Originally Posted by
harshbarj
I have one and regret the purchase. The hub is likely well under 70% efficient. It feels like trying to pedal in tar. I converted a nexus 3 speed and will be going back. With the nexus I could pop my front wheel off the ground when taking off from a stop, not so with the Nuvinci. I also have to take many rests on the larger hills here when I did not need to on my nexus. I have about 150 miles on the Nuvinci and don't see putting many more, it's just that bad.
Now on flat ground the hub works as it should and is easy to shift.
I HIGHLY suggest trying one out first. At this point I feel robbed of $500.
I read something about the efficiency of it but no one had any numbers so I actually did a little experiment myself. I didn't check it over the entire range but I picked a couple spots and I found it to be within 5-7% of the efficiency of my derailleur-equipped setup. I'd be surprised if I was off more than a couple percentage points, plus I think being able to bring yourself into that optimum cadence could improve the human efficiency enough to make the whole thing a wash. I know my max power output pedaling at 80 rpm is less than it is at 100 rpm.
Any pics of the other N360-equipped bikes?