The future of bike gearboxes – made in the UK

A UK company is working to put one of the fastest and most efficient gearboxes in to production in the next few years.

Zeroshift are a UK-based firm who have developed the system for car racing and HGV use, but have now adapted the split-second change system to fit in to the compact gearbox of a bike.

The idea’s simple nature means there’s no need for drastic redesigns either, as the system uses most of the parts already found in a conventional gearbox.

Zeroshift’s Engineering Manager Richard Thompson explained: “Because it switches from one gear to the next instantly it’s better for acceleration, its smoother and gives better fuel economy too. We have simulations that show a 1.4 litre car with our gearbox can accelerate as fast as a 1.6 without because of the advantages.”

The system is grabbing the attention of manufacturers – Zeroshift is already working with one major manufacturer.

“We’ve got an OEM manufacturer on board now, and some manufacturers are looking at proving it in racing and sportsbike, where some want to fit it to tourers.”

The system uses a simple but clever system of dog gears and concentric shafts to allow instantaneous changes up and down the gearbox, and because it uses only a few extra parts, there’s no weight penalty either.

For full details, see the December 24 issue of MCN.