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.

The idea is not only good, but also not new: the marriage of the gearbox with the mid-engine. Pinion presented a functioning system with the MGU in 2023 and is active on the market; e-bikes from manufacturers such as Simplon, Flyer, Bulls and Rotwild are equipped with it. 

Now Sram is apparently also setting its sights on the unity of mid-motor and transmission: in December 2025, the US shifting giant published a patent that combines 12 gears and a mid-motor. The gear range is said to be around 500 percent, which does not come close to the 600 percent of Pinion's motor-gear unit.

Sram took over the bicycle division of the German company Fichtel & Sachs in November 1997, continuing the traditional production of hub gears and other components in Schweinfurt until Sram discontinued this production in 2017. This meant that Sram already had know-how with gearboxes in-house, but subsequently pursued a consistent focus on derailleur gears.

The unity of motor and gearbox is not only available from Pinion. Praxis Works is working on it, and Revonte had tried unsuccessfully on this concept. Intradrive presented an MGU at Eurobike 2022, and Owuru will be presenting an MGU at Eurobike 2025. However, it is unclear when Sram will strike the big blow here.