I once saw what was obviously a Citi Bike spray painted black chained to a lamppost. At least this one has a better paint job.

There definitely is a gearing problem with some of these NuVinci bikes. I always suspected it, but can't be sure, thinking it could be due to headwind or maybe the jeans I am wearing were too grabby. But the last one I rode, I was spinning like mad and thought I don't feel like I am going that fast, so I pulled up next to someone riding the new 3 speed ones, and I am definitely doing a higher RPM.

Then as I docked, I gave it a rough measure of how many wheel turns I will get for every turn of the crank, and it was around 2.4. Then I grabbed went to another NuVinci bike and measured something like 3.3. From now on, if I encounter a NuVinci whose highest gear feels low, I will press the wrench button. Or maybe I won't even take one of these bikes out, since the chance of getting stuck with a low geared bike seems pretty high.

This is confusing and contradictory, first the hubs are only able to spin at a max of 1.7 wheel rotations to one rear cog rotation. Secondly if you were spinning at a higher RPM you would have seen the wheel spin at around .5 rotations per rear cog rotation. If you look at the max under/overdrive on the nuvinci link this will show that the lowest and highest "gears".

To put this in perspective, the Sturmey-Archer's highest gear is 1.33 wheel rotations to rear cog rotations. The Shimano Nexus is 1.36. So the overdrive gear is a higher one. The low gears for SA=.75 and for Shimano=.73. So the NuVinci hub does have more of a low gear. Maybe you are turning the shifter in the wrong direction, but the gearing should be more than enough to enjoy the riding in the city.

Also if you look at the Sheldon Brown gear calculator, as I did below, you can see an immense difference. The overdrive on the Nuvinci is a little skewed because Sheldon Brown does not have the 330 hub just the 360 and 380, so I used the 360. Also the video might help, it is in a different language but it explains how the hub works from the shifter to the actual internal parts. I hope that helps because I love riding my Priority bike with a 330 on it and can't wait to get back to New York to get on the new Citibikes!



Commercial Groupset N330f - Products - nuvincicyling.com

I saved myself the trouble of taking the rear wheel off and turning the rear sprocket directly, instead, just went ahead and turned the crank, thus encountering some unknown multiplier due to the front chainring having more teeth then the rear sprocket. Thus the reason my output ratio being much higher than their specs.

As for higher rpm, i was spinning a higher rpm on the nuvinci's highest gear seeing while going the same speed as another rider with the S/A bike on its highest gear. Both of us were going probably 15mph. Not sure if i can see my rear cog while riding at that speed. All i can say is, higher rpm = lower gear ratio.

That's messed up. I think it must have been a prankster,vandalism actually. Where did they get those handlebars? they look hipsterish...

[MENTION=458351]tubesocksFred[/MENTION], have you tried writing down the frame number and contacting Citibike about the issues? I know the wrench button is there, but they may be overlooking the ratio if they see another issue is there (ie a bad chain, low air pressure, whatever it may be). Maybe it would be a good idea to take down the next bike number that you get with the issue, press the wrench button and email/twitter/call them to let them know about the issue. Just a thought on how to make it more pleasant.

It seems the NuVinci hub is now the preferred hub to install on new bikes. Their numbers are increasing.

Agreed, though the number of bikes with NuVinci hubs is low.

Most of my CitiBike trips are relatively short ... < 10 minutes ... and the version of bike I use is of absolutely no import. Last week, I had cause to bike from W 14th St to the East 70's and return ... 30 minutes northbound and 40 minutes returning southbound on the westside pedpath into a headwind. I specifically sought out bikes with the NuVinci hub. I've got to say: I really like the continuously variable adjustment. My personal bikes are geared for touring, with multi-tooth gaps between the lower gears. Frequently, no choice is quite right. With the NuVinci, I liked being able to fine-tune my selection, particularly pleasant on my return trip into a headwind.

But I'm sure what will really make the decision for Motivate is lower maintenance / higher reliability, not users' preference or comfort. I suppose because we're seeing more bikes with the NuVinci hub, that decision's been made.

Quick query: I find the direction in which the v1.0 (the Shimano hub) and the NuVinci hand grips rotate to be counter-intuitive; The Sturmey-Archer hand grip rotates in the "right" direction. No big deal. Is that just me?

