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Bike by Ellsworth, Transmission by Leonardo da Vinci

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Tideland Prius, Apr 5, 2007.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Bicycle transmissions have clearly caught up with those of cars. We've already seen automatic transmission bikes by Shimano and others—and now there's a continuously variable transmission (CVT) in this Ellsworth bicycle that works in a similar way to our Honda Civic Hybrid.

    Well, almost. It's a bit different because it's based on an invention by Leonardo da Vinci, a continuously variable planetary (CVP) drive called the NuVinci CVP. What the heck is that? You still have to shift gears, but the response is instant, and there's no clanging or clicking involved whatsoever. That bike pictured above isn't cheap; you'll pay around $3,000 for one. Jump to see a video showing how the CVP drive works.

    Source: Gizmodo. Click to view video at article's page
     
    #1 Tideland Prius, Apr 5, 2007
  2. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    If it has such a low manufacturing cost....how come the bike is $3,000?

    Fallbrook? Fallbrook California? That's just north of me.
     
    #2 Godiva, Apr 5, 2007
  3. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Looks very interesting. But it also looks like it has a narrow range from lowest to highest ratio. I used to have an 18-speed bike with half-step-plus-granny with a dynamic range of gears of 10 or 15 or more. In low gear the bike moved slower than walking, and in high gear it went too fast for me to handle.

    Leonardo da Vinci is credited with lots of stuff, much of it apocryphal. I highly doubt he invented this transmission. He did make a lot of drawings which are open to some pretty wild interpretations.
     
    #3 daniel, Apr 5, 2007
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