With the release of the SRAM transmission and Shimano’s EP801 series with Auto Shift, it seems that eBikes have greater tech than regular mountain bikes! Neil was getting some laps in at Forest of Dean when he realised that he could bring Coast Shift to the non-electric mountain biking world. Using a freewheel chainring from a tandem bike and a ‘flexible nylon fixation’ Neil was able to engineer this seemingly impossible bit of tech!
⏱ Timestamps ⏱
0:00 – Welcome To Another GMBN Video!
0:20 – How We Made The DIY Coast Shift
2:33 – How Does It Feel?
4:12 – What Are The Downsides?
6:16 – How Does It Affect The Suspension?
7:46 – Does It Work Like A Gearbox Would?
9:18 – Neil’s Thoughts On The DIY Coast Shift
Useful Links:
🛍 GMBN Merch Store 👉 https://gmbn.eu/gmbnshop
Racing Highlights & More On GMBN Racing 👉 https://gmbn.eu/GMBNracing
Watch Shorts on GMBN 👉 https://gmbn.eu/GMBNshorts
Submit your Photo and Video to us 👉 https://upload.gmbn.com/
Sign-up to our newsletter 👉 https://gmbn.eu/newsletter
What do you think of Neil’s Coast Shift invention? Let us know in the comments below! 👇
Watch more on GMBN…
📹 NEVER Say This To A Mountain Biker! 👉 youtu.be/Kr_aSs3unUQ
📹 Watch our Editor’s Choice Playlist 👉 https://gmbn.eu/EditorsChoice
📹 Watch our weekly show, The Dirt Shed Show 👉 https://gmbn.eu/dirtshedplaylist
🎵 Music – licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵
Bang Bang – Matt Large
Dimples – oomiee
Just Don’t Care – Sven Karlsson
Kali Kush (Extended Version) – VEE
Nova Berlin – Rain Jewels
Rapture – STRLGHT
Rush Hour – Sven Karlsson
Shuffle Showdown – Aiyo
Timeloop Grandma – Jobii
#GMBN #GlobalMountainBikeNetwork #MTB #MountainBiking
The Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN) is the world’s largest and fastest-growing online mountain bike channel and community – and your destination for the best mountain bike content in the world.
GMBN is dedicated to inspiring and unlocking your riding potential. Our videos cater to fans of every mountain bike discipline: from mile-munching cross-country (XC) riders, through adrenaline-fuelled dirt jumpers, gravity-hungry downhillers or aspiring enduro racers, and beyond.
Our ex-pro presenting team are on hand to entertain and inspire you while also providing a uniquely qualified insight into the world of mountain biking. Every week we deliver original daily videos that include:
Adventurous and entertaining features
Mountain bike skills coaching
Technical advice and guidance
Mechanical know-how to keep you rolling
A place for the riding community with our weekly Dirt Shed Show
Thanks to our sponsors:
Canyon Bikes: http://gmbn.eu/Canyon
Propain Bikes: https://gmbn.eu/Propain
Orbea Bikes: https://gmbn.eu/Orbea
Park Tool: http://gmbn.eu/ParkTool
Smith Helmets & Eyewear: https://gmbn.eu/Smith
Crankbrothers Pedals: http://gmbn.eu/crankbros
Shimano Footwear: https://gmbn.eu/ShimanoShoes
Ergon: http://gmbn.eu/ergon
Vittoria Tires: https://gmbn.eu/Vittoria
Reynolds wheels: https://gmbn.eu/Reynolds
FSA: http://gmbn.eu/fsa
Topeak: http://gmbn.eu/topeak
Garmin: https://gmbn.eu/Garmin
Peaty’s Products: https://gmbn.eu/Peatys
Worx Power Tools: https://gmbn.eu/Worx
CamelBak: https://gmbn.eu/CamelBak
Watch our sister channels:
GMBN Tech – https://www.youtube.com/gmbntech
Electric Mountain Bike Network – https://www.youtube.com/embn
GMBN Racing – https://gmbn.eu/GMBNracing
Global Cycling Network – https://www.youtube.com/gcn
GCN Tech – https://www.youtube.com/gcntech
GCN Racing – https://www.youtube.com/gcnracing
Global Triathlon Network – https://www.youtube.com/gtn
GCN Italia – https://www.youtube.com/gcnitalia
GCN en Espanol – https://www.youtube.com/gcnenespanol
GCN auf Deutsch – https://www.youtube.com/gcnaufdeutsch
GCN en Francais – https://www.youtube.com/gcnenfrancais
GCN Training – https://www.youtube.com/gcntraining
with this setup you can change gear anytime you want without any pedaling why aren’t we all shifting gear like [Music] [Music] this so to get this set up I needed a couple of pieces of Kit firstly a crank with a Freewheel setup on it and obviously a bottom bracket to match I believe or not there’s a couple of places out there that have this kind of Technology first is Trials Riders so those bikes actually have a Freewheel on the crank but I find it very difficult to find the compatibility with a chain ring that wasn’t minis school because as we know Tri rers have very little weak legs uh so I had to go looking at tandem bike technology having a Freewheel on one set of cranks on a tandem gives you independent