The technical trail riding steel hardtails of Nordest Cycles just got more personal with a new custom paint program. Available exclusively on their affordable 4130 framesets for enduro, all-mountain, and adventure biking, Nordest is also highlighting their hardtails’ versatility. Plus, Nordest has teased us with the first look at a new gravel bike coming at the start of next year in both steel or titanium…
Nordest Cycles custom painted 4130 steel trail mountain bikes
Now offered only on Nordest Cycles’ enduro Bardino & trail or bikepacking Sardinha, the custom paint is now available on either of the 550€ steel frames. Opting for the custom finish adds 150€ to either bike, meaning a frame-only price of 700€ for the Bardino, the same 700€ for the Sardinha frame, or 870€ for the Sardinha frameset including a painted-to-match bikepacking-ready steel fork.
Custom paint includes one or two solid colors, plus the flexibility to slightly modify or even simplify some of the Nordest decals. Custom paint is managed now by contacting Nordest directly, with fast turnaround, just about one week to paint the bike in-house in their shop in Portugal once the design & colors are approved.
Nordest Bardino orange 79er monster enduro, all-mountain hardtail
The first in the Nordest custom paint program is a unique orange Bardino. Beyond just getting a bright paintjob, this Bardino also gets a unique build mixing a 27.5+ rear wheel and a 29″ front wheel for a more technical trail build.
Nordest says the mixed wheel setup, pairing a 27.5 x 2.8″ rear tire to a 29 x 2.4″ front tire, isn’t only about making the bike look more aggressive.
It balances out more comfort & grip in the back for laying down the power in loose terrain. And at the same time maintains the precision of a lighter, more agile wheel up front for picking lines in techy trail sections, with a little bit of extra rollover thanks to the slightly larger front tire diameter.
This custom Nordest Bardino M1 version complete with custom paint has a retail price of 3450€.
Nordest Sardinha blacked out, fully rigid trail 29er mountain bike
The custom painted Sardinha is the even better deal as you the same 150€ upcharge applies whether you get the frame only, or paired with the steel fork.
Again, this Nordest custom build shows a bit more of the options available for the Sardinha. Even though the bike can run 27.5+ tires for off-road adventuring, Nordest built this matte black bike up with 29 x 2.6″ tires as more of a modern take on the classic rigid 29er mountain bike.
Rounding out the XT 1x drivetrain is a titanium flat bar and seatpost from sister, custom geometry company Jerónimo. Plus, it still keeps all the braze-ons to turn the bike into a loaded off-road traveller at a moment’s notice.
The Sardinha doesn’t have standard complete builds, but Nordest can put one together for you from around 1650€ with a Shimano Deore build & 27.5+ WTB Ranger tires, plus 150€ for the custom paint.
Nordest steel or titanium gravel bike, coming soon?
Lastly Nordest is teasing a new gravel bike that they are currently testing its first production prototype. Slated for introduction in January 2019, the as-yet unnamed gravel bike will be available both in steel and titanium frame versions, and with a full carbon fork. Pricing will be mostly inline with their other bikes (think ~550€ for steel or ~1300€ in ti.)
Details remain thin, but it’s expected to have long, low & slack inspired geometry to be built up with a short stem and a stable low bottom bracket. What we do know is that it will fit big 650b x 2.1″ or 700c x 50mm tires, and should include plenty of adventure-friendly braze-ons.
We’ll keep an eye out for its official debut at the start of next year.
