I’m trying to understand exactly how this apparent mid-drive motor obviates the need for gearing. And the only interpretation that makes sense is that they’ve decoupled the crankset from the chainring, using the planetary gearset that’s part of their eCVT tech. The part which I haven’t understood yet is how they’re attaching all the power sources to a single planetary gearset.

This video on automobile eCVTs shows a prime mover (ie internal combustion engine) paired with two motors (one for assist, one for speed sync) and with one output shaft. And in a mid-drive ebike configuration, there would be a prime mover (ie human), an assist motor, a speed sync motor, and the output shaft.

But implicit to the automotive eCVT design is that when the engine is stopped, it has enough holding torque that prevents the assist motor from back-driving the engine, meaning the power goes to the output shaft. But on an ebike, for throttle-only riding, what would stop the crankset from being back-driven, which would prevent motor assist from reaching the output shaft?

There either has to be some other mechanism to maintain holding torque on the crankset, or the rider is required to stand on the cranks when in throttle-only mode. And while I personally could tolerate the latter, it would certainly be surprising if a new rider has the back of their shins whacked by the pedals.

That said, supposing the hold torque issues are resolved, this is an elegant solution that also obviates the need for a freewheel, allows fixed chain lengths, can use fixie sprockets, and narrower hub spacing. Not that eMTB wants/needs all of that, but it could find its way to mechanically simpler road-going ebikes that are easier to change a flat and can support regen.

Imagine a commuter ebike that Just Works ™ for the use-case of going 5 km from the bus station, that tolerates being banged around, that fits into any bus’s front racks, and takes standard carriers and accessories because the rear frame isn’t MTB width.