I've demo'ed the Zerode, wasn't impressed by the gearbox drive in any way. This was the older grip shift style, not the new electronic paddle shifters they have now. It was simply impossible (with my strength) to downshift when climbing. Drag was noticeable in higher gears. I think it is a great tech for commuter bikes and maybe DH, but definitely not for any discipline where climbing wattage/efficiency is important.
The electronic smart shift is very good! I agree and have ridden the old version and now have a new frame with an electric shift. I think it's like e-bikes, a lot of the old tech was so bad that it put a bad taste in people's mouths. For park and DH riding, there are no downsides to having the gearbox... Well, the extra weight has to be worked around, but at least it's low and centered. The Pinion 6 speed with smart shift and the small battery were about 4lb heavier than the standard DH drivetrain parts I removed.
Cool to see! The devils in the details, and we've been working out the kinks on chain drive bicycles for around 140 years now. I think a gear-mesh gearbox could would on an e-bike where there are watts to burn. But, as someone mentioned in the industry thread, hat's easier to say than do, as in the case of Pinion whose gearbox e-bike system isn't flying off the shelves.
I think for a human-powered bikes, gearboxes aren't going to be a competitive option for uphill and downhill riding until someone can nail the (many, many) details to get a derailleur-in-a-box working consistently with a wide range cassette, or two chainrings and a smaller cassette, or similar. A derailleur-in-a-box like the Honda RN01 seems like the only hope for an acceptable performance human-powered gearbox. And if you had a working, chain-driven, sealed derailleur-in-a-box, there's no reason why you couldn't send power from the box to the rear wheel using a Gates belt drive, a la the new Atherton bike.
I've been a fan of weird bike things since day 1, so im in on the gearbox/belt drive. That being said, I think these mtbs are still more limited to more specific use cases or riding areas, not wide spread adoption. I have a pinon belt drive commuter bike that I LOVE- the gear range and having almost zero maintence is great. I bet the thing up and it needs nothing but air in the tires. If you're going to invest in a long-term commuter bike or utility/cargo bike, you screw up not going gearbox/belt drive. On a cargo e-bike these are the best hands down.
If i had unlimited funds, I would want a gearbox/belt DH bike....
Also - A buddy worked at Alta e-dirt bikes and they proto'd one with a Gates Belt, said it was scary quite.
All of the brands that are making announcements that they are using belt drives / gearboxes for 2025 DH season are kinda setting off my marketing B.S detector.
It may be true that gearbox+ belt drives is the optimal setup for a WC DH race bike, but I find it odd that brands are switching at the same time as other sponsors are cutting back support.
Are brands teams like Atherton switching because of better sponsorship $ from gearboxes and gates plus chasing the 100k prize from Gates?
Maybe I'm just jaded and overly suspicious of marketing speak. Team sponsorship is marketing so it shouldn't be surprising that teams always talk about how their new sponsor is the best.
I've demo'ed the Zerode, wasn't impressed by the gearbox drive in any way. This was the older grip shift style, not the new electronic paddle shifters they have now. It was simply impossible (with my strength) to downshift when climbing. Drag was noticeable in higher gears. I think it is a great tech for commuter bikes and maybe DH, but definitely not for any discipline where climbing wattage/efficiency is important.
The electronic smart shift is very good! I agree and have ridden the old version and now have a new frame with an electric shift. I think it's like e-bikes, a lot of the old tech was so bad that it put a bad taste in people's mouths. For park and DH riding, there are no downsides to having the gearbox... Well, the extra weight has to be worked around, but at least it's low and centered. The Pinion 6 speed with smart shift and the small battery were about 4lb heavier than the standard DH drivetrain parts I removed.
Cool to see! The devils in the details, and we've been working out the kinks on chain drive bicycles for around 140 years now. I think a gear-mesh gearbox could would on an e-bike where there are watts to burn. But, as someone mentioned in the industry thread, hat's easier to say than do, as in the case of Pinion whose gearbox e-bike system isn't flying off the shelves.
I think for a human-powered bikes, gearboxes aren't going to be a competitive option for uphill and downhill riding until someone can nail the (many, many) details to get a derailleur-in-a-box working consistently with a wide range cassette, or two chainrings and a smaller cassette, or similar. A derailleur-in-a-box like the Honda RN01 seems like the only hope for an acceptable performance human-powered gearbox. And if you had a working, chain-driven, sealed derailleur-in-a-box, there's no reason why you couldn't send power from the box to the rear wheel using a Gates belt drive, a la the new Atherton bike.
I've been a fan of weird bike things since day 1, so im in on the gearbox/belt drive. That being said, I think these mtbs are still more limited to more specific use cases or riding areas, not wide spread adoption.
I have a pinon belt drive commuter bike that I LOVE- the gear range and having almost zero maintence is great. I bet the thing up and it needs nothing but air in the tires. If you're going to invest in a long-term commuter bike or utility/cargo bike, you screw up not going gearbox/belt drive. On a cargo e-bike these are the best hands down.
If i had unlimited funds, I would want a gearbox/belt DH bike....
Also - A buddy worked at Alta e-dirt bikes and they proto'd one with a Gates Belt, said it was scary quite.
All of the brands that are making announcements that they are using belt drives / gearboxes for 2025 DH season are kinda setting off my marketing B.S detector.
It may be true that gearbox+ belt drives is the optimal setup for a WC DH race bike, but I find it odd that brands are switching at the same time as other sponsors are cutting back support.
Are brands teams like Atherton switching because of better sponsorship $ from gearboxes and gates plus chasing the 100k prize from Gates?
Maybe I'm just jaded and overly suspicious of marketing speak. Team sponsorship is marketing so it shouldn't be surprising that teams always talk about how their new sponsor is the best.
Post a reply to: The Belt Drive and Gearbox thread