A mid-engine with gears on the rear wheel: This works great, but causes a lot of wear on the chain drive and therefore increases costs. There is another way: with a gearbox in a box protected from external influences such as rain or mud, with a corresponding motor in the same housing.

Pinion has already brought this concept to market maturity. Now the US manufacturer Praxis Works is also preparing to launch a gearbox. This works with a chain and sprockets that can be folded in and out, and offers four to 16 gears. The first drivable prototype uses four gears in combination with a rear-wheel motor from Mahle.

However, Praxis Works has not yet achieved its goals: with astonishing transparency, the manufacturer states that it is not very familiar with motors and is therefore looking for a partner in this field to get the motor-transmission unit project over the finishing line. A rideable prototype already exists, so it remains exciting to see who will join forces with Praxis Works and when the motor-gearbox unit will be installed on production-ready e-bikes for the first time.

praxiscycles.com