Back in late summer/early autumn of 2020 (doesn’t that seem years ago…) I managed to get a demo on quite a rare bike, and posted my thoughts here – if you’d like my thoughts on the Pinion gearbox, have a read.

Not long after, I put an order in with a small frame manufacturer based in Spain, with roots in the North East of Portugal and who’s frames are designed in the canary islands.

Almost exactly 5 months later, after an extended lead time for the frame to be completed in Taiwan (which I already knew about) and delays in shipping due to UPS, with 2 attempts at getting the parcel out of Spain, I received a large box from Madrid yesterday:

I had to get photographic proof that it was in fact my frame, due to me not fully trusting UPS and half expecting them to have delivered a toaster.

The box even had stuff in it!!!

Well wrapped!

Behold! A Nordest Lacrau 2 Ti, in size L (yes, Large!) with the unmistakable mount for a Pinion gearbox. Link to the frame here

I’ll get some better pictures of the frame in natural light tomorrow/over the weekend, as the weather here is being typically ‘spring-like’ – aka pissing it down one minute and blazing sunshine the next.

Why a Titanium, Pinion frame for this build you ask?

Well, a few reasons. 1. I’ve fancied a hardtail for a while now, and have been eyeing up various Titanium hardtails (Kingdom, Sonder etc) for what seems like years…

2. Last winter, after having just built my Jeffsy, I got to see it get abused through 6 months of non stop mud, with it needing a 30 minute wash after every. single. ride. The prospect of going out for a ‘quick ride’ in the best the mud Kent has to offer, was slowly fading when I thought about the aftermath I’d have to deal with, which would turn a 1-2hr ride into 3 or more hours. So, what to do? Build the Ultimate UK Winterproof Hardtail™ of course!!

Titanium – no paint to worry about scratching, or bare steel to worry about corroding. Check
Pinion gearbox – no external gears to clean/lube/get caked in mud. Check
Gates belt drive – no chain to clean/lube/break/stretch/grind into metal confetti. Check
Big front mudguard with no zip ties eating away at the fork legs. Check.
The ability to go for a ride, get the thing covered in mud, sling it in the shed and not feel guilty that it’s sitting there rusting away/seizing up… CHECK!

Specs of the frame:

Size Large (biggest size) – I’m 6ft 3in
Weight (approx. 2300g) – as a comparison, the Sonder Signal Ti frame, without the Pinion mount which adds weight, is 2140g for the biggest size.
64.5 degree HA
75 degree SA
470mm ST
485mm reach
664mm ETT
1244mm wheelbase
Designed around 160mm forks

As a comparison, my other bike is a 2019 YT Jeffsy CF Pro Race in Sized XXL with a few upgrades, and the geo on that is slightly longer at 510mm reach, 660mm ETT, 1269mm wheelbase, with a 65.5 HA and a 76.5 SA (160mm fork fitted so 0.5 degree slacker than stock). I generally want a hardtail to be a bit more playful and agile so the slightly reduced reach and wheelbase is good.

Along with the frame came a load of other goodies, including the important pinion C1.12 gearbox, gates belt drive sprockets and a belt, DS2 shifter, and cranks. The pinion H2R hub that was included was missing, but a quick message sorted that and it’s on it’s way to me. The gearbox itself is a bit of a unit, feels incredibly well built and I’m quite sure it’ll survive a few UK winters, and/or a nuclear blast.

I’ve amassed the majority of the parts needed for the build already, with some crucial bits yet to be ordered, and some awaiting the (long) manufacturer lead times.

This will be a longish build over a few weeks so I’ll keep it updated regularly! Of course, it’s typical that I wanted the bike to be finished for use in winter and it now seems like we’re finally heading into Spring. Maybe. 😀

More to follow!

Ok, so first job on this frame (after fondling it for a few moments..) was to whip the wheels off my Jeffsy and test the tyre clearance on the Lacrau.

I’d contemplated going for a mullet for a while but I’m pretty sure I’ve decided on 29 front and rear, mainly for the fact that my Jeffsy is also a 29er and sharing tyres between bikes will be really good, plus for my tyre Manufacturer of choice (being Vittoria) their 27.5+ size tyres are a little limited with only the Martello being available in anything bigger than a 2.6″.

I checked the Gates drive calculator and based on my 32t front and 30t rear sprockets and 111t belt, I would end up with a 440mm chainstay length. The Lacrau has adjustable dropouts from 425mm to 445mm.

Starting at 440mm, in went my 2.35 Martello, with tyre clearance being more than adequate:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2kJXDGd]IMG_20210311_160914[/url] by Paul Sims, on Flickr

Next my Mazza 2.6 (on my front wheel, but centred correctly):

That’s around 3-4mm clearance on the non drive size, with a smidge more on the drive side. Hmmm…

Lastly, the dropouts at 435mm, so 5mm forward of what they should be on my setup, and with the 2.35 Martello.

The angle is slightly different in that last pic, but there’s enough clearance.

I was hoping to be able to run a 2.6″ Mazza/Martello/Agarro at the back but it looks like 2.4 is the usable limit, however this will depend on the dropout position once the belt is properly tensioned.

