Occasionally I see posters asking for an opinion of the NuVinci CVT. I've used a NuVinci Harmony for the last 18 months and have been very happy with it.
Whether or not the NuVinci will suit you depends on where you sit on the convenience / performance curve. With the NuVinci Harmony you select a preferred cadence and never have to change gears again. Note that the 'ordinary' NuVinci has a manual shift so is less convenient but cheaper. Being a CVT, the NuVinci also puts less stress on the crank drive. Judging by recent posts, people with crank drive stepped gears have to waft incense and pray to the cycling gods that their motor won't develop a death rattle whenever they change gear uphill. On the other hand the weight and lower efficiency of the NuVinci means you have to expend more calories and/or battery to go the same distance, so its not sporty.
Fallbrook - the makers of the NuVinci - refuse to publish efficiency figures. When making my decision I found this article useful in which the efficiency of various cycle gear types was measured. It is in German but Google Translate does a reasonable job.
http://fahrradzukunft.de/17/wirkungsgradmessungen-an-nabenschaltungen-2/
Whether or not the NuVinci will suit you depends on where you sit on the convenience / performance curve. With the NuVinci Harmony you select a preferred cadence and never have to change gears again. Note that the 'ordinary' NuVinci has a manual shift so is less convenient but cheaper. Being a CVT, the NuVinci also puts less stress on the crank drive. Judging by recent posts, people with crank drive stepped gears have to waft incense and pray to the cycling gods that their motor won't develop a death rattle whenever they change gear uphill. On the other hand the weight and lower efficiency of the NuVinci means you have to expend more calories and/or battery to go the same distance, so its not sporty.
Fallbrook - the makers of the NuVinci - refuse to publish efficiency figures. When making my decision I found this article useful in which the efficiency of various cycle gear types was measured. It is in German but Google Translate does a reasonable job.
http://fahrradzukunft.de/17/wirkungsgradmessungen-an-nabenschaltungen-2/
