Hey there all! ok, so i finally (FINALLY) got some time to get the Nuvinci hub integrated into my setup. it took a long while because:
- not much time to mess in the garage in the last few months
- i got the wrong rim for the hub (wrong number of holes, wish i had bought the pre-built combo)
- had too large of a rear freewheel installed and it couldn't be removed without the special Nuvinci-made tool which was unavailable online ANYWHERE (had to call Nuvinci and they helped me out)
So i had the local bike shop lace the hub into a wheel and asked them to put a 22 tooth freewheel on it. turns out that wasnt the best choice as i really lost my top end and the low end was so low i felt like i could climb a wall with the bike! the gear ratio is crazy on this thing! i did some really rudimentary calculations and figured i needed a 17t freewheel on the back to get back to my 30mph on some of the roads to work. i discovered at that point that i could not remove the freewheel since the hub itself will free spin in the direction you need to turn to remove the freewheel. i found on some boards that Nuvinci made a special tool to remove standard freewheels from the hub, but no place online sells it - all links to it were broken. i finally called support at Nuvinci and they were great - they fed-exed me the tool and i paid them via paypal ($75 bucks! its a specialty tool
)
here are some shots of the hub after i finally got the bike shop guys to help my remove the freewheel with Nuvinci's own Freewheel Removal Tool (it was really stuck on there!)
here's what the tool(s) look like from Nuvinci
the inner portion has splines which hold the hub from free spinning, then the outer bar fits over the top of the inner part and has the standard freewheel notches on it. pretty precise and it worked like a charm at the bike shop!
I got the puppy installed - once you remove the rear derailleur assembly, the hub installs with the included vertical drop out adapters (it was originally designed for horizontal drop outs).
i used a really nice chain tensioner from Sette to reduce the chain slack. ideally i need to get a half link in there but havent had time to go back to the bike shop
The original plastic Cyclone chain guard got mangled in a chain skipping incident a few weeks before, so i installed a really nice Salsa chain guard. i wanted 2 (one on the inside and one on the outside) to guarantee the chain staying on, but i didnt have enough room on the inside and now with the Nuvinci hub, there isnt much need for it.
well, that's it! i'm glad to have finally arrived at this point in the project. The hub is really amazing overall, really changes the ride and i'm not so scared about the chain jumping off the chainring or breaking anymore!
some things i've learned about the Nuvinci hub:
- The hub has an impressive "gear" range (350% i think) and so you need to find the right freewheel and chainring to get something that feels comfortable - to me that meant matching what i had on my traditional cassette setup
- after installing the actual shifter on the handle bars and cutting the cables, and installing the rear assembly, be aware that after some usage it will loosen up and you may need to do some more trimming. i've done it once and i feel the cables have stretched again
- i really miss not having my notched gear shifter - i know that the continuously variable aspect is the whole point with the Nuvinci hub - but it's harder to shift without checking the shifter gauge when you dont have any tactile feedback about how many "clicks" up or down you have shifted
- the shifting is a bit tricky: while i could easily shift my traditional gear setup through all 8 gears in a relatively short motion, the Nuvinci shifter actually has to go through what feels like at least 2 revolutions (whole twists) to get the full range of gears. this is really hard to get used to and not really desirable for me - Nuvinici, can you improve this?
- there is some strangeness to the shifting, and i imagine it has something to do with the angle of the balls inside the hub: in the lower gears, i have to twist the shifter quite a bit to get to a moderate cadence. in the higher level gears, there is one very delicate spot where i need to twist very gently or i go from moderate pedaling to having to stand up and work! not ideal at all! i've had to really learn where this spot in the shifting!
- now the chain is quieter and smoother and i dont need to worry about it hopping off! the chain line is really ideal now and i could remove the extra idler wheels i had installed before - the last few rides i had before the nuvinci were nerve wracking for me since i had the chain fall off a couple of times (i hate going to work with greasy hands!) and at one point this mangled my (plastic) chain guard.
- i've had to re-learn my e-bike riding style now with the Nuvinci since the shifting does feel so much different (more twisting needed, can shift at a stand still).
it's not perfect, but i'm pretty happy so far.