Old 01-24-20, 09:01 AM
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scarlson 
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Location: Medford MA
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Bikes: Ron Cooper touring, 1959 Jack Taylor 650b ladyback touring tandem, Vitus 979, Joe Bell painted Claud Butler Dalesman, Colin Laing curved tube tandem, heavily-Dilberted 1982 Trek 6xx, René Herse tandem

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Originally Posted by agustanz
Nuvinci variable ratio rear hub...Thoughts??...
Don't do it. These things are friction boxes. I built an N360 into a wheel for use on a commuter and it was absolutely awful. I estimate between 10 and 20% of my effort was lost in the hub. I rode it in the winter and the hub would warm up appreciably enough to melt snow and ice on it. Also they weigh a lot. Like 2.5kg or something, you can look up the specs on their latest model. If you want internal gears, my advice is to stick with a Shimano. The Nexus and Alfine 7 and 8 speed hubs are affordable, reliable, and easy to repair, and I've used them too and they seem tolerable.

I did a sort of restomod to a Raleigh DL-1 a while back, but then I put it all back to original and sold it. What I used was a Sturmey Archer drum brake/dynamo in front and a Shimano rollerbrake on an internally geared hub in back. I did not use a Sturmey Archer drum brake internally geared hub (modern offerings now I think are 5 and 8 speed) because of the way they do gear ratios: low gear is 1:1 and then subsequent gears are higher. Most internally geared hubs have a middle gear as 1:1. The Sturmey Archer offerings are thus good for small-wheeled bikes, but would require a funny looking drivetrain (smallish chainring) and possibly have more friction losses in the gears you use most.
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