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:

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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.

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Safe and happy cycling.