Intradrive: UK made gearbox drive unit begins pilot production

Great to see more UK made products.

I also think it makes huge sense to combine gearbox and motor assistance.

*Thumbs up*

I'm convinced that this is the future for e-bikes. I hopefully won't ever have to buy one with a cassette and derailleur.

Stick one in a long travel sled of a bike and send it down to Sheffield for a demo.

I invested a very small amount of money in Intradrive during their last crowd funding drive, so great to see this progressing.

makes total sense for ebikes and would be great to see the tech filter back into normal bikes

It looks like a big step forward for e-bikes and I can imagine it being perfect for cargo/delivery bikes (I'm not talking the mobile bomb Uber/Deilveroo conversions here, more the freight type bikes).

That looks just the job for eBikes, and good that it's a UK product.

For normal bikes I'd like to see a chain gearbox contained in the BB area. We've seen a few examples of prototypes but not a production bike with one AFAIK. Chain is the only way they'll get a mid mounted gear system light enough for non-assisted bikes.

I used to work in that building!

So

on theory I could be possible to buy a Shimano equipped ebike with a duff motor for very little due to Shimano’s refusal to make it easy to repair and bolt one of these in instead? Instant cheap ebike.

I guess these motors could also be sold to people who have a perfectly good ebike they like but has a broken motor.
I’m all for products that keep things out of landfills

have Intradrive said how powerful their motor will be compared to others yet?

Interested to see how the likes of Shimano/Bosch etc manage to fit a motor and nothing else into that sort of casing and yet Intradrive are shoving a gearbox in there as well as the motor? I'm assuming theres not an awful lot of wasted space in a Shimano motor casing?

cotic must be interested in these given their push for uk made and their ebike having a custom made Shimano motor housing

cotic must be interested in these given their push for uk made and their ebike having a custom made Shimano motor housing

Now that's a bike I'd be interested in. It'll cost about 12 grand though.

Been following this for a while, good to see it going into production.  I invested in them a while ago as franksinatra has and will probably purchase an Intradive gearbox bike in the future once my "analogue" cycling days are over.

This product looks amazing and I'll be first in the queue to get one for my aging Orbea Rise.

I can't see it being so great in a non-motorised version though, surely those permanently engaged gear wheels will cause quite a bit of drag? Something that a motor can easily overcome but soon becomes funless on a regular bike?

Yeah, would be great to have this in a Cotic Rocket 🙂

Great idea...but the weight seems an issue with 4.5kg quoted on their website. I know not so much of an issue on an e-bike but the move to lighter e-bikes has been welcomed to help riding enjoyment.....A shimano EP8 motor + Cassette + derailleur = 3.4kg.

Hopefully they can shave some weigh off the production version.

The extra weight doesn't bother me if it means losing a gigantic modern cassette and derailleur from the rear axle.

Weight is less of an issue for cargo bikes. Mountain bikes aren't the only market.

My only concern is cost, I can't see a Scottish made, low volume, complicated product being all that cheap.

Great idea…but the weight seems an issue with 4.5kg quoted on their website. I know not so much of an issue on an e-bike but the move to lighter e-bikes has been welcomed to help riding enjoyment…..A shimano EP8 motor + Cassette + derailleur = 3.4kg.

Any idea how that compares to the Pinion MGU?

Edit: should’ve just googled it first. 4.1kg for the Pinion equivalent. So Intradrive are, roughly, in the ballpark

Yeah, would be great to have this in a Cotic Rocket 

Maybe the lack of rear mech etc would avert your gaze from the shoebox attached to the downtube.

It's a lovely idea and I know they've been working on it for a long time, but it looks very heavy compared to other systems, with not as much gear range as the Pinion system (12spd 600% range on the Pinion vs 8spd 490% range on Intradrive) or as much power. Plus, the Pinion system has been on the market now for about 6 months. I think if they want to push this, it needs to be better than what is currently available.

Plus, the Pinion system has been on the market now for about 6 months.

I really did feel for them when that hit the market first. Hopefully they're got an ace up their sleeve somewhere

I had a chat with someone from Intradrive at an Orange demo day, they are looking to supply their system to manufacturers not as replacements for faulty Shimano motors ( would need a new battery, controller and wiring) the system would cost much more than a replacement Shimano motor.

4.5kg!! I thought it looked a bit overbuilt - the gears look like the ones I had in a 70s moped.  Exactly how much torque are we talking here?

I would happily have a heavier motor if it's repairable and reliable. 

The problem with making all these motors so small and lightweight, is they use smaller bearings, which wear out more quicky, and then you can't repair them even unofficially as everythings crammed in there so tightly and wires & sensors break when you open them. 

If you like at vids of the ebike motor repair place, they say Bosch gen 2 and Specialized Levo motor are the most repairable - both larger heavier motors. The bosch gen 2 was about 4kg without a gearbox.