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Inside gear bicycle hubs have been commercially obtainable since 1898, and are usually discovered on bicycles used for transport, fairly than high-performance sport.
They’re an awesome different to derailleur gears, as they nonetheless provide a number of gear ratios, nonetheless, the vital drive parts are all sealed away from the weather. This ends in an extremely low-maintenance drivetrain, that not solely lasts longer however is much less prone to break.
Inside gear hubs usually use planetary gear units to attain completely different gear ratios, and you may get them with as much as 14 completely different gears. These gears may be unfold throughout a spread even wider than a 1X MTB drivetrain.
You can even get repeatedly variable transmission hubs that haven’t simply 14 gears, however an infinite variety of gears between two set factors.
On this article, we are going to look at the benefits and downsides of the Enviolo CVT hubs. We are going to later evaluate these hubs to the gold commonplace of planetary gear hubs (the Rohloff hub) in addition to the closer-matched Shimano hubs. And lastly, I’ll clarify precisely how this CVT hub works.
However first, what’s a bicycle CVT?
What’s a Bicycle CVT?
A bicycle CVT is a kind of gearbox that eliminates the steps between every of your gears. As a substitute of shifting out of your first gear to second, and second to 3rd, the transition between gears is totally seamless, creating the smoothest shifting potential, and permitting you to journey at your good cadence – or crank rotation pace.
CVTs are widespread in industrial and automotive purposes however are unusual on bicycles. Nonetheless, there are vital benefits to a bicycle CVT together with a really user-friendly design, gear adjustments whereas stationary, no gear skipping, and an eerily silent operation.
And when paired with digital shifting, you possibly can even obtain totally automated shifting that retains your legs spinning at your most well-liked cadence, regardless of the pace, and with out you even having to consider it.
So, the place did this CVT know-how come from?
NuVinci to Enviolo
A hub known as the NuVinci 171 was launched in 2006 by Fallbrook Applied sciences. On the time, it was about 4 kilograms (8.8lb), which was greater than twice as heavy as another gear hub.
Over time, the hubs have been refined, the burden was introduced down by 40%, the gear vary was elevated, and the hubs have been engineered for a broader vary of purposes.
NuVinci was later rebranded to Enviolo as a part of a chapter restructuring.
Nowadays the corporate is prospering. Over two million bicycles now use their CVT hubs, together with many in bike share fleets around the globe. You will discover Enviolo-equipped bikes from over 150 completely different bike manufacturers and a 3rd of these use digital shifting.
I’ve already touched on a number of the benefits of inner gear hubs and CVTs, nevertheless it wouldn’t be a CyclingAbout article with out a deep-dive evaluation.
Benefits of Enviolo CVT Hubs
The Consumer-Pleasant Design
The large drawcard of a CVT hub is its user-friendly design. There is only one rotary shifter, and it’s extremely intuitive to make use of. In the event you really feel like your legs are spinning too quick, you wind the shifter a method, and in case your legs are struggling up a hill, you wind it the opposite. It’s actually so simple as that.
As well as, the Enviolo hubs may be shifted at any time (together with whereas stationary) so it doesn’t ever matter in case you’ve forgotten to shift.
The On the spot and Stepless Gearing
As quickly as you rotate the shifter, the CVT is immediately engaged. You by no means have to attend for any gear adjustments, and there’s no likelihood of your chain skipping between gears.
The step-less gearing additionally ensures you’re by no means caught in between gear ratios. This implies your cadence can all the time be precisely as you need.
The Digital Shifting
In the event you use an eBike with a mid-motor, each digital shifting, and automated gear adjustments are potential.
First, you set your required cadence in RPM in your smartphone (or eBike show). Then the motor and shifter will work collectively to robotically hold you at your good RPM – regardless of the biking pace.
And whenever you cease at site visitors lights, the shifter may even put you within the good gear for take-off.
As well as, this method permits for ‘guide’ gear shifting in 5% increments just by urgent up and down on the thumb buttons. That is notably helpful for riders who nonetheless need gear management, however have hand or wrist impairments. It’s additionally an awesome improve over the guide shifter too, for causes we’ll focus on within the disadvantages part.
It’s price noting that an digital shifting retrofit can be potential on some eBike and hub mixtures.
The Clean and Silent Operation
Most inner gear hubs generate noise because the planetary gears are whirring away contained in the hub physique. Some hubs have extra inner noise and vibrations than others, and there are even hubs on the market that continuously tick when you pedal.
The Enviolo is essentially the most silent gear hub of the lot – you nearly by no means hear it working beneath you.
The Decreased Susceptibility to Injury
As there isn’t any derailleur to knock or get issues caught in, the Enviolo drivetrains are a lot much less prone to break. That is one purpose why they’re so standard for bike fleets.
