become industry standard 36v systems. They supplied this excellent white paper to explain how 48v works mostly in relation to auto's but how it also can be more effective in smaller BEV's.

https://issuu.com/continental-autom...l-automotive-48v-technolo?e=26297679/38845624

 

[Nutella]

It will also incorporate a tranny, which sounds really cool. That would eliminate all the chainline issues and fragile bike part problems.

http://www.bike-eu.com/home/nieuws/2017/7/continental-develops-48-volt-drive-for-e-bikes-10130561

 

[Trail Cruiser]

I think this will be the ultimate trend in the future, an integrated motor and automatic CVT transmission, especially for many American riders who drive automatic cars as opposed manual shifting cars (and have no concept about shifting gears) .

http://ebiketips.road.cc/content/ne...v-mid-motor-system-with-automatic-gearing-664

Chris Nolte, when will you start to sell these?

 

[Ken M]

So we Americans have become so lazy and dumbed-down most of us can't understand how to and/or capable of shifting a bike. Wow, we have a bright future in store for us (we'll have people that actually care about getting and education and have a passion for contribution to society and those that need to be given everything because they don't finish high school and it's just too hard to do something). While I admire the design achievement of this product the motivation behind it bothers me - I just think it's adding complexity to enable people to be even more stupid and lazy.

 

[itsaulgoodman]

So we Americans have become so lazy and dumbed-down most of us can't understand how to and/or capable of shifting a bike. Wow, we have a bright future in store for us (we'll have people that actually care about getting and education and have a passion for contribution to society and those that need to be given everything because they don't finish high school and it's just too hard to do something). While I admire the design achievement of this product the motivation behind it bothers me - I just think it's adding complexity to enable people to be even more stupid and lazy.

Wow, you drew up all that from a simple little electric ebike motor with automatic gearing...? You honestly can't appreciate why someone might be interested in a commuter bicycle like this, where in addition to not shifting, maintenance and cleaning is much simpler? Cockpit clutter is reduced because you no longer require additional shifters. Less components to be maintained / replaced when worn. Not to mention cycling through a 10 or 11 speed cassette on an ebike can get a little tedious all the time since the motor propels you through them so quickly. Yeah, I'd be interested in a bike like this and it's not because I'm stupid / lazy / or incapable of shifting a bike...

 

[Trail Cruiser]

So we Americans have become so lazy and dumbed-down most of us can't understand how to and/or capable of shifting a bike. Wow, we have a bright future in store for us (we'll have people that actually care about getting and education and have a passion for contribution to society and those that need to be given everything because they don't finish high school and it's just too hard to do something). While I admire the design achievement of this product the motivation behind it bothers me - I just think it's adding complexity to enable people to be even more stupid and lazy.

The motivation, of course, is for more people to be able to ebike, and focus more on the fun of riding. Before having ebikes of my own, I used to ride a road bike. I am very attuned to performance parameters of my current ebikes, blended with my own pedal performance. I am also attuned to the nuances of my 3 ebikes (1 hub drive, 2 mid drives, all speed ebikes). I routinely perform perfectly timed gear shifts on my mid drives at very high cadence without any hint of drive train slamming, while tapping my left brake lever as motor cut off. At the back of my mind, while executing all these mechanical prowess of operating my ebikes, I always thought that there must be an easier way. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy mastering all those skills to perfection but I think about my wife and my autistic son. I hope they can also ride along with me. Besides, I also want to experience for myself the latest technologies on ebikes.

 

[Solom01]

Not meaning to gang up on Ken, but I'm assuming all your cars are stick shifts? After all, anyone who drives an automatic doesn't really know how to drive a car, right? I use an ebike because of health reasons, but it's a single speed. I love biking because of it's simplicity, not having to mess with gears makes riding much better for me, I get to enjoy the immediacy of riding without all the complications that are heaped on so many bikes where you spend so much time fiddling with the equipment that you don't get to think about the ride itself. However, I also realize that I have this option because I live in an area that's as flat as a pancake - my bike would be a disaster in hilly areas, so I actually am interested in this mid-drive because all the complications seem designed to allow you to not worry about shifting and all those other distractions and just concentrate on the ride. I guess different folks have different ideas of what biking means to them - and that's a good thing.

 

[flymeaway]

The motivation, of course, is for more people to be able to ebike

After reading the description it looks like a winner. My only concern (would have been) the ability to change cadence settings on the fly which the drive can do. Instead of discreet individual gears you have a constantly variable cadence (gear ratio) which works on the fly........

"Where with Nuvinci you get to choose between high, medium, and low cadence, the Continental drive allows you to input the exact cadence you want, and the motor and gearing will constantly monitor each other to keep your legs turning at that rate, no matter what the road does."

Looks like a good piece of engineering.

Court J.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

After reading the description it looks like a winner. My only concern (would have been) the ability to change cadence settings on the fly which the drive can do. Instead of discreet individual gears you have a constantly variable cadence (gear ratio) which works on the fly........

"Where with Nuvinci you get to choose between high, medium, and low cadence, the Continental drive allows you to input the exact cadence you want, and the motor and gearing will constantly monitor each other to keep your legs turning at that rate, no matter what the road does."

Looks like a good piece of engineering.

Court J.

I definitely want the preset cadence feature of high/medium/low (ex, 86/78/70 RPM). Probably that will be the only button that I will ever touch.

 

[Deacon Blues]

As mentioned above, if it gets more people off their butts and onto a bicycle seat it's a good thing.

 

[Qtr on]

The less attention you need to pay engineering your ride, the more attention you can pay to staying alive, which is the main reason ridership isn't higher: Cars don't like us and they kill us.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

The less attention you need to pay engineering your ride, the more attention you can pay to staying alive, which is the main reason ridership isn't higher: Cars don't like us and they kill us.

In America, the majority of people ride ebikes for fun and/or exercise, on the other hand, most if not all people ride cars as a necessity to go from point A to point B.

Low ridership for this nicely engineered integrated motor/transmission ebike? It is still a prototype and it is not marketed yet.

But I think it will catch up by then.

Low ridership on cars with enormous safety nanny programs, esp the expensive Tesla car is most likely due to the prohibitively high price and the anxiety and lack of confidence in adopting the latest technologies.

In spite of the similarities on the trend of advancing technologies, I think these are 2 different transportation, with different goals and purposes, and different price points.