hybrid bicycle with electric CVT?

[Bicycle Bob]

FYI, there's a pipeline that carried oil from Oklahoma to Chicago for many years. Now, it flows the other way.

I've debated the merits of electric bikes with the best experimenters, but as a long-time cyclist, I'm most concerned with pedal feedback. My friend built an electric motorcycle with a pedal generator, but it was only 50% efficient. On a mechanical bike, I sense the efficiency and acceleration directly, which helps encourage my best effort. An exercycle - like rig is not as inspiring, if it just helps extend a battery range.

A twist-grip control on an electric bike just makes it feel like a woefully underpowered motorcycle. However, the same motor with a pedal-effort sensor makes you feel like bionic man.
So, I really like the idea of making the pedal power integral to an electric power train. However, I think that the same effect and efficiency can be had just using controllers on existing hardware instead of developing a special unit. The force sensor could shift a mechanical transmission for optimum leg efficiency, if you want an automatic transmission, and still let us sense the change of cadence between shifts.

[NiHaoMike]

The HSD-like system will replace the existing transmission. My idea is to separate the pedal power from the electric boost/regen. In other words, the bike will just work like a normal bike if the twist handle is in its center position, only regening slightly while pedaling to make up for the small amount of power used to run the electronics. If the twist handle is in accelerate, it will use the battery to add power. If the handle is in regen, it will regen while charging the battery. The "gear shifting knob" is used to change the virtual "gear ratio".

However, since it is coordinated in software, it can also operate in fully automatic mode. With more processing power than a 486 (in the Parallax chip), the possibilities are nearly endless!