NuVinci CVT (Automatic Gears) Hub

[103Alex1]

I thought you might go for it in the end. Really pleased you made a decision - and you've certainly done your homework to rationalize and understand your choices which is great. Well, nothing ventured nothing gained and in all honestly it sounds spot on for you both. Really interesting feedback, thanks for putting it up.

The location of the 50Cycles unit in Loughborough is such that whilst easy to find and park (Driving Test Centre appears to be co-located so plenty of 'L' plates manoeuvring in the car park)

LOL. OH the humour in that

The i8 had the Nexus 8 speed hub (no Alfines yet) and unfortunately it was maladjusted so gear changing was largely an unpleasant experience accompanied by snatching pedals and crunching noises from the back end.

.. ouch ... hope you told them .. can wind up a pricey old fix if they're ridden with slipping gears ... don't think it does the hub innards any good at all ! Similar thing can also happen if you put excessive pedal effort in too low a gear (i.e. change up too late - closely followed by pedals spinning freely). I often ride bikes hard and it's one of the reasons I like a big range.

The transmission of electric power was very smooth indeed but thinking back now even at fullish tilt in 8th gear I wasn't aware of hitting 'the wall' so either I wasn't going fast enough (gearing maybe a bit low for me?) or the run off of power was so smooth that I just didn't notice it.

Highly likely a bit of both. The run-off is very smooth on Impulse bikes and at higher speeds you pretty much feel no more than a gradual reminder of the limitations of the bike's (and your own physical) capabilities. I genuinely believe extra gears make a huge difference - if you have the fitness to use them.

The bike did feel as if had effective gear ratio wider than the Nexus 8 but I slipped up in not trying it in manual gear selection mode and going for the highest ratio to see what that produced. The best speed I managed was 20 mph downwind and 18 mph the other way. I have no idea what pressures the tyres were at although the battery was over half charge. I was aware of the power being off at 20 mph but my perception was that the effort required to maintain speed was no or little different to a normally geared bike.

That's about what I'd expect. I have to use gears 9-11 and adopt a sportier frame of mind to crack those speeds on the flat on mine. If you tested the 26" version you may find the 28" a little faster above 15.5mph - albeit it'll be harder work uphill in that range - if you ever use it there.

In that mode the bike is a real 'dawdle' to ride and I have to admit that I immediately felt at home just cycling and not having to think at all about changing gear.

... and this is, I think, where this system will have widespread appeal. It's like having the simplicity of a single speed but with the relative benefits of gearing range for when conditions make that appropriate.

The ride was very comfortable on the Big Apple tyres and we both agreed that it was easily the more comfortable of the bikes to ride even though it does not have suspension forks like the I8 Nexus.

I'm not sure what the Big Apple tyres are like off-road but they were pretty comfortable on the short track of tar I tested them on. On-road I have to confess, I actually lock out the front suspension unless the road's really bad. The C11 has a suspension seatpost which makes a big difference and really comfortable upright riding position so don't really feel the need for front suspension much ... and bike feels a lot stiffer for climbs locked out too.

It's nice to have the suspension there for when you need it though - especially if you're going to be going on tracks a fair bit.

There is only one reason why I didn't come home and immediately reserve two Santana CDs and that's the absence of a torque sensor.

It makes a huge difference on a crank drive, and the triple-sensor input of the bikes you've bought makes them even more intuitive. Not all torque sensors are responded to equally either. It was after the penny finally dropping how significant this impact was to the ride 'feel' that I ruled out a crank drive conversion. It's all in the controller software with a PAS - provided you have the inputs available to begin with !

 

[103Alex1]

When I was looking at them my own personal view was that I wasn't looking at that sort of value. It was only this morning lying in bed that it dawned (pun almost intended) on me what was bugging me so much about them and it's that they kinda look like kids' bikes and even when riding them they don't seem to have enough 'presence' for you take them seriously.

That's almost exactly what I felt after going to the NEC show. There was only one bike in there that convinced me to part with the eye-watering sum which followed the next day... and which when it arrived and I unpacked it, took one look and could not deny that it had as much 'presence' (albeit understated) as I was ever going to see, and that was the one I bought. The handlebars, 28" wheels, long wheelbase and particular overall geometry together account for most of that.

For some reason, some of the Colnago bikes have the same effect on me - in a different way. There is just something about them and I still can't entirely put my finger on it. But you just take one look and go - OK it's way more than I'd want to pay but it looks and feels like a serious bike and I'm not going to get this any other way than coughing up. So FFS take the money and let me ride it to instantly put out of my mind what I just did

Sometimes no matter how much your rational mind is trying to persuade you otherwise your default position is deep down inside knowing that you won't really feel at home with much compromising . For all my protestations, I've been trying to re-educate such tendencies all my adult life - with varying degrees of success. It's a most perplexing affliction to manage out sometimes !

 

[JimB]

Thanks for your posts Alex.

I've been out most of the day - Aldi twice this morning hoovering up Bike stuff (no yellow jersey though) and a drive up into the hills this afternoon for a walk round Dam Buster territory in the Derwent Valley - turned out to be 7 miles which is as much as I want to walk but it turned out to be also part of a cycle route and looks ideally suited to some real tests of the bikes when they arrive.

