Robert C

I am asking because I was looking at this thread, where the OP reports having gone through three NuVinci hubs.

I happen to like them and have them on two of my bikes. I am wondering what types of failures people are having with them. I realize that cycling is very traditionalist; that is why I am asking about actual, observed, failures.

Rob_E

There may be a better place to ask this. Mechanic's section perhaps, or commuters. People touring on Nuvinci hubs is pretty small group. Also, I (the person who started that other thread) do not think my experiences are typical. I originally got the Nuvinci because I heard it was very reliable, and I don't see very few people mentioning failures. I think I was just unlucky, or perhaps my riding style or physique (Clyde) make me more prone to break things. So now we're looking for people who tour on Nuvinci hubs who are in the minority of Nuvinci owners who experiance hub failures. That may just be me.

I may have mentioned it in the other thread, but I'll share my history with these hubs.

1. My first N171 was showing signs of some fluid escaping on the non-drive side, I think. It wasn't pouring out, but you could see a line of residue and how one spoke would get dirty if the bike was left in the same position for a long period of time (days, I imagine). I contacted support, they had me send it in, and they sent it back, repaired. I believe the early N171s had a batch that had bad seals, and I think that that was one failure point that was mentioned by more than one person in Internetland. At the time Nuvinci had a 5 year warrantee, and I don't think anyone had problems getting it fixed. I don't think the later N171s had this issue.

2. Same hub, I think. One of the three "mustache clips" that hold the guts together on the non-drive side fell off. Support happily sent me another clip with the screw to replace it.

3. Same hub. One day it just started spinning in the lower range without catching. By shifting to high gear, I could get it to catch, but low gear was spinning freely and transferring no power to the wheel. Support replaced the hub.

4. I think less than a month before I hit my 5 year anniversary of buying the first hub, my replacement hub did the same thing. They replaced it with an N360.

5. In the mean time, I had bought a 2nd Nuvinci hub, an N360, from some on-line retailer who was clearing out some old stock fairly cheaply. I used that hub for about a year when the freewheel mechanism gave out, and it was spinning freely instead of transmitting power to the hub. This was different than the other failures because it was all about the freewheel mechanism, and not about the internals of the hub. Support told me this was a rare, but not unheard of issue with early model N360s in which one of the clips would come off. They replaced it with a newer N360 that was made after that issue had been resolved.

The final warranty replacement for my original hub had been built into a wheel for my Raleigh Twenty. That bike was never ridden as much as my Trucker, but it did take me on one short tour and a few other trips, and the hub never had any issues. I think it went for two years without issue before being destroyed, but that wasn't hub's fault.

The warranty replacement for my second hub was never built into a wheel, at least not by me. I had decided that I had built enough Nuvinci wheels in past 6 years or so, and I decided to try something else. I passed the hub on to a friend who had always been interested in the hub. I don't know if he ever got around to building it up.

There's still a lot I like about the hub. I don't think my experiences are at all typical, but after three broken hubs, I decided to try something else. I will also say that support never gave me a hard time. They asked me if I had kept the hub in the approved gear range, which I had. They took me at my word, and replaced the hub without issue. They seemed very surprised that I had broken two N171s. The 2nd time they asked if I was using it in an e-bike (I wasn't). They said they had encountered some failures of that type, but it almost always involved the hub being used in conjunction with a motor. I will also say that I'm a heavy guy who carries too much gear when he travels and who carries too much weight on his bones, and who is more of a "masher" than a "spinner." I don't know if that contributed to my hub failures, but it probably didn't help.

Any hub that was made in 2013 or after should not, I don't think, be susceptible to failures I experienced, either. I never managed to break the one that I kept, anyway.

irwin7638

I've been using a Nuvinci N360 for about 5 years on my city bike with no problem. Think they are great. That being said, I have been doing solo, unsupported tours for 40+ years and would never consider a CVP or any brand of IGH for touring. I know somebody will flame about this, but I just don't want to be in the middle of SW Buttheadistan when the black box breaks. I'll travel on traditional gearing.

Marc

veganbikes

Cannot speak to them failing but I have ridden them at the shop and while being odd and not really my thing I do like the gear display with a little biker and a hill that moves. It is a cute and fun little feature that has no bearing on failure. I too wouldn't tour on a IGH and especially not a NuVinci because I didn't find the gearing or lack thereof to be satisfying enough.

Give me a high quality 9 speed triple gruppo for touring

FBinNY 

the basic NuVinci hub design favors speed over torque.

I suspect that those who ride with decent cadence, don't climb walls, and/or aren't pulling large payloads (including themselves) will see decent life out of the NuVincis.

OTOH those strong riders who produce power using strength (torque) rather than spinning are going to be hard on the hubs and ultimately pay the price.

On of the beauties of basic chain drive designs is that they handle a very wide band of speeds and torques well. This makes it very forgiving of strong riders who mash big gears. However, like most drive systems, chain drive also favors spinning in lower gears vs. pushing.