OK, so technically this new Lauf Cycles rear hub design could have “thousands” of engagement points per rotation, but it could just as easily be infinite. Also known as instant.

Either way, the effect is that the hub will engage so quickly that it feels immediate, and this is thanks to a very clever, potentially ‘springy’, offset pawl design that also softens engagement and can be located throughout the hub shell.

Oh, and it does all this without magnets or springs.

How Lauf’s Hub Design Works

The basic principle uses integrated ratchets (701) made on an inner ring, each essentially its own spring with a toothed hook at the end to engage with the teeth (105) on the drive ring (102).

However, one could also place the pawls on the outer ring and place the drive ring on the inner surface:

The pawls are offset to engage at different points of the hub’s rotation, creating more engagement points with fewer but larger teeth. This is how many current hubs work, with typically two or three pawls engaged at any one time. For hubs that do not require ultra-fast engagement, the pawls could be wider (Figure 5b).

For faster engagement, a second set of pawls can be offset from the first set (blue and orange image on the right). Or…

…they could even use three sets for even faster engagement (Figure 12). Alternatively, they could use two or three synchronized rings to increase resistance because, admittedly, these ratchets would have to be thin enough to accommodate. in a traditional hub design. Assuming that’s what Lauf has in mind, let’s stay on this track for a moment.

Expandable and wavy ratchets

Another tactic to improve total engagement and strength is to use a wavy shape, allowing each ratchet to “stretch” slightly, just enough for a set to engage first, then they stretch out until ‘until the second play engages, then these stretch until a third play engages. .

The benefit is that you have more engagement all around the hub, reducing lateral stress between the cassette, freehub and hub housing.

And, assuming you apply too much torque, this wavy design allows the ratchet to come loose before breaking. No, you wouldn’t like it, but it would theoretically preserve your hub. However, take a look at Figure 13 above for a second, then scroll down…

Thousands of pawls, full width freehub body

What if you filled the entire hub housing with rows of pawls, providing a huge contact area, each slightly offset but also able to stretch to allow other rows of pawls to engage as well?

Not only would this create incredibly fast engagement, but it would also provide incredibly strong engagement. Lauf says this also provides much greater tolerance for out-of-sync ratchets and pawls, which they say is often due to real-world manufacturing limitations.

And since this allows for a full-width freehub body that is essentially a second axle, it would also make the whole thing much more robust. Figures 15-20 show a variety of design options in which multiple rows of pawls fit in various locations and allow for a greater variety of freehub-to-hub shell interfaces.

Lauf also says that “stretching” each pawl allows your horsepower to gradually increase (still very quickly, mind you), which eliminates that noisy KLUNK, especially on hubs with lower engagement speeds. This can also reduce wear on your transmission.

Even though Lauf is known for their bikes and forks, they’re always tinkering. Their likely goal is to license this design rather than also become a flagship brand, but we have been surprised by them beforeso who knows?

LaufCycles.com

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