{"id":1900789,"date":"2026-04-24T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1900789"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:05:00","slug":"scottish-brand-intradrive-just-combined-an-e-bike-motor-and-8-speed-gearbox-into-one-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1900789","title":{"rendered":"Scottish brand Intradrive just combined an e-bike motor and 8-speed gearbox into one unit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cCar service intervals [are] getting longer [\u2026] whereas the bike industry hasn\u2019t caught up with that,\u201d said Ed Collins, Head of Sales and Marketing for Intradrive. \u201c[The derailleur] is 100-year-old technology, and people have to keep it adjusted. You have to keep it updated, etc, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

To solve this problem, Scottish brand Intradrive has launched an innovative product that combines an e-bike motor and a gearbox into a single unit. Known as the GD8, this 8-speed motor gearbox unit (MGU) delivers 700W of peak power, a 480% gear range, and 0.1-second wireless electronic shifts.<\/p>\n

The entire MGU is said to weigh 4.5kg, and it\u2019s specifically designed to shorten the powertrain\u2019s profile (compared to keeping the gearbox and motor separate) without widening the Q-factor at all.<\/p>\n

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The unique bar-mounted controls are customizable, allowing the bike brand to set up the system however they please. The control paddle features several programmable buttons that can control the power assistance (eco, tour, and boost), the shifting, and even an integrated battery-operated dropper post.<\/p>\n

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How much time can you save with an MGU?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve been testing gearboxes for years<\/a>, and the primary benefits of a gearbox drivetrain are extreme durability and minimal maintenance. If you opt for a belt drive instead of a chain, the maintenance intervals are even longer. (Intradrive works with either a chain or a belt.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe estimate that your typical derailleur drivetrain takes a half an hour of fettling after a muddy ride. And if you\u2019re in dusty conditions, that\u2019s probably even more important so you prevent chain wear,\u201d said Collins. \u201cWe calculate you could get back a week of your life if you\u2019re time crunched. If you want to come back from your ride, stick your bike in your garage, and store it for the next ride, then the half an hour is quite valuable.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Saving a few minutes per ride is nice \u2014 but reducing the amount of money you\u2019re spending on smashed and worn-out derailleurs and cassettes is even better.<\/p>\n

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Increased weight isn\u2019t an issue on an e-bike<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the main reasons gearboxes haven\u2019t yet caught on for muscle-powered bikes is the weight penalty. Despite claims that moving the drivetrain weight to the bottom bracket area makes for a better-handling bike, there\u2019s no denying that gearboxes are heavier. But that\u2019s where the ingenuity of the MGU comes in: e-bikes are already heavy, and the motor compensates for that added weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, how much of a weight penalty are you taking with a 4.5kg (9.9lb) MGU from Intradrive?<\/p>\n

For comparison, the latest Bosch Performance Line CX-R weighs about 2.7kg (6lb). However, the MGU eliminates the need for a derailleur and cassette. The SRAM XO Transmission derailleur weighs about 472g and the cassette weighs 379g, for a total of 1.9lb.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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That means the Intradrive MGU requires a roughly 0.9kg (2lb) penalty over a traditional system, which, again, is pretty minimal when you have a motor doing most of the work.<\/p>\n

Production bikes coming soon<\/strong><\/h2>\n

From downhill bikes<\/a> to e-bikes, are gearboxes finally hitting primetime?\u00a0 Intradrive seems to think so.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They plan to have production units of the GD8 available in Q4 of 2026, and they claim to \u201chave bike brands committed to delivering bikes with our system from model year \u201827.\u201d They aren\u2019t yet willing to reveal which brands will be releasing bikes with Intradrive, but Collins did hint that they\u2019ll be brands that \u201cbelieve in the gearbox system.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the brands that will survive in the future will be the ones that really innovate, especially around a new form factor like this,\u201d Collins concluded.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!–<\/p>\n

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\u201cCar service intervals [are] getting longer [\u2026] whereas the bike industry hasn\u2019t caught up with that,\u201d said Ed Collins, Head of Sales and Marketing for Intradrive. \u201c[The derailleur] is 100-year-old technology, and people have to keep it adjusted. You have to keep it updated, etc, etc.\u201d To solve this problem, Scottish brand Intradrive has launched […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,274],"class_list":["post-1900789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-singletracks-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1900789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1900789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1900789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1900789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}