L Arnold

Excited to show the full Gates Carbon Drive conversion on this Dahon Mu N360. The Nuvinci N360 transmission is extremely durable and smooth to ride. The Gates belt system seems to double that. No grease, very quiet, clean compact and durable... Nuvinci Hub, Gates Carbon Drive and Dahon Mu Frame makes a great combination.

This unit was built to order and took considerable exploration to get to finality.
The upside of this is that I want to build some more.

I was running out for the holidays and missed the whole bike pic, but I thought I would put this up to see.
A few other things in the works but let me see if they work first.

Happy Holidays everyone!

jur

That looks like a very neat build!

zebede

It appears that the frame is designed to accommodate the nuvinci and gates carbon drive with the dual cable guides and, single rear stay and recess for belt. Perfect.

L Arnold

I am looking at getting the cables routed along the frame better. I didn't notice this until the picture. Should work to do so.

Did take some work to get the alignment. The bike comes with a chain drive which is a much easier/looser fit.

Second Bike starts on Tuesday. This one here was proto 1 (available and looking for a friend (PM me if interested anyone)

wernst

As it happens, I took delivery of a Mu N360 this month to replace my stolen Mariner. Belt drives are mondo cool, and was something I was hoping to look into down the road, just to see. PM sent.

BTW, my cable arrangement is slightly different - more horizontal. Don't forget there needs to be easy access to pull the cable housing from the plastic bracket to make wheel removal possible, so I'm not sure how day-to-day practical it would be to reroute the cables behind the seatstay.

I'm installing racks and fenders over this holiday break - I'll post "stock" photos when it's done.

-Warr

L Arnold

Yes, the cables want to be Horizontal as pictured This seems to be the original path - but I will verify against another n360 which should be arriving tomorrow. Finishing angle is somewhat adjustable when the wheel is being installed.

You are right, that routing along the higher seatstay line would be aesthetic but not very practical. Cable leverage and tube bend radii both would seem to be challenged.

I have found pulling the cables from the housing gets easier with practice. Pretty slick system.

I've had Shimano, Sram Nuvinci and they all are different in the cabke disconnect but have ended up being easy enough once taken on. I should explore the Rohloff I have in shop next. Fun fun.

I like the belt drive a lot. Mondo is a great word. Best.

JonathanGennick 

In theory you can change the orientation of the hub interface. The following video shows how, starting from about the two-minute mark:


Love what you done w/your bike, btw. I don't usually visit the folding forum, but your thread title caught my eye. My winter errand-running bike is setup with Gates and Nuvinci.

fegoalbe

Which Gates parts you bought for the upgrade? I have a Dahon Mu N360 and I’m worried for the right size of carbon drive parts (number of tooths, belts size)

L Arnold

I will send you a PM. I have 2 different Kits worked up for this and can get them to you directly.

Its a great system. It took me about a month to get the variations all together.

unclejemima

Not that it really matters but don’t your guys find the nuvinci super heavy?! I have 2 bikes each with a nuvinci and though I love them the shear weight of them always has me wondering if I made the right choice.

I think nuvinci has a n410 or something now as well? Wonder if it’s heavier or lighter than the n360?

unclejemima

Sorry I guess it’s a n380 and n330 they have now. Both are 2450 grams and or 5.4lbs.
Not sure how much the n360 weighed but I imagine very similar.
They have a n380se but not sure what it’s purposes is?

L Arnold

Weight of the NuVinci is not it's strong suit. What is nice is that shifting is "not shifting". More like spreading soft butter. Coupling with the belt it is quiet and clean.

I have also coupled now with a 2 speed Crank and bumped the Gear range to 545%. Really nice. Totally makes up for the weight of the Nuvinci itself. Right now I think it is the best setup, even better than the Rohloff because you can get everywhere in the range really easily.

I've got kits of both builds available.

Rob_E

What do you use for your 2-speed crank? I have considered going this route with my full-sized bike moreso than my folding bike, but both could benefit from the increased gear range. I used to run a Nuvinci with two chainrings up front, and I did find that it had more range that way then I could ever make use of. In fact, I eventually removed the front derailler and kept the chain on the big ring at home and on the small ring when touring.

Now both of my bikes have Shimano 8-speed hubs, and I've been thinking a two speed crank could increase the range but still let me keep that "single speed" drive train simplicity. And it would let me have multiple wheelsets and decent range without having to buy a new Nuvinci hub for every new wheel.

L Arnold

I am using the Patterson 2 Speed Crankset. It starts with a 28 tooth Chainwheel (for chains). I convert it to a 130BCD system so if using chains you need to start with the smallest 130 BCD sprocket.

Dealing with smaller wheels and sprocket choices you need to do some calculations as to what is best for your bike.

L Arnold

I forgot to show,

Here is the new build on this. Really sweet. My math says I end up with a 576% gear range and I am splitting the difference from the standard Mu N360 Spread, so I can climb better and ride faster. I would have space to move that ratio to prefer more "down" or "up" the gear set if wanted.

unclejemima

With the Patterson 2 Speed Crankset how do you shift from high to low? Can you do so by s handlebar mounted shifter or do you have to press a button on the actual crank?

L Arnold

Handlebar mounted click or twist shifter of your choice on the Patterson. It works well.

DoctorJG

Is it possible to send me a parts list for the conversion?


Thanks in advance.

fietsbob

that's describing the a Schlumpf speed or mountain drive..
You did not see a button in the center of the crank arm did you?



...

Joe Remi

That's a cool-looking setup, but I had a Patterson and that baby was heavy! Combined with the weight of the NuVinci, I'm not sure I see the benefit of doing this over a standard IGH or derailleur Dahon.

L Arnold

I'm out of the office this weekend (plus Thurs Fri) so speaking from memory.

The standard kit has:
BB
Crank Set
front and rear Gates Sprockets
Gates Belt
Belt Tensioner

The advanced set replaces the crank set with the Patterson transmission.
Add front Shifting control plus cable set and fixtures.
Gates Set is different than in the standard to bring the full range of the Patterson drive.
I rode this week and you could ride up Everest with it. I felt as well it would keep power on a prolonged downhill.

It's a very nice ride I feel. Has taken, on my side, some considerable tuning and adjustment sets to optimize

Greyghost38405

Landis,

I'd love to ask you a few questions about this conversion. I'm a newby on the board. Can you pm me?

Cheers,
Doug

originalbbeast

If you could send me a pm with the kit information that would be fantastic. I am a newbie to this board and am looking to convert a dahon to carbon belt drive. Thanks for all your help!