Originally Posted by
cplager
I'd also investigate using Nuvinci hub, etc...
I was surfing the Dahon line-up this evening and came across the
Mu N360. It has the Nuvinci N360 hub. I ran the gear inches and it comes out to 24-88, infinitely variable. The downside is it is a 20" bike. The hub range is the equivalent of a 9-32t cassette, only without any jumps between gears. That would sure be nice. I run in to some scenarios riding with other people that I can't find a good spot to fit in my cadence vs. speed because one gear is too low and one is too high. I usually take the low gear and spin faster (cadence in to the low 90's vs. high 70's). The CVT aspect would eliminate that - so long as the adjustment range covers my cadence and ground speed, which the N360 does.
The next question is if I can't find the "right" set up ready to ride out of the box, maybe taking a stock bike and adding the hub would be worth the effort/expense - maybe even a double crank. Since there is no cassette in the rear there is no alignment to worry about with one cog - all the chain alignment would be in the chain rings. Though, this set up would require derailleurs to pull off.