Gates

There are 2 posts tagged Gates (this is page 1 of 1).

THE NUA LA BESTIA

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

JAMES’ (AND SOCKET THE DOG’S) OFF-ROAD MACHINE : THE NUA ROURE

James contacted us with some really special requirements that make the story of this bike a bit more curious than most. He was looking for a rugged titanium off-roader equipped with plus tires which corresponded to his vision of the ultimate expedition machine.

He wanted it to be agile, comfortable, long lasting and well equipped… but on top of all that, he wanted to be able to take his dog Socket with him on biking adventures in the Californian countryside. The bike would need to be trailer-compatible (yes, sometimes dogs need to rest too…). Here is the final build:

First of all, we fulfilled James’ comfort and durability requirements by taking a Nua Ti-Roure titanium frame and adding the full range of Nua titanium components we offer. The exceptional fatigue resistance and vibration-filtering properties of titanium, along with its lifetime corrosion resistance, made it the material of choice for this tough but light expedition machine.

James’ bike is equipped with Nua’s signature titanium fork, seatpost, stem, and handlebars. We care about all the little, geeky details, so the frame screws, axles and headset spacers are made out of titanium too. As on nearly all Nua bikes, we internally routed the cables in the frame and fork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The maintenance-free transmission of this bicycle was achieved by pairing two jewels of American and German technology: a Gates CDX belt drive and a Pinion C1.12 gearbox. The advantage of the Pinion C-line lies in its lightness – compared to the higher-end P-line – thanks to a roughly 30% lighter casing constructed of magnesium rather than aluminium. It offers a well-indexed range of 600% – one third more than the range of a 1x single-chainring setup. This gearbox makes James’ Roure a capable tourer, ready to climb whatever slope, even when heavily loaded with bikepacking equipment.

To securely stop the bicycle and its rider (and dog), we chose Shimano XT four-piston calipers with oversized 180mm rotors, designed for the most aggressive mountain bikers. This may sound like an extreme choice if you only consider the bike, but it was a smart move if you consider a heavily loaded bike-and-trailer combination bombing down a long Californian descent.

 

The braking power is transmitted to the ground by grippy (and stylish) Schwalbe G-one 27,5”x2,8” tires in their “Allround” version, sporting a multitude of low-profile knobs. DT Swiss XM 481 rims hand-laced with DT Swiss Champion spokes on Pinion and Shutter Precision hubs are the core of these solid and lightweight handmade wheels.

 

 

 

For convenient and battery-free night rides, James’ Roure is equipped with a sturdy Shutter Precision dynamo front hub and a kit of Supernova Pure E3 front and rear lights, mounted on the handlebar and the seatpost. Looking to offer James maximum ease of maintenance, we welded connectors to the electrical cables so that he could quickly and easily disassemble the front wheel or even in the case of a puncture or even the fork to change a headset quickly. All our bikes are assembled with this same high standard of quality and attention to detail.

 

 

For the contact points between the rider and the bike, we carefully choose the best components available: Ergon GP2 grips (with integrated “mini horns”), Shimano XT pedals (clip and flat combo) and a vintage-look Gilles Berthoud Galibier leather saddle.

 

After riding his “Socket bike” for the first time, James described his Nua Roure as “poetry in motion”; a laconic turn of phrase which perfectly fits the Nua philosophy. Test riding it ourselves during our meticulous post-assembly quality control, we fell in love with this bike and decided that we should take the concept one step further and add our version of the Nua Roure to our upcoming off-road range.

We are designing a fully equipped version of the Nua Roure, including mudguards, lights, and custom made racks. The rear lights will be integrated into the rack, sport internally routed wiring, and be powered by a dynamo hub. A supremely comfortable Nua titanium bikepacking handlebar is also on its way and will equip this bike as well as being available as an option for custom builds in 2019.

 

Stay tuned to the blog, follow us on social media (Instagram or Facebook) or sign up to our newsletter here to stay up to date with the Nua team’s version of James’ California dreamin’!

The Nua team