THE NUA RÁPIDA

Ladies and gentlemen, we take great pride in presenting our latest model, the Nua Rápida:

Its name says it all. A bike designed to get you from A to B fast. And we mean fast.

Its Gr.9 titanium frame is complemented by a carbon fibre fork. A combination which offers excellent stability at high speeds, as well as superb agility for zipping through urban traffic.

The drop bars allow for a more dynamic riding position: lean, mean, and ready for speed.

The Rápida is available as a single-speed or with a Kappstein Doppio 2-speed BB hub. Both models come with a Gates CDX belt drive transmission as standard: silent, clean, light, and maintenance-free. And thanks to the sliding dropouts, you can remove and replace the back wheel in seconds, without affecting the belt tension.

We’ve pulled out all the stops with the rest of the set-up, too: gorgeous Crank Brothers Cobalt wheels; Compass Barlow Pass extralight 38mm tires; Avid BB7 disc brakes activated by Sram levers (the version with 2-speed shifter for the Doppio model); Thomson seatpost and stem; Acros headset with Tune carbon spacers; Fizik Cyrano handlebars; Exustar pedals; and a Brooks C-15 saddle with matching bar tape.

Riding this bike you have a sensation of speed but also of security. It zips along, but at the same time it seems capable of reading your mind and responds instantly and effortlessly to any change of direction. You can feel how your pedal power is transmitted unhesitatingly to the rear wheel.
The brakes are top-notch, and the whole machine has a feeling of quality you don’t often find in a city bike. As with all our bikes, its titanium frame offers a level of comfort impossible to achieve with aluminium or carbon.

In a nutshell, a bicycle for those who are looking for superb quality in a commuter. Those who enjoy the adrenaline of speed, but who also know how to appreciate the simple lines of a superior quality product, built to last a lifetime.

That’s all for now. If you’d like to receive regular newsletters with updates about our latest custom builds and ideas for your dream bike, sign up here.
Safe and happy cycling!

KOUROCHE’S 2-SPEED

The first Nua in Miami is very special, and its owner, Kouroche, has become a good friend since visiting us in Barcelona a few months ago. He had been in love with our bikes for a good while when he finally decided to order a Nua Doppio, customised to his taste. This is the result:

Kouroche decided he wanted the crankset spider orange, so of course we painted it orange for him.

And we complimented it with a few other orange touches. Such as this superb quality Chris King i7 headset in “mango”:

Orange rear sprocket spacers:

And even orange gear cable casing:

This bicycle is the first which we’ve constructed with the rear light and headlight integrated into the seatpost and handlebar respectively.

The lights are nice and bright, and very discrete when not in use. They’re powered by a lithium-ion battery with its own USB charger.

Another first for us on this bike is the side stand.

A Brooks saddle in black leather with titanium rails will provide elegant good looks and comfort for years to come.

In a nutshell, a simple yet superb quality machine, sporty yet comfortable, elegant but with a touch of fun, exactly as our friend Kouroche had requested. Upon receiving the bike, he had these kind words to say:

“Hi Roberto, I just got the bike and it is even better than I had imagined it. It is very light which is impressive….
it is a beauty and piece of art. I am very happy with it”

Thankyou Kouroche for your friendship and your generous nature. And also for sending us this foto of your new Nua with Miami Beach in the background:

That’s all for now. If you’d like to receive regular newsletters with updates about our latest custom builds and ideas for your dream bike, sign up here.
Safe and happy cycling!

TOBI’S NUA

Zürich is a relatively flat city, but it does have some fairly steep hills in its northern suburbs, so when Tobi came to us looking for the perfect bike for his daily commute and occasional excursions to the lakes, he knew that a 2-speed hub would be ideal. The Kappstein Doppio, for example; integrated into the bottom bracket.
As little plastic as possible, lots of titanium, and practical, maintenance-free components such as a belt transmission. These were the reasons Tobi asked us to make his bike. And a couple of months later, his Nua was born:

The Kappstein Doppio 2-speed BB hub:

Controlled by a minimalist shifter on the handlebar:

The Gates Carbon CDX Centertrack belt drive. Clean, silent, and maintenance-free for the duration of its 20.000-30.000 km working life:

