NoMoreGears

Different ways of testing

Hundreds and hundreds of people must have tested the NuVinci equipped bikes around Eurobike. As you know, some do it different then others. One of the more different styles of testing is Jens Berberich, the German champion bike trialing. Every year at Eurobike, close to the Univega booth, he is doing his tricks, jumping from bolders to tree trunks and more. For many a highlight of the show.

He took the Raleigh NuVinci, lady’s bike for a spin and it was quite a sight. I don’t know how many single handed wheelies and hops he did. In the end there was quite a crowd. What I liked most is that quite a few other testers kept riding the other Raleigh bike, oblivious to it all. Jens reaction? He liked it. Thought it was smooth. Although he spends more time in under drive than the typical rider.

Eurobike: Ways of testing a NuVinci bike

I don’t know how many people have been testing a NuVinci bike at Eurobike. I lost count. You could ride them at the Raleigh test stand just outside the huge pavilion of Raleigh, Univega, Kalkhoff and Focus, you could test the Hercules Leonardo bike in the Zeppelin hall and then we walked also around with a pair of CS2’s. Almost constantly we were adjusting the saddle so that people could ride. Some really try to kick the **** out of it. Some take it for a leisurely ride and some do this. One thing they all have in common. They come of the bike impressed and smiling.

Leonardo, meet NuVinci

On their booth in Hall A6, Hercules showcased their new Leonardo bicycle. A black beauty, with everything on it, including the shiny new black NuVinci hub. It is incredible bike and what is most amazing is the incredible value for money it provides: fully spec bike: lights, fenders, luggage rack, super saddle plus the NuVinci hub, for € 899! Next to the bike they also showed the new NuVinci video on a big screen. Often a crowd was found watching the video and turning the shifter at the same time. In the Zeppelin hall, they had a Leonardo bike to test for people interested. ATC is just very happy to welcome Hercules as a new partner in Germany.

NuVinci in Germany

I am very proud to announce that the NuVinci hub will be available on one of the oldest bike brands around. As of the next model year, the NuVinci hub will be found on the Raleigh Carlton bicycle in Germany. In fact we were their 10 days ago for their dealer show. Raleigh in Germany is part of Derby-Cycle, one of the biggest bicycle manufactures and marketeers in Europe. They are impressive. First of all their dealer days are huge. It is a seriously big event. In a way you could say that after Eurobike and IFMA it must be the third largest bicycle event in Germany. The organization, the food, the hospitality is second to none. We had two Raleigh NuVinci bikes on the test stand and one of the show stand.

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Eurobike

The summer is over (if it ever begun in Europe), people are back from their holidays, so it is time for Eurobike again. People love Eurobike and Friedrichshafen but this year the short comings in infrastructure were painfully obvious. Hotels are almost impossible to find. So everyone has to come and go by car to their hotel/. Traffic is at a standstill. Every year it is bad, but it never has been this bad. This morning it took us two hours to ride maybe 20 km tops. Parking lots are overflowing and some people had to walk 30 minutes to get to the show. Then

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The Human Engine & NuVinci: an experts view from SRM

As you might know, we are working hard on a video about what riders think about the NuVinci. We are especially interested what experts on the human engine have to say about always of being in the right gear. As anyone knows who has ever studied a car catalogue or magazine. Every motor spins at its most efficient at only one RPM. Same for our body. So we started with Ex Pro Joona Laukka who is in charge if the Cycling segment of Polar Heart rate monitors to explain this more. Last week we travelled to Germany to talk to Uli Schoberer. Uli founded SRM 20 years ago. SRM is now the ergo meter of choice for athletes the world over to measure their power output and find out the most efficient way to ride a bike. There are not many people who understand the ‘human engine’ more than Uli. So we are happy to have him ride an ATC NuVinci bike.

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Hi Voltage drag racing

I am highly interested in anything which is powered by an electric motor. Obviously the NuVinci CVT should play a big role there, as it always allows the motor to spin at its most efficient RPM. For me Electric Vehicles are the future of transport. There are so many advantages. No wonder that any modern train is electric. Also electric cars and scooters are about to electrified, some as hybrids, some as plug-ins.. Yet there is this stigma that Electric Vehicles don’t have brute HP, or Oomph. If you still think this, have a look at the KillaCycle, a battery powered drag racer: The Quarter Mile in just over 8 seconds. Enough spark for you?

Questions and motives behind ARD / ZDF pullout

Standing at the finish in Marseille the whole ruckus with the German pull out unfolded. The next day at the start it continued. In the meantime the army of cars and staff (somewhere between 150 and 200 people) just set up again, business as usual, at the finish in Montpellier. Was it all bluff? Instead of German TV reporting, they were reported themselves. Instead of pointing their cameras on the outside world, the cameras were pointed on them. I don’t believe that is the place for a TV station to be. That is not what they are paid for. Other broadcasters thought their moves ridiculous and false. TV is there to report and sometimes to bring up subjects. But not to judge said one reporter. The Tour De France organization was perplexed. Riders were saddened as no TV coverage hurts their livelihoods. Eurosport, which saw a jump in their viewer-ship in Germany, did not know what the fuzz was about. Afterall the system worked and a cheater was caught. That was a good thing not? Others were far more damming and crude and I better not repeat what was being said.
I agree with all these sentiments. It seems that the over political correctness by some in Germany (in politics) was getting out of hand. If there was another case of cheating in say soccer or F1, would they also have puled the plug?
Yet I have many more questions?
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Vall d’ Isere start

Crazy day yesterday. Seems already like a week ago. Went to the start with the ATC NuVinci bike and bumped into lots of old friends and contacts. They all wanted to ride it, find out more about it and sometime photograph or film it. They technical guys from the Astana team rode it and liked it a lot. Same for the T-Mobile team, some TV commentators, and journalists. All riding rounds in the paddock just before the start. The bike with no more gears, or endless gears as you want, was rather popular amongst the race crowd.

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Tour de France TV implosion

Cycling is big news in Germany, The German TV stations run a very professional show during the Tour de France. With little expense saved. I don’t know how many camera crews they have running around the Tour and in the media village their trucks occupy a fair chunk of space. They also take a hard line against doping. With all the stories with doping, - some never proven- they said that if there was one more case of doping in this Tour they would pull out . No more broadcast. Maybe a bit far fetched, but perhaps necessary aswell after the Ullrich rumors and the penance of Zabel and Aldag more than a month ago. This morning, minutes befoer the start in Tailard, the shit hit the fan.

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