Schaeffler's chain-free e-bike system now in production

by Richard Peace Mar 20 2023

5 comments

Schaeffler's chain-free e-bike system now in production — Free Drive.jpg, by Schaeffler

System has the potential to revolutionise e-cargo bikes and has its first customer

Back in 2021, we reported that Schaeffler's e-mobility division had developed a chainless electric drive system called Free Drive. The system negates the need for a chain by converting the mechanical energy generated by pedalling into electric energy before converting it back into mechanical energy at a wheel hub motor.

Despite much talk of it being not efficient enough to be practical, it seems Schaffler and co-developers Heinzmann believe it is now ready for real world applications and it has gone into production.

And it's not just their conviction. As Bike EU have reported, "The Mocci micro mobility platform, created by CIP Mobility, will soon be supplied as the first Free Drives customer."

How does it work?

This kind of system, known as a series hybrid (unlike most chain and belt e-drives which are parallel hybrids), has been around a while - 1975 saw the first e-bike series hybrid. It works by eliminating any direct mechanical connection between the rider's pedals and the rear wheel, replacing a chain or belt drive with an electrical generator.

In Schaeffler's latest design based on this system, the generator is located on the pedal axle. The electricity generated is fed into the rear motor (a 250W rated Heinzmann model) and there is also an on-board battery that contributes power to the motor and is capable of accepting charge from regenerative braking. Because the rider is essentially pedalling to feed electricity into the drive system serial hybrids have been called 'bike by wire'.

This kind of design has been tried before commercially too. The Mando Footloose made a brief appearance on the European market around 2015 but it clearly never caught on.

Will Mocci make or break the serial hybrid e-bike?

This kind of design seems more suited to heavy e-bikes or at least e-bikes carrying heavy loads, where you don't want to overburden a drivetrain with huge forces. Extra long light electric vehicles, often with complicated drivetrains - for example tandems and recumbents - may also benefit from it.

So it seems fitting that Schaeffler's first customer is Germany's Mocci and their distinctive e-cargo bike the Smart Pedal Vehicle (SPV).

It is reported that Mocci will be selling fleets of their funky and futuristic e-bikes to corporate clients, who will in turn use them in bike-sharing projects, urban deliveries or other applications. It's not just the design of the drivertrain that appears highly unusual on the Mocci e-bike however. The Mocci's other features include sturdy one-piece monocoque wheels and a recyclable, injection-moulded polyamide frame.

It may also be that a 2022 EU legal decision will help smooth the way for wider serial hybrid adoption. A European Commission ruling officially classified series hybrids as e-bikes in the same way that 15.5mph pedelecs are. The decision helped clear up the confusion over series hybrids caused by a warning in 2018 from the German approval body, Kraftfahrt Bundesambt (KBA) that dealers selling the Mando Footloose risked a €5,000 fine. One such company making a series hybrid, Podbike, which had previously felt constrained by the muddy legal position, are now able to push ahead with plans to more widely sell their striking looking Frikar - though on their website the sales status is still at the 'pre-order' stage.

Author block

Richard Peace

Richard Peace took to full-time outdoor writing/photojournalism after stints in an office and as an English teacher abroad. His cycling route guide books include the best-selling Ultimate C2C Guide and the Ultimate UK Cycle Route Planner plus Electric Bicycles. He has written for various media about many aspects of cycling

5 comments

duncanap 10 months 2 weeks ago

I think there are a few things to consider - if you are cycling at a constant speed, then average/long term power is super important. But if you have to stop and start - at traffic lights say, then torque and peak power become more important. I used to have the luxury of a stromer speed pedelec, which definitely gave a boost when pulling away, but it the real impact was how much effort I put in. While most leaisure cyclists might struggle to put out 250w long term (I guess analogous to FTP) almost all can "stand on the pedals" to boost torque and give quite decent short term power for one or two seconds. I am not sure how that could be managed with a bike by wire hybrid. On a stromer, the power output is driven by a torque sensor on the pedals. So you get back power and torque in proportion to what you give. I am curious as to how this works with a generator. Has anyone ridden a bike like this?

ribena 10 months 2 weeks ago

A lot of legal ebike motors put out way more than 250w, more like 600 - 700w. Given that the human is contributing quite a small relative amount in that case, it makes sense to do away with the chain for cargo bikes, especially those with very convoluted chain routing and high efficiency losses anyway.

Sriracha 10 months 2 weeks ago

Getting rid of the chain, along with its grease grime and grit is a worthwhile goal. Losing umpteen percent of your effort along the way seems like too high a price. I'd rather go with a belt drive solution.

ubercurmudgeon 10 months 2 weeks ago

Maybe someone should cut out the inefficiencies of a generator/motor system and bring out the world's first e-cargo-penny-farthing. Either that or just accept that chains/belts are proven technology and far better than all these gimmicky concepts (and they can be put behind a chain guard if you're really worried about dirt or chain tattoos.)

Secret_squirrel 10 months 2 weeks ago

I dont see how the maths works out on this as anything more than a hybrid epedelec with very mild human assist.

Even the low grunt ebike motors put out 250w which is well in excess of the average bike rider. I would bet the average consumer isnt going to be inputting more than 80-120w into the system. Which means it needs a battery to make it work.