I’m pretty much settle on building my own set of wheels on the H2R rear hub, and a Hope Pro 4 front hub. The H2r hub is no lightweight, at 370g, but as the saying goes “Heavy is good, heavy is reliable…”. Rims wil be DT Swiss XM481 with 30mm internal width. With Sapim race spokes they should come out to around 2000g – not massively light but the primary function of these wheels will be for reliability. The H2r hub also has 120 engagement points which is a big plus as the gearbox has it’s own internal ratchet which has much much less.

That looks fantastic. I’m very pleased with my Bardino 2, and nearly bought the TI version. But dithering meant the price went up. Look forward to seeing it built up.

Looks good.
Lets see some pics of the gearbox and the rest of the bits.

Looks great. I’m so tempted by a pinion box, if you ever fancy a bit of guiding around Surrey hills it’d be great to see it in person. I’m similar height so interested how it feels fit wise once it’s built up.

The sprockets are works of art – when you clang them together they ring like a tuning fork for a good minute.

The gearbox is a chunky thing, fits in the palm of your hand but has some heft behind it – when you think they they’ve managed to fit 12 gears in there with a 600% range you start to understand the level of engineering in that little black box…. Ze Germans, huh!

As for some other the other bits going on:

Fork will be the Fox 36 150mm Grip 2 from my Jeffsy (which now has a Manitou Mezzer Pro at 160mm)

A smattering of Hope parks, in either silver or black, including:
Headset
Front hub
Tech 3 V4 brakes
180mm rotors front and rear

Then, for the rest of the parts:
DMR Defy 50+ stem
Oneup Carbon bar, 35mm rise (same as on my Jeffsy)
Brand X 200m dropper (because Rockshox STILL haven’t released a 200mm Reverb AXS…)
The aforementioned DT Swiss XM481 rims
Burgtec Penthouse Mk5 pedals
Fabric Radius team saddle

Brakes are on a 6 week lead time and should be here in a couple of weeks, and I’m just about to pull the trigger on a few other bits. The hub should only take a week or so (please UPS..) so in the mean time at the weekend I’ll get a couple of bits done, like fitting the headset cups, and erm… well… that’s about all I can do!

Fitting the sprocket to the gearbox needs to wait for the tool to come (with the hub). Building the wheels also is awaiting the hub. You get the jist…

Wheel wise, I was tempted by a set of carbon rims, but I will need a second set of wheels to fit some summer fast rolling XC tyres on, as this bike will also be used for local rides, filling the hole that was left by my Space Chicken gravel bike. I may go carbon for the main wheelset at a later date but for now a set of reliable XM481’s will do just fine. I’ll be fitting rimpact front and rear as I have them on my FS bike and they’re so worth it.

Lovely.

That’s around 3-4mm clearance on the non drive size, with a smidge more on the drive side. Hmmm…

Careful.. my nice Ti frame has a slight groove inside the CS where ~4mm became 1-2mm with a tyre wobble and zero with some frame flex in the corners. Tyre shoulder knobs covered in dirt wore into it a little before I realised and I’ve heard of frames being worn through in that way.

Looks great!

Why did you go for the nordrest over the sonder? Your write up was pretty positive, I guessed you would have gone for custom geometry version of the sonder after demoing it?

Looks great. I’m so tempted by a pinion box, if you ever fancy a bit of guiding around Surrey hills it’d be great to see it in person. I’m similar height so interested how it feels fit wise once it’s built up.

I ride there fairly regularly (or used to…) so deffo up for that. I know how hard it is to get a demo on one of these, there’s not many about.

Careful.. my nice Ti frame has a slight groove inside the CS where ~4mm became 1-2mm with a tyre wobble and zero with some frame flex in the corners. Tyre shoulder knobs covered in dirt wore into it a little before I realised and I’ve heard of frames being worn through in that way.

Cheers – 2.6 is definitely out, I’m probably going to go 2.4 Mazza front and rear, unless this was a false spring and we go back to a mudfest, in which case it’ll be a Mota 2.35 front and rear.

I’m hoping I’ll be fine with some 2.6 Barzos on 30mm rims for summer XC/local riding, no mud and lower profile knobs so should be fine.

That’s a lovely looking frame. What made you go for the Nordest over Sonder, Kingdom etc? Having a Ti frame is an itch I need to scratch one day

Nice.

Out of interest where did you get the Gates stuff from? A mechanic mate has been looking for a CDX belt for a customers bike as the CDN had shed a ton of teeth but can’t find any available for sale.

I have Gates CDX & Alfine 11 on my commuter which sees a lot of muddy slop through my winter commute, it’s been great to just run a brush over the belt & sprockets once a week.

Looks great!

Why did you go for the nordrest over the sonder? Your write up was pretty positive, I guessed you would have gone for custom geometry version of the sonder after demoing it?

That’s a lovely looking frame. What made you go for the Nordest over Sonder, Kingdom etc? Having a Ti frame is an itch I need to scratch one day

Cheers both!

