Van Nicholas introduces brand new Boreas titanium road bike

At Eurobike last month Dutch titanium specialists Van Nicholas revealed its latest model for 2016, the Boreas, a racing bike which features a frame that the company reckons is one of the stiffest bikes it has made.

The new Boreas slots in between the existing Zephyr and Aquilo, offering more stiffness than the former, and more comfort than the later. It has a 27.2mm seatpost and accommodates up to 28mm tyres, which should help smooth the ride.

The new Boreas is multitalented, according to Van Nicholas. “The Boreas can be used as an all-out racer, but also meets the highest demands of a sportive or Audax racer where all-day comfort is important,” says Van Nicholas.

The frame is constructed from 3AL/2.5V titanium and each tube has been carefully profiled to extract as much possible stiffness. The top tube is tapered along its length, the down tube is ovalised down towards the press-fit bottom bracket.

The head tube is tapered externally, but accommodates a non-tapered 1 1/8in steerer tube (rather than a tapered steerer tube) with a new carbon fibre fork. The bottom of the head tube has an interesting shape which has been designed to increase front-end stiffness, but providing a larger contact surface area for the down tube.

Definitely designed for stiffness are the new dropouts. They’re made from tough 6AL/4V titanium with a thick plate design and stamped with the Van Nicholas logo. Van Nicholas has rolled out a new rubber chainstay protector to prevent the chain potentially scratching the chainstays. There will be seven frame sizes from 48 to 62cm.

The frame is also compatible with 28mm tyres. The reason for the bigger tyre compatibility is because Van Nicholas wanted to create a bike that will appeal both to racing cyclists and demanding sportive cyclists who appreciate all-day comfort. And because wide tyres are very popular at the moment, with most new road bikes accepting wider tyres.

The new Boreas should be available in December with a frameset costing $1,799 and complete bikes starting from €2,562, with completely custom builds available through the company’s bike builder website.

www.vannicholas.com