Novara Gotham Bike - 2013

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

This is a great bike for commuting & shopping. The continously variable shifting is impressively refined engineering - it's so easy & smooth to adjust the gears on the fly, with no risk of the chain slipping off. There's no chain to slip off. The carbon-fiber belt is very quiet, and I love the no-maintenance enclosed gears.
The wide cork handlebar grips are very comfortable. If I had to criticize anything, it would be the weight, which only matters when I have to carry it up stairs.

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

This is a great bike, hands down, as long as you know what you're looking for. I recently moved cross country and my primary bike (a hybrid Marin) died in the process. In looking to replace it, I found myself drawn into the seductive trap of trying to find a bike that could do it all.

Ultimately, I finally came to my senses and focused in on an ultimate daily commuter, recognizing that there is no perfect bike that can do everything. This thing is heavy and has an upright riding position. You're not going to want to take it to a local race, but you WILL love it commuting. Everything from the disk brakes to the belt to the CVP gearing to the dynamo hub to the standard rack make for a glorious package for commuting. Living in the pacific northwest, the belt drive was particularly appealing.

I've never used a NuVinci hub before, but I am adapting quickly and really like it so far. You can 'shift' at any time, including at rest, and the belt is nearly silent, which makes a surprisingly big difference. I ride 6 miles each way, and I am fortunate enough that my ride takes me along some nicely wooded pathways along the Willamette River here. It is beautiful to observe while I ride. What I hadn't noticed, though, was that it is also beautiful to listen to as I ride. Seriously, this bike makes zero noise and I've really found myself tuning into my environment as a result and enjoying each ride much more.

This is an expensive bike for a commuter. But I believe that REI has done an admirable job in including latest technology and crafting a great bike built to last. The biggest, unexpected bonus for me is the way that this bike helps me reconnect with the environment of my ride.

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

I test rode this bike the other day and it is fantastic. I might have bought it on the spot, except (these have been mentioned by others too):

1) They need to offer a smaller front ring. The gearing is too high for commuting around town. I don't care about going at high speed. I need to get moving quickly, climb hills and haul a load.

2) It is a shame the rear light is not connected to the front hub generator; eventually you will always find yourself out with dead batteries.

Hope REI is listening!

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

Best feature of this bike is the nuvinci n360 drive. Changing the gearing is now only based on how your legs feel, which is done with a simple twist of the adjuster.

Other features that I really like are the Gates carbon belt, and the dyno hub. The only downside with this bike is that it came with nano 40 light. This model doesn't have the new usb feature (Nano 50 plus). It does have two external leads which I wired to an mirco-usb cable so I can charge my phone as I ride. One other change I had to make is to change out the seat with something a little bigger/softer for my hindside. The original seat/saddle was nice but my hindside rejected it.

Over all I look forward to riding this bike everyday, it's that much fun.

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

Daily commuter in Colorado, year around, 6 miles each way. Key features for me were center track belt drive, nuVinci CVP rear hub, and disc brakes. Only bike on the market I found with all three. Love the silence and ease of shifting. Surprised that I like the handlebars. Generator and lights a bit of a bonus. Not as heavy as I expected, riding times similar to previous bike so far. Looking forward to less winter maintenance this year. Riding for four weeks now on bike trails and streets - definitely meets my expectations.

Added a Brooks saddle for comfort, 3.5 inch stem riser for a more upright ride (even on the L/XL frame the handlebars were too low for me at 6'0"), generator driven AXA Riff Steady taillamp to pair with the AXA Nano headlamp (REI ought to include this on the next version), and SPD pedals to complete the package. Also mounted a set of rechargeable lamps (Cygolite Trion 600 and Hotshot 2W) for redundancy and more visibility when riding in winter darkness

Main concern at this point is a rear flat - haven't yet removed the rear wheel to test out my ability to re-position it properly. Small concern about gearing - pretty high for my needs with the 50T front sprocket and 122T belt. Can easily hit 25mph with this setup but I don't normally do any riding above 20mph. Considering a swap for the 46T front and 120T belt to extend the low end hill climbing capabilities - should be a fairly easy swap now that I've found a source for the parts.

A coworker, avid cyclist, and fellow bike commuter was impressed by the package. Think he'll want to take it for a test ride one of these days.

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

Use for recreation. Best feature is the Nuvinci continuously variable transmission. Flawless performance. I'm not crazy about the Gates Carbon Drive. Carbon drive requires careful adjustment and needs to be loosened and readjusted to repair a flat tire. Bike has great handling characteristics and is very smooth on paved roads. The Carbon Drive prevents me from giving it five stars. The bikes frame does not provide the most accurate method of setting the proper tension for the Gates Carbon Drive System.