coasting so if the captain up front is super Keen chopping away at the like mad the stoker at the back can actually be Freewheel and chilling whilst he’s not looking but as you might imagine the tandem technology world isn’t a hot bed for new stuff so actually the cranks I found are called shun and they come only as a square taper bottom bracket option luckily I did find a square taper bottom bracket to fit this Frame 73 mil with a wide enough Q factor to make sure these cranks just about clear the chain stays although they do look a little flexy the shun Freewheel crank system is of questionable quality there is some friction in that Freewheel and a bit of wobble as well but it works all you then need is a flexible nylon fixation on the cassette and the donu racing co- ship system is [Music] complete well we have the technology so let’s do some riding and some Coast shifting [Music] let [Music] [Music] you know what it actually feels really good the bike is absolutely silent cuz the you know the Hub Freewheel isn’t doing anything and the Freewheel on the cranks just doesn’t make any noise although it is spitting grease out of it a little bit and actually been able to shift all the time there works really well I’ve always felt like I’m quite sensitive to what gear me I think maybe because of riding with flat pedals like you know you don’t be spinning too fast F feet come off so just being able to all way shift I really like and actually sort of the inspiration for this video came from my ebike you don’t shout at me but I’ve got a a propane ecaro which uses the Shram powertrain motor and with that it’s got automatic shift which is very clever but also it’s got Coast shift so when you hit the shifter it actually spins up the chain ring so I know ebikes have free Wheels actually on the crank anyway but they’ve got two free whe on there and that really is actually apparently I’ve looked into it it’s more for smoothing out the transition for when it assists you but also with that tram transmission only one does it hang on Shimano motors do it as well like I say it will spin the chaining forward which just pulls a chain obviously across the cassette so you can shift whenever you want and that got me thinking actually you could do that with a mountain bike and that’s what I’ve done so so far I’m really enjoying it but I think I need to do a bit more riding actually it’s fun day for it as well back for more and do another run it is fun and I love the way the bike is silent and sort of relearning how to shift but I guess we need to talk about potential disadvantages so far far I’ve not felt any but there’s definitely risk involved because your chain is spinning all the time obviously it’s pulling through the mech on the occasion when you might get a stick into your wheel or into your chain normally you could hear it and stop pedling and potentially save anything from braking but with this it’s spinning all the time if the stick goes in your rear wheel there’s a real chance that it could snap your Mech off because you’ve just got too much going on you got 10 the whole time um obviously I’m running the very fancy Eagle Transmissions so they’re pretty chunky but they are really solid um so the risk of snapping it is less I would say but there is definit risk but also there’s more friction all the time if the chain is spinning chains are really really efficient we know that they’re used in all sorts of applications because they are so efficient but it is running the whole time so friction will be in the system and it’s going to wear out quicker yes when you’re not and there’s there’s not that much tension being pulled through it but it’s just going to be running the whole time so it’s going to wear out faster [Music] [Applause] something else I think is interesting is the chain movement and the suspension so you may be aware of a product called the O chain if you’re not it’s basically uh a sort of a spider a chain ring spider and actually detaches the cranks from the chain ring a little bit that we can be some movement because when your suspension travel goes in your rear axle moves away from the BB and it stretches or puts tension on the chain and that tension on chain can stop the rear wheel moving quite as freely and that’s why loads and loads of pro downhillers and inury Racers put o chains on their bike to make their rear suspension more active now I’ve r my brains as to how this might work with this system so if you’re a mechanical engineer or you’re into physics please jump