Cyclists frequently experience problems with poor shifting on bikes, whereby the transition to a different gear is either clunky or doesn’t work at all.
Bicycle manufacturers have invested millions into various solutions including gearboxes, electronic shifting, and even belt-driven bikes, but Praxis believes it has cracked it with its prototype HiT (high-speed shifting) system.
Instead of moving a chain between gears, the HiT system works by folding gears into or away from the chain.
These gears consist of four separate segments that pivot around an axle near the cog’s center.
The shift is initialized electronically, and the gear folding is synchronized mechanically, bringing near-instant shifting under load at rotational rates of 100 RPM.
The HiT gearbox is a mix of a derailleur and a gearbox, and is fully sealed with robust chains and no moving chainline.
It is currently only a prototype, and it remains to be seen whether it will hit the market.
