NuVinci® N360 Drivetrain From Fallbrook Technologies Inc. Wins EUROBIKE 2010 Award

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Fallbrook Technologies Inc. (Fallbrook) announced today that the NuVinci N360, the next generation of its NuVinci continuously variable planetary (CVP) drivetrain, has won a EUROBIKE 2010 Award at the EUROBIKE show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. This is the second EUROBIKE Award for the NuVinci CVP as the prior version won a EUROBIKE Gold Award in 2008. EUROBIKE is one of the largest international trade shows for the bike industry.

"It is a great honor to receive a second EUROBIKE award as bicycle industry experts have reaffirmed the benefits our NuVinci technology brings to bicycle riders and the bicycle industry," said Alan M. Nordin, President of Fallbrook's Bicycle Division. "NuVinci transmissions make shifting easy, are virtually maintenance free and are well suited for bicycles and the rapidly growing e-Bike market. As a result, we expect adoption and applications to continue to expand."

With an infinite number of ratios available within its nominal 360% ratio range, the N360 drivetrain is an attractive replacement for bicycle derailleurs and internally geared hubs as it provides a ride and shifting experience unlike any other. The NuVinci CVP enables riders to maintain an optimum cadence regardless of terrain and makes shifting as easy as adjusting the volume on a radio.

Compared to the original NuVinci bicycle drivetrain, the N360 model is over 30% lighter, 17% smaller and has an increased ratio range. Shift effort is significantly reduced even under high pedal forces and there is 50% less twist rotation required to move between the lowest and highest ratios. In addition, for better protection, the hub interface is now housed inboard of the frame drop-out.

NuVinci drivetrains are available on an increasing number of models in various bicycle industry segments including city, commuter, cruiser, comfort, trekking, MTB and e-bike.

The EUROBIKE Awards, conceived and organized by iF International Forum Design, honor the best in bicycle design, and are considered one of the industry's most prestigious design competitions. This year, over 500 entries from 30 countries competed in 12 categories.

"The EUROBIKE 2010 Award is the eighth major award won by NuVinci technology since its introduction in 2007. The first NuVinci-equipped bicycles also won the Popular Science Best of What's New (Grand Award, Recreation) in 2007 and Fietsvak 2007 Bike of the Year award.

About Fallbrook Technologies Inc.

Fallbrook Technologies Inc. is a technology and manufacturing company dedicated to improving the performance and flexibility of transmissions for vehicles and equipment. Fallbrook's NuVinci® continuously variable planetary (CVP) technology is applicable to virtually any machines that use a transmission such as bicycles, light electric vehicles, automobiles, agricultural equipment, and wind turbines, among others.

The NuVinci CVP represents a significant "shift" in drivetrain technology by transmitting mechanical power with spheres instead of gears as it uses a set of rotating and tilting balls positioned between the input and output components of a transmission. Tilting the balls changes their contact diameters and varies the speed ratio.

The NuVinci platform offers companies the flexibility to design and produce next-generation products that are better tailored to their unique business, market and competitive requirements. Beyond the NuVinci bicycle transmission, which is currently available, other commercial implementations are in various stages of development.

Fallbrook has built an extensive portfolio of over 350 patents and patent applications worldwide. To learn more about Fallbrook and its NuVinci technology, please visit www.fallbrooktech.com.

SOURCE Fallbrook Technologies Inc.