in the comments down below because obviously as the rear wheel is moving my chain is moving so there is some slack in there so as far as I can tell that should take off some of that tension and actually this kind of Freewheel has got an awful lot of movement so actually if I push on the Chain there can you see that chain ring is revolving back to a point it does lock out and then it pulls that back so if I can get this right I think it is giving me some of those same advantages in O and obviously disadvantage is kind of the engagement when I’m going to Pedal but please get involved if you have an answer to that but also a really interesting part of this is it kind of works like gearboxes we’ve talked about gearboxes on bikes for forever 20 years probably you remember lots of you may remember the Honda rn01 Dino bike where the chain moves all the time there was none of this on the back no rear Mech no cassette basically they kind of move that stuff to the middle of the bike so again you could co-shift with that because the chain was always moving and there was some resistance that’s kind of what you always heard no one got to ride those bikes except for the pro team but there was some resistance involved with those gear boxes but even the modern day gear boxes with most of those you can Coast shift so just change your gear whenever you want even standing still and it will move into the gear within the gearbox so I see advantages that way but also the uh unsprung Mass moving it from your rear wheel to put it on the sprung mass is going to make your suspension be able to move easier and work better as well so that’s not necessarily the case with this system but the argument for moving the gear is to the middle of the bike [Music] [Music] so the co-shift Bike Works I’m actually somewhat surprised how well it works and how quiet it is obviously I’ve just taken the free wheeel and this one makes no noise although it is a bit messy there’s grease coming out of it and uh not sure how long that shun Freewheel would last the one thing I was worried about that hasn’t happened was my chain spinning so fast potentially it kind of dipping in the middle like it’s not being pulled the other way fast enough particularly I actually tried freewheeling with it in that 52 tooth down the hill obviously the chain is spinning around really fast there I thought it might dip down behind there and once it gets Stu there it would break so I was worried about that but it has not happened should my chain get more dirty and a bit more uh friction in there maybe it would but it hasn’t happened so I’m kind of impressed so engineers get involved in the comments I’d love to know your opinions and why aren’t we all shifting like this but also is this an alternative to the O chain or even you could stick a neutral gear in there I didn’t want to do it cuz this is a one piece very expensive cassette I’ve done it in the past where you replace one of the the lower sprockets with just a smooth spacer so your chain runs completely freely you could do that with this because you can shift up and out of it as well so uh maybe something for the future but let me know your opinions down below get involved and uh give a thumbs up if You’ like a bit of uh home Engineering in the garage with some tandem parts
40 Comments
Not a new idea.Shimano in the 1980s had this system and called it Shimano FF( Front Freewheel)
Next level filming going on
You should do a behind the scenes on what goes on in filming a standard gmbn video
3:21 you can do this exact thing by using walk assist mode briefly, does the same thing.
Nice one !! 🤙🏻
This would be excellent for beginner riders and kids!
The Cinematography has been great for the past few months, but the video content has all been fascinating the past week!!! Very thoughtful and fun!!! I’m loving all of it! GMBN, GCN, tech, and all the channels! Keep it up! I would love it if you could give us XCO full race replays with lots of camera angles so we can see all the drama and elbowing and passing and fighting for position and how rough the riding is over the tech-gnar!!! The new UCI presenters are great for XC & Enduro, but I miss Rob Warner on the DH races. Also, the Enduro races are kind of blind. I do like the track previews for them. Can we get more?!
Well done Neil great 😃 idea and as you said it may take a bit of engineering to get through s as a product but reckon it certainly can be done and give lots of benefits
Absolutely brilliant! I didn't know e-mtb were already doing this.
