Think that sum think about when they hitt up Shimano derailleurs cassette mechanical parts that’s moving bike notice different between freely moving, n moving slow fighting against pase they set for adjusted to can scale normal pace get caught up traffic speed steady even pace constantly felt as norm high also forced back on safety prior concern

To be fair, this is not an easy article to whip up without a pretty extensive understanding of the mechanics behind it.

The “ball-like” description is not ideal when you know how a Nuvinci CVT works, but few people know that. I got a copy of the Orbit Drive press release today and it uses the term “ball-like” several times (I assume as a result of the 3D printed bevel “ball” shown at 2:20 in the video), so you cannot blame Jesse-May for that.

And planetary gears are described on the differential Wikipedia page, notably under “ring and pinion designs”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_(mechanical_device)

The device described in this article seems entirely different from the device shown in the pictures and on the manufacturer’s Web site.

“…a rotating ball-like mechanism that delivers a variable speed ‘bevel differential’…” I thought this meant that, in principle, it operates like a Kopp Variator or its copy, the Nuvinci. They transmit power though friction between a set of hard balls and two round plates they run against, the input and the output.  Adjusting the angle of the balls achieves the variation in speed. These devices require a thixotropic fluid to manipulate the  friction.

Further study, however, indicates that the author means a simple differential gear, ancient in principle, that one can imagine as a rotating ball.  But there are no hard balls in this device, no friction, no special fluid and no explanation of how the variable speed is obtained (see below). It is nothing whatsoever like a Kopp.

Describing any part of this mechanism as a planetary gearbox reveals a misunderstanding of the planetary principle. There is no planetary action in this device. Please disregard any such statements.

“… This differential allows for two inputs (a rider and electric power), to combine into one output that drives the back wheel…” [manufacturer’s statement on the Web site].

In other words, it obtains variable speed in the same way that a super-imposing gearbox does, with two independent inputs that determine the output. This is an excellent method. The article does not mention it.

“…available eBikes that rely upon a motor and an entirely separate derailleur-operated drivetrain – the pitfalls of which many of us know all too well…” This is a low blow.

Chain drive with derailleur(s) is the dominant technology for several excellent reasons. It is the most efficient, it is simple, it weights the least and it costs the least. It works fine with a minimum of attention. Since it is dominant, parts are easily found throughout the world.

And it is easy to install a motor on it.

No doubt the Driven Orbit Drive works as advertised. I do not believe it will sell. It is easier to obtain the same results with a simpler and cheaper and lighter and more efficient arrangement, especially one that does not require a special bike frame. That is, there are many ways to install such a system on a standard bike without requiring any modification of the frame.