Wire Drive...

[Tad Bit Tipsy]

New bike design uses wires and discs instead of a chain | DVICE

 

[furament]

????????????????? how who what when ??????????????

 

[Tad Bit Tipsy]

You think that's cool, look at this...
Bike designer reinvents the wheel, and makes it work | DVICE
Slap a motor in the middle of that wheel!!!

 

[Kevlarr]

Looks like the first one is just using eccentric cams on the cranks and the followers are connected to the rear wheel with cables running to eccentrics as well. Seems like a lot of parts to go wrong. I remember seeing a video about this guy in England back in the late 60's who developed a bike with all kinds of eccentric cams to get a huge gear ratio but I can't remember who he was.

The second is nothing new, hub less wheels have been around for decades. My only question is why bother with the toothed belt drive and just direct drive off the crank to the wheel?