For the Kingdom, I didn’t realise they could do Pinion custom builds until one popped uo on their instagram a few weeks back. It was far too late by then!

As for the Sonder, I went for the Nordest over this as it was something a little rarer, but the main thing was the Geo – I would have had to go custom with the Sonder to get the frame split for the belt drive and to go a little slacker and to accommodate the 150/160mm forks, which would have increased the cost. Plus the Nordest came with the rear hub which is about £180’s worth.

And, it sounds irrelevant but I don’t like the downtube shape at the headtube on the sonder, much prefer the straighter lines on the Nordest. Also the size L which is perfect for me has an almost straight line between top tube and chainstay, which to me is the holy grail of how a hardcore hardtail should look. The Sonder the the biggest size has a much bigger bend.

Out of interest where did you get the Gates stuff from? A mechanic mate has been looking for a CDX belt for a customers bike as the CDN had shed a ton of teeth but can’t find any available for sale.

Ordered with the frame/gearbox, Nordest do a gates belt drive kit which includes both sprockets and the belt.

That is lovely

Looking good,hope to see it out on the trails and covered in mud .Although hopefully that will be next Winters mud now .

Uber-niche, but I like it.

😀

And that’s what I call a well-packaged frame (hopefully it was re-purposed packaging).

Out of interest where did you get the Gates stuff from? A mechanic mate has been looking for a CDX belt for a customers bike as the CDN had shed a ton of teeth but can’t find any available for sale.

@querty I’ve always bought from this place but no experience post Brexit

https://pinion-bikes.de/Zahnriemen_s2

They have an ebay shop too with nearly 2000 feedback, 100%. I’m thinking of ordering the reverse shift ring for the shifter from them. Interestingly, they also sell the full gearbox kit on it’s own. 919 euros for the C1.12.

That looks very special. Can’t wait to see it built up

Looks lovely. Where does the frame split for the belt?

That looks great. Any idea how much weight the drivetrain adds over equivalent traditional gearing?

Total weight for the pinion system is 3300g – gearbox, cranks, shifter, front and rear sprockets and gates belt

As a comparison, a full XO1 eagle groupset is 1550g, so it’s about 1.8kg heaver. BB weight is offset by the weight of the mounting plate so haven’t included that.

But, you’re losing the weight off the rear wheel and putting it centre mass in the bike. On a FS that’s a huge gain – on a HT less so but it still makes a difference.

I’ve estimated mine will come out around 14.5kg which is about the same as my 150/160mm carbon FS bike.

This is the split for the belt, can’t see it unless you’re looking really close.

This is the split for the belt, can’t see it unless you’re looking really close.

Very tidy. Nice.

That does indeed look lovely, similar set of priorities to my titanium commuter a few years ago, although that was belt-drive Alfine, not pinion.

I’d also beware of running clearance too tight as I have an original TinBred with a small hole in a chainstay from running an optimistically sized tyre 🙁

Few more pics of the frame (taken with a proper camera)

Pressed in the Hope headset cups

And also dry fitted the fork – at 150mm with the axles at exactly the same height I measured 64.5 degree HA – I may fit a luftkappe and go to 160mm at some point which would take it to 64 degrees static. I also need a third 5mm spacer – there’s barely a gnats pube (less than 1mm) between the top of the steerer and the top of the stem so will add some to the shopping list.

Lovely looking frame😍 Have been toying with the idea of one of their frames for a while now, think this might have just made my mind up.

When I finally replace my temporary hardtail (which I’ve now had for five years!) I can see myself getting something like this. Very nice!

Very nice

Oh love reading about builds, can’t wait to see it finished and here your thought! Very nice enjoy

This is very good, I’m defo a Nordest fan.

But dithering meant the price went up.

Yep, same here with a Super Albarda. Rats.

Love Nordest – seem to be one of the few reasonably priced (even after the rises) & progressive frame producers left.
Was really tempted by an Super Albarda, but post brexit vat and duty has killed that for me.

Lovely bit of metalwork that 👌

I’m amassing more and more parts…

Still waiting on brakes, hubs, spokes, handlebar, pedals and a few small bits. Haven’t ordered tyres yet as I don’t truly believe that spring is here yet 😀

Once the hubs and spokes have arrived I’ll start to build the wheels, need the frame bare for that as I’ll building them in the frame/forks.

That is going to look brilliant .

Ooh, this is going to be good. Looking forward to watching this being built

Pure and utter filth. Already run out of kleenex.

Very nice. The only thing I would say against my Gate belt drive is that without a special tool it was a nightmare to get the sprocket off the freehub as a chainwhip is pretty useless. 😀

That’s a fine looking bike frame.

Good point @eddiebaby – shouldn’t need one for a while but mental note made! 😁

And thanks all! To say there’s been a lot of planning gone into this build would be an understatement!

Special tool price was too special for me, I use a cheap strap wrench and paid slightly more for a metal body rather than plastic.  Rubber strap is all that touches the sprocket.  No issues so far

there’s been a lot of planning

Pah, it’s been nearly a week and all you have is an incomplete pile of bits.  Pull yer finger out, I was hoping for a first ride report by now 😀