CUBE a german bicycle manufacturer released a Urban Bicycle Concept.
coperation with the University Coburg/Germany (Productdesigner Gregor Dauth, Professor Gerhard Kampe) shows a 28″ wheel folding bike.
Here are the main features of the concept:
CUBE has a sportive bicycle portfolio. So the customers are focused on a sportive urban bicycl concept. The lightweight urban bike can easily carried into the flat and the working place. Two folding links to fold the bike and transport for long distance travel (Car, train, plane) Interesting to see that also here a internally geared hub with 8 speed is used (See also Cannondale Sram Projekt ONE with a Sram i-MOTION 9 hub). The hole drivetrain is completely capsuled. This protects the chain from rain, dust,….. I cannot understand that there are so many urban bicycles on the market who disregard this fundamental necessity! The HEBIE Chainglider is a revolutionary invention and nearly no bicycle maufacturer uses this fantastic part. Also in this bike concept the essential urban fenders are missing. Who wants to ride with this bicycle to work on a rainiy day! Sorry!!!! Maybe most of todays urban bikes are looking better without fenders and capsuled a drivetrain but when you face real world the cool design will not protect the designer cloth from getting dirty. The 28″ rear wheel can be released out of the frame. The rear pinion gear and the rear brake disc rests on the frame. This means the rear wheel looks more or less like a front wheel. There are no additional parts on any side of the hub. This has the advantage, that no oil or dirt from the rear pinion gear can touch your clothes and it´s much thiner part to store. Also interesting to see that the rear brake disc is mounted on the derailer side. This is the opposite side compared to actual bicycles. Do YOU have any idea why?
This urban bike concept is another proof how bright the future of internal geared hubs is. Check also the Bicycle Design Blog for a deeper sight…
The drivetrain consists out of a Rohloff Speedhub in combination with a completely capsuled chain drivetrain. The rear wheel can be removed without touching the chain. This is realized by a special couppling between the internal geared hub and the rear pinion gear. The rear pinion gear stay on the bike and is a part of the drivetrain.
The efficiency is pushed by the following details to a high level:
- capsuled drivetrain
- the chain has a wide overlapping on the chain wheel and the rear pinion by using to little guiding pinions. These two guiding pinions are on the untensioned side of the drivetrain with a low influence on the efficiency. The tensioned upper chainline has a straight effective direction!
- the chain will be tensioned by the two guiding pinions (like a derailleur).
There is a whole bundle of maintenance free details on this bike concerning other parts. A price is not defined but the bikes will be available next spring. Phil´s veloblog is also discussing the benefits of this concept.
