The Effigear Mimic 9-speed
is an exciting new addition to the growing range of bicycle gearboxes.
You might not have heard of this small, French gearbox manufacturer before,
but they've actually been in the gearbox game for around a decade.
The Effigear Original was larger in size than the Pinion P1.18 gearbox,
it had a smaller gear range, and fewer gears.
While Pinion began by pushing their 18-speed gearbox drivetrain into the touring and urban
markets, Effigier was forging their own path into the mountain bike world, with just nine gears.
And this was for good reason.
Unlike the Pinion gearbox, Effigear had its drive sprocket located separately
from the crank assembly. This allowed full-suspension frame designers to build
their swing arm pivots around the upper axle of the gearbox, creating a simple
and silent drivetrain, but also reducing the effect of chain forces on the rear suspension.
The downside to building frames around a large volume gearbox is that
it significantly restricts what frame designers can do with their linkages,
which largely determines the ride characteristics of a full-suspension bike.
Instead of waiting for bike manufacturers to adopt their gearbox design, Effigear created
their own bike brand, Cavalerie Bikes, to showcase the potential of their drivetrain.
While a few brands did adopt the gear system, Effigear gearboxes have remained
very niche over the last decade as a result of the gearbox packaging.
But that's all about to change.
The Effigear Mimic uses a much more compact design than the Original,
which provides more flexibility when it comes to frame design.
You'll find nine gears inside the gearbox, with the equivalent range
of a 1X drivetrain using an 11 to 50 tooth cassette.
As the output sprocket has been moved to the crank assembly, the weight has also been reduced
by 15% compared to the Original design, making it competitive with Pinion's 9-speed gearbox.
In fact, the Mimic will now install to the same frame plate as a Pinion
gearbox. As the pinion frame plate is used by over 100 bike manufacturers,
Effigear can now sell its gearboxes to a much larger market. This means we finally
have a choice of crank-based gearboxes, and there's another budget gearbox in the works.
Before we dive into the defining features of the Effigear Mimic,
let's discuss why gearboxes are a fantastic drivetrain for some bikes.
Number 1: There's much less maintenance.
Gearboxes don't ever need to be adjusted and there are just two sprockets to clean. The
gears themselves are sealed away and impervious to the mud, grit,
snow and sand. All you need to do is periodically drain the oil and fill it back up.
Number 2: The components are less susceptible to damage.
With no exposed derailleurs, delicate hangers, or brittle cassettes,
you can stress less about rocks, sticks and the aftermath of your crashes.
I also love traveling with gearbox bikes as the
drivetrains cannot get damaged by reckless baggage handlers.
Number 3: There are fewer wear items.
The gearbox is designed to last 100,000km and the external chain
and cog wear at a significantly reduced rate compared to a derailleur system.
If you're into gearboxes and bike travel, make sure to check out my Bicycle Buyer's Guides.
I'm excited to announce that the 2022 update will include almost all gearbox
bikes for you to compare. You can find a link to my books in the description below.
Number 4: The straight chain line.
The chain line on an Effigear drivetrain is perfectly straight, resulting in less chain wear.
This equates to a longer chain life - expect more than 10,000km.
Number 5: It's belt drive compatible.
Belt drivetrains can last more than 30,000km.
They're also silent, lightweight, and require very little cleaning and lubrication.
Number 6: There are instant gear changes.
You can make gear changes without pedalling, and you can even shift
up to the harder gears at maximum power.
You will need to back off on your power for a fraction of a second when shifting down though.
Number 7: There's less unsprung mass at the rear wheel.
On full suspension bikes, the rear swing arm can respond quicker to ground forces when
there is less weight at the rear wheel, offering better small bump sensitivity.
Number 8: The stronger rear wheel.
As the hub doesn't need to accommodate for a cassette,
the flanges can be spaced wider, which results in extra wheel strength and durability,
thanks to the larger bracing angles, and more even tension across the spokes.
Now that i've got you stoked on gearboxes, let's discuss the features unique to the Effigear Mimic.
Gear steps are the percentage difference in gear ratio when you change your gears.
A bike with smaller gear steps is particularly nice at higher speeds,
as you can better fine-tune your gear ratios to achieve the cadence,
or crank revolutions per minute, that you're most comfortable riding.
Smaller gear steps work out to be much less necessary at lower speeds,
as your speed changes very little for each shift.
To squeeze the most out of any gear range, a drivetrain ideally starts with big gear steps
in the easiest gears, and ends with small gear steps in the harder gears.
This is exactly how derailer drivetrain manufacturers design their cassettes.
Currently, top-tier gearboxes like Pinion,
Rohloff or Kindernay use uniform gear steps from the first gear to the last.
In comparison, the Effigear uses variable steps that mimic a regular cassette. As you can see,
the lower gears on the Effigear Mimic have bigger gear steps, while the higher gears use
smaller gear steps. This is not dissimilar to the Box Components Prime 9 cassette.
