Are $199 Enviolo Hubs the BEST Internal Gear Hubs For Bicycles?

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0:00 - Intro
1:27 - What is a Bicycle CVT?
2:31 - Where did this CVT tech come from?
3:35 - Advantages of the Enviolo CVT Hub
10:32 - Disadvantages of the Enviolo CVT Hub
16:57 - Rohloff Hub vs Enviolo Hub
19:12 - Shimano Hub vs Enviolo Hub
20:19 - How Does the Enviolo CVT Work?
22:24 - Summary

[Cyclingabout]

Don't worry, I have a lot more videos on bicycle gearboxes and belt drivetrains for you to watch! 🤌🏻

[drajdew]

I have a ebike with enviolo automatiq. I absolutely love it. No hassle of even thinking gears forget about changing them. Gates belt drive is no maintenance. Only cons are bit heavy, little drag but no issue for ebikes.

[frederikmesser]

They also work amazingly well on tandems since you dont have to agree with the passenger on a time to shift. Just twist the grip and the change is felt no problem. Huge uprade to tandem riding!

[XaviarCraig]

As someone who used a NuVinci N360(Enviolo before 2017) for Mountain biking for 2 years, I can tell you outright that the efficiency loss of bike CVTs absolutely destroys you on steep climbs. I ended up going from the N360 to the Rohloff speedhub and the speed difference was insane. My best time in ideal conditions on specific 10 mile MTB trail was 1 hour and 20 minutes with the N360, I was able to do the same trail in 58 minutes on the rohloff my very first time out in sub-optimal wet/muddy conditions.
The Efficiency makes an Insane difference over time and distance especially if you have any steep climbs with bumps like roots or rocks on them. Granted if you're using the CVT on an E-Bike with pedal assist on, then the difference probably wont matter to you, but otherwise; you're gonna have a bad time over distance especially if there are any steep uphill sections.

[dko..]

I think what is more important when comparing efficiencies of gear hubs vs derailleur shifting is the FEEL when pedalling under load. Obviously when simply commuting it is not going to bother anyone that much, but the longer your ride is the more frustrating it gets in my opinion. I couldn't care less about the extra 2 minutes on a 100km ride, but that feeling of each pedal stroke dissipating somewhere in the system finally got me. I know I'm exaggerating, but it felt like jogging on a beach vs jogging on asphalt, especially in lower 'gears' climbing uphill. I was nevertheless happy after I finished a Maratona d'les Dolomites (160km, 4000hm) on my modified BMC alpenchallenge with nuvinci 380 and gates belt drive 😅

Fine-tuning the gear ratio to find the best cadence for every specific moment is something magical and it is such a huge difference even compared to derailleur gear jumps. And I'm not even talking about rohloff with its 14% chasms between each gear. For everyone to understand - I'm mostly bikepacking on a road bike, so for me the optimal cadence/speed is important. And I do not mean always staying in 90rpm zone - depending on terrain/fatigue you would prefer doing 60rpm or 110rpm instead of the 'optimal' 90.

I also had a bike with pinion 1.18 for some time. Much better feel in terms of efficiency... And oh that amazingly light rear end 😊. But i was literally appalled by not being able to shift under load at all. I know all gear hubs have this problem, and even derailleur shifters can give up in certain situations, but pinion was the worst I've ever experienced when trying to shift to a lighter gear on a 15% climb.

So after a couple of years of experimenting I'm back to derailleurs and chains 😐

[ricksantana]

I was overwhelmed but in a concise manner, I now can scrutinize my new purchases with your channel’s informing videos, outstanding you now have a new subscriber..

[keithjenkins]

I have changed my 3 1990 steel Moser road bikes from 3 x 8 derailleur to Shimano Alfine 11 with DI2 changers. I am delighted with the results and would not go back. The lowest gear was a problem but from your previous videos chanced a 1.0 to 1.6 sprocket to chain-ring ration, based in my weight, giving a bottom gear of approx 21" and after 6 months there have been no problems. Found your information videos very helpfull.

[jowjor]

About the stiff shifter:
There is two shifting available: single turn, and double turn. The first one is stiff but you can go thru the whole range in one turn. On the other hand, the dual turn is much softer but you have to turn it more.

[vincentsoubbotin]

As a road cyclist who occasionally uses these hubs when using bike shares, my biggest annoyance is the massive range in the highest ratios (which i basically always am in with these because they are geared so low for the average cyclist) this is definitely due to wear somewhere in the system, because when they add new bikes to the fleet they always have good ratios at first. Perhaps it is due to the cables or misuse/lack of maintenance, but with a bike fleet that is something you need to design for.

[letsgoOs]

We have 3 bikes with enviolo at my house. One of them is automatic and that is just the best. Wife preferred enviolo to rholloff so we got a tern gsd with it. She just didn't like pushing the shifter all the time as well as the noise. So far several thousand miles in on the 3 bikes and still living the enviolo. It's just so easy to use since I never have to remember to maintain it and get in the proper gear. Though I really did like the rholloff hub.

