Continuously variable gearing

Electrically assisted bikes, trikes, etc. that are legal in the UK
Waterboy
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Joined: 26 Aug 2021, 11:35am

Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by Waterboy »

I had a Motus with gen2 active line and a nexus hub. Only trouble was that between us we couldn't get up 1 in 5s and steeper - and there's a lot of them round Plymouth. So I upgraded to a Corratec with a Bosch CD and (accidentally as it's what the bike came with, not what I was expecting) a compatible enviolo hub.

3 months and 500 miles in, and I have to say I'm delighted with it. I honestly couldn't say if it's the new gears, the more powerful motor, the wide tyres, the spare battery I bought for it, or the "go faster" paint job but my cycling has been reinvigorated, no longer being frightened of steep hills (copd makes walking them no-no) and at 76 I'm even dipping a toe into mountain biking.

I'd say it took about a week for me to adjust to having continuous gears, and even now I tend to change up in steps. It's changing down, with the ability to continually balance cadence and knee pressure where it comes into it's own.
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Cowsham
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Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by Cowsham »

Waterboy wrote: 26 Aug 2021, 8:59pm I had a Motus with gen2 active line and a nexus hub. Only trouble was that between us we couldn't get up 1 in 5s and steeper - and there's a lot of them round Plymouth. So I upgraded to a Corratec with a Bosch CD and (accidentally as it's what the bike came with, not what I was expecting) a compatible enviolo hub.

3 months and 500 miles in, and I have to say I'm delighted with it. I honestly couldn't say if it's the new gears, the more powerful motor, the wide tyres, the spare battery I bought for it, or the "go faster" paint job but my cycling has been reinvigorated, no longer being frightened of steep hills (copd makes walking them no-no) and at 76 I'm even dipping a toe into mountain biking.

I'd say it took about a week for me to adjust to having continuous gears, and even now I tend to change up in steps. It's changing down, with the ability to continually balance cadence and knee pressure where it comes into it's own.
Keep your toe out of mountain biking -- it's great fun but there's too much stuff to hit. Older (mature) bones don't like hitting stuff as I found out.
I'd love a go on one of those enviolo geared bikes.
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PH
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Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by PH »

Waterboy wrote: 26 Aug 2021, 8:59pm I'd say it took about a week for me to adjust to having continuous gears, and even now I tend to change up in steps. It's changing down, with the ability to continually balance cadence and knee pressure where it comes into it's own.
Good to hear you like it.
I bottled out, decision made and money spent, I sort of had the idea I'd get used to it, but it was too big an investment to get it wrong, maybe next time...
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squeaker
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Joined: 12 Jan 2007, 11:43pm
Location: Sussex

Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by squeaker »

Jdsk wrote: 2 Aug 2021, 10:11am The Enviolo CVT hub:
https://evelo.com/pages/enviolo-cvt
Thanks, Jonathan. The full auto mode presumably does away with the twin cables of the manual version? I like the idea of being able to dial a cadence too, provided it works as claimed.
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androgen
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Joined: 28 Oct 2021, 11:27am

Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by androgen »

i have the enviolo solution and its great - however i need to adjust the cadence Ito force a gear change sooner going up hill. however in discussion with the, they suggest setting a higher cadence in the system which effectively lowers the gear ration when going up hill, effectively forcing a gear change sooner. overall really impressed (riding ice trike hd)
wheelriding
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Joined: 23 May 2021, 9:26am

Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by wheelriding »

I’ve had a manual Enviolo hub geared belt drive Kalkhoff e bike for about 6 weeks. It’s my first e bike. It’s my first with the continuous variable gears and it’s my first Kalkhoff. I’ve done 200+ miles. The gearing has taken the longest time to adapt to as it feels so odd being stepless but I really like now. I’m not sure I’d want it on a non e bike as it seems quite heavy but it complements the power assistance of a pedelec really nicely.
axel_knutt
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Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by axel_knutt »

androgen wrote: 28 Oct 2021, 11:30amthey suggest setting a higher cadence in the system which effectively lowers the gear ration when going up hill
Thereby defeating the point of an automatic. The reason you have to change gear going uphill is that optimum cadence is not a constant, it depends on your power output. The higher your power the higher your optimum cadence.
Cadence temp.png
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[XAP]Bob
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Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by [XAP]Bob »

stodd wrote: 26 Aug 2021, 11:44am
[XAP]Bob wrote: 26 Aug 2021, 9:47am Yep, but it wouldn't last as long, and would cost a fortune more in servicing and repairs, let alone fuel.
Sadly expected life of a bicycle has gone down a lot over the last decades. It seems to be even worse for electric bikes. Meanwhile, expected life of a car has significantly increased. So I'm not sure about the 'it wouldn't last as long', but I certainly agree with you on servicing and repairs.
ICE trikes are a built to last...
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jb
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Re: Continuously variable gearing

Post by jb »

[XAP]Bob wrote: 26 Nov 2021, 6:14pm
stodd wrote: 26 Aug 2021, 11:44am
[XAP]Bob wrote: 26 Aug 2021, 9:47am Yep, but it wouldn't last as long, and would cost a fortune more in servicing and repairs, let alone fuel.
Sadly expected life of a bicycle has gone down a lot over the last decades. It seems to be even worse for electric bikes. Meanwhile, expected life of a car has significantly increased. So I'm not sure about the 'it wouldn't last as long', but I certainly agree with you on servicing and repairs.
ICE trikes are a built to last...
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