Start-up Develops New Bicycle Drive

"You can tell that you're flying" and "Pedaling efficiency has increased significantly": Möve Bikes reports on the response from testers and experts to the new Cyfly drive system. Now the Thuringian startup Möve Bikes presented the purely mechanical drive system to the general public for the first time at the Eurobike 2016 in Friedrichshafen.

Electric motors

This is what the drive technology of the future looks like

Developed by the start-up Möve Bikes GmbH, Easy Cycling Technology is a mechanical drive system that should make cycling easier. With this construction, the cyclist's power is converted into propulsion more efficiently. According to the manufacturer, this effect has been confirmed by the independent Freiburg bike laboratory in a report and by experienced test drivers. The product will be available in premium bicycles from 2017, a first impression was already given at Eurobike 2016.

Not the wheel, but reinventing the drive

Cyfly is a purely mechanical drive system in which gears and levers interact optimally in a kind of "multi-joint crank". This creates the higher torque, which better converts the cyclist's power into propulsion. The pedal crank and the chainring are not directly connected to each other, but the pedals are brought to the oval track.

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"With Cyfly we are moving on the path of a 166.5 mm long crank and generate the torque of a significantly longer, 223.9 mm long crank," explains design manager Marcus Rochlitzer. "In the 3 o'clock position, we increase the torque by 33%."

This new kind of kinematics results in a different kick feeling. In order to minimize the difference between the new drive and the familiar round pedaling, the designers specially adapted the chainring to the movement of the human being and built it oval. The drive completely replaces the front part of the drive train of a conventional wheel and contains pedal cranks, bearings and the oval chainring (also patent pending). "This kinematics also gives a different kick feeling," explains Rochlitzer. "To experience that is an extremely exciting experience."

According to the manufacturers, Cyfly weighs less than 2 kg, if you count the parts that otherwise form the drive. However, due to the increase in torque, this should not be a factor. The favorable weight distribution in the center of gravity should have a positive influence on driving behavior overall. All Cyfly components are manufactured using modern manufacturing technologies. Mitec AG in Eisenach is one of the production partners.