Van Nicholas
Van Nicholas Titanium
Titanium doesn't rust or corrode like steel, it doesn't fatigue like aluminium, and it's can't be easily chipped or broken like carbon fibre. To put it into perspective, a Van Nicholas titanium bike frame is likely to outlive you - regardless of the rides you throw at it. It's handy then, that Van Nicholas frames come with a lifetime manufacturer's warranty.
The Van Nicholas effect.
Every bike Van Nicholas makes is made using titanium because they fundamentally believe it's the best material to make a bike with. Each frame is made from aerospace grade 3Al/2.5V Titanium, which contains 3% aluminium and 2.5% vanadium - the blend which allows Van Nicholas to manufacture with a frame a wall thickness of just 0.9mm - keeping their bikes both strong and light.
Van Nicholas are a Dutch company who are proud of their country's cycling heritage and innovation - they created the first seamless hydroformed titanium frame ever, and as of 2012 are a part of legendary Dutch brand Koga - a company famed for its quality-focus and touring expertise.
Every Van Nicholas model produced goes through a rigorous design process born out of their desire to supply a bike which both looks and rides beautifully, and is built to last through the rigours of modern bike riding.
During the initial Computer Aided Design process, Van Nicholas use Finite Element Analysis to predict how the frame will react to real world forces like vibration, heat etc. Once into prototype, the bike is stress-tested far beyond real-world tolerances so that Van Nicholas can be sure a bike is viable and fit-for-purpose.
The sum of it is that nothing looks or rides like a Van Nicholas titanium bike.
How it rides.
Titanium is 45% lighter than steel, and 2x stronger than aluminium. Essentially with titanium you are therefore getting the best properties of both steel and aluminium without any of the drawbacks and with the added benefits of endless durability and anti-corrosion.
According to Van Nicholas, a titanium frame will be 2x stronger than steel one, and 3x stronger than an aluminium one if they are all the same weight. This allows Van Nicholas to produce a frame with a stiffness-to-weight ratio which is higher than any other metal used in frame-building.
If you've gotten this far you may have already heard about titanium's springy
ride quality that smooths out bumpy surfaces for you. This is true and all thanks to titanium's much higher levels of permanent deflection - an engineering term which defines the lateral deformation of a structural element under load - than other frame metals.
All in all Van Nicholas titanium delivers an extremely comfortable ride and is both lighter and stronger than steel and aluminium alternatives. Pair your Van Nic with a titanium seat post and you'll more or less remove road buzz from your ride. It's not as light or as stiff as carbon - but you're not reading this because you want a carbon bike like everyone else.
Thanks, it's custom.
No two Van Nicholas bikes need ever be the same, and each Van Nicholas can be built to your own preferred specification using Van Nicholas' configurator - helping you to dial in your ideal ride. You might already know exactly what you want, but we're always on hand to advise on specification if you need help deciding on whether to go for Rohloff or Pinion, which handlebar position might suit you best - whatever - we're here to help.
We also keep bikes in stock which we've built to our recommended specifications if you can't wait for a custom build to come in.
Why buy your Van Nicholas through Cyclesense?
Purchasing a Van Nicholas titanium bike is a significant investment - you want to make sure that you get it right and that the experience is enjoyable.
Cyclesense has 20 years of experience in dealing with Van Nicholas and its previous brand name Airborne. We have the knowledge to deliver a retail experience to match the quality of the bike, and the relationship with the brand to ensure you are looked after should any warranty issues arise.
Transparency is key for us with our customers, and you may find that we quote a higher price than Van Nicholas' configurator - this is because Van Nicholas' configurator does not factor in the post-Brexit import taxes and duty that you will be charged when importing the bike from The Netherlands.
When you purchase from us we pay these for you and include the related costs in your quote - and we deal with any import-related hiccups there may be along the way. This means you can make your purchase and rest easy knowing that we'll look after the unpleasantries for you.
We also work with various cycle to work schemes, enabling you to make enormous savings on your Van Nicholas whilst paying for it via a monthly salary sacrifice. Simply get in touch with us for a quote.