Another big drawcard for the Effigear Mimic is that it uses SRAM
flat bar or drop bar shifters. These styles of shifters
are often preferred over the typical twist shifters that come with most gearboxes.
You can upgrade a Pinion gearbox to trigger or drop bar shifters,
but it's not cheap. Cinq aftermarket shifters on a flat bar bike add 419 euros to the purchase price,
and for a drop bar bike, expect to add 739 euros.
Effigear has said they're working on adapted Campagnolo shifters too,
should you have a preference for Italian lever shapes.
Gear pickup determines how quickly your drivetrain engages when you start pedaling.
On most bikes, you'll notice a small clunk when you apply power to the pedals at low speeds,
which is usually the pawl system in your rear hub engaging. Ideally, we want instant engagement but
bike hubs usually offer between 24 and 36 engagement points per wheel revolution.
Gearbox bikes have a second freewheel built into the gearbox itself that
needs to engage along with the rear hub, slowing the gear pickup time even further.
The number of engagements varies between gearboxes. Pinion gearboxes offer between
14 and 22 engagement points depending on the gear selected, so even with a
high or instant engagement rear hub, there is still a noticeable delay at low speeds.
In comparison, the Effigear Mimic gearbox has 48 engagement points in every gear,
which means it'll engage just as quick as most bikes.
An even faster way to engage the rear wheel is with the optional Effigear fixed gear rear hub.
This results in the chain or belt constantly moving with your rear wheel,
which could be an issue should a rock or stick jam in your sprockets. That said, Cavalerie Bikes
have been using fixed gear hubs for many years now, so perhaps it's not a problem in practice.
Also note that a continuously spinning chain or belt will experience more wear.
The Effigear Mimic and Pinion C1.9XR gearboxes match up pretty closely in terms of specs,
but let's find out some of the key differences.
The gear range and gear steps are bigger on the Pinion gearbox, so it will be better
suited to steeper terrain or for e-bike use where you experience quicker acceleration.
The distance between the pedals, or q-factor, is 11mm narrower on the Pinion gearbox,
which might be preferred on a road, gravel or commuter build.
You need to back off on the power when shifting up in gears 3-4 and 6-7 with the
Pinion gearbox. In comparison, the Effigear will upshift under a full load in all gears.
The Pinion gearbox requires less frequent oil changes.
The warranty is three years less on the Pinion. That said, Pinion has also had
their gearbox in production for five years now, which will have ironed out most issues.
When i add all of the components required to complete a gearbox drivetrain,
the Effigear Mimic is a touch cheaper than the Pinion C1.9XR, and is slightly more
expensive than the new Kindernay VII -but they're all in the same price ballpark.
Like all other gearboxes, the Mimic will transfer less of your pedal
power to the rear wheel than a derailleur drivetrain in perfect riding conditions.
This is simply because there are two sets of cogs that are always meshing
inside the gearbox, as well as oil moving between them.
But the type of riding conditions is key here.
In poor weather conditions, there is likely an efficiency advantage to using a gearbox system,
as the exposed part of the drivetrain has fewer moving parts and crevices
for mud and debris to get clogged in.
While we don't have any efficiency data on the Effigear Mimic,
we do know that a Pinion gearbox with similar straight cut gears
loses an average of 6.5% across the drivetrain compared to a single-speed chain setup.
And compared to a derailleur drivetrain,
we can expect the Mimic to be around 5% less efficient, in perfect conditions.
Effigear posted a video last year on their social media
showing smartphone-controlled electronic shifting. While it's very early days,
this might give us a glimpse into what Effigear are currently working on.
The Effigear Mimic will comfortably handle the torque of most rear hub motors, but it's also
worth noting that Effigear is also manufacturing an e-bike specific gearbox with a built-in motor.
Interestingly, the Valeo Smart E-bike System uses 7-speed gearing with automatic gear changes,
which will be perfect for urban use, but might not be ideal for off-road use.
This really depends on the software.
That said, for mountain bikers, there will be two buttons you can use to shift manually.
A cool thing is that the Smart E-bike System will reduce motor torque when shifting,
which allows you to downshift under a full load too.
Expect to see the Valeo gearboxes on e-bikes early next year.
I'm very excited to see a new gearbox on the market - fingers
crossed it proves to be just as reliable as other gearbox systems.
While the specs are very similar to the Pinion gearbox, the Mimic offers variable gear steps,
additional engagement points, upshifting under load in all gears, SRAM shifter compatibility,
and a longer warranty. Pinion gearboxes, in comparison,
offer a narrower distance between the crank arms, longer oil change intervals,
and multiple options in terms of the number of gears and gear range.
Additionally, Pinion has had more time to sort out any manufacturing
and design issues, given they've been in production for five years now.
The Effigear Mimic will be available at the end of 2021.
If you'd like to see a comparison of the two most common gearbox drivetrains,
make sure to check out my Rohloff vs. Pinion gearbox video next.
I've also got a lot of gearbox content on the CyclingAbout website,
if you wanted to go down that rabbit hole.