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

Novara review:
This bike is so new and different that after I purchased it, I thought I would offer an extensive review. The bottom line is that it is a well-designed machine that should provide many years of dependable, low-maintenance, and enjoyable use for commuting and possibly, touring. See below for front-to-back comments, based on 200 miles of commuting and errands.

Frame: I am 6 feet tall and got the Large/Extra Large frame and still must raise the seat to near-maximum height for proper leg extension. REI says the frame is rated for persons up to 6 feet, 3 inches, but someone that tall will be seated very high and the handlebars have no up-and-down adjustment, so there will be leaning more forward than a shorter person. The slanted top tube allows one to easily straddle the bike when stopped in traffic. The short piece that connects the top tube with the seat post to makes a fairly handy handle for those times when you need to carry the bike (e.g., on steps). The steel chrome-moly frame is very stiff! My previous bike had what I thought was a stiff aluminum frame, but I unlike that one, I cannot get the bottom bracket to bend the visibly no matter how hard I pedal.

Front wheel: The Vittoria Randonneur 700Cx35 tires are said to be highly puncture resistant--excellent for the hazards of city riding. Inflated to the rated 70 PSI, they are very firm, with low rolling resistance. It is also a smooth-riding tread. The 700C (28 inch) size rims are pretty standard nowadays, though I wonder if the designers considered going with a 26 or 27-inch rim for increased strength, decreased weight, and greater worldwide availability. The front hub incorporates the generator for the front light. As far as I can tell, the generator is always active, which definitely increases rolling resistance. When you spin the hub, you'll feel the pulsing of the magnets in the generator, and the wheel comes to a stop fairly rapidly. Too bad it is not possible to deactivate the generator somehow when the light is not needed, because this is a source of drag. The front wheel is very slightly dished due to the space required for the disk brake assembly. The disc brake works really well. For those of you who have never had them, they stop quickly, are much less affected by moisture, and stay true (whereas caliper brakes pulse if the wheel comes out of true) I agree with the choice of Schraeder valves, as they can be inflated at a gas station without an adapter, and most bicycle pumps now accommodate both valve types.

Rear wheel assembly: I was very happy to discover that the rear wheel (unlike the front wheel) is not dished. Therefore, there are less likely to be broken spoke! The rear wheel does NOT have quick-release. It is bolted on with an unusual nut that has a box-wrench nut at the base but with a prominently protruding end. I think it would have been useful had they incorporated an Allen wrench opening in this protrusion so that the bolt could be removed with either a box, crescent, or Allen wrench. I presume that the reason for not having a quick release mechanism is that the NuVinci transmission cannot accommodate the skewer.

Fenders: They are metal--so heavy--but also extremely durable and solid. The struts are made of heavy gauge wire; they are one-piece-wraparound so that they will never bend out-of-center and I suspect that over time they will not become as wobbly as my old plastic fenders and struts.

Headlight/tailight: The headlight is far brighter than any battery-powered light that I have ever had. It lights the road with a generous oval of light with a dimmer rectangular pattern below that! It can be turned on at any time, or set so that it comes on automatically when it gets dark. Its capacitor stores a charge so that it stays on for 3-4 minutes while stopped. I have one complaint: Its housing is built so that it the lens slants up and back (toward the rider) and because it is so bright, enough light travels directly to my eyes that it's a bit blinding on really dark roads outside the city.

Headset and handlebars: The "moustache" handlebars are attractive but are the one feature that I really don't like and recently changed. The problem is that they are not very adjustable. They can only pivot more or less parallel with the ground) and force the rider into a very upright position…fine if you like it, but not if you like a more forward-learning position or want to lean into a headwind. I enjoy riding vigorously, even while commuting, and found that the very upright posture is restricts pulling into the stroke. Furthermore, the wrists-turned-inward angle of the forces your hands/wrists into a slightly awkward angle. I found it slightly painful, even, to rotate the shifter grip! I just replaced the original handlebar with the straighter one from my old bike and am much happier! (See picture). The handgrips are the flattened "cork" type. SUPER comfortable!

Seat: Very sleek and comfortable. Slightly padded and slim. No gel pad monstronsity!

Luggage rack: The luggage rack is very sturdy. I particularly like the fact that its struts bow slightly outwards, providing more clearance from the wheel and mechanisms. I purchased Ortlieb roll-top panniers (see separate rave review, and picture) and they fit great right out of the box!

