NuVinci

Mike45

Pedelecer
Dec 1, 2015
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I've not tried it Mike but others who have reported it as one of the most powerful of the German made crank units, possibly the most powerful.
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Stated 70Nm vs 50Nm for the Bosch and ? for the Panasonic..........but.........there are those that say that torque is spurious. My head hurts!
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,778
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brose is 90nm
 

Kudoscycles

Official Trade Member
Apr 15, 2011
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www.kudoscycles.com
Stated 70Nm vs 50Nm for the Bosch and ? for the Panasonic..........but.........there are those that say that torque is spurious. My head hurts!
Just find a dealer that has a good supply of different bikes....the right one will be the one you like. All these power/range specs are just so much marketing hype....unlike cars there are no testing standards to check performance or range. Similarly none of us put our bikes through destructive testing to check weight capacity,the weight limits are those which we feel comfortable to specify,there is no standard to these numbers.
If you read the terms and conditions of bikes such as Specialised or Bianchi,it is almost impossible for the manufacturer to be liable for any frame failure!
KudosDave
 

Mike45

Pedelecer
Dec 1, 2015
71
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My Sonata will eat for breakfast all the bikes you listed...if you want hill climbing ability and stay legal then BPM hub drive is best. I am 6ft 1 " and 17 stone. The frame size of the Sonata is identical to the KTM Macina bold.
The most powerful of the KTM models are the Panasonic hub drives but KTM seemed to have lost interest in that model.
Having said the foregoing I am aware of brand awareness,I haven't bought any car aside from BMW or Audi....even though my senior manager swears by his Hyundai.
The Nuvinci hub seems to sap some power,you swop power for ease of change and range,
Buying e-bikes is a compromise.
KudosDave
Is your opinion of the power of the Panasonic motor based on published data or personal experience?

Another bike on my (slightly longer) shortlist is the KTM Amparo XL 8-LL 648. Panasonic motor with a Nexus 8 hub...........and a huge battery.
 

Mike45

Pedelecer
Dec 1, 2015
71
18
Torbay
Just find a dealer that has a good supply of different bikes....the right one will be the one you like. All these power/range specs are just so much marketing hype....unlike cars there are no testing standards to check performance or range. Similarly none of us put our bikes through destructive testing to check weight capacity,the weight limits are those which we feel comfortable to specify,there is no standard to these numbers.
If you read the terms and conditions of bikes such as Specialised or Bianchi,it is almost impossible for the manufacturer to be liable for any frame failure!
KudosDave
A lot of dealers do not stock all the models for a particular marque, particularly continental ones, so it can be difficult to try the ones you would wish to. The same applies to motorhomes so the electric bike industry is not alone.
 

Wicky

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2014
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Colchester, Essex
www.jhepburn.co.uk
Is your opinion of the power of the Panasonic motor based on published data or personal experience?

Another bike on my (slightly longer) shortlist is the KTM Amparo XL 8-LL 648. Panasonic motor with a Nexus 8 hub...........and a huge battery.
I've a KTM eRace 29 Panasonic '14 and can confirm its goat like hill climbing capability. Absolute delight to change up the gears going uphill and maintain 13-15mph without a sweat - the latest models also have 500Wh battery. Get a test ride - I had a go on various models at Redhill's very 3 dimensional track day courtesy of Kudos and the KTM way surpassed everything else on road (track) and off road (trail). 1½ years and 1500 miles later I'm still very happy with my decision to purchase from Tom at FLiDistribution an ex-demo bike at a hefty discount . A review here > http://ebike-mtb.com/en/back-issue-ktm-erace-p-29-review/
 
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Artstu

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 2, 2009
2,420
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Artstu.....amazing I didn't realise they were so cheap,are they any good at £850.00?
KudosDave
My experience with Chinese made motorcycle parts is a few years out of date, most of what I bought suffered from material quality issues, and no parts back up.
I don't think I'd gamble on one just yet.
 
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anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
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The European Union
The market size in France is bit bigger than here butnot much (France: about 35,000 a year), yet you can buy an e-bike for 300 Euros to 400 Euros in a French super market, why not here?
Once you see one the question becomes "why would I buy that piece of xxx?" if you know anything about bikes. I bet there are hundreds rusting away broken and unused. And SLA battery, need I say more...

