Can someone explain NuVinci Harmony?

[Dmitri]

There was a post here about a sell-off of NuVinci on B-D so I wanted to ask someone who knows some questions about Harmony, specifically, because it seems like an interesting concept but I haven't ridden it, have never met anyone who used it, and even on YouTube information about Harmony is scarce.

My main question is: how does it work? Does it only integrate with Bosch? Am I right in assuming that, just like Rohloff E-14, it pauses the motor while gear shifts are taking place?

Since this is an automatic, does it use the torque sensor to decide when to shift, or does it use a combination of torque/cadence/speed?

It's a mystery product. I don't know if it would be worth trying now that you're guaranteed to have no support for it if something goes wrong, but I'm still curious.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

how does it work? Does it only integrate with Bosch? Am I right in assuming that, just like Rohloff E-14, it pauses the motor while gear shifts are taking place?

yes it does integrate with Bosch but Nuvinci is a CVT and hence there is no need for the motor to pause.
Rohloff has distinct gears and when these gears switch, you need to let off the motor torque. But, this is not applicable on a Harmony.
My time on the Harmony was quite brief 10 -15 mins at the Interbike.
Nunvici Harmony works on the principle that you set your desired cadence and assist level. If there is an anamoly in the cadence then it adjusts the gearing ratio so you can always keep a steady cadence of let's say 75 rpm and it does all the shifting. Speed depends on your system (CX, HS or Active line), assist level and your own torque.

Here is the most complete video review explaining how it works:

 

[Dmitri]

Is Harmony an OEM-only solution or can I retrofit it to an existing Bosch bike?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Is Harmony an OEM-only solution or can I retrofit it to an existing Bosch bike?

Not sure if there is any restriction on the firmware for retrofitting. it should be doable as these systems have been around for 4 years. Only the E-14 is recent and needs special CANBUS data to communicate with the motor.

You can purchase the full kit here: (Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Detailed instructions here: https://www.pro-cycling-golla.de/content/pdf/artikel4f2eccfaceead_16.pdf

 

[Chris Nolte]

Ravi explained it well. There is a Bosch integration that needs new firmware for it to work, however since the Enviolo hub has its own sensor to read your cadence you could technically retrofit the system as a stand-alone setup. There are two different versions, one that integrates with Bosch or Brose and one that’s independent and can be used on electric and non-electric bikes.

 

[smorgasbord]

This is a really cool video, showing an actual NuVinici hub, with a portion cutaway, in action. Most the video is about his own home-brew controller, but he does mention and show the Harmony automatic as well.

I don't know about shifting under load, but since it's a CVT and not actual gears, it won't behave like the Rohloff. It's quite a bit less efficient than the Rohloff, btw.

 

[scrambler]

And the standalone Harmony shifter can be used in two different modes.
Manual where it acts as an electronic shifter of the Hub, or Auto where you set your cadence and it shifts to try and maintain that cadence.
I don't know if the integrated Bosch version gives you access to the Manual mode.

Although there are no gears, it is usually recommended to ease a bit when shifting as it can be harder to shift under load even with the CVT.
I don't know if in the integrated Bosch version they do that, or because the electronic shifting is stronger, they simply ignore it.

 

[Rickydsc]

Ravi explained it well. There is a Bosch integration that needs new firmware for it to work, however since the Enviolo hub has its own sensor to read your cadence you could technically retrofit the system as a stand-alone setup. There are two different versions, one that integrates with Bosch or Brose and one that’s independent and can be used on electric and non-electric bikes.

Hi Chris, What has been your experience with the Harmony shifter in terms of its reliability? Is it dependable? If it fails, is there any way to continue riding without it? Thanks for your insights!!