An E-Bike Without Gears or Derailleurs? – CleanTechnica

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Recently, I came across what looked to be a really cool e-bike on social media. It’s a bike without some of the more common failure points, like gear shifters and derailleurs. But, it’s not a single-speed bike. It has a special transmission that automatically shifts the gears for you, making it possible to just focus on pedaling or working the throttle.

I still wondered whether it was good in the real world, so I looked for a YouTube video to see if anyone else had tested it. Fortunately, I found this:

The video starts with a quick look at the Quietkat Apex HD. On the surface, it looks like a fairly standard fat tire e-bike. But, it’s actually a fairly high-end machine. It can go up to 90 miles on a charge, a 1000-watt motor, and a two-speed sealed transmission in the rear hub. It has a decent screen, multiple modes (including a quiet “stealth” mode for hunting), and and the ability to set it up as a Class 1, 2, or 3 bike (or unlimited) to keep it compliant with different trails and public lands. Top speed is 35 MPH.

It’s also waterproof up to the crank, and despite multiple water crossings, it never had any problems. So, running into puddles, mud, and shallow water shouldn’t be a problem.

He added some accessories (an easy thing to do with the bike, as it has lots of mounting points. Mounts for either a rifle or a bow, a cargo rack with modular add-ons that can work for everything from bikepacking to grocery shopping, and more were added to customize the bike to his needs. He also has a trailer that connects to the bike without unbolting the axle, which saves the threads from getting worn prematurely.

All in all, it’s built to handle rougher terrain than budget e-bikes. It has tougher parts, better geometries and frame, and more. Over 200 miles of testing, about half on road and half off, he took it all over his land in the woods. Like many bikes, it arrived mostly assembled, and required some work to get riding.

The automatic two-speed transmission wasn’t always getting into the right gears. Most of the time, it was nice, but at times it would shift at the wrong time or not shift when a rider on a manual bike would typically want to shift. But, having it sealed up and having a self-tensioning chain that can’t start skipping gears or slip off was nice in most situations. Like anything, there are trade-offs involved.

On pavement and smooth surfaces, the bike was very smooth. Off-road, it was easy to get going too fast. The throttle has enough power behind it to destabilize you when a weaker motor or pedal power only wouldn’t break traction. So, care must be taken to not wreck yourself. With great power comes great responsibility. But, one great thing about all that power is that it can keep up with cars on lower-speed streets, making it actually a much safer ride in many cases than it would be with them blowing by you.

As of the video, it had proven very durable, despite being ridden a lot more like a dirt bike than a mountain bike. Trails, raw woods, tilled fields, none of it hurt the bike, but it would sometimes hurt his back to do the rougher riding. So, in other words, the bike was tougher than he was!

As for utility, he’s both a hunter and a “prepper” and figured out that it was good for either situation. For hunting, he found that the stealth mode was good enough to get out to a hunting blind without disturbing the whole area the way a dirt bike would. It was also maneuverable enough and powerful enough to pull a trailer of supplies or carry a deer back out of the woods. For preparedness, he sees the low-consumption nature of the bike and its flexibility as extremely useful for even the most extreme of emergencies.

He also tried out the Quietkat solar panel. It folds up small, can easily be carried on the bike, and directly charges the bike’s battery. This means that instead of needing a power station and all of that extra heavy gear, you can just use the panel. The panel itself can also charge other things, like phones, making it useful for more than just charging the bike.

He also found out what happens when the bike runs out of juice. As it gets low, the top speed is the first thing to go, as the bike tries to give you more range and not damage the battery. First, it drops to 25 MPH. Then 15, then 10. Finally, it goes to minimum pedal assist to help you hoof it home. But, when it goes down to just pedaling the bike without any assist, it’s still a good bike. It’s tougher to push because it’s a heavy bike, but it’s still possible to keep it moving. There’s no need to walk it!

What About The Automatic Transmission?

I still need to check one out for myself, but based on what I’ve read and what I’m seeing in videos like this one, it seems that the benefit of the automatic transmission is mostly that it’s sealed and less likely to cripple the bike. A mid-drive bike still pushes all of that power through the chain, and if the chain slips off the cassette, you’ve got a bike that needs at least some quick work with your hands to get back on the road or the trail.

This benefit is even more pronounced when you consider that bikes like a Quietkat are built for much harsher conditions than both street bikes and most mountain bikes. The extra power over rugged terrain, mud, sand, dirt, and rocks means there’s a lot more chances and a lot more energy in the mix to make something go wrong.

Sure, the bike would be slightly more rideable with manual shifting, but getting that extra waterproofness at the cost of minor rideability issues is probably worth it.

Featured image by Quietkat.