The cheapest Decathlon bike is now 750€, the cheaper ones were costing them too much in returns under guarantee I think.

The NuVinci is less efficient than derailleurs despite their claims and probably only matches hub gear efficiency.
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Not even close, 15% loss in best ratio and 20% loss in worst (typically hill climbing and top speed ratios). For me that would mean 12 km less range, almost an entire run to the station...
 
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Croxden

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2013
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North Staffs
I've had a NuVinci, got a Rohloff & deraileur. You do notice losses, deraileur wins but I would still prefer the Rohloff in use.

The worst bit for me with the NuVinci was how hard the 'gear' change became, it stiffens when riding hard. I always felt I had sprained my wrist after a ride, but at the time thought it a great piece of kit.

If there is a choice I'd have something else.
 

Kudoscycles

Official Trade Member
Apr 15, 2011
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Is your opinion of the power of the Panasonic motor based on published data or personal experience?

Another bike on my (slightly longer) shortlist is the KTM Amparo XL 8-LL 648. Panasonic motor with a Nexus 8 hub...........and a huge battery.
Mike....Atmosphere bikes has a hill climbing race up the very steep Park Street in Bristol every year....at the last event the top four bikes were all BPM type hub drives....Bikes using that motor include Oxygen,Woosh-big bear,Kudos-Arriba,Sonata,Tornado etc,KTM-Panasonic hub.
KudosDave
 

Kudoscycles

Official Trade Member
Apr 15, 2011
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A lot of dealers do not stock all the models for a particular marque, particularly continental ones, so it can be difficult to try the ones you would wish to. The same applies to motorhomes so the electric bike industry is not alone.
London Electric Bike Company in Hampton Wick has 30 plus bikes to test,nearby is 50 cycles....if you want a good choice it's going to mean a trip up to London.
KudosDave
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
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Mike....Atmosphere bikes has a hill climbing race up the very steep Park Street in Bristol every year....at the last event the top four bikes were all BPM type hub drives....Bikes using that motor include Oxygen,Woosh-big bear,Kudos-Arriba,Sonata,Tornado etc,KTM-Panasonic hub.
KudosDave
.. and all the Ezee bikes.
 

Mike45

Pedelecer
Dec 1, 2015
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Torbay
I've had a NuVinci, got a Rohloff & deraileur. You do notice losses, deraileur wins but I would still prefer the Rohloff in use.

The worst bit for me with the NuVinci was how hard the 'gear' change became, it stiffens when riding hard. I always felt I had sprained my wrist after a ride, but at the time thought it a great piece of kit.

If there is a choice I'd have something else.
I don't understand, I thought that with the NuVinci the rider set the cadence and the hub decided what ratio to use. i.e. automatic, so no rider gear changing is required. Do you mean changing the cadence while pedalling?
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
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I've had a NuVinci, got a Rohloff & deraileur. You do notice losses, deraileur wins but I would still prefer the Rohloff in use.
I have never ridden a bike with a Rohloff but it is the bit of bike kit that keeps me buying lotto tickets... With an after market trigger shifter of course! Another 250+ € :cool:
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
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you have two types of NuVinci, the one with automatic shifting is the Harmony. The other type is the Infinity. The Harmony is of course more expensive because it comes with an integrated computer.
http://www.nuvincicycling.com/en/products/overview.html
TBH, for hilly terrain, if you get a BPM bike, set your gear to whatever is your favourite, and pedal at your favourite cadence, as much or as little as you like, the motor is so flexible that it does the rest without whingeing. It's not the money, it's the simplicity (or complexity) of the way these things turn out in the field. No need for a heart monitor.
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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I don't understand, I thought that with the NuVinci the rider set the cadence and the hub decided what ratio to use. i.e. automatic, so no rider gear changing is required. Do you mean changing the cadence while pedalling?
There are two types of NuVinci gear change, both are stepless but one is automatic and one is not.

Both do the job, but the manual one requires a firm twist on the twist shift.

As a general point, I found the NuVinci sucked power.

A Bosch bike with a NuVinci I tried felt very stodgy compared to my Bosch bike with a Shimano Alfine 11 hub.

The power drain matters because no legal ebike motor is a ball of fire to start with, so I reckon you can't afford to lose any grunt.