The Suitability For All Climate Circumstances
In comparison with derailleur gears, the Enviolo gear parts are all hidden away and sealed from the weather. This reduces each part put on and drivetrain upkeep considerably.
The hubs can be used all the way down to -20° Celsius in addition to within the planet’s hottest circumstances.
The Low Upkeep Design
Extremely, the Enviolo hubs are sealed for the lifetime of the bike they’re working on. Meaning zero oil adjustments and 0 bearing adjustments too.
The hub comes with a assure for 20,000km of use, however some customers have reported exceeding 80,000km, which is analogous to some Shimano Alfine or Nexus hubs.
The one upkeep required is cable replacements for the rotary shifter and presumably a service of the freewheel mechanism too.
The Relative Affordability
In comparison with different gear hub choices, the Enviolo merchandise are thought of inexpensive. And whenever you issue within the decreased want to exchange worn parts – these hubs develop into much more fairly priced.
There are at present six completely different Enviolo hubs with costs beginning at US $199 and maxing out at US $499. There may be even a gearbox with a sprocket on either side that’s meant for three-wheel cargo bikes.
Once you spend more cash, you basically get a wider gear vary, and extra premium hub shell and inner parts. You additionally get a better enter torque score and hubs that may be fitted to heavier bikes.
The easiest way to match Enviolo hubs is to take a look at the spec sheets on the web site.
The Discount in Chain Trouble
Offered you retain up your chain pressure, additionally, you will by no means expertise dropped chains, skipping chains or chain slapping in your body. It’s all the advantages of a single-speed bike however with infinite gear ratios.
The Belt Drive Compatibility
Higher but, you possibly can pair Enviolo hubs with easy and silent belt drivetrains. You’ve in all probability already observed that almost all Enviolo-equipped bikes include belts.
That’s as a result of belt drive works out to be decrease upkeep than chain drive, because it doesn’t require any grease or lubrication. Because of this, belts keep very clear – you’ll by no means get black muck in your fingers or pants ever once more.
Belts additionally don’t rust, don’t stretch, and are very long-lasting too. Most cyclists go years while not having to exchange a belt or sprocket. I’ve not too long ago put 35,000km (22,000mi) right into a belt drivetrain, which is greater than 3 times additional than I’d count on from a effectively cared for chain.
However in case you desire a lower-cost chain drivetrain, keep in mind that you could match a series case with an Enviolo hub. This retains water and grit away out of your chain, and can possible double its put on life.
The Stronger Rear Wheels
Enviolo hub flanges are each the identical peak and are spaced equally from the body on either side. Not like a typical cassette hub, this ends in even spoke pressure, constructing the strongest wheel potential.
The Excessive Enter Torque Ranking
Excessive-torque eBike motors are a good way to break inner gear hubs. The excellent news is that the Enviolo hubs are rated as much as 100Nm enter torque, which is greater than the Shimano Nexus 5-speed hub (85Nm).
Some producers akin to EVELO have discovered the Enviolo Trekking hub will comfortably deal with a 600-watt, 120Nm motor. In accordance with the corporate, Enviolo hubs are their most dependable gear system with lower than a 1% guarantee alternative fee. They’ve a lot confidence within the hubs they even prolong the guarantee period.
Proper, in spite of everything that I in all probability sound like a spokesperson for Enviolo, so we have to have a look at the disadvantages too.
Disadvantages of Enviolo CVT Hubs
The Drive Effectivity
Once you put pedal energy into the Enviolo hub, a few of that energy is misplaced by means of the transmission.
Most inner gear hubs are someplace between 3% and seven% much less environment friendly than a wonderfully clear and lubricated derailleur drivetrain (on common). Compared, the Enviolo CVT hub is round 14% much less environment friendly (on common).
Now, I do know 14% appears like so much, however that is actually not a giant deal for a lot of customers, notably those that use their bikes for transport. And the good thing about all the time utilizing the right cadence would possibly even outweigh the drive effectivity loss.
When utilizing an everyday bike on a 5km flat journey alongside a motorcycle path, I’ve calculated you would possibly lose 20 seconds over 11 minutes in comparison with a Shimano inner gear hub (200W @ 100kg weight, gear 6). And in case you have been to make use of an eBike, you may count on barely much less vary out of your battery. However we’re speaking a handful of kilometres right here in comparison with different gearboxes – it’s nothing drastic.
That is clearly no large deal for brief city journeys, however the battery vary or time penalty would possibly after all add up for long-distance use.
The Weight
These hubs are round 800 grams (1.8lbs) heavier than a Shimano Alfine inner gear hub with the same gear vary. And they’re round 700 grams heavier than a Rohloff hub that provides a a lot wider gear vary.
