Anyone ever towed a trailer with either NuVinci or Rolfoff hub

[Mac_user82]

Hi

i do a lot of towing a trailer i was just wondering if anyone on the forum has any experience of towing a trailer with a either a NuVinci or Roloff hub

At the moment i"am using a cassette and always running out of gears because i am towing a trailer
if i pedal on the harder gears the battery just goes down quickly and i can not get many miles out
of the bike at all,

I'am looking for someone on the forum with the experience of using a trailer either a NuVinchi or Roloff hub and how they are finding it

i believe using hub gears you do have a more bigger ratio of gears which i should of thought would make towing a trailer a lot easier to have more gears less strain on the battery and on the motor.

i have swapped from 11-34 cassette to a 11-42 and going to give that go but i don't think it would be the answer the depending on cargo sometimes heavy cargo would require more gears to tow more effectivly

When i am towing on the flat it doesn't really take much power off me but when i come to the hills it does take the battery off me a lot the only thing i could think of the ratio is not right and put the bike under a lot more stress to cause the battery to go down a lot more quicker

What i am trying to do is find that happy medium where it is draining the battery but not at a huge rate where it killing the battery all the time

 

[RobF]

The NuVinci hub is known to be robust, but is also draggy - the last thing you want in this application.

Its gear range is not huge, so all-in-all, I would say you don't want one.

The Rohloff is also robust, and has a wider range, so that would be a better job.

Hub gears - even magnificent Rohloff ones - do sap a little bit of power.

A derailer bike is the most efficient, but the only way to get a wider range is to have two or three rings at the front.

Not really possible with Bosch, although there is a manual change kit which may work depending on chain line.

Some Yamaha crank bikes have two rings at the front.

 

[Mac_user82]

i have a Bosch Bike and only have one front ring at the moment i have 16 teeth ring which is the lowest trekking ring that they do.

i think the thing to do would be maybe go to 11 speed currently on 10 speed and then get a 50 teeth ring on it and that would be closest to getting to a Roloff hub for a fraction the price of buying one too

I'm thinking hard about getting a Riese Muller dual battery option to save
me stopping all the time and have to change the battery the reason why
i bought the trailer was to stop me carrying things on my back it seems
i am back to it now with carrying a spare battery.

Most of the time trailer is full with shopping or stuff so i have no room to put the spare battery on the trailer or i would of to save me from carrying it

Sometimes i can never find a nice spot to stop and get off the bike and swap the battery over to carry on with my journey where ever i am going

i do like the fact you can charge two batteries at the same time to save have to buy a spare power lead to be able to charge to batteries at the same time which comes in at a price point of £160 quid for the charger

The money that i would spend on the lead would be better spent on putting it to a new bike so i can just charge the two batteries at the same time

 

[EddiePJ]

i have a Bosch Bike and only have one front ring at the moment i have 16 teeth ring which is the lowest trekking ring that they do.

What is a trekking ring?

Bosch compatible sprockets are available down to 15t and 14t.

 

[Danidl]

Hi

i do a lot of towing a trailer i was just wondering if anyone on the forum has any experience of towing a trailer with a either a NuVinci or Roloff hub

At the moment i"am using a cassette and always running out of gears because i am towing a trailer
if i pedal on the harder gears the battery just goes down quickly and i can not get many miles out
of the bike at all,

I'am looking for someone on the forum with the experience of using a trailer either a NuVinchi or Roloff hub and how they are finding it

i believe using hub gears you do have a more bigger ratio of gears which i should of thought would make towing a trailer a lot easier to have more gears less strain on the battery and on the motor.

i have swapped from 11-34 cassette to a 11-42 and going to give that go but i don't think it would be the answer the depending on cargo sometimes heavy cargo would require more gears to tow more effectivly

When i am towing on the flat it doesn't really take much power off me but when i come to the hills it does take the battery off me a lot the only thing i could think of the ratio is not right and put the bike under a lot more stress to cause the battery to go down a lot more quicker

What i am trying to do is find that happy medium where it is draining the battery but not at a huge rate where it killing the battery all the time

... Does not the Bosch have an arrow on the display letting you know that you need to change gears, because it is either racing or straining. When the arrows are not displayed you are in the safe economic power zone.
Provided you are in that zone the motor is pulling ok.
The key question is what weight are you pulling in kg .. you, bike, trailer, trailer load . Say that is going up a 5% slope (angle about 5 degrees, ), at a speed in metres per second then the power in climbing is mass x 9.81x speed x sin(5 degree) in watts and this must be added to your increased rolling resistance of the weight of the trailer,
Increasing the tyre pressure, particularly ,in the trailer might help a bit.


There is a wider range of gears available on the dereilliur than on any of the hub variants as the only requirement is that the chain and rear hanger be Long enough.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Chainrings:
https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/bosch-drive-unit-sprocket

 

[Mac_user82]

What is a trekking ring?

