NuVinci® CVP and CruiseController™ From Fallbrook Technologies Inc. Wins Gold Eurobike 2008 Award

– Prestigious design award given to breakthrough bike drivetrain; fifth major award in 18 months –

(Friedrichshafen, Germany, September 4, 2008) – Fallbrook Technologies Inc. (Fallbrook), announced today that its revolutionary NuVinci continuously variable planetary (CVP) drivetrain and CruiseController™ have won a Gold EUROBIKE 2008 Award at the EUROBIKE show in Friedrichshafen, Germany.  EUROBIKE is one of the largest international trade shows for the bike industry.

The NuVinci CVP is the world’s only viable continuously variable transmission for bicycles.  With smooth and seamless shifting unconstrained by a fixed number of gears, the NuVinci CVP enables riders to maintain an optimum cadence regardless of terrain.  The NuVinci CruiseController makes shifting as easy as adjusting the volume on a radio and provides a unique visual indicator of where the rider is in the ratio range.  NuVinci technology is already available on over 40 models in various bicycle industry segments including city, commuter, cruiser, comfort, and e-bike.  Fallbrook expects adoption and applications to expand and grow rapidly because NuVinci transmissions provide a smoother, simpler and more comfortable riding experience and are virtually maintenance free.

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, more than 360 entries from 22 countries competed in 19 categories.  The NuVinci CVP and CruiseController were given one of only ten Gold Awards. Judges cited the excellence of the NuVinci product’s engineering, its simplicity, and its ease of use as major factors in their decision to confer the Gold Award.

“The EUROBIKE Award is the fifth major award won by NuVinci technology since its introduction in 2007, and reflects the fact that the NuVinci CVP is changing the bicycle world,” said William Klehm III, president and CEO of Fallbrook.  “This is affordable, advanced technology that will put more people of all ages and experience levels on bikes.”

In 2007, the NuVinci CVP won a prestigious R&D 100 Award as one of the year’s most technologically significant products and also won the Netherlands’ Fietsvak Technology of the Year Award.  The first NuVinci-equipped bicycles also won the Popular Science Best of What’s New (Grand Award, Recreation) and Fietsvak Bike of the Year award.

The NuVinci CVP uses a set of rotating and tilting balls positioned between the input and output components of a transmission that tilt to vary the speed of the transmission.  Tilting the balls changes their contact diameters and varies the speed ratio.  NuVinci technology is the most practical, economical and universally adaptable continuously variable transmission (CVT) for human-powered and motor-powered vehicles and machines.  Current commercial applications of the NuVinci CVP include bicycles and light electric vehicles.  Other commercial implementations are in various stages of development..

About Fallbrook Technologies Inc.
Fallbrook Technologies Inc. (Fallbrook) is a technology company dedicated to improving the performance and flexibility of transmissions for vehicles and equipment.  Fallbrook’s revolutionary 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.  NuVinci technology offers companies the flexibility to design and produce next- generation products that are better tailored to their unique business, market and competitive requirements.

Fallbrook has built an extensive portfolio of over 300 patents and patent applications worldwide.  Fallbrook’s vigorous research and development activities will continue to enhance the performance and capabilities of NuVinci technology.  To learn more about Fallbrook and its NuVinci technology, please visit www.fallbrooktech.com.

To download a comprehensive press kit and company/technology backgrounder, click on the link below.

Fallbrook Press Kit