We have had very few issues with our 2018 Homage GT Nuvinci in 1400 miles of riding since acquiring it about a year ago, but have had a few minor ones:
- "Crinkly" sound coming from the Fallbrook C8 shifter - the bike shop seemed to fix this, then it occurred again about 6 months later and shifting cut out completely. I opened up the C8 and found both cables were completely unraveled and one had snapped. I suspect the culprit was our bike leash mount for running the dog impinging on one of the shifter cables, which caused it to jump its track in the shifter. So for other Nuvinci users, make sure no accessories impede the movement of those shifter cables. If you hear a crinkly sound while shifting, that's frayed shifter cables rubbing against the housing of the C8 and they need to be replaced. It's a bit tricky to do on your own, so you probably want a skilled mechanic to do it.
- Have not had the issues others reported with racks, as on our model year of Homage, the rack is integrated into the frame and very heavy-duty, with a 20 kilo capacity. I was in the shop the other day for the above issue and they sell almost the full line of R&M's and I noticed that some have the Racktime system while others have the heavy-duty integrated one like ours. I can definitely recommend the latter, I've used it to haul a 35 lb. jib of cooking oil and it worked great! I have had issues with the convenience of the Bibia strap system on it though. It's kind of hard to let slack out when you have a saddlebag under the seat, not to mention the mounted Abus lock. It also doesn't seem strong enough or long enough for exceptional loads. Lastly, it's difficult to hook it on the frame if the load is bulky. When it does work out, it's great. I have to supplement with various straps, bungies and a cargo net depending on my needs.
- It's pretty tough to fit a saddle bag between the seat and mounted Abus lock as mentioned above.
- The Abus folding lock that comes with it is pretty wimpy; I replaced it with the Granit Extreme version.
- Since upgrading the rotors to SwissStop and new pads, I've had the same problems others have reported with noise, in our case from the front rotor, after riding down steep grades. The heat seems to deform the rotor and causes it to make very annoying, loud and repetitive rubbing noises between pad and rotor. The only remedy is to stop, let the rotors cool and squeeze and release the brakes in rapid succession several times when underway again. The LBS trued the rotor and it went away again for one ride, then came back. They were never properly bedded in when installed, so I will try the acetone cleaning trick others have mentioned. I don't think this is an R&M-specific issue, but rather a generic disc-brake system issue.
- The expense of the R&M bikes makes security a bit concerning. Our solution has been to replace the quick-release axle in the front with a through axle, liberal use of Hexlox, registering the bike with the police, taking out bike insurance from Velosurance that includes provisions for theft, and a pair of hefty locks - the Abus Granit Extreme folding lock mentioned above, as well as an Abus Granit Extreme 59/180, which is probably the best motorcycle lock you can buy. I lock the 59/180 around the rear wheel and frame, and the folding lock through the front wheel, and if possible, the fork. If I can't get both locks to fit on a bike rack, I will at least use the second lock to lock whichever wheel is free so they still have to defeat that to get the bike rolling. It would be really great if R&M would work with Abus to add a heavy duty integrated wheel lock keyed alike with the battery.
All of that said, by and large the bike has been amazing. Riding it is a joy!
