The innovative, simple, reliable, component compatible gearing system for bicycles. Eliminates chain drops, chain wear and chain stretch, while increasing the gear options over crank mounted chain rings.
US Patent Number 10,167,055 was issued for VECTr on January 1, 2019.
Dude -- it's pentagonal. Wouldn't a hexagonal gear be easier to fabricate? I hereby patent this idea. Also, allen head bolts AND philips head screws? Get your shit together.
The internet is incredible. While nagging over my nexus hub gearbox that doesn't coast realy well, I was thinking about how a CVT could be applied to a chain-driven system. And of course, some dude made it already. Great stuff! Any ideas on how to reduce the gaps/jumping chain?
man i was thinking about designing something like this for a few weeks, i thought about everything, a locking mechanism for the expanding teeth, a corresponding rear sprocket, the fact that they cant expand at the same time. welp someone made it
Love the mechanical nature of this design! I have in fact been thinking of a design similar to this but it uses small jokey wheels (in replacement of the teeth segments) that have freewheel ratchets on them. My design has infinite gear ratios aswell. Best of luck!
Any idea what overall efficiency might be? Many of the friction drive bicycle transmissions have low overall efficiency. A common planetary gear set can achieve up to 97% efficiency.
I'm sorry your dream was thwarted. Usually people tell me it was already invented 100 years ago. This particular design was not, of course. You can have the consolation of being in good creative company. Great minds think alike, and all that. Thanks for your interest and comment.
Hey! This is great product. I was wondering, Can I use this video in the compilation I'm making. Of course you will get fully credited in the description and the comment section. Thanks
Hi. Thanks for asking. Yes, you can use it as long as you provide proper attribution to vectr-gear.com . Also, please let me know when your video is uploaded and live. VECTr has appeared in other invention/bike product compilation videos, but their creators didn't let me know beforehand. So if you could, that would be great.
not much different to this ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yweIWBC9-OA.html and I saw something much, much older. None of these are used.
VECTr is not very similar at all. The chain-engaging gear segments on VECTr change radial position one at a time, not simultaneously as in the other device. There are very many other differences.
Iam an inventor and it appears, to generate sales, you need more spokes on the sprocket retainer with more area for teeth for smoother operation. Smaller 10 or more spoke retainer would make this happen.
Looks like a very similar process to Veridrive from about 5 years earlier. Bit better video as a potato cam appears to have been used for the Veridrive ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RQHvjktwc0k.html
The pulsations as the chain rises and falls would make it extremely uncomfortable to use and really impact the driveline efficiency, especially on a suspension bike.
The variations are more pronounced on the 4-segment version, but on the current 5-segment version it is not very noticeable on the most expanded setting - not noticeable at all at lower gear settings. Check out the videos from April and September 2019.
VECTr works with bikes with rear cassettes and tensioner/derailleur. You can see that in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-07FzZ3WcknU.html
This looks similar to the Hettlage transmission. I think it makes more sense to implement it as you have on a front drive. I have some questions, though. What is the difference in weight of your system compared to a conventional three ring front sprocket and shifter set up? How would your solution compare on cost to a conventional system assuming it was produced on similar scales? What is the component count of your system and how does this compare to a conventional system? What is the effect of vibration on the system after prolonged use compared to conventional systems?
VECTr is different from the Hettlage drive in that VECTr can easily replace the crank mounted chain rings, whereas Hettlage requires a nonstandard frame to accommodate the belt drive. I have more detailed specs on the vectr-gear.com website, but to your questions: VECTr weighs about 550 grams compared to 475 for the three ring crankset it replaces and 1000 to 2000 grams for the other internal hubs/gearboxes available. VECTr should cost between $150 - $200 depending on the production run compared to the $200 to $2000 for other transmissions. As far as component count, if I understand you correctly, VECTr's controller is considerably simpler than a derailleur since VECTr has only about 8 parts. The crank mounted gearing for VECTr consists of about 20 parts, easily assembled. I haven't done extensive road testing, so I can't speak to prolonged use, but it has held up to the road testing I have done. You can find a brief video of a road test on my channel page.
Here is the latest model being tested in the lab: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9Q8RavDigzo.html Here it is tested on the road: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5jBXFftKy6U.html
You still need a derailleur system to account for the chain slack as it contracts. Where is it? As I doubt it unlikely to use the same CVT on the back wheel to account for this chain slack.
You are correct; VECtr still needs a tensioner. On the models so far, I use the rear derailleur and tensioner already in place. The rear cassette and derailleur are unaffected by replacing the chainrings on the crank with VECTr. Check out this short video of the compatibility of VECTr with a rear cassette: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-07FzZ3WcknU.html Also, in the road test video I change gears on the rear cassette before testing VECTr, but you don't see the tensioner there either.
With the newer 5 bolt version, not at all. Check it out testing in the lab: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9Q8RavDigzo.html Here it is tested on the road: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5jBXFftKy6U.html
Thanks. Please share with your friends, fellow riders, component manufactures, etc. A crowd funding campaign may be starting soon. Check back for details, or better yet, subscribe to keep updated.
There is a locking mechanism on each gear segment which is released, and the segments are moved to new radial positions, by their contact with a controller while being moved by the cranks' rotation.
@@vignan4553 The controller consists of two curved plates which are slid fore and aft by a cable attached to a friction shifter mounted on the handle bar. An electric actuator controlled by wired or wireless switch could also be used.
I was issued a patent on a similar idea in 1993(?) 5,492,506. My design had some of the same issues you mention in your design. I never got adequate financing and after spending thousands of dollars in fees etc. I let the patent expire. Good ideas are only a small part of the invention process IMHO, Better luck to you with your idea.
Thanks for the encouragement. I agree, ideas are relatively easy (though not effortless). The devil is in the details and the implementation -- and then one has no control over market forces.
JEFF DragonBall I noticed that also. It made me think of a specialized hard rock I had years ago. That bike had a "biopace" chain ring. If this were properly designed that pulsing might be an advantage.
