YUKKA’S FLOC DE NEU

 

The Nua we’re presenting in this post has a big personality, and it’s been a similarly big pleasure to watch it come to life and to welcome it into the growing family of Nua bikes which populate planet earth.

Yukka wrote to us from Finland. Like other clients who live in the frozen north, he was interested in the combination of titanium frame and belt transmission; a combination which can cope with the adverse riding conditions in his country, where snow, ice, salt, and gravel form a cocktail which often proves lethal to lesser bikes, which struggle with rusted frames and chains.

Yukka is used to riding fixed gear bikes, and had been in love with the Nua Floc de Neu (our take on the fixie genre) for some time. But he needed to add certain components which are obligatory by law in Finland, such as lights and a kickstand. It was a challenge keeping the minimalist aesthetic of the Floc de Neu intact, but I think we did pretty well!

 

 

The wheels are laced by hand, and the rear one sports two Gates sprockets, one fixed and the other single-speed, so that Yukka has only to flip the wheel to change between the two.

 

 

For the front wheel, we opted for a super-light Shutter Precision hub, which powers a discreet and powerful LED light from Supernova, the E3 Pure. This light is held in place by a custom-made bracket screwed directly into the fork, which has been given some special eyelets for the purpose.

 

 

For the rear light, we went with a LightSKIN seat post with integrated battery-powered LEDs.

 

 

The front brakes are our old favourites, the Tektro R559 Long Reach, the only rim brakes on the market which fit around wide tyres while maintaining the same braking power as a good short-reach brake. And to operate them, a very pretty and super strong Paul brake lever, with metallic cable housing from Velo Orange:

 

 

The headset is titanium, a rare breed. It has a brushed finish which combines nicely with the sand-blasted frame, the lovely green of the stem, and the natural colour of the bar tape.

 

 

The saddle and bar tape, both in natural coloured cotton, are from the Brooks Cambium range.

 

         

 

The tyres are by Compass: wide, comfortable, and super fast-rolling.

 

 

By this time you will have noticed that we painted some of the bike’s components a pretty green colour. Here, for example, the F-Gimondi crankset, powered by MKS Japan pedals.

 

 

To sum up, a very personal bike, practical, but at the same time elegantly simple and exceptionally beautiful. And if Yukka’s comments are anything to go by, it’s adapted very well to its icy new home.

“The bike is very light, responsive (I drive fixed) and fast compared with my older steel fixed gear bikes. The wide Compass tires are really comfortable. Today we have about 5 cm fresh snow and icy ground, but the tires handled it well. I’m more than happy with my Floc de Neu, it really flies over ice and snowy sleet. I will surely treasure and cherish my Nua.”

 

 

That’s all for now. If you don’t already subscribe to our newsletter and you’d like to receive regular updates about our latest custom builds and ideas for your dream bike, sign up here.
Safe and happy cycling!

 

 

 

A LONDON SUPER-COMMUTER

 

A gentleman from London contacted us looking for a bike he could use for his daily commute. He wanted a machine which would require a minimum of maintenance, and which would be comfortable, practical, and speedy, whether the weather was fine or whether the weather was rain, sleet, and snow.
So he suggested that we make him a single speed using our slim-line SC frame, with drop handlebars, mudguards, and a rack. We were delighted to oblige, and a couple of months later Forsyth’s Nua was born:

 

 

It’s been a pleasure to work on this bike, so essentially simple yet with such a high-quality finish.

 

 

In the brakes department, we have Tektro calipers activated by Crane Creek levers. Powerful, lightweight, and easy to adjust.

 

 

This is the first time we’ve used Continental Grand Prix 4-Season tyres in their new 32mm width. Ideal for the often adverse weather conditions in London.

 

     

 

The combination of a Brooks saddle and a Thomson seatpost is fast becoming a standard in our custom builds. Excellent quality, functionality, and great looks.

 

 

We’ve used a Ritchey Neoclassic handlebar with Brooks Cambium natural cotton tape, in rust colour to match the saddle.

 

 

Mr. Forsyth also wanted to be able to have a bit of fun in fixie mode every now and again, so we installed a second sprocket on the hand-built back wheel. He has only to flip the wheel to change between drive modes. Accordingly, we’ve used MKS pedals with toe clips and discreet nylon straps.

 

     

 

The rear rack is a titanium Tubus Airy. Light and strong, it perfectly compliments our exquisitely welded Nua Ti-CLASSIC titanium frame.

 

     

 

After trying out his bike for the first time, Mr. Forsyth wrote to say:

“It’s arrived Roberto and it looks lovely and beautifully simple and elegant. I cycled to work this morning in the rain with a smile on my face. It’s a lovely, superbly engineered and thought through bike.
Thanks for producing such a lovely bike for me”

We’re pretty happy with that 🙂

 

 

That’s all for now. Next up, a post about a bike bound for the antipodes. 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 NUA B612

 

In 1909 (so the story goes), a Turkish astronomer discovered the asteroid B612, the home of the Little Prince. In 2015, another Turkish gentleman, Cenk, discovered Nua Bikes and promptly ordered a Nua SC with a few modifications. The result was this:

 

 

We started with our urban model, the Nua SC, based on our beautiful and comfortable Nua Ti-CLASSIC titanium frame.

 

 

This model is an ode to simplicity and elegance.

 

 

Cenk’s first special request was our complete package of Ti-Line titanium components: handlebar, stem, and seatpost.

 

     

 

His second special request was… very special: “I want a fixed gear and a single-speed coaster in one,” he said. “Not a problem,” we said.

Something which is easy to do and quite normal to see with a chain transmission suddenly isn’t quite so obvious when a belt transmission is involved. But at Nua, we have a solution for everything, and what’s more this particular problem was one we’d already come across and solved. So we put in a Shimano XT hub set up for a disc brake, but replaced the disc with a second sprocket. Cenk can swap between fixie and freewheel by simply flipping the wheel:

 

 

Of course, to properly enjoy a fixie you need pedals with straps, so we installed some pretty MKS Sylvan pedals, with Brooks England leather straps.

 

 

Dark brown leather is always a great combination with titanium.

 

 

To sum up: an elegant, lightweight joy of a bike on which to ride the streets of Istanbul in style.

 

 

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Safe and happy cycling.