This morning I was reading the March 1975 issue of "Wielersport", a Dutch cycling magazine, and came across an interesting article. Loosely translated, it said:

"In America, the land of unlimited possibilities, an automatic transmission has been constructed for the bicycle. When riding faster a higher gear is selected automatically.This invention will be shown on the international biclycle show in New York. (...) We don't yet expect to see it in this year's Tour de France."

I don't think I ever saw it in the Tour de France. What became of this invention? Are there any automatic bike owners on the forum?

Yeah, every few years some whiz-bang re-develops and re-introduces an automatic transmission for bicycles. With one exception, every last one of them have been market failures and disappeared. You stumbled upon the 1975 iteration. The most recent automatic transmission bicycle debacle was by no less than Shimano with their "Coasting" group set.

The exception is the two speed auto-shifting hubs by a few companies over the decades, which have gained a small acceptance in the bicycle world.

A solution in search of a problem?

Eventually I could see these working out as an evolution of fixed gear hubs like Sturmey Archer's S3X or kickback two speeds.

My guess is that the market segment that wants an automatic transmission is neither a big nor an important one.

See also: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_an-z.html#autobike

There were a couple townies being sold a few years back with CVT's. There's always some sort of gimmick floating about, and usually someone foolish enough to buy it.

Note that a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) is different from an automatic transmission. Here's the latest iteration of the bicycle CVT: https://www.fallbrooktech.com/08_bicycle_home.asp

I think the lapse in logic in this instance is: The kind of people who are too lazy to shift their own gears on a bicycle are also probably too lazy to pedal a bike in the first place.

'Automatic' bikes have always had one of three problems: 1. They didn't work anywhere near as well as claimed. 2. If they did work, the cost over a regular bike was too much to interest many customers. 3. Combine points 1 and 2.

Very true, but they're being marketed to the same sort of folks. I was just referring to both as gimmicks in the same area of the bike. To be honest, the CVT makes far more sense to me than an automatic.

My aunt had an automatic transmission cruiser bike in the 70's. Nice bike but heavy. I rode it a lot when I visited her. It would shift into the next higher gear when the rpms reached a certain level. Had to coast leading up to a hill in order to get it to shift down; this could be a problem at times.

Thanks for all your replies. Just had a look at the N360. Looks like CVT could be a winning concept, but it seems that the marketing people are making the same mistake as their predecessors in the 1960's: aiming at those who don't want to shift themselves. When it became clear in the 1970's that there where also real performance gains to be had in racing, it was too late: Joe Average had already clearly understood that CVT was something for OAP's and girls.

What better thread to once again tout the superlative Bicycle-Bungee!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLeBH...layer_embedded

I saw on version of a bike..... it was as a weight that when the wheel was moving fast enough cetrifugal force moved the weight out, pulling a cable that shifted a derailer up to a higher gear.... simple in concept but very rough in execution.

Feels like a sort of United Appeal for the Slow: "despite Johnny's handicap he can still be of use to the community".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kXl8LyD_JA

I wonder if the combination of this and a CVT like the NuVinci would work better.

Here's some footage that shows quite nicely how CVT works. Replace engine by cranks et voilá!

It's for the demographic of riders who can balance, steer, pedal and brake but not shift.

Stumbled on this when I was looking for info on Browning bicycles some time ago (they quickly stuck to their guns again).
https://www2.bsn.de/Cycling/articles/browning.html
Not really an article for the scientifically incapacitated, euh, like me.

Thanks, CMAW. I suppose this is the system that the article in my original post was referring to. Impressive. The ultimate nerdification accessory for your bike.