Would you fit automatic gears to your bike? ⚙

i shall like this video simply for the fact that George listened to the will of the people and made a video about the bike, as requested when we all saw it :)

We sold these back in the late 90's at the bike shop I worked at. The ones we had used a front freewheel, the chainring would spin when you weren't pedaling. This allowed the system to to shift when you weren't pedaling. They rode fine around town.

I had one of these. They had a slogan. I think it was “the bicycle built for you” but I thought it should be “always in the right gear” because that’s what it did. Whatever speed you went, it put you in the right gear. And because it automatically shifts up, it would kind of encourage you to accept higher gears and go faster. The shifting was not very smooth at all, but it did work as advertised. You would want to anticipate stops and slow down so that it would downshift. But being in the wrong gear after a sudden stop is a problem with any derailleur system. I don’t recall how long it lasted but it did eventually break. It was fun while it lasted, but I eventually moved on.

GCN remembered we asked for an autoshift video thanks for this good to have it explained and wouldn't it be wild to see how someone like SRAM or Shimano could have progressed the concept.

Much appreciated. I've been waiting for this episode since Your reaction to Hank bringing the bike. Love this content!

Never heard of this component until this video. However, my A-level technology project was a similar automatic gear system for bikes. My design also had spinning weights but used a linkage instead to move the derailleur. Ultimately it was really cumbersome, just like this video illustrates, I’m amazed someone rode round the world using this. Wow.

Now is relatively easy to think about a system like this electronic, using the sensor for power meter. You could decide what torque you are willing to make and then the gears should shift to adjust. Or just get an E-Bike

My knees hurt just seeing this video in my feed. Those shifts are really hard and unexpected with that derailleur. Worked on a few in my time as a mechanic.

Interesting concept! But in reality, not everyone is comfortable at the same cadence and the adjustability looks like it could be rather random! Nonetheless, always great to see tech like this.

With electronic shifting, plus power and cadence date, it’s only a matter of time until Erg mode comes to IRL riding

finally .... been waiting to geek out to this since Alex spotted the mech on the commuter bike challenge

I have an 80s road bike with worn friction shifters and I swear it becomes automatic on uphills… but in the wrong way.

I borrowed one of these bikes for a senior project in high school. The technology is impressively elegant, even if it didn’t ride too smoothly at times. I like the simple mechanical ingenuity of it. A few years later, in 2008, Shimano came out with the Coasting system, which combined a dynamo front hub with electronics and a 3 speed rear hub to make possibly the first (only?) electronically-controlled automatic bike. The launch was coordinated with Trek and several other brands to put multiple Coasting bikes on the market at once. The program ultimately folded just a couple years later, but that would be a fun bike to get your hands on!

I had a chance to repair one of these bikes a couple of years back. Still in really decent shape all things considered. An incredible piece of kit, Ive never seen anything like it.

This is soooo sick and I’ve never even heard of it!

CSA AutoBike had a freewheel system in the crankset so when you stop pedaling it'll start shifting down to the lowest gear before you even stopped. And instead of the weight on the side of the derailleur it used weights that slid along the spokes attached to a disc that would move the mech inboard n outboard. It appeared you could use ANY rear mech, if memory serves me correctly. No rubber belt to degrade over time or get caught in something to rip it.

The 80s and 90s were the best times to be alive! And this video proves that!

Being waiting for it since Alex teased about doing a video on it. Wonderful walk through of the tech.

I bought mine off Facebook for $30 for a motorized bike project, and I thought it was just missing a gear selector and cable until I looked at the derailleur. But I don't know how I feel about not being able to control what gear I'm in, but it's so cool I'll let it slide.

Well done. Very interesting

Another top job Adam ☺

This should be re-assessed, additional research and development for it’s modernization. This is such a cool idea from wayback.

This unlocked a memory in the back of my brain. I forgot these existed i rode one when i was in jr high it was crazy.

Some other shifting systems of the past that you guys should look into for a future video are the front freewheeling systems, and the different positron shimano shifting that was early index shifting found on lower level bikes.

I remember seeing infomercials for this bike when I was a kid over here in the US. The commercials always showed elderly people riding them.. at least I think so, my memory may be playing tricks on me.

Finally, this vid! I thought you guys might forget about it…

Finally, it's here!!

I remember the Browning Smartshift system from 30 years ago.

That's cool, I like that it works sustainably without dependency on battery charging/electrical components.

