![]() ![]() In 2007, Popular Science told you about the first bike to use Fallbrook Technologies’ original NuVinci n171 hub, the Ellsworth Ride, which made the Best of What’s New list. He christened the system the “NuVinci,” and founded Fallbrook Technologies to explore its applications in cycling and beyond. Fast forward some 500 years, when realtor-turned-inventor Donald Miller looked, after a bit of research, to da Vinci’s idea, and came up with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) suitable for use in a bicycle hub. In 1490, Leonardo da Vinci sketched the outline of a stepless, continually variable transmission, but it was never built. So why not do away with those pesky steps altogether? A continuously variable system does just that. Reverse it and you get a “low” gear–easy to pedal, but not much movement.īut more often than not, there is no right gear for a given situation - fourth gear is too low, fifth too high, say. A “high” gear turns a big ring up front and a small cog in back–hard to pedal, but a lot of movement from each revolution. A chain carries that force to the cogs connected to the hub in back, which in turn turns the rear wheel the ratio between the number of teeth on the chainring and the number of teeth on the current cog determines what gear you’re in. On a regular bicycle, the input force comes from your legs, turning the pedals, which in turn spin the chainring - the big toothed gear up front. It’s a revolution, really–one of the most fundamental changes to the bicycle in decades. And since everything is internal, repairs are rarely necessary. You can start at a very low gear to pedal easily and then smoothly ramp up to a higher gear as you gain speed. You can adjust it smoothly, without worrying about clicking into gears, to provide the precise right amount of resistance. ![]() It answers a question you may not have thought to ask: what if you could pick up a new ride with a transmission that made sure you’ll never be in the wrong gear?Ī NuVinci bike effectively has an infinite number of gears. We could have looked at a fancy new ultralight, but the NuVinci is the bike that’s really going to shake things up. Summer’s here and it’s time to get back on the bike. ![]()
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