Now, I’ve mentioned this earlier than and I’ll say it once more: bike weight impacts biking pace a lot lower than you suppose. It is because 800 additional grams is probably going simply 1 or 2% additional weight to your total system weight (physique+bike+gear).
Once we run the calculations, this weight distinction will barely gradual you down on the flat, and within the hills, it’s possible only a one or two-minute penalty per 100km of biking.
The place weight turns into extra essential is in case you continuously carry your bike up and down stairs.
The Heavy Shift Actuation
Some folks discover the Enviolo guide shifter to be fairly stiff to rotate. And it’s even tougher to alter gears when the shifter will get moist.
If in case you have hand or wrist points, the Shimano Alfine hubs with a set off or Di2 shifter could be the higher possibility. Or in case you’re planning on utilizing an eBike anyway, merely select the Enviolo digital shifter.
The Quick-Sporting Shift Cables
The Enviolo hub when coupled with the guide shifter is notoriously robust on cables. Nonetheless, the period the cables keep in good working situation is often based mostly on how easily and thoroughly you shift.
Listed here are a few issues to bear in mind when shifting.
Firstly, make certain to again off in your pedal energy for a cut up second to make your shifts. This takes a little bit of time to grasp however turns into second nature very quickly. Doing this enables the interior hub parts to maneuver with ease, placing much less pressure in your cables.
Secondly, you don’t need to drive the shifting. You typically can not rotate the shifter throughout the complete gear vary when your bike is stationary, so solely rotate it as a lot because the hub will permit. It’s additionally fairly simple to pressure the cables by rotating the shifter previous the best and lowest shift factors, so strive to pay attention to these limits.
And lastly, preserve your cables! This entails retaining them clear and lubricated, ensuring the cables have the suitable pressure, and checking for any sharp bends within the exterior housing.
In the event you hold this stuff in thoughts, your cables can final for years.
The Wheel Elimination
Rear wheel elimination is just not fairly as simple on an Enviolo bike.
With the digital shifting, you simply pull the connector cable and might take away your wheel with a spanner or Allen keys (relying on the hub mannequin).
It’s a bit trickier with the guide shifter as a result of two cables should be unhooked from the hub interface earlier than dropping your wheel. Additionally, make certain to keep away from bumping the hub interface as you possibly can unintentionally scale back the gear vary of your hub.
If the hub interface is moved, the Enviolo channel has a video exhibiting you how you can reset it.
The Low Gear That’s Not That Low
The Enviolo hubs require a minimal front-to-rear sprocket ratio of two:1. This ends in a climbing pace of 8kph whenever you’re pedalling at 60RPM or a low gear of roughly 28 gear inches.
To place this into context, the climbing pace on many mountain bikes is commonly 30 to 40% decrease. And even light-weight gravel bikes have a ten% decrease climbing gear.
Whereas this climbing gear is completely sufficient for many city makes use of, in case you’re planning on biking in hilly terrain with out electrical help (suppose 10% or steeper), the Enviolo climbing gear is probably going not low sufficient.
The Gear Vary
The gear vary of the Enviolo hubs is between 256% and 380%. This merely means the highest gear is 2.56 occasions (or 3.8x) larger than the smallest gear.
To place these numbers into context, trendy derailleur drivetrains exceed 500% gear vary, and there are gearbox drivetrains that even exceed 600%.
Once more, a smaller gear vary works for many city environments. That’s particularly the case you probably have electrical help. The place it turns into a bit restricted is if you wish to climb each steep hills and have the gears for high-speed cruising too.
The Want To Ship Away Enviolo Hubs For Restore
The Enviolo hubs are usually not a typical product present in bicycle shops exterior of Europe, so that you would possibly must ship your hub to a service centre for restore. And sure, there’s a large service centre in the USA.
In different areas, the bike firms that promote Enviolo-equipped bikes are often in a position to assist.
However it’s price noting that issues with the hubs are fairly unusual, and most points can often be solved by altering the shifter or changing the cables and/or freewheel mechanism.
Proper, let’s discover out what the additional US $1000 will get you in case you have been to improve to a Rohloff hub.
Enviolo Hub vs. Rohloff Hub
Briefly, shopping for a Rohloff ensures a longer-lasting hub, that’s lighter, way more environment friendly, and with each decrease and better gear ratios. It’s going to additionally deal with extra torque from a mid-mount eBike motor.
Rohloff hubs are identified for his or her long-term sturdiness – there may be even a Rohloff on the market that has travelled 500,000km, which is 5 to 10 occasions additional than you possibly can count on from an Enviolo.
