Cycling Equipment · Public discussion

Planning on building a new bike

Started by khokkanen · · Last activity · 3 posts · 1,351 views

← Back to Cycling Equipment

This thread is locked and is currently read-only.

Thread details

What we know about this thread

Original section
Cycling Equipment
Published
21 September 2011
Last activity
21 September 2011
Original author
khokkanen
Posts
3
Discussion status
Public discussion
Total views
1,351
Views / 30 days
0
Topics
Belt drive systemsDisc brakesIndoor trainersE-bikes

The navigation and discussion metadata provide context. Posts remain in their original chronological order.

Showing posts 1–3 of 3
Posts remain in their original chronological order.

Text size
  1. Original post
    khokkanen
    Archived post
    #1

    I have thought about building a new ride for myself for about a year now and recently started to plan it seriously. It'll be a year or perhaps two before I can actually afford it, even if I buy it one piece at a time, but I like planning stuff, even if the plan never bears fruit.

    So I naturally set my sights high: a fully suspended all-terrain monstrosity with NuVinci N360 rear hub, Gates CenterTrack belt drive and Shimano IM81 roller brakes. Full suspension is there to literally save my ass - the roads/lanes in my city are horrible and the curbs are murder.

    The problem I currently face is that it's really, really difficult to find a frame for this setup. Both the NuVinci hub and the belt drive set some rather interesting requirements for it. The rear fork has to be wide enough for it and the suspension has to be such that it works with the CenterTrack.

    As you can probably guess from the setup, I'm not very worried about the weight of this bike. I'm actually far more interested in keeping it low-maintenance, which is the main reason for choosing many of these parts.

    Any advice on this? I'd hate to have someone make me a frame for this, even though it might fit the best.

    Here's the current parts list:

    • Shimano IM81 roller brakes (both front and back)
    • NuVinci N360 with Gates rear cog (perhaps I'll upgrade to Harmony later and make this an e-bike)
    • Gates CenterTrack
    • Brake levers and cables from Shimano (probably IM65)
    • Shimano hub dynamo (DH-3R35) and overvoltage protector (SM-DH10, if available)
    Report
  2. dabac
    Archived post
    #2

    I think you're setting yourself up for a disappointment with that spec. NuVinci is still so new that I don't think anyone can tell you much about maintenance/durability.
    A Rohloff or a Shimano Alfine in an fully enclosed chain case will give you plenty of life at a fraction of the challenges.
    And for low maintenance you really don't want to go full sus. Recommended service intervals for decent shocks/forks are ridiculously low, and rear swing bearings aren't particularly long lived either.
    If sus for a bike intended for road use is such an issue, I'd be inclined to just look at the widest tires available, maybe together with a sus seat post. Either wide Schwalbe Big Apples run on low pressure, or if you're set on the exotic, a Surly Pugsley.
    Either way, you really shouldn't leave the bike to deal with everything. The ability to "go light", to get out of the saddle when you hit a bump is a really helpful technique.
    And while roller brakes are low maintenance, they are also noticeably weaker. IMO, discs are a preferable option. Lighter, better braking, and the upkeep isn't exactly daunting.

    Report
  3. khokkanen
    Archived post
    #3

    Considering that the life span of my stock bikes this far has been around three to five years before I give up on them I think NuVinci has been around long enough. I've also understood from people who have it that it's amazing.

    True, I know that full suspension is a [censored] when it comes to maintenance. That's why I asked here. I was also advised on another forum to look at different type of a frame altogether as per the image:
    [IMG]cyclingforums.com414[/IMG]

    This actually seems like a workable idea. Need to find some place to test drive a bike like that, of course. Since we have long winters here I will be driving in pretty cold, snowy and icy conditions so wider wheels are always a good thing.

    The roller brakes was a choice between them and disc brakes. Since I rarely drive with loads that I do not carry in a backpack and my average speed is low by true enthusiast's standards I saw no need to enhance the braking power with disc brakes. Yet, to be cautious, I chose the rollers with the most power.

    Report

Keep exploring

Browse the sectionCycling Equipment Return to CyclingForumsStart at the home page Search discussionsFind another thread

Active in the last 60 minutes

Active in this thread

0 users · 0 guests ·0 bots ·0 total

No signed-in users are active right now.

No known search crawlers active right now.