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Due diligence reveals that, while STW - the Magazine - covered this, we don't seem to have discussed it on the forum.
It looks impressive, though, and I would love to know what the massif thinks. What would limit its application? What problems could arise? With all the fantastic technology being applied to road and mountain bikes alike, why would a company like Shimano not look to develop something like it for themselves?
[If this has been covered on here and I missed it, please forgive me and let the thread die.]
We did discuss it.
I think the chance of crashing or even wobbling off and seriously cutting your leg or someone else's leg would be significant. But that could easily be fixed with a cowl.
But otherwise, I can't see a disadvantage for a rigid bike.
Will come in useful when you can't find the ikea cheese grater.
It's going to need a very stiff bearing mount at either end of the shaft. I guess you could fit a telescopic shaft with universal joints for a full suspension.
Not sure it's much worse in the leg cutting department than existing setups.
with things like this I go with the gut "if it looks right..." and this just doesn't !
I'd like to see it change gear
A lot of bearings to replace
All those little exposed bearings at the ends of the drive shaft would very quickly die a horrible death in real world conditions. I guess it might be viable on the track or for sunny days in California. As mentioned above, I wonder how it works once you start putting a bit of flex on the frame and wheels.
The biggest problem is that it needs a specialised, dedicated frame design, so it is difficult to see it being widely adopted.
It's 99% efficient, but has 49% less friction than a regular chain. That means that a regular chain is about 98% efficient, so it's actually 1% more efficient when tested in a laboratory. After a few months riding in wet conditions, it's hard to believe it will perform as well as it does in the lab. Regular derailler drivetrains still work ok even when they get caked in mud, I can't see that being anywhere near as robust.
Plus, it would be a nightmare to try to fit to a suspension bike.
Plus, it's not clear whether the tolerances would be thrown off if you wanted to use more than one wheel, so it might be a problem for quick wheel changes in a race.
How much energy is lost when cycling in the drive-train compared to wind resistance and rolling resistance?
But maybe it works out lighter than derailleur?