I have a question, is Hank able to ride the route of a mega Tour de France mountain stage from the era that this system was invented in, using this bike?

i actually have this exact bike its really good for wheelies and i ride it over my other ones. really smooth

I love the '80s retro style music for a bike from the '00s

Thanks Alex...and crew...Disraeli Gears.....Cream album ? and pretty cool idea..., eh ?

Interesting tech! Thanks for the 5 minutes video, no time wasted :)

Great video, but please tell Hank to wash his bike for the close ups!

I remember that infomercial! omg throwback

I remember a paid program for the Autobike. It had these weights attached to the spokes. As the rider went faster, the weights went outward, shifting into a higher gear. They came back in at lower speeds shifting into a lower gear. It made starting from a stop easier. I'd say these are bikes made for non bikers.

Great to see the explanation of how this works - I thought I knew a bit about old bike tech but when this came up in the Commuter Challenge video I'd never heard of it! It's a shame it wasn't developed/ refined as I can't help thinking it would work better/ be less intrusive with modern 11sp systems and their correspondingly smaller steps. But as somebody else has said, it could probably be done today with electronic shifting & torque sensors. I like stuff that just works with belts & wheels & basic physics though :-)

I just realized that we could relatively easily add a mW level generator to a rear derailleur. I don't exactly know what we can do with it, but replacing the tension wire with electric cables is an option. Lighter, and more reliable. The only problem is too make sure the generator is perfectly isolated. I guess not the most difficult thing with a mW level generator.

You have to admire the ambition and gumption. And from such a while back. As with cars though, manual suits me better.

Clever system :) I always envisioned a system where the tension on the chain (or lack thereof) would be translated to the derailer. If the chain is in motion, with a certain positive or negative tension, a switch would flick the derailer to the next best gear.

They just have to re-do it. Make it lighter with carbon here and there. Make it electronic and thus more precise . . . and BOOM, a new industry toy💥💯!

we want to see you ride it!

I deleted one of these years back off a garage sale find for a friend. Found a 6sp Grip Shift shifter and some clamp on cable stops, she road it for years afterwards.

Cyclists do not have constant power like a car engine. The peak power for one second load is very high. For extremely long distances like Paris-Brest-Paris, the performance is relatively low. You would also need a power meter and a heart rate monitor as well as the user's performance data so that the computer can specify optimal switching points.

That’s as smooth as the Apollo Hyperglide system

Great video . Give me more of this stuff

our local as-seen-on-tv shopping sold that bike. ah yes. memories.

Ever since that challenge with hank been waiting for this video

Might be worth a modern day look at this system. Throw some modern day R&D at it new materials a tweek here a tweek there ... who knows where it could end

Sort of indexing with something like slight indents like in the Shimano Positron, but way lighter would've probably been ideal for the system to stay in gear on those odd rpm's. Then add an Shimano FFS -system in the mix and no worries about pedaling. That would've also lightened the amount of rotating mass at the rear wheel. Then beef up the RD construction a bit, add a sort of casing for protection from grime and you would have a modern day auto city/trekking bike with decent quality.

Now show us hybrid drive trains with internal and external shifting, e.g. SRAM DualDrive

Take a look at SRAM Automatix next!

There's another "auto shift" setup I've seen. Similar concept but it's got 3 weights that are triangulated on the rear wheel and they slide up and down the spokes and push against a plate that in turn push the pre-tensioned rear mech down the cassette.

Quite cool to see

Someone tried to market an automatic chainset in the 80s. A 1x set up but the chainring wasn’t continuous and made of segments of 6-10 teeth (I think). The gap between each segment increased/decreased depending on load? speed? I don’t know - I guess that’s why it never got beyond the marketing/prototype stage. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I've never heard of this system. I'd like to see how the guys react to the variety of 2 wheel drive systems that have popped up over the years. The one that requires the rider to pump the handlebars was an "idea" 😂

This is so cool. I miss seeing innovation like this.

Very cool find. First time I have heard of it. Great video

Someone brought one of these bikes to the local community bike repair event and let me ride it. I though it was really interesting, but you definitely need to think about starting out from a quick stop.

I found one of these and fitted it to an old 120mm old frame. This called for a bit of adapting as it must have been designed for at least 126mm old dropouts. So I only had 5 speeds. I found it unsatisfactory in that I had to pedal quite fast (90 plus rpm) to change up and slowly (30ish rpm) to change down. This latter meant that I lost all momentum at the beginning of a climb. I did my best to reduce friction in the system in order to reduce the cadence differential, but nothing seemed to improve it. Another factor contributing to my disappointment was that, when changing down, 3, 2 and 1 all came at once. On the way up it was surprisingly stable in each gear, the derailleur seeming to find the ideal position for silent progress. That's about all I can say. By the way, I do not believe my modifications contributed to the problem(s) I experienced, which were minor mounting tweeks which did not affect the mechanism or alignment. If anybody has advice or suggestions I would be interested.

