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TECH NEWS

Efneo to launch 3-speed chainset gearbox system and instant engagement Active hub

New chainset system does away with need for front mech while silent rear hub has deadspot of just 1° when you start to pedal

Polish family-run brand Efneo will soon launch a front 3-speed gearbox system that eliminates the need for a front derailleur, and an instant engagement Active Hub that’s said to be totally silent.

Let’s look at the x3 Gearbox first.

 

x3 Gearbox

The x3 is a planetary gearbox with just one 28-tooth chainring that rotates at different speeds on three different gears. It’ll fit any frame designed for a tapered square axle bottom bracket. Efneo say that it’s the only 3-speed system on the market that doesn’t require a dedicated frame design. All its rivals are either 2-speed or they require a special frame. They are currently developing a model for an ISIS (International Splined Interface Standard) bottom bracket too.

You operate the system via a one-cable paddle shifter and you can do this either while pedalling, as usual, or while you’re stationary at traffic lights, a junction, or in traffic. Efneo say you can upshift under load, although you have to slacken off the pressure to downshift.

The gear ratios are as follows: first gear: 100%, second gear: 143%, third gear: 179% of the crank rotation. That means it is the equivalent of a 28/40/50T chainset and it is compatible with all rear mechs.

What’s the benefit over a standard derailleur system?

“Eliminating crazy chain lines and chain skewing that you can get with conventional derailleur bikes, the "middle ring" position of the Efneo x3 allows for a clean and smooth running chain line,” says Efneo.

“The small diameter of a gearbox gives a clean look and offers masses of ground clearance.”

Efneo reckon it’s suitable for hybrid, trekking, urban, folding, road, e-bikes and off-road non-competition bikes. They will offer a chainring for 1/8 and 3/32 inch chains, and will soon offer a sprocket for a Gates carbon belt.

The x3 weighs about 1kg. If you switch from a three-chainring chainset with aluminium cranks, you’ll add about 200g to the weight of your bike. If you’re moving from a singlespeed with alu cranks, you’re looking at an increase of about 400g (depending on the weight of the components you’ve currently got on your bike, obviously).

Production will begin next year. No price has yet been released for the x3 although you can get a 15% discount coupon if you leave Efneo your email address.
 


Active rear hub

Efneo say that their Active rear hub offers instant engagement – there’s less than 1° of dead space when you start to pedal – along with silent running and high durability.

Unlike most rear hubs, the Active rear hub doesn’t use a pawl and ratchet system to allow you to freewheel and then engage, and Efneo say that it’s not like any current roller clutch hub either.

The resistance in a pawl and ratchet system will slow you down very slightly when you’re not pedalling but Efneo reckon that their system doesn’t do this so you’ll freewheel faster and longer.

“Unlike other so called ‘silent clutches’, Active Hub has no tendency to lose durability after a long time of usage.” Say Efneo. “This is the main difference in comparison to other so called ‘silent hubs’ on the market.”

In a traditional silent hub, the rollers rub against the external ring and gradually wear, but Efneo say that the rollers in an Active hub don’t wear out as quickly because they rotate with the external ring.

Efneo say that the Active Hub runs on four sealed bearings and is about 50-100g heavier than traditional hubs of the same class. Itwill be available for all types of wheels including disc brake models, singlespeeds, mountain bike, road, trekking and BMX, and that it will come with the most common spoke hole numbers.

No definite release date has been set although Efneo say that the Active hub will be on sale “in the coming months. Again, no price has been set but you can get a 15% discount coupon if you send Efneo your email address.

 

For more info go to www.efneo.com.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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11 comments

Avatar
rootes | 9 years ago
0 likes

scowel, you can already get said hub ad for some time now. Sram make them, current model DD3-30. 10 speed cassette on three speed hub.

Avatar
hampstead_bandit | 9 years ago
0 likes

I used to race for a DH team sponsored by Sachs in the mid 1990s.

We used their 3x7 hub on our dual slalom bikes with single ring chairing sandwiched between chain guard plates to stop derailment.

Amazing bit of kit for races with steep hills where shifting to the 3rd gear in the hub suddenly gave you a tall gear you could stomp and leave your opponent wondering wtf just happened....

Avatar
Scowel | 9 years ago
0 likes

Actually you've got a point there; why doesn't someone invent a 3 speed internal hub which will take a cassette? All 27 speeds with a single front chain ring

Avatar
StuAff replied to Scowel | 9 years ago
0 likes
Scowel wrote:

Actually you've got a point there; why doesn't someone invent a 3 speed internal hub which will take a cassette? All 27 speeds with a single front chain ring

Already done. SRAM DualDrive (previously sold by Sachs) and Sturmey Archer do one too. SRAM's works with 10 speed as well.

Avatar
gazza_d replied to Scowel | 9 years ago
0 likes
Scowel wrote:

Actually you've got a point there; why doesn't someone invent a 3 speed internal hub which will take a cassette? All 27 speeds with a single front chain ring

As others have said, it's called the SRAM dualdrive.

Moulton TSRs come with it as standard & i have ran an 3x8 speed one for years. Absolutely brilliant bit of kit. Being able to shift down a large ratio by just pausing pedalling for a moment or while stationary is terrific.

Avatar
SteppenHerring | 9 years ago
0 likes

Combine it with a Rohloff Speedhub and have 42 gears and a neat chainline.

Avatar
Gkam84 replied to SteppenHerring | 9 years ago
0 likes
SteppenHerring wrote:

Combine it with a Rohloff Speedhub and have 42 gears and a neat chainline.

Combine with a SRAM 3 speed internal and 10 speed cassette, have 90 gears  1

Avatar
Pub bike | 9 years ago
0 likes

It would be good to combine the x3 with a hub at the rear to get 9+ speeds if it can handle the torque.

On the downside, on a bike with multiple chainrings, different chainrings are used to maintain a good chainline. If the x3 is used with a rear derailleur this system will have a bad chainline at either end of the cassette and there’s nothing that can be done about it.

As for the hub I don’t think anyone has ever complained that their ratchet was consuming too much power, even the really noisy ones.

Avatar
Gkam84 replied to Pub bike | 9 years ago
0 likes
Pub bike wrote:

It would be good to combine the x3 with a hub at the rear to get 9+ speeds if it can handle the torque.

On the downside, on a bike with multiple chainrings, different chainrings are used to maintain a good chainline. If the x3 is used with a rear derailleur this system will have a bad chainline at either end of the cassette and there’s nothing that can be done about it.

As for the hub I don’t think anyone has ever complained that their ratchet was consuming too much power, even the really noisy ones.

Nah, the chain will be just fine, most mountain bikes now are running 1x10 or 1x11 set ups now and there are no issues with that at all.

Avatar
mad_scot_rider | 9 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

If you switch from a three-chainring chainset with aluminium cranks, you’ll add about 200g to the weight of your bike.

Does that factor in the removal of the front derailleur as well?

Either way sounds seriously interesting

Avatar
cat1commuter | 9 years ago
0 likes

They shouldn't bother with an ISIS version. ISIS has got to be the least reliable bottom bracket system.

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