Titanium, more titanium and a bit more titanium….immune to the corrosion which salt on frozen roads causes in other materials:

The saddle and grips are from the Brooks Cambium range, this time in “natural” colour. It’s the first time we’ve used this colour, and we really like the way it combines with the titanium, giving the bike an ethereal look:

In a nutshell, a bike which is as simple as possible and as top-quality as possible. And one with which Tobi is extremely happy:

“it’s super fun to ride 🙂 super agile, also quite fast! Loving the gear set up! “

That’s all for now. If you’d like to receive regular newsletters with updates about our latest custom builds and ideas for your dream bike, sign up here.
Safe and happy cycling!

HORNIK’S DOPPIO

Our Nua Doppio has been a big hit, and it’s not hard to understand why. With its sporty yet elegant styling, its exquisite 2-speed bottom-bracket gearbox (ideal for most urban situations), and its minimalist wheels with 12 pairs of triangulated spokes, we knew we were on to a good thing.
But while some people have ordered the Doppio “as-is”, others have felt the need to personalise their machine, creating their own custom version. This was the case with our Nua Ambassador in Düsseldorf, P. Hornik, who opted for some interesting upgrades to come up with his own personal and unique Nua Doppio. This was the result:

The Kappstein Doppio gear hub, integrated into the bottom bracket, is the nucleus of the system. Weighing in at only 750g, it has a ratio of 1.57, resulting in two speeds sufficiently widely spaced to offer great versatility. Paired with a Gates Carbon Drive CDX belt, it’s poetry in motion.

It’s controlled by this tiny and incredibly cool shifter (not the brake one, the tiny black one next to it).

We installed Formula T1 brakes, lightweight yet powerful.

Another upgrade requested by our client was this Brooks C-13 saddle with carbon fibre rails. Here you can see it atop the always fabulous Thomson seatpost.

And here is the matching Thomson stem, which combines with our titanium bar to form a solid and stylish cockpit.

The Gates belt requires precise alignment, so we always machine the aluminium spacers ourselves to achieve the perfect fit.

Here you can see the lovely Acros semi-integrated headset, a little bit of creative flair with the separators, and the stunning welds on the Nua Ti-CORE titanium frame.

As as you may know, we like playing with anodising our titanium frames, creating a unique look for each bike that leaves the workshop.

In a nutshell, a lovely urban rocket which absolutely delighted its new owner.
In his own words:

“I’m totally stoked with the bike. It feels only perfect. I want you know I love this masterpiece!”

That’s all for now. If you’d like to receive regular newsletters with updates about our latest custom builds and ideas for your dream bike, sign up here.
Safe and happy cycling!

THE DOPPIO

In this post, we look at the fruits of a very happy collaboration with Kappstein GmbH & Co.

Kappstein is a German manufacturer of precision components for bicycles. With their latest development, the Doppio system, they’ve achieved the not inconsiderable feat of fitting a 2-speed gearbox into a bottom bracket. The first gear (which is direct) gives way to a second “overdrive” gear, whereby a planetary gear unit with six micro cogs alters the pedaling ratio.

The guys at Kappstein asked us to build a stylish urban bike for them as a means to present this new product to the press, and this is the result:

The Doppio system has a widely spaced gearing ratio, offering a low first gear for strong acceleration out of intersections, and a high second gear capable of reaching dizzying speeds. So we set to work accordingly, and designed a sporty bike which would be up to the challenge.

Our new Nua CF carbon fork seemed like the perfect choice to go with our Nua Ti-CORE titanium frame, which continues to demonstrate its extreme versatility with each new set-up we use it for.

Super-strong Shimano hydraulic disc brakes were indispensable for stopping a rocket like this.

The Crank Brothers Cobalt wheels are robust, but with a sporty look which complements the rest of the bike.

Thomson make superb quality stems and seatposts which have become standard for the best custom builds.

A saddle and grips by Ergon complete this sporty yet eminently elegant and functional machine.

The entire transmission system is picked out in fiery red, from the minimalist shifter on the handlebar, to the Doppio itself (which we painted for the occasion), the Gates carbon belt drive, and even the gear cable.