[trulsdirio]

I worked in a company designing and building bikes for food delivery businesses and we used Enviolo hubs in them. They work pretty well under those conditions and if the survive non stop rough treatment by under payed delivery drivers well enough they should do well for commuting and so on as well. We also paired them with 70 Nm mid motors and even that did not harm them long term (for granted, I left after about six months, but in those six months they done about 200 km daily every day between three shifts, so I would say that is a long enough span to judge on given the sample size of about 80 bikes)

[simplexicated]

Recently got a nexus 8 bike after a long stint of single speed. I love the low maintenance of IGH and it's great to see another video on a lesser known one. Keep up the great content, we love it.

[Breakdown]

No one does equipment deep-dives like you, they themselves send you on a ride for 20+ minutes not including the rewatch value :P Also you encouraged me to go on my first bikepacking tour, so huge thanks for your contribution to the community :)

That being said, I traveled through Germany and France (parts on the European Divide Trail) on my Cube Travel Pro with a Shimano Nexus 8 Gear hub. While I had the time of my life and am hooked, I will never again bikepack on a hub with 308% gear range and 28" gear inches. Any hill with more than 3% gradiant was a major pain and required brutal pedaling (best I managed to climb was 9%). But most importantly the high gear jumps broke me. Not being able to find the right cadence turned out to be way more of an issue than I could have imagined. So even on flats I was constantly deciding between putting more effort into my strokes or fall back in speed considerably (losing momentum as well which only worsened my pace more).

The Enviolo seems really promising, if only they offered ~530% gear range, I'd be sold. Now I'm banking on either getting a used Rohloff (insane value on 2nd hand market in Germany, usually 400€-800€) or getting a MTB with a 2x11 drivetrain (maybe you can guess where I got the idea from)

[endymion]

Great comparison. I own derailleur, enviolo and Rohhloff bikes. The derailleur bike is a folder and the only one I would like to drive should the battery die. The enviolo bike is the best to use in the city, mostly because the shifting is much less of a trouble at traffic lights or when conditions change quickly. For long distance biking I absolutely love my Rohhloff although I do not particularly like its electronic shifter.

[geoffreyhoney]

Super helpful video Alee! This has really helped me to assess the merits of thes different hubs! Currently really enjoying a Nexus 8 with gates but I have always been intrigued by the CVT hubs. It might have been cool to mention that Leonardo Da Vinci invented the first one in wooden mock up form! Your information on the gear ranges was particularly helpful!! I did not realize how limited the Enviolo hub could be compared to a Rohloff! Super information with amazing clarity. Thank you.

[bigwheelsturning]

Laced in one on my 33 year old MTB. Love it. Would never go back to a derailleur. Have the manual shifter and have had no problems with it. I was glad to see that you saw/know that they can not shift between high and low without the wheel turning. Not a real problem; even when I come to a stop; as I've already downshifted. Love how if I want just a "bit" more/less peddle, I can give the knob a slight twist and I'm good. I started out with a 34/17 combo on the gears, but had no real low end, so I went to 24/17 and can pull hills with the best of them. I don't have a very high end, but I never go over 15 mph anyway. The 34 is still on the front so I can pull the derailleur arm forward and change rings if I'm on flat ground and want to go fast. I wanted to have just a plain chain, but I couldn't get the right spacing with the vertical dropouts. So I modified the old broken derailleur arm and I'm good to go.

[ladamyre]

I've been riding a Turi from Priority Bicycles that I bought 3 years ago and it has a 300% ratio Enviolo rear hub and uses a Gates Belt drive as well.
I put 7000 miles on it before I replaced the front Cog because it was creaking: The belt had worn small cups on the torque side of its teeth. So I bought a new cog and while waiting for it to arrive I dusted the belt with CORN STARCH and the creaking went away! When the new cog arrived I replaced it and saw the old belt looked no different than the brand-new belt that I had been using as a spare and was in my road kit for 3 years. I put on the new cog and used the brand-new spare and kept the old belt for use as a spare, since 7000 miles hadn't harmed it. Seriously, it looked like it was new. My guess is these belts will last for 50, 000 miles just like their big brothers that are inside many 4 cylinder car engines driving the camshaft.
Enviolo makes one with a higher ratio but the 300% unit works fine for the city. Priority sold me a smaller rear cog that worked with the original belt because I wanted a "longer leg".
I'm a huge fan of the Enviolo. I got a 600 recently for gravel and off-road use since the Turi is designed for sidewalks and paved roads. The 600 has a Pinon 12 speed crankset gearbox and is a great all around bike, but I still ride my Turi from time-to-time.
I have nothing to say about efficiency as I'm sure it's not as efficient as a derailleur. But as far as joyriding and commuting, I wouldn't have a derailleur or anything with a chain anymore. I feel like an emancipated slave: I'm NEVER going back to those chains.

[yohansharp]

I love your videos. I'm a road cyclist, and I've never done any bikepacking or bike trekking
However I'm also a big technical guy so your videos are so satisfying to me

[JimKJeffries]

Living off a bicycle for years now, I can not say enough good things about Rohloff: no more cassette to clean or buy, less chains to buy, no more derailleur frozen in position, can shift whenever as much as I need. Love this product. Got a Schlumpf drive on the front, love it too.

[obnoxiouspriest]

As someone who has been eyeballing a Dost bike with the Enviolo for the last year I really appreciate this video. Thank you!