Bosch compatible sprockets are available down to 15t and 14t.

So i have been told the trekking rings are the the sprockets 20t to 16t
when you are going below 16t you are on the mountain bike rings then

For commuting they say 20t or 16 teeth is advised

 

[Trevormonty]

Which Bosch drive (active, performance, CX) do you have?

Haibike Trekking bike uses a Performance drive with SRAM 3spd hub with 9spd cassette and has been reliable with couple that clocked up 20,O00+ km, towing 35kg trailers. No hill defeated them.
This SRAM 3spd has advantage that it uses low cost and robust 9spd casettee and chains, also you change when stop (3spds).

For lower maintenance and reliability, it is hard to go passed Rohloff with belt drive, combined with CX drive and there will be no sealed hill this couldn't tow trailer up.

 

[Mac_user82]

Which Bosch drive (active, performance, CX) do you have?

Haibike Trekking bike uses a Performance drive with SRAM 3spd hub with 9spd cassette and has been reliable with couple that clocked up 20,O00+ km, towing 35kg trailers. No hill defeated them.
This SRAM 3spd has advantage that it uses low cost and robust 9spd casettee and chains, also you change when stop (3spds).

For lower maintenance and reliability, it is hard to go passed Rohloff with belt drive, combined with CX drive and there will be no sealed hill this couldn't tow trailer up.

i have the Performance line i am towing about 56lbs at the moment at some point it could be anything up too 300lbs of weight

 

[Artstu]

Dragging weight up

i have the Performance line i am towing about 56lbs at the moment at some point it could be anything up too 300lbs of weight

I think you need to accept that what you want to do requires a lot of energy.

 

[soundwave]

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[Danidl]

Dragging weight up


I think you need to accept that what you want to do requires a lot of energy.

Look at the graphic I provided on another thread. You could reasonably assume that a trailer carrying 50kg equates to another bike, and work out the consumption...

 

[Rohloffboy]

Can't comment on the Nuvinci, although a friend who has both Rohloff and Nuvinci prefers the Roholoff.

I have been riding my Rohloff bike, for 14 years, and it just gets better with each year, the Rohloff Hub cost me £500 new back in 2004.

Just replaced my Gear Cables for the second time, can't complain at 7 years usuage, and the only wear was in the External Clickbox, just fraied cables.

I have not towed with my Rohloff, but I am sure it would be fine to do so.

I am just waiting for the right ebike to come along, with a bit of luck it will be a Bafang Max Drive, although I waiting to find out about the new Halfords Boardman Crank Drive ebike to be announced, either will be a worthy contender for my Rohloff.

Just been out on the Trails (Tarmac) today, having just upgraded my bike with Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tyre's (26" X 1.5") had to change the mudguards from SKS Bluemels to Gilles Berthoud Stainless 26" x 50mm what a difference my old bike just gets better.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

So i have been told the trekking rings are the the sprockets 20t to 16t
when you are going below 16t you are on the mountain bike rings then

For commuting they say 20t or 16 teeth is advised

There's no such thing as a trekking ring. they're just saying that those sizes would be right for a trekking style of riding. They say the lower ones are for MTBs because those guys need low gearing for climbing. you need low gearing for towing. Surely, you can figure that out.

 

[Trevormonty]

300lbs is big ask of any drive train. The SRAM 3spd would give you low gearing but may not handle that much load, Rohloff should be up to it, combined with 14-15t chainring.

If fitting new hub, would pay to get wheel rebuilt with stronger spokes and rim.

 

[Danidl]

300lbs is big ask of any drive train. The SRAM 3spd would give you low gearing but may not handle that much load, Rohloff should be up to it, combined with 14-15t chainring.

If fitting new hub, would pay to get wheel rebuilt with stronger spokes and rim.

..My understanding is that he has a Bosch cd unit and is looking for a sufficiently low gearing system. The best estimate is that towing a trailer is like powering two bikes from the same motor. He will need very low gearing , for any uphills and expect battery consumption to be close to 3 times normal. Since all the power is going via a single back wheel and chain, these will need to be very strong. The type of wheel and spokes used on the old style butchers bike or cargo bike or post office bike should be considered.

 

[EddiePJ]

Probably a daft idea, but I shall say it anyway.

Perhaps one for d8veh. Could the trailer not have it's own motor and battery, which could some how be linked to operate in conjunction with the main bike?

 

[Mac_user82]

Probably a daft idea, but I shall say it anyway.

Perhaps one for d8veh. Could the trailer not have it's own motor and battery, which could some how be linked to operate in conjunction with the main bike?

They do make battery-powered trailers but they are about £4000 and if i was been honest with you i haven't got that sort of money to be throwing around for a bit of towing

 

[EddiePJ]

Ouch.