Neglect fidgeting with derailleurs and kit levers mid-commute. As an alternative, Bafang desires to make city e‑biking smoother than ever with its all-new H730 hub motor, that includes its patented GVT (Gear Variable Transmission) know-how. The thought is to mix some great benefits of internally geared hubs with Bafang’s personal hub motors to create an internally geared hub motor.
We lined Bafang’s GVT know-how after seeing it first-hand on a tour of the corporate’s headquarters in China. Now we’re getting a take a look at a brand new 3-speed model, which takes the unique 2-speed idea even additional.
Launched this summer time, this new hub motor packs a 3‑pace computerized gearbox that shifts gears seamlessly based mostly solely on using pace – no rider enter wanted. It even runs with none electrical energy from the e-bike, for the reason that shifting is carried out inertially as a substitute of utilizing an enter loop based mostly on a pace sensor.
The advantages are instant: sturdiness, simplicity, and fewer upkeep. With out derailleurs, cables, or exterior shifters cluttering the setup, the H730 boasts a clear, minimalist rear-end design, to not point out the advantages of weatherproofing the transmission to deal with rain, mud, and particles.
The 250W motor features a torque sensor and good controller to research riders’ pedal enter in actual time, suppressing pedal lag whereas delivering clean acceleration as much as 25 km/h (15.5 mph). It’s a perfect match for day by day commuting, the place power effectivity and responsiveness matter. The pace restrict matches European-regulation bikes, however it might make sense to see Bafang introduce a barely sooner 20 mph (32 km/h) model for the North American market.
That’s much more seemingly contemplating Bafang appears to be focusing on broad compatibility, with the corporate highlighting how the H730 performs properly with belt-drive methods and minimalist e‑bike frames.
The GVT system itself is the fruits of almost 20 years of innovation, Bafang defined. Since its introduction with the H700 motor in 2022, over 40 world e‑bike manufacturers, protecting all the things from city commuters to fats‑tire and cargo e-bikes, have adopted GVT-powered options.
Bafang appears to be positioning the GVT as the inspiration of a platform, with the corporate seeing the H730 as a springboard for integration into shared‑bike fleets, folding bicycles, and e‑bike methods constructed to final. That’s a compelling narrative for city mobility: fewer transferring components, smarter automation, and a trip expertise tuned for simplicity and longevity.
Electrek’s Take
I like this answer as a result of we’ve usually had to decide on between an internally geared hub OR a hub motor, however not each. Getting an IGH usually meant shelling out for a costlier mid-drive motor, however now it’s doable to get the advantages of each. A cheap hub motor can maintain costs extra reasonably priced, whereas the IGH means you don’t have the muss and fuss of a derailleur.
I want the system additionally labored by means of the motor itself (i.e. might downshift the motor for extra torque on hill climbs), however that is nonetheless nice progress for the business. And who is aware of, perhaps Bafang has gear-shifting hub motors in improvement someplace to present us the multi-ratio motors we wish. Till then, this appears to be like fairly cool.
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