In terms of drive effectivity, the Rohloff has been examined to be over 94% environment friendly throughout its total gear vary in comparison with Enviolo’s 83% (common). With all issues being equal, this ends in round a 1.5kph distinction in pace on the flat (200w, 100kg complete weight) making the Rohloff undoubtedly the best choice for long-distance use. It’s additionally the easiest way to get the utmost vary from a battery.
The Rohloff additionally presents a 526% gear vary in comparison with Enviolo’s 380%. This lets you journey at each a lot decrease and better speeds.
The lowest permissible gear ratio may be set significantly decrease on a Rohloff, making steeper hills a lot simpler to beat. Actually, the bottom permissible gear on the Enviolo is the equal of the sixth gear on a Rohloff!
The Rohloff is just not solely 700 grams lighter however it would deal with as much as 130Nm from a mid-drive eBike motor. Compared, it’s 100Nm with some Enviolos.
There are extra shifter choices with the Rohloff too. If you wish to use drop bars, you have got the choice between Cinq built-in shifters and even SRAM shifting utilizing the Gebla Rohbox. And in case you use an eBike, the Rohloff has digital shifting too.
I hope now you can see the place the worth lies in a Rohloff hub. However some great benefits of the Enviolo shouldn’t be taken evenly. The hub is quieter, extra user-friendly, has automated shifting, requires zero oil adjustments, and is obtainable at a improbable value.
A fairer comparability could be to the Shimano hubs…
Enviolo Hub vs. Shimano Hubs
Once we evaluate the Enviolo to the Shimano hubs, we get a a lot nearer match-up when it comes to value (US $200-500), gear vary (409% vs 380%), lowest permissible gear ratio, and long-term sturdiness (each round 80,000km).
It might be mentioned that the Shimano feels snappier and sportier with its distinct gear adjustments, and the 800-gram weight saving helps on this regard too.
The drive effectivity distinction is round 7%, which ends up in a 1kph quicker biking pace on the flat for the Alfine hub (200w, 100kg complete weight, flat highway).
The Alfine additionally makes use of a set off shifter, which is commonly most well-liked over the Enviolo’s rotary shifter. And also you don’t want an eBike to make use of the digital shifting choices for Shimano hubs too.
That mentioned, the Shimano hubs are a bit noisier, the gears can skip in case you don’t preserve the cables effectively, the auto shifting is just not as seamless, the enter torque score is decrease (85Nm), and the hubs require common grease or oil adjustments.
And at last, let’s go contained in the Enviolo hubs to see how they work.
How The CVT Works
The easiest way to grasp how this hub works is to watch from 20:19 to 22:25 in my video.
We’re trying on the hub from the again of the bike, so the sprocket is on the best aspect, and the disc rotor is on the left.
Right here you possibly can see the principle shift parts: there are two rings and a set of huge steel spheres that sit on an loafer. The enter ring on the best aspect is linked to the rear sprocket, which is pushed by your legs. And the output ring on the left aspect is what propels your bike ahead.
Energy out of your pedals strikes out of your rear sprocket to the primary ring, then into the spheres, after which from the spheres to the second ring, and at last to the wheel.
One purpose why Enviolo hubs are considerably inefficient is as a result of steel spheres which are transferring in a barely completely different course (and at barely completely different speeds) to the 2 rings. This is called “contact spin”.
Apparently, these parts are usually not immediately touching. As a substitute, a specially-designed oil passes by means of microscopic areas between the parts, solidifying momentarily below stress, and transferring the pedal energy. That is why there may be such little put on inside Enviolo hubs, and why you don’t must service them.
To grasp how this hub achieves its infinite gear ratios, we have to take a better have a look at the spheres.
Once you twist the shifter on the handlebar, the loafer on the axle tilts the spheres. This adjustments the contact patch dimension on the spheres that the rings work together with.
When the contact patch is giant on the best aspect and small on the left aspect, the wheel will spin slower than the rear sprocket (underdrive). When the contact patch is small on the best aspect and huge on the left aspect, the wheel will spin quicker than the rear sprocket (overdrive). And when the contact patches are equivalent on either side, the wheel and sprocket will transfer on the similar pace (1:1).
Abstract
Congratulations, you now know nearly every part about Enviolo hubs, together with how they work!
I feel these hubs are tremendous cool. They’re intuitive to make use of, require little upkeep, are tremendous silent, and the truth that they’re priced effectively solely makes them extra interesting. At the same time as a really skilled bicycle owner, the Automatiq gear shifting was an absolute delight to make use of.
Sure, the hubs are a bit heavy and inefficient. However for a lot of consumer teams, I’m not likely positive that issues.
In the event you’re after the best-performing and longest-lasting hub, you’ll nonetheless be greatest served with a Rohloff. And for a sportier journey expertise, in addition to extra shifter choices, I feel the Shimano hubs are the way in which to go.
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