[MENTION=370046]arbee[/MENTION], either direction is better than both directions. Having to switch back and forth is annoying. I'm a Sturmey-Archer bigot, so I find the SA shifter to be more intuitive, but there are at least as many Shimano heads, and it isn't possible to say which is better objectively.

Yes, it's interesting that Motivate settled on the NuVinci. I agree that reliability is probably their most important criterion. Clearly, it's not purchase cost, because those things must cost more than a Shimano or SA hub.

There might be a perception of lower maintenance requirement on the Nuvinci hub, since even if it is installed or adjusted improperly, it still shifts, and even with much of the shifting range unavailable, it won't be perceived as being broken.

It looks like the sudden lost of shifting range is a known issue with the Nuvinci hub, due to incorrect installation:

Nfinity 1 - FAQ - Service - nuvincicyling.com


Looking at the manual, it seems that the hub should be installed in full overdrive position:

https://www.nuvincicycling.com/_Resou...Nfinity_v3.pdf

Attention Folks

Isn't it about time we start a new thread ? I was thinking of calling it "Citi Bike Progress" , as this thread is getting to be almost 5 years old now, and it's cumbersome, eating up our host's bandwidth...

And the title "have started" really dates the thing...

If you all agree, I'll do it tomorrow from the iMac Desktop ...

Let me know what you think.

Citibike has already expanded to Harlem as far as 130 st.

When Citibike just started, I said somewhere that it may help reduce bike thefts. I wonder if that turned out to be the case?

Hey. You can't kill my thread!!! It's the longest running thread on any forum for anything I've ever started.

I won't do it then. I think it is the longest running thread in the Northeast, regional sub-forum...

Okay, I'll leave-it-be.

Yes, bike shops are selling fewer bikes, and many of their sales had been replacements for stolen bikes.

Anyone know when is the next phase to go further uptown past 130th?

There is no next phase. The city and Motivate are in negotiations about a next phase, but what that will look like, nobody knows. Expanding into the Bronx seems in the cards.

Contact your city council person to say what you’d like.

News, such as it is, about the next phase. It's pretty vague:

Rodriguez: Let's Lock Down a Citi Bike Expansion Deal ASAP - Streetsblog New York City

Folks in the current expansion zone, any comment on what it looks like near you?

Are you asking if people in the new neighborhoods served are using it heavily?

Just wondering if folks in upper Manhattan, Queens, or Brooklyn where bike stations where they're currently installing stations (it doesn't look like they've started in Brooklyn yet) have any comment on what it's like in their neighborhoods.

So now that the nuvinci bikes have been out for a while I find myself preferring the Gen 2 bikes with the Sturmey Archer 3 speeds. Both are somewhat hit or miss in terms of shifting (sturmey's that ghost shift or can't shift into 3rd gear and nuvincis that can't shift into overdrive).

That said, the nuvincis that can shift into overdrive, seem to take more effort to attain the same speed as the sturmey's in 3rd gear. To me it feels as if maybe there is some mechanical loss somewhere in the nuvinci hub that makes it harder to pedal than I experience with the sturmey.

Maybe it's just me but I find myself working harder to maintain the same pace on a nuvinci as I would with the sturmey.

This is based on repeated use over the same path for my commute to/from Brooklyn to downtown Manhattan.

Am I imagining it, or are they replacing SA hubs with NuVinci hubs on the older V2 bikes? I see more NuVinci hubs than SA nowadays.

I think I got one of those NuVincis with the problem you describe. I was able to increase the ratio, but it seemed like I wasn't getting the maximum.

But I have not noticed that the SA equipped bikes seem faster. I now prefer NuVinci.

It may not be mechanical loss as much as it may be that overdrive for the Nuvinci is 1.65 gearing (underdrive is .5). Where as the 3rd speed for the SA is 1.33 gearing (1st is .75). So if you are in overdrive you will be working harder because the ratio is higher. Meaning you would have to work "harder" but overall if you have the same cadence count in your head.

About one rotation per Mississippi (60 RPM) you should be moving faster with the Nuvinci than with the SA but it will be harder to turn the Nuvinci. Another way to think of it is if you have a derailleur on your bike and have it in the 14t (SA) and 11t (Nuvinci), give or take a gear inch .

[MENTION=452702]DJH8098[/MENTION], you are assuming that the cog and chainwheel sizes remain constant between the SA and NuVinci. Do you know that to be the case?