NuVinci CVT (Automatic Gears) Hub

[103Alex1]

Half of Kalkhoff range have derailleurs, all Haibikes have derailleurs.

Yes, that's one of the things that put me off buying them. Definitely not for me on a touring / primary transport bike. I'd only consider a Haibike AM for off-roading - and then only after getting a car to take it to where I wanted to ride it. Expensive luxury probably not going to happen.

If the chain comes off or if you have a puncture, hub gears are right pain.

I've had the chain come off mine in the early days after the LBS had had their hands on it. Back on again in about 5 minutes at the side of the road.

Like many I run Marathon Plus tyres and like some, Protek Max tubes also to minimize risk so hopefully that wouldn't be a regular occurence (touch wood no punctures in 6 months of riding almost every day). But worst comes to worst you can change an inner tube and mend a puncture without removing the rear wheel in most cases. So it's really no biggie.

 

[muckymits]

Quite so, although the bike manufacturer is surely obliged to warrant the whole bike, so they cannot say we are not covering you because a Shimano - or any other maker's - component failed.

Ford done that with Transit vans in the 90s, refused to honour the warranty on the Bosch fuel pumps. It took alot of kicking and screaming to get anything done.

 

[AlMel]

Torn between a Nuvinci and a derailleur, I sought advice from Moustache Bike’s Marketing Director. Moustaches’ all use Bosch drives and offer both options. He said that the Nuvinci would be a better bet for usage in town and around. However, taking account of my wish to tour relatively long distances and take in some pretty serious hills, he recommended the derailleur version.

Nuvincis get a very good press indeed over here for their reliability and ease of use.

 

[JimB]

Torn between a Nuvinci and a derailleur, I sought advice from Moustache Bike’s Marketing Director. Moustaches’ all use Bosch drives and offer both options. He said that the Nuvinci would be a better bet for usage in town and around. However, taking account of my wish to tour relatively long distances and take in some pretty serious hills, he recommended the derailleur version.

Nuvincis get a very good press indeed over here for their reliability and ease of use.

Did he say why?

JimB

 

[Scimitar]

Ford done that with Transit vans in the 90s, refused to honour the warranty on the Bosch fuel pumps. It took alot of kicking and screaming to get anything done.

Was that not the dreadful Lucas pumps? The Bosch pumps were the better of the two.

 

[muckymits]

Was that not the dreadful Lucas pumps? The Bosch pumps were the better of the two.

Originally no the Lucas was the better one but then they went on to emission control and screwed the entire job up. Most people had no idea how to set the pumps up properly so never got the best out of them.

 

[50 Hertz]

Half of Kalkhoff range have derailleurs, all Haibikes have derailleurs. If the chain comes off or if you have a puncture, hub gears are right pain.

Not really. They are dead simple.

 

[OldBob1]

My old CVT motor has lasted since 1973


With the newer electronics you should be able to program in the pedal speed you wish to do and the CVT will alter the gearing.
Will keep an eye on this?
A totally different way to shift gears.

Bob

 

[flecc]

Nice, real character cars. Don't see many of those original DAFs now Bob, yours dating from before Volvo butted in I think.

 

[OldBob1]

Yep flecc, I get a Smile driving it also still cruisers at 65 MPH.

Bob

 

[Blew it]

.....If the chain comes off or if you have a puncture, hub gears are right pain.

Simply not true, it's just as easy to pop the rear wheel of my two hub geared bikes as it is any of my derailleur geared machines.

 

[AlMel]

Did he say why?

JimB

I had asked Moustache to advise whether Nuvinci or the derailleur would be more adapted for long trips across mountainous terrain. The answer was that the derailleur would be more suitable because it consumed somewhat less energy and that in case of puncture, repair would be easier.

A separate conversation with my retailer added another factor, that of weight. I planned to lift the bike on and off trains and occasionally heave it up two floors to my apartment. The extra 2kgs or so of the Nuvinci over the derailleur is certainly noticeable as soon as you lift it. The retailer also suggested that an experienced ‘dry’ cyclist, on long trips, would prefer the sense of precision and of a snappy gear change that the derailleur provides. This may be more a feeling than a fact, but actually is one that I personally appreciate.

