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by NowhereMan 1495 days ago
I am surprised automatic shifting technology doesn't exist. Wireless electronic shifters are readily available now, in addition to power meters. We have devices to shift and devices to tell us when to shift. All that is needed is to marry the two together.
2 comments
opwieurposiu 1495 days ago
It does exist, in the form of a CVT and controller invented by a company called NuVinci. I built a cruiser bike with the manual CVT version years ago. It worked but the hub was very heavy. If you were stopped in high gear and you pushed down on the pedal really hard to start going it would occasionally slip. Once you got going it was pleasant to use but don't expect to win any races.

They must not have sold very many of them because Fallbrook-NuVinci went into chapeter 11 and enviolo bought the tech.

https://enviolo.com/products/

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sorenbs 1495 days ago
The Vanmoof bikes have automatic shifters. I don’t like them because they are unpredictable, and you feel the difference. It’s jarring. The Cowboy is single speed, which works pretty well because of the motor. That’s my preferred configuration. But at high speeds it does feel like I’m at a spinning class, and it sounds like this system could fix that.
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