#gmbn I love series like this. Exploring the ideas we want the bike industry to try. Wireless brakes and other inventions, it’s amazing.
Nice one Neil 👍Very interesting , If you can move the Gears to centre if has so many possibilities
Good on you, Neil. It's called innovation. That's how things move forward!
It defeats the purpuose of having a frewheel on the rear hub, not all or some hub companies will do that just because and not all the people riding will do that to their bikes other wise maybe there will be more kinda kits to do it to your bike
Shut up and take my money! 💸
nice, very interesting must give that a ponder for a while
i would ad a adjustable friction system instead of the ziptie – just for safety reason
but this prototype mechanism is at first a really good idea 👍
intend rocksteady magic. hxr easyshift 😉 bit spendy but nice
Such a cool idea!!
I dont see the need for gears what so ever, cannot recall you pedaling in the video at all.
Ahh. So that's how the DH'ers shift w/o pedalling!
Intend.
Long term test please!
Shifting without Pedaling… I love that feature on my Pinion-Gearbox. Even when standing still. Once you get used to it´s potential, you dont want to miss it.
I like silent bike, lets hope we will see a new Silent hub again.
Two things, 1) Ross Bicycles, USA had a free wheeling BB in the early 80's, 2) do a test with an internal geared hub such as the Rohloff.
Like the idea definitely but like the sound of my rear hub more 😂
OK so Neil and Blake will be doing a free coasting, gear changing, radio controlled electric braking bike that will probably soon have gyroscopic frame stabilisation which will prevent OTB's unless Neil is in charge of the remote whilst Blake is riding. COOL! 😎👍
Now all they have to do is rig up Martyn's random tandem with all this and no one will be afraid to ride with Martyn again, unless of course Blake and Martyn are riding it and Neil has the controls. 😜👍
Road bikes back in the day had these. Old technology.
The risk of stick damage to the wheel or drive train, in this setup, is based on the strength of the cable tie that is used to immobilise the cassette.
Calculate the chain growth of your suspension and compare it to the engagement translateur to acos of your front freewheel system
The we the people full suspension BMX should have this setup and 7 gears with big distance between the gears it's so a fun bike but you gotta keep the speed because it has no gears..it can be used for many things all bike's should have the option to do this maybe another lever on the handle bar you can brake down and shift many gears while breaking down like on a motorcross bike braking holding in the clutch and step really fast at the shifter while keeping the rpm up ..maybe more brands should go for pinions solution motor gear box I don't know how their non motor gear box work's,,but I think this was a good idea hope producer's got inspired
DIY ebike guys use freewheeling cranks, outlets such as Luna Cycle in California will have ISIS splined cranks for your needs. The axles won't snap but you'll be in for new bearings every few months.
I'm not an engineer, but i need to replace the rear hub or free hub at least once a year free cost shifts aren't the big bonus here more room for more durable ratchet and berings is definitely what I want …
There is no point in doing this on an MTB. If you aren't moving, you can't shift with this system either, and if you are moving, there is nothing preventing you from pedaling. So in a practical sense it adds friction for no benefit, because unlike with gearboxes you can't shift while standing still, your gears are still external making them susceptible to dirt, you still have a rear mech that could break off from hitting a rock or a fall, and you still can't use a belt which means there will be no reduction in time that you have to spend on maintenance.
This was a really interesting video! Thanks Neil!
This is really cool! Thanks for showing neat ideas and experimenting.
I beleive williams racing products and intend both have systems for this setup
potentially you could dispense with the hub freewheel alltogether by replacing the freehub body with a plain piece of machined aluminium or lightweight steel without the ratchet internals. Such a thing already exists for freehub>>fixed singlespeed conversions. Would reduce unsprung mass. For racing applications you could even have a single piece of machined alloy/lightweight steel for the cassette and body. Or just completely redesign rear hubs to have no freehub element, Cassette attaching directly to the hub shell.
Is there a reason that the industry doesn't just move the freewhel from the hub to the crank / BB? There is certainly space there to build the cranks around this feature without changing frame standards.
Williams racing products has a spider for this