The kind of trips I have in mind, for which it remains hard to imagine anything other than a derailleur being appropriate, are shown by these videos (caution: the musical accompaniment is a bit of an acquired taste!):

François et Hélène, col des pres.wmv - YouTube
leobon véry - YouTube
col de sagne 1 - YouTube

 

[JimB]

I had asked Moustache to advise whether Nuvinci or the derailleur would be more adapted for long trips across mountainous terrain. The answer was that the derailleur would be more suitable because it consumed somewhat less energy and that in case of puncture, repair would be easier.

A separate conversation with my retailer added another factor, that of weight. I planned to lift the bike on and off trains and occasionally heave it up two floors to my apartment. The extra 2kgs or so of the Nuvinci over the derailleur is certainly noticeable as soon as you lift it. The retailer also suggested that an experienced ‘dry’ cyclist, on long trips, would prefer the sense of precision and of a snappy gear change that the derailleur provides. This may be more a feeling than a fact, but actually is one that I personally appreciate.

The kind of trips I have in mind, for which it remains hard to imagine anything other than a derailleur being appropriate, are shown by these videos (caution: the musical accompaniment is a bit of an acquired taste!):

François et Hélène, col des pres.wmv - YouTube
leobon véry - YouTube
col de sagne 1 - YouTube

Thanks for your reply AlMel - very useful.

I enjoyed the videos - breath-taking in many ways

I now have a curious desire for a Fondue Neuchatel!

Regards,

JimB

 

[jackhandy]

Great videos - I even got to quite like the soundtrack; although, my taste in music could be termed eclectic

In the deuxieme fillum the young ladies handlebars seemed inordinately wide (if you'll pardon the expression); or is it just that she's slightly built?

 

[Blew it]

They are wide Jack, 640mm on my haibike Trekking.

 

[AlMel]

Great videos - I even got to quite like the soundtrack; although, my taste in music could be termed eclectic

In the deuxieme fillum the young ladies handlebars seemed inordinately wide (if you'll pardon the expression); or is it just that she's slightly built?

I don't know the width, but this is the bike: Moustache Bikes | Samedi 26 9S

 

[Tim]

Someobody asked in another thread about whether or not Kalkhoff are offering bikes with NuVinci this season but my reply hasn't appeared for some reason.

The answer is yes, several models and all of them using the NuVinci i360 Harmony hub rather than the manual-shifting N360 CVT. Hoping to have the first here in the UK next week and hopefully in time for the Eden Project event. Just to reiterate, it's the proper automatic i360 not the manual shifting N360.

Kalkhoff Ergo Impulse Cardio training electric bike
This one has a heart monitor so it maintains a constant heart rate through an interaction between the Impulse drive and NuVinci i360 Harmony transmission. Clever, eh? Available in crossbar and step-thru styles.

And we have two versions of the Sahel with the Impulse drive and NuVinci i360 Harmony transmission


Sahel i360 NuVinci Harmony Electric Bike


Sahel i360 NuVinci Harmony Step-thru Electric Bike

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

NuVinci is great for electric bikes but feels like you are treading through treacle when unpowered a number of independant reviews have said this e.g. electric bike magazine. This is more noticeable on NuVinci when compared to Shimano Alfine or Nexus! However there are plenty of options if you want to go for NuVinci KTM, Moustache etc.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

And the Grace MX!!

I agree, the Nuvinci compared with a hub or better still a derailiure gear set is a little stodgy. However on Bosch system bikes it enables manufacturers to turn the torque up to 50Nm from a Shimano's stated maximum of 40Nm without voiding the Shimano warranty.

With the extra 10Nm of torque the NuVinci drive is wonderful!

All the best

David

 

[Tim]

Hi David, does the Grace MX have NuVinci i360 or the twist grip N360 shifter? I can't make it out on the specs page.