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My grandfather told me about a bicycle he designed that uses a CVT. Curious if that’s a better direction for the future of bicycles.

You can buy these today, and many e-bikes use them. About 15% power loss means that for an un-assisted bike they are not an option.

(Dutch link: https://www.fietsenwinkel.nl/expert-e-bikes/nuvinci with nice cut-out picture of how it works)

The problem with CVTs is that they're relatively inefficient.