Transmission: The NuVinci hub/transmission is fantastic! It is heavy, for sure (2450 g), but for this application, the weight is totally worth it. It truly is a continuously variable transmission, adjustable in the tiniest increments. Especially for city riding, the ability to shift while standing still or peddling is incredibly useful. It is also very nice in stop-and-go traffic to be able to start off in a low gear and smoothly and gradually and quickly adjust to higher gears as you get back up to speed. This works well even with maximum acceleration. When shifting into higher gears under a lot of torque, the progression through the continuous gear ratios is a little bit "lumpy" in the sense that no matter how smoothly you twist the shifter, there are hesitations. However, the "lumpiness" is more apparent at the hand than at the legs. When down-shifting, there is "lumpiness", even under load. I am so looking forward to year-round, all-weather riding with never having to adjust the derailleur, cleaning gunk from the tensioning wheels, or having having the derailleur freeze up on me in really cold weather!

Gearing: My bike came with a 48-tooth front ring and 24-tooth rear ring. Low gear is quite low and high gear is very high. I don't know the gear-inch equivalents, but in lowest gear, one full revolution of the crank moves the bike approx. 104" (8'9"); in highest gear, one crank revolution=321" (26'9") (a 300% increase). I think that that a slightly smaller front rings would be better for most riders, especially for those who live in very hilly areas or who routinely travel with heavy loads on hills. Another reason for gearing it down is that high gear is so very high that most riders will rarely use it. Pedaling my hardest, down the steepest hill in my area, I can hit 30 mph (at a cadence of only about 50 rpms)! That's a racing bike high gear!

Belt drive: The Gates belt drive is a joy! I think it is going to be everything I hoped for: No more greasy pant legs, replacing expensive clusters with each new chain; no more rusty, gritty chains during the long winter season; no more chains falling off; no more chain cleaning; no more stockpiles of various lubricants. The instructions for Gates belt drives specify specific tension, depending on application. Tension can be measured with a custom tool or with a free iPhone/iPod app that measures vibration frequency-- like a guitar tuner--but I have found that I can run the belt from pretty tight to floppy loose with no problems. Even at a loose setting, I cannot make it skip teeth no matter how I pedal. It is definitely better to be on the loose side because when the belt is tight (even at Gate's recommended tension) there is some noticeable drag. I also discovered that when it was tightened to Gates' specification, tension varied noticeably at various points in the cranking revolution. Turns out that the chainring is ever so slightly off-center (something one would never notice on a chain system, where the derailleur arm mechanism would compensate). I have read reviews indicating that the belt is prone to squeaking, but in the 200 miles I have written so far – both in wet and dry weather -- I have yet to hear a squeak. Belt tensioning is accomplished easily by rotating the eccentric bottom bearing insert. It requires only an Allen wrench and a nail or other tool to insert into the holes provided for twisting the unit.
Because the belt drive is continuous, the only way to install a new one is to open the frame! This is accomplished by unscrewing two screws to remove a piece of the top-tube extension, just above the rear wheel dropout. I have not tried it yet, and given that these drives are supposed to last at least twice as long as the regular chain, it will be a while!

I removed the chain guard, as I habitually ride with pant clips, and I think it looks cleaner, anyhow.

Final thoughts: This is an innovative bike that is a pleasure to ride. I was told that REI produced only 250 initially, which may be why the bike is currently no longer available. Hopefully, they find a suitable market. I would urge them to consider produce another model that incorporates a "Hill-Topper" type hub motor and battery. This would make it even more useful for heavy-duty commuting and errands and/or for older, less physically strong riders. It would work very well with the NuVinci transmission. A version with a lighter frame might also be a good option.

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

The Gotham is a great commuter bike. I've been riding it 4-5 days a week (regardless of weather) for a couple of months now on a 28 mile round trip commute with decent hills at either end. The Nuvinci hub is a delight to ride and really changes how I shift. Now I tend to micro shift in such a way that my input power is constant and just my speed changes with the terrain. Compared to my 27 speed, it has less range on the top and bottom end of the gearing, but is actually pretty close to what I normally used on my old bike. The Gate belt drive is also really great. It's quiet and does not collect dirt and grime like my chain did. I'm also more likely to wash my bike because I can just spray the whole bike down and don't have to lube that chain afterward. I was not excited about the handle bars (I had straight bars before), but have found them to be quite comfortable. My hope is that this setup will have much less maintenance than my old bike. The one downside to this bike is the weight. It is 8lb heavier than my old bike when loaded with the same gear. The extra weight is only noticeable on my steepest hill, and I believe is the main contributor to my commute taking about a minute longer than it did before. Still, I would highly recommend this bike and if you were really concerned about weight, you probably would not even be considering it anyway.

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

The cycle is very sturdy and comfortable to ride. The internal hub works seamlessly and is exceptionally quiet especially with the belt drive.

Comments about Novara Gotham Bike - 2013:

It is a heavy bike, but once you load it up with groceries, or a loaded laptop pannier and lunch, the weight is relative. The 360 hub and belt drive is very smooth and clean! I installed a Brooks saddle and some nice pedals from Orange Velo to add a little bling.