New mid motor with integrated NuVinci gear system

[flecc]

Details in this Bike Europe article:

Conti-NuVinci mid motor
.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

For me, the most interesting thing is that it's 48v. It would be nice to get confirmation that a 48v battery complies with EN15194. My interpretation is that it does, but it would be nice to get something official.

A crank motor and Nuvinci is a relatively heavy combination, so I have some reservations about its usefulness. It's nice that they have it contained in one unit, and the lighter back wheel will be better for FS bikes and will allow quick-release of the wheel, so definitely better than having a Nuvinci in the wheel; however, I don't see it as anything to get too excited about, though every little helps.

 

[flecc]

Possibly its main benefit will be to get more designers and manufacturers to think in terms of motor and gears integration.

The potential for weight reduction, greater reliability and easier repairs and routine maintenance of the bike would be really worthwhile benefits.
.

 

[shemozzle999]

English part from page 37 onwards:


http://manualzz.com/doc/4127610/conti®-ebike-system-–-bedienungsanleitung---user-manual

 

[Gubbins]

I wonder if it would suit riders who like to turn at high cadences as well as those who like to just plod on..

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I wonder if it would suit riders who like to turn at high cadences as well as those who like to just plod on..

The way I see it is that it's exactly the same as a bike with the Nuvinci in the back wheel in that respect. The motor turns at a fixed ratio to the pedals, and both go to the Nuvinci input. The Nuvinci output is in a fixed ratio to the back wheel. That's no different to any other crank-drive bike. It's main advantage is the centralised weight. CVT sounds like a good idea, but when I tried it, it didn't show any advantage on the road.

 

[Rohloffboy]

This is quite good to see, and it's about time that gears were were built into the Crank Drive motor, although the Nuvinci system is a CV device.

Rohloff and Pinion would be other contenders, maybe teaming up with other Crank Drive manufacturers, no need for 14 or 16 gears, 10 would be more than ample for an ebike, just bigger steps between the gears.

Keeping the rear wheel free of igh and or motor is a step in the right direction.

To be using derailure gears on an ebike in this modern age, is simply a joke IMHO.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Keeping the rear wheel free of igh and or motor is a step in the right direction.

That's important for a bike with suspension. The mass of the sprung wheel needs to be as light as possible. It's also important for a bike that goes over rough ground, where you want it to rotate rapidly around its C of G, so you want the lowest moment of inertia by concentrating the mass at the centre.

For normal riding on normal roads with a hard-tail bike or one with rigid forks, it makes virtually no difference where the mass is, so best is to put it in the cheapest most convenient place.

It's great that companies come up with all these different ideas because they will suit some people, but for the average forum e-biker, who uses his/her bike to go to work, go shopping, go for a ride in the country, etc., it's just an unnecessary expense.

 

[AndrewJ]

Nuvinci is also one of the lowest efficiency drivetrains; hopefully a Rohloff with the new e-shifting unit will give a fairly seamless shifting experience at much lower loss of energy, at a lighter weight and with greater gear range.

 

[Rohloffboy]

Yep I have been riding my Rohloff specific OEM non ebike since 2004, and the gearing is awesome, although I rarely go one gear up/down at a time, so the 13% gap between gears is a little over kill, but nice to have.

The range of gears is also awesome, easily the same as a 27 gear Derailure if not more.

The Rohloff E-14 Bosch motor specific electronic shifter looks fantastic, I wonder if the cam-bus connection instructs the motor to pause between gear changes?

In 13 years I have only changed the Rohloff Shifter inner/liner cables twice, and the outers once, last change of inners/liners and outers was early this year.

And to be fair the Outers even after 13 years were still in good condition, I just happend to have a few spare Outer lengths in the workshop.

Original twist shifter is still going strong, the gear shifter cables only wear at the Click Box end (Disc Brake), were they rotate the selector.

Very easy DIY job to change the gear shifter cables, no different than that of a normal bike.

I will be looking to transfer my Rohloff to an ebike, when the time comes.

 

[Woosh]

totally brilliant idea, considering about 40% of the weight of an average mid drive motor is in its own gearbox.

 

[Trevormonty]

Being able to use a strong long lasting single speed chain on a FS eMTB would be big plus.

Lower efficiency of Nuvinci doesn't matter with 250w on tap.

 

[Gubbins]

The way I see it is that it's exactly the same as a bike with the Nuvinci in the back wheel in that respect. The motor turns at a fixed ratio to the pedals, and both go to the Nuvinci input. The Nuvinci output is in a fixed ratio to the back wheel. That's no different to any other crank-drive bike. It's main advantage is the centralised weight. CVT sounds like a good idea, but when I tried it, it didn't show any advantage on the road.

You say didn't show any advantage, but you don't say there were disadvantages either. From my point of view the extra weight doesn't matter as it will only shave a few miles off of the range which is worth not having to mess with gears and sprockets. Only downside I see is reliability issues with all your mechanical eggs in one basket.

 

[Woosh]

Only downside I see is reliability issues with all your mechanical eggs in one basket.

you need to take into account the frequency of the incidences.
Traditionally, crank driven motors' weak points are at the chain and sprockets.
This kit removes almost all of that.

 

[anotherkiwi]

The nuvinci doesn't have enough range in gear inches for where I ride. Even adding a motor isn't going to help in some situations. Rohloff and pinion are the two best choices with a wide range of gears available but a derailleur is even better because it is easier to personalise the range of gears.

 

[Woosh]

The nuvinci doesn't have enough range in gear inches for where I ride.

if the product is successful, I expect others (Shimano?) will follow.