I thought the e-bike with derailleur thing was a stopgap till companies get around to integrating a gearbox in the motor housing. At that point there could be a real suspension performance advantage, a single-speed chain and sprocket with perfect chainline would last longer than linkglide, and any slight loss in efficiency would be a non-issue. Sadly, given the amount of investment that went into this, it looks like derailleurs and cassettes are going to be with us for a long time.
April 18, 2023, 9:42 p.m. - dave_f
I thought the e-bike with derailleur thing was a stopgap till companies get around to integrating a gearbox in the motor housing. At that point there could be a real suspension performance advantage, a single-speed chain and sprocket with perfect chainline would last longer than linkglide, and any slight loss in efficiency would be a non-issue. Sadly, given the amount of investment that went into this, it looks like derailleurs and cassettes are going to be with us for a long time.