Nuvinci - Installation Notes

A few notes from fitting my new wheel with the Nuvinci hub and its controller.

1. Fitting the wheel itself was pretty straightforward, but having to use a 21mm wrench to tighten the drive-side nut was a nuisance. There was room to get my adjustable spanner in for a first try, as I didn't have a 21mm, but I bought one for future use. Couldn't find a nice light one, and they don't come as standard on cyclists' multi-tools.
2. The controller takes up quite a bit of handlebar space. I ended up buying a new set of brake levers, as the ones I was replacing had a fitting for gear levers which prevented a snug fit. I got long levers to reach past the controller. (Interestingly, the LBS produced a set of Sachs 5000 levers in yellowing packaging. They must have sat on the shelf for about 10 years! They feel great, and much better than the money would have bought me in 'new' components.)
3. The controller sticks up quite high as well, which means that when I flip the bike to work on it I scratched the finish. Not a major, but a shame when I did it before the controller ever hit the road.
4. Very few bikes are likely to have fittings for dual rear gear cables. This was my first go at picking a cable path, and I felt uncertain about selecting the length to cut the sheathing to. Everything is stuck down with electrical tape for now, and seems to have worked out okay.
5. Put quite a bit of slack in the adjuster screws at the controller end before fitting the cables. I almost got stuck with slightly too-tight cables that made it hard to fit the pulleys into the housing. It took me 15 minutes to ease them in without losing any loops from the cable that was round around the outer pulley.
   
6. Don't cut short the wires until just before putting the cover on the controller. That seems convenient to do once you've got each wire positioned, but limits your options if you're having trouble fitting everything together. It also exposes your fingers to more sharp bits.
   

No pictures, sorry, as I got all absorbed in my work and my hands were very dirty.