First ride on a Foffa NuVinci Black

[annirak]

I just got a Foffa Nuvinci Black. I had to order it sight-unseen because it's a very uncommon bike. Apparently, effectively only available special order. I was able to snag the Black Friday deal that Foffa did on it, which made the bike even sweeter!

My first impressions...
It's not nearly as heavy as I expected. The gearhub is one of the heavier on the market, at 2.45kg, nearly a whole kilo heavier than an Alfine 8 at 1.59kg. But even with that, it still feels lighter, at 12.5kg, than my previous hybrid (and it is, but only just barely, my previous was 12.7kg).

The shifting, if you can call it that, is great. I find myself tweaking it all the time, but that's what you'd expect. It's really nice to be able to shift under load, and stationary.

This morning, on the first ride with a trailer, it felt a bit sluggish. I'm not sure if that's something to do with the transmission not liking the extra load from the trailer, or if it's just that there was a headwind this morning!

 

[mjr]

Most trailers just are surprisingly heavy. It's not only the weight but extra tyre and aero drag. Mine makes me about 30% slower when rolling with a reasonable load.

 

[annirak]

Most trailers just are surprisingly heavy. It's not only the weight but extra tyre and aero drag. Mine makes me about 30% slower when rolling with a reasonable load.

Oh yeah, that aero drag is brutal!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I like the look of it, but if it was sold to an urban commuter, in say cph or sthlm, rather than on Treasure Island, it would come with a dynohub+lights, mudguards, a rack, a nurses lock, and a side stand. For the same - sterling equivalent - price.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

and the warranty stinks.... and doesn't speak of confidence in the componentry.

 

[mjr]

All that gubbins would make it even heavier though, given that the OP has mentioned weight as a factor in his choice.

Yeah, the cyclists on Treasure Island seem somewhat easily distracted by measurements which don't matter much for non-racers, like kg and lumens. What's a few grams if you're going to tow extra wheels and weight in basically a very non-aero brick shape? Foffa seem like nice bikes but rather lacking in basic equipment and I'd not noticed the limited warranty before.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I am just speaking from my personal experience, where losing those very items made the bike noticeably lighter. It meant I could lift it easily on and off trains, for example. Why chug extra weight if you don't need to?

Don't disagree, but these concerns do seem to be very Treasure Island specific. The cycle commuters of Stockholm, Malmo Copenhagen Aarhus all seem to like to ride heavy tanks and don't seem to have issues getting these on and off trains/metro*. And given how I struggled to keep up with some of them it isn't that they ride slowly when up to speed.

*As an aside in cph taxi drivers are OBLIGED to carry your bike for you. They all have towbar style racks in the boot. Didn't ever get drunk enough in sthlm to test this out.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I weigh too much over 100kg these days to give the weight of my steed much thought.

 

[annirak]

Does the weight matter? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I was just saying that it seemed lighter than I expected.

Be that as it may, I ride at over 25km/h most of the time, trailer or no. It felt like I had more drag than usual, but it was a windy morning. Time will tell.

My mates at work had a go on it and every one of them came back smiling. One went out for a second go

 

[simon.r]

I like the look of it, but if it was sold to an urban commuter, in say cph or sthlm, rather than on Treasure Island, it would come with a dynohub+lights, mudguards, a rack, a nurses lock, and a side stand. For the same - sterling equivalent - price.

And a proper chainguard.

Interesting bike though, it ticks a lot of boxes.

 

[mjr]

Like Dogtrousers I'm not really sure what you mean by 'Treasure Island', but the concern for me was nothing to do with where I live. It was to do with me being quite a small person. I'm sure everyone in Copenhagen is a muscly great giant, but that's pretty irrelevant to me.

The UK is seen as a soft touch by bike sellers, a low-competition broken-market treasure island where they can sell someone a bike without some of the basics, then sell guards, then lights, then a dynamo (or more likely, sell repeated bat ret y light upgrades before they realise), then...

And it's not really about muscles, unless you find one big pack of fruit juice in the trailer a noticeable difference between an easy ride and hard work.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Like Dogtrousers I'm not really sure what you mean by 'Treasure Island', but the concern for me was nothing to do with where I live. It was to do with me being quite a small person. I'm sure everyone in Copenhagen is a muscly great giant, but that's pretty irrelevant to me.

You're thinking of the Swedes who are, generally, tall and blonde.

Plenty of quite small people in cph riding bikes.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Is "Treasure Island" a new slang for the UK?

(I'm down with the kids, in Treasure Island, me).

Treasure Island is what GB is sometimes known as in the motor export trade. Everything is a chargeable option and what is a reasonable taxi in Munich is "the ultimate driving machine" here. I've seen it used in cycle trade press, retail IT etc..

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Yet again, someone posts about their nice new bike, only to have people pitch in with sniffy comments about how it's missing 'some of the basics', and when it's suggested that some people find heavy bikes difficult to manoeuvre they are told they are imagining things. Great stuff, fun and friendly my arse.

Can't see it myself.

 

[annirak]

It appears that the extra drag I've been feeling is more than likely due to a more upright riding position.


Yes, I am going to add mudguards and a rack
No, I am not going to add a dynamo. Why? Because I've never seen a dynamo spec'd nearly high enough for my needs.

That trailer draws about 15W.