A NUA DOWN UNDER

 

John wrote to us all the way from Australia, impressed by our bikes. He realised he’d finally found what he’d been searching for all these years. He needed a well-equipped bicycle, big on quality and small on maintenance. One which he could use for his daily 50 km commute as well as for weekend adventures. In addition, he wanted something designed and made to measure. Something special. Very special. What better than a Nua? After almost a hundred emails and many hours of work, his Nua was born:

 

 

The process of defining John’s bike aesthetically was interesting. At first, he tended towards a strict classicism, but over time that changed to a mixture of classic and modern. The result was a neoclassical style which we love!

 

 

 

A Rohloff Speedhub IGH can circumnavigate the world several times in it’s working life, so it will certainly stand up to John’s level of use for a good few years.

 

 

Combined with a Gates Carbon Drive CDX, it makes for a reliable, silent transmission which needs no more maintenance than an oil change every 5000 km.

 

 

The wheels are hand built, with H+Son Hydra rims, Sapim D-Light spokes, and some gorgeous aluminium nipples, anodised in orange, also by Sapim. The front wheel uses a Chris King hub, so as to be up to the standard of the rear Rohloff hub.

 

 

John wanted the best brakes available. We suggested Trickstuff Cleg 2, and it was a case of love at first sight. Unfortunately, they weren’t available in the colour he wanted, so we had to order them in orange and blue, and then spend a good few hours polishing off the blue!

 

 

The quality of these brakes is impressive. They’re made in the heart of the Black Forest, and we think they might be the best brakes in existence.

 

 

 

In keeping with the orange theme, and also with the high-end componentry of this bike, we chose a Chris King i7 tapered headset, in “mango”.

 

 

If you’ve been following our adventures you’ll know that we love Gilles Berthoud saddles, especially the Galibier model with its titanium rails. In our opinion, it’s the best leather saddle in the world (not to mention the lightest).

 

 

Another component we have a bit of a fetish for are Compass tyres. They’re flexible, lightweight and they look great. Perfect for a top-end build. Here you can see them with some beautifully discreet Curana mudguards, necessary on a bike which will be in daily use, rain or shine.

 

 

To sum up, one of the most complete and best-equipped bikes ever to come out of our little Barcelona workshop. Now it’s riding the streets of Victoria, half a world away! We’re very happy with it, and so, it would seem, is John:

I am very, very happy with my Nua. This bike is such a joy to ride, fits me perfectly, and the overall look exceeds my wildest expectations.”

 

 

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!