I did find it interesting!!! very fun!!

Would love to see this with a coaster brake

OMG I remember those being advertised!

I like how the company named itself after a Cream album which in turn was named after a malapropism of "derailleur gears".

I guess a more modern approach to this would be way more software dependent and electronic. So say you have an app that you put a target RPM or RPM range on and whenever you go above or below it either shifts up or down depending on speed and such, would obviously have to be very advanced electronics, but would be cool to see and try.

I rode one of these for a summer when I was younger. The chain dropped all the time, it was pretty frustrating

You made the early 2000s look like the 80s 😂

It seems like the headquarters for this company is right down the street from me, next to heavy seas beer. I'll swing by and see if they're open.

Enviolo has a stepless automatic hub gear system

Certainly a fun concept, and I do wonder if it would last a lot longer than normal cable actuated gears without maintenance. That said, riding over twenty thousand miles on it, with it constantly chattering away when I'm not quite riding at the right speed...my idea of hell!

I've got a quick fix for slowing down while coasting and starting from a full stop. The freewheel mechanism should be not in a hub, but in a front sprocket like on trials bikes 😊

I remember there was an old system like this that worked by weights on the spokes or something.

More proof we are being had. Such innovation

I work as a bike mechanic at a co-op. We work on these once and a while. They're garbage, all stamped steel and plastic, when they're new. By the time I see them they've been abused for years and are rarely salvageable.

Great bike!

I feel like we have Variable transmissions in several formats now that accomplish the same thing. What about that internal hub one with the pully belt that they use on vespas for a governor? Or those drive shaft bikes with the spring loaded plunger shifter thing that is controlled by a weight, too?

I want a modern version of this, for an 8 speed commuter Bike. I want one badly!

I really thought we were going to see this bodged I to a modern bike and not just a history lesson. Come on, bodge up, this is tech and we want to see you teching things!

Is that Simon at 3:12 ?

Very interesting Alex

I remember seeing these ads (actually I think they were infomercials) back in the day. I always wondered how many they sold. Never ever seen one on the road or in a shop. . .

That is ingenious !

An electronic version (via a motor actuated cage), sensing the wheel speed via an encoder, can be programmed to shift gears with index at adjustable sensitivity. However this just feel like re-inventing DI2 or whatever electronic shifter technology we have right now. Although you won't need that thing on the handlebar.

Great whimsical little episode 👍

I remember seeing the infomercials for this bike/shifting system back in the day and wondering how it actually worked.

I'm old enough to remember the generator/headlights of the late 70's and early 80's. never needed a battery change, just flip the lever to make contact with the front wheel and you had light.

It's insane how fast bike tech changes! I thought for sure this technology was from the 1980's, then you said mid 2000's 😳

#That's GENIUS!!! Hope they / someone continue that tech? Make it universal? Lighter while still durable? 🤔

I use an sram automatix hub for my winter bike. Only 2 gears but enough for the city.

Never knew about this rear derailleur. That must be a collectors item now?

I do love the idea of automatic gears but I'm not convinced they'll ever really have a place on road bikes. That said, you should definitely see if you can fit this to a modern road bike and see how/if it would work on it! Oh, and make sure you clean it before you do, that closeup had me reaching for my brush and cleaner bottle!

It's essentially the same principle as a governer on a stationary steam engine.

fun fact - centrifugal force is a pseudo-force and not the reason the two weight move apart

This is the direction the bicycle industry should be going. Instead we are getting electronic gear systems that cost a fortune

That's amazing :)

you know it would be interesting to see if you can make the bike lighter or switching the auto-shifter onto another bike that is full carbon. I would be interested to see if human or Manual Shifter vs Auto Shifter on one bike.

If you compare it to modern di2 derailleurs and shifters. Compare it to same period derailleur and shifters and it's way lighter then make it from carbon, titanium and aluminium and it start looking like a really good option. I'm sure we could engineer that these days to work better and work with 10/11 gears.

I would like a bit of manual control over the amount of effort I'd like to put in. On the otherhand it looks like it will change down before stopping as long as you pedal. I run a 4 speed on my lovely 1946 Lenton sports which I can change gear ready to go when I have stopped.