To sum up: a bike which is lightweight, sporty, and extremely fun, yet maintains the elegance and functionality which characterise all our set-ups. A perfect mix of heart and head, passion and rationality.

If you’d like to receive regular newsletters with updates about our latest custom builds and ideas for your dream bike, sign up here.
Safe and happy cycling.

MICHAEL’S NUA

Some people know exactly what their ideal bike would be like. They have the knowledge and experience to know what they need, and they’re not about to let a high street brand impose the latest fashion or trend on them.
Michael is one of those people, and right from the start, he knew the bike he wanted. He already had a titanium bike in his collection, so he knew his ideal bike would have a titanium frame, and our Nua Ti-CLASSIC seemed to him to be an excellent choice.
He needed a bike that was both beautiful and practical, designed to go fast in any weather and over any terrain. It’s been an enriching experience working with him to achieve this result:

A beautiful hybrid: the offspring of a cyclocross and a road bike; adapted for commuting; modern, but with classical touches…..In a nutshell, a bike built according to Michael’s unique vision, a far cry from any factory-produced model. That’s the magic of a custom build.

This was to be Michael’s everyday bike, so it needed practical elements like the minimalist mudguards (the front one cut to his specifications), the Tubus Airy titanium luggage rack and a permanent lighting system composed of a SON Delux hub dynamo and Supernova LED lights.

The front light is installed discreetly under the handlebar with Supernova’s special new bracket.

We’ve turned the seat post clamp screw specially to hold the tail light directly, without the need for a fitting. And we’ve installed banana plugs so that the whole system can be disconnected in a flash if necessary.

Michael knew that two gears would be sufficient for his day to day adventures, so we’ve installed a 2-speed internal gear hub by Sturmey-Archer. It offers a second gear at 38% above the direct one, and it’s kick-activated, without the need for extra levers or cables.

It might seem strange to see road bike caliper brakes with wide cyclocross tires, but these are the super powerful and progressive Tektro R559, capable of encompassing tires of up to 50mm without problems.

The brakes are activated by these beautiful neoclassical TRP levers.

Gilles Berthoud is a French firm which creates sublime components and accessories for bicycles, including this leather saddle with titanium rails (which perfectly complement our titanium seat post), and this bar tape, both in a natural colour. Beautiful, long-lasting, and superbly comfortable.

Michael is now enjoying his Nua in and around Hamburg, and we’d like to thank him for counting on us to turn his dream into reality.

If you’d like to receive regular newsletters with updates about our latest custom builds and ideas for your dream bike, sign up here.

THE NUA AUTOMATICA

Hello and welcome to the Nua blog. Today we take a look at our lovely modern commuter, the Nua Automatica.

Our Nua Ti-CORE titanium frame is one of the most versatile bike frames out there. Both its geometry and the details of its construction make it the perfect base on which to construct a diverse range of bicycles.

On this occasion, we’ve used it to make this beautiful new Nua. We’ve called it the “Automatica” because it sports a two-speed IGH which activates automatically when the bike reaches 18km/h. Simple, elegant and effective, just like the rest of the bike.

To complete the maintenance-free transmission, we’ve installed a Gates CDX belt system, driven by a gorgeous F. Gimondi neoclassical crankset.

Titanium components from our Nua Ti-Components line – handlebar, stem, and seatpost – provide extra safety and comfort, and add to the elegant minimalism of the whole.

This bike just asks to be ridden fast, so powerful brakes are a must. We’ve chosen hydraulic disc brakes by Magura, which along with the Continental 37mm tires, are capable of stopping this rocket in no time.

Adding the final touch are the Brooks handlebar grips and saddle. Handmade from natural leather, they’re extremely hardwearing and comfortable. And of course, with so much titanium already, we couldn’t resist choosing the Brooks Swift model with titanium rails.

When we test-rode this bike we couldn’t help smiling from ear to ear. Riding this machine is pure pleasure. Stable, agile, fun and silent, it works like a Swiss watch. But most of all, it’s proof that a sports bike can be very very comfortable.

If you’d like to receive regular newsletters with updates about our latest custom builds and ideas for your dream bike, sign up here.