Is it possible to reinvent the bicycle drive?

Chainring, chain, cassette: the drivetrain seems to have been invented. But belts, hubs and gears prove that the drivetrain still has potential for development. At bearing specialist Ceramicspeed, a new approach to the drivetrain is now causing a sensation.

At Ceramicspeed, everything revolves around the efficiency of the drivetrain: be it with ceramic bearings, oversized derailleur pulleys or highly efficient chain lubricants. Now Ceramicspeed has won a Eurobike Design Award with its new "DrivEn" system and shows what a highly efficient drivetrain without a chain looks like.

The new system, which Ceramicspeed developed in collaboration with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder, uses an innovative shaft drive concept. According to the company, this should almost completely eliminate sliding friction, and the efficiency of the "DrivEn" drive is 99 percent at 380 watts of rider power. Compared to a standard Dura Ace drivetrain, the new system even has 49 percent less friction.

However, the new drive concept does not appear to be easy to retrofit: the first models are installed on a racing bike that is fitted with a raised chainstay on the drive side.

ceramicspeed.com