I was still researching bikes yesterday and found a thread where someone was trying to make a decision and a forum Sage (might have been d8veh) said something along the lines of ...do all the research you can and then, if you still can't make up your mind, buy the one you most like the look of. I think I did a fair bit of research and the folks on here have been inordinately patient and helpful bearing mind the constant stream of newbies all asking pretty much the same questions (including me).

But in the end something has to swing it and in my case the brand's reps were helpful (as were others) and actually made an effort to encourage me to buy.....and then it was down to what I liked the best from those that had the spec I wanted.

50 Cycles have their first pair of Ergo demonstrators (with cross bars) arriving any minute and did offer another test ride at Loughborough. I just can't be bothered any more but just mention it in case any one else is interested in these things and want to have a go on one.

I didn't choose this bike because it had the target heart rate feature but because it was the only Nuvinci I could get from them which was available with the bigger frame and tyres, but since placing the order I've got a lot more interested in using that feature so it'll be interesting to see how that works out.

It might actually produce a much more useful ride if the machine is aiming to achieve a certain heart rate (it doesn't have to that high) rather than a preselected cadence rate. Anyway, we'll see.

JimB

Edit: Ironically it was the maladjusted Nexus 8 which finally moved me firmly into the Nuvinci camp. I know it would probably have been the work of a few minutes to adjust them but it happened when I was starting to become very weary of the time and effort I'd put in narrow the choices and it just one of those 'Oh bo**locks to it' moments. Time will tell whether that was a good thing or not.

 

[103Alex1]

Edit: Ironically it was the maladjusted Nexus 8 which finally moved me firmly into the Nuvinci camp. I know it would probably have been the work of a few minutes to adjust them but it happened when I was starting to become very weary of the time and effort I'd put in narrow the choices and it just one of those 'Oh bo**locks to it' moments. Time will tell whether that was a good thing or not.

I don't think you'll regret your choice. The 8sp hub doesn't give enough benefits back to sway over the convenience and simplicity of riding that Nuvinci, all things considered - imho. Forgetting cost, choosing between the two I'd likely plump for the Nuvinci without hesitation.

As you say, time will tell.

 

[Artstu]

Ironically it was the maladjusted Nexus 8 which finally moved me firmly into the Nuvinci camp.

Even when properly adjusted and when you have the knack they can still give some nasty changes as Alex will attest to. Mine even pulls the back wheel forward just like Alex's bike did. I have no doubt that you would not have got on with a Nexus 8 in comparison with the NuVinci.

 

[Artstu]

Even when properly adjusted and when you have the knack they can still give some nasty changes as Alex will attest to. Mine even pulls the back wheel forward just like Alex's bike did. I have no doubt that you would not have got on with a Nexus 8 in comparison with the NuVinci.

Any news?

My bike is going well, no wheel movement and some nice gear changes after a slight adjustment.

 

[StuntmanBob]

Further to my earlier post, I've settled with a 52T/20T combination on my NuVinci-enabled Tonaro and this seems to be the ducks nuts. Fantastic acceleration, and pretty good top gearing makes it a good all round combo. Very happy with the N360.

 

[JimB]

Bikes finally arrived last Friday and been out on them twice this week - 16 miles of pretty flat trail then another which was cut short when, after a rapid ascent of the steepest slope I've ever cycled up, my bike stuck in its lowest gear and started flashing it's one blue eye at me - well the 'Harmony' controller actually. Pedalled a couple of miles back to the car with cadence of about 200!

If all else fails RTFM!

But with three of them and over a hundred pages I'd missed the simple instruction to hold down the 'harmony' selector for 5 or so seconds to enable the system to calibrate itself which it did when eventually back in the home street.

First impressions are - GREAT! Easy to pedal with zero assistance, extremely quiet and no messing around with gears (apart from the above).

Only done 4 miles with heart rate monitor but first impressions again are excellent.

Was going to do a longer solo run tomorrow with more demanding terrain but Matt from 50 Cycles is coming over to fit a replacement controller on my wife's bike as the original arrived with a cracked casing...but hope to assemble enough info for a more detailed (if somewhat non technical) appraisal soon.

Jim

 

[kiwibloke]

Bikes finally arrived last Friday and been out on them twice this week - 16 miles of pretty flat trail then another which was cut short when, after a rapid ascent of the steepest slope I've ever cycled up, my bike stuck in its lowest gear and started flashing it's one blue eye at me - well the 'Harmony' controller actually. Pedalled a couple of miles back to the car with cadence of about 200!

If all else fails RTFM!

But with three of them and over a hundred pages I'd missed the simple instruction to hold down the 'harmony' selector for 5 or so seconds to enable the system to calibrate itself which it did when eventually back in the home street.

Jim

Hi Jim,
Interesting that your Ergo had this calibration problem, as when my Sahel i360 had this problem in March 2014 it took till May 2014 and a Firmware upgrade to sort this out. I did read the manual.
And today the same happened after I fitted a new battery. It 'stuck' in a low gear and I had to cycle home at maximum revolutions and just made an apparent 15mph. Fortunately it was an OK gear to make the hills.
I havent had a moment to recalibrate the controller yet.

Have you had any recurrence of this problem?