Cory with his brand new Surly 1X1, with Nuvinci continuous variable hub (not an electric bike).
Cory wanted a better way to commute that was virtually maintenance-free, like a singlespeed would be. However, his commute involves traversing hills with over 20% grades, often carrying a loaded backpack. He didn't feel that this would be practical on an every day basis with a singlespeed bike. With Cory's input, we came up with a great solution for him. We started with Surly's great singlespeed platform, the 1x1. We added to it an internally geared, continuously variable hub by Nuvinci, with a custom wheel built by Cycle 9. On top of that there are nice touches like the Surly Mr Whirly crankset and Soma Noah's arc handlebars, and Cory has a bike that is rock solid, will require very minimal maintenance, and gives him an extensive gear range for hill climbing. This is a bike that will still be running in 20 years. It was not inexpensive, but it will far outlast many of the less expensive bikes, being a much better bargain in the long run.
This is the kind of solution we're here to help people with.
4 comments:
Please give more details about this bicycle. A pilot report.
Every juicy detail !
We have never seen one of these contraptions (NV transmission).
Andres from Santiago, Chile.
Hi Morgan. I've been enjoying my converted bike I got from you guys for almost a year, and it's great. I saw this story about a Dutch teenager who made his own pedal-powered plane. My immediate thought was hmmmmmm... what about an electric assist plane. I expect to see you pedalling past the moon like E.T. any day now. Regards, Craig.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/09/01/teenager-builds-pedal-powered-airplane-out-of-balsa-wood/#more-58633
@Funakoshi: Thanks for the note, that tidbit about the plane was fun. Ahhh... youth. I wish I had the time to take on projects like that... oh, wait, I started a bike store! I guess that is my project.
@Andres: Sorry that I haven't posted more details yet, I am really short on time these days. But I'll try soon. I'm also going to post about a few other new items soon.
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