For a long time now, we’ve been dreaming of assembling an extremely capable “monster gravel” concept bike, the Nua La Bestia. Here is the final masterpiece:
It is an exciting titanium machine designed for the most adventurous cyclists.
A perfect hybrid between a drop-bar gravel, a dirt tourer and a plus-wheeled mountain bike, this “monster gravel” is designed to take riders further than any other bike.
It was also designed to be a great companion for your bikepacking adventures, thanks to the possibility of adding a full lighting and USB charging kit.
The original idea was to transcend a normal gravel bike in order to make it limitless off-road, thanks to bigger tires and the possibility of mounting front suspension on a bike still designed around a gravel geometry.
To do so, the pedalling position is kept highly efficient thanks to a Salsa Cowchipper dirt drop bar. and Wide 27,5×3.0” Schwalbe G-One Allround tires provide extra off-road comfort, grip, and low rolling resistance.
If further suspension is needed, a Lauf TR Boost fork or a regular telescopic one can be mounted instead of the rigid Cinq Adventure fork or the rigid Nua Titanium fork.
As always at Nua, the drivetrain is based on high-technology solutions. For a central centre of gravity, a Pinion C1.12 central gearbox was used on this prototype. This is, in fact, the big deal of the Nua La Bestia, opening the doors to a world in which highly efficient Pinion gearboxes can be used on extremely capable drop bar gravel bikes!
Coupled to a Gates Carbon belt drive, it provides an extremely durable gearing and transmission system. This combination is extremely silent, maintenance-free and particularly suitable for long-distance and adventure rides as a worry-free solution.
Long story short, we first had the idea of this bike a few years ago for Peter – an Australian customer – and engineered the first prototype of La Bestia. The name still remains from this first attempt. For those interested in this bike, you can read more here.
Old vs new shifting system.
As you might have noticed, back in those days we had to adapt the Pinion (flat bar oriented) rotary shifter with a specially in-house-designed part on the drop bar. Like other bicycle manufacturers, we were waiting for a proper drop bar compatible shifting system compatible with Pinion gearboxes so as to be able to achieve our goal a bit more elegantly.
We heard about Cinq Innovations’ intention to produce the Pinion Shift:R Road system, and we waited impatiently for the first production versions to appear, so we could make a more refined version of our first La Bestia.
The Cinq Innovations Shift:R Road uses a special shifting system assembled on your Pinion C.Line gearbox (shown above) and modified TRP Hylex hydraulic disc brake levers. They actuate both the powerful double piston TRP brake callipers and your Pinion gearbox precisely and rapidly. The left lever will downshift and the right lever will upshift. A great feature of the Shift:R road is the ability to change two gears at a time.
For energy autonomy – should it be to feed your GPS on you favorite gravel loop or during a long bikepacking trip in the wilderness – this prototype of the Nua La Bestia is equipped with a highly efficient Shutter Precision PD-8X dynamo hub feeding a convenient Cinq Innovations Plug III USB charger and an extremely powerful Supernova E3 Triple2 front light.
All the wirings are internally routed in the fork and the frame. The production version will offer an upgraded option with a SON28 dynamo hub and a Supernova tail light.
Have a look at www.nuabikes.com or stay tuned to the blog, follow us on social media (Instagram or Facebook) or sign up to our newsletter here to be sure to keep up with news about the Nua La Bestia a and be able to order your custom one.
Expect to see some pictures soon of this prototype Bestia being put to the test in the highlands of Iceland by our team member Antoine.
Feel free to play with our new La Bestia bicycle builder here or visit our website to find links to our other customizable bikes.
The Nua Team