Van Nicholas Titanium Tuareg - 12 speed mountain bike
I've been riding the Van Nicholas titanium Tuareg mountain bike for over eleven years now. Ever since I started building it in 2013, I've been riding mountain bikes for around 40 years.
The nice thing about Titanium bikes is that they don't age like metal or carbon bikes. So even now it still looks almost like a new bike. Sadly, the model Tuareg is no longer available from Van Nicholas. Now replaced by the model Revelstoke though it's very similar to the Taureg
August 2024 : Breaking my crankset
I was out riding a single. Luckily for me, it was just after a fast downhill section when my crankshaft came flying off with my foot still clipped onto the pedal. It was a flat single, so stopping was easy; I didn't even fall off.
So after getting my wife to bring the car and pick me up at the nearest village. I popped into my local bike store to see about buying a new crankset. as it's only 10km from my house.
I was really lucky as they had an old but brand new SRAM XO Truvativ lying around in stock. The exact same model as my broken one.
An hour later and 100 euros lighter, I was up and running again, all in the same day. Who could ask for more? See the photo above
Later, after cleaning up the old one. I realised that it wasn’t the crank-set that was actually broken, but the fixing bolt that had sheared. I later managed to extract the broken bolt parts. And immediately ordered a new bolt set, meaning once repaired I should be sell the crank-set and recuperate some cash.
But this started me thinking
Most of the parts on my Tuareg have been there since I started the build around 2013, and so I said to myself, maybe it's time to update, upgrade and renew some of its equipment.
Going for a 1*12 speed setup
As I had the Roc d’Azur coming up again in two months time, October 2024, and I had already been thinking about switching to a 12 speed setup for a while, even though it meant spending some serious money (I was still running a 11v)
I would need to purchase: A new 12v shifter, cassette, derailleur, chain and chain ring. Also, to be able to fit the cassette, I would need to change the freewheel on the back wheel, as it was an old Shimano, 10 /11 speed only. But. ...... I thought to myself, hey, let's change the wheels as they like everything else are old ...
So I started spending some money :
I ordered all the parts except the freewheel. I’ll get to that in a minute. All 12 speed Shimano XTR except the chain ring and chain, which I chose to stay with SRAM. A 32 tooth 6mm offset chain ring and GX Eagle chain.
Building new wheels, again…
My existing wheels were ZTR Crest, but fitted for 11v only. So I chose to buy and once again from the same company that had built them up years ago. A French, very high-end wheel building company JPRacing, that I had used about ten years ago to build the previous set. So a couple of emails later, I had already chosen what I wanted and ordered them.
I decided to stay with Stan’s NoTubes ZTR Crest rims
Except now their latest model is Mk4 (I think my original rims were Mk1) and once again Hope Pro axles/hubs. Again latest version this time, now Mk5, this time with a Shimano 12v Microspline freewheel, which is needed for the XTR 12v cassette. The spokes and nipples are the same as the last time (Cx-Ray Sapin spokes & DT prolock hexa nipples), still the best around.
Why Stan’s NoTubes ZTR Crest again?
While the choice of rims is quite large. Well, they haven’t ‘moved’ in ten years, so why change ?.
Why Hope axles?
Before I had started with Duke axles. Even more expensive than the Hope ones. I completely broke the back axle in half after a couple of years of riding. And later, the front axle started to fracture.
So that was enough for me. I switched to Hope. I have their brakes already, and these are still perfect, even after all these years. So far, they haven’t let me down, and they look great.
Below: Stan’s Notubes ZTR Crest rims MK4 – 2024
Front Wheel build
Stan’s NoTubes Rim ZTR Crest MK4
Holes number – 32, Rim diameter – 27,5″, Rim profile – Asymmetric
Rim finish – Satin black
Hub Hope Pro5 IS colour – Red, Front axle – 100X15
Sapim spokes CX-Ray J-bend Black, length – 294mm.
Sapim nipples Polyax Alu secure lock 14mm 14gm – Red
Back Wheel build
Stan’s NoTubes Rim ZTR Crest MK4
Holes number – 32, Rim diameter – 27,5″, Rim profile – Asymmetric
Rim finish – Satin black
Hub Hope Pro5 IS colour – Red, Rear axle – 135QR5
Free wheel body type – Shimano Microspline
Sapim spokes CX-Ray J-bend Black, length – 294mm
Sapim nipples Polyax Alu secure lock 14mm 14gm – Red
I still have some old stuff…
A ROCKSHOX Reverb AXS dropper, a Brooks carbon rail C13 saddle (this saddle, like the XTR pedals, is on all three bikes). I still have the Hope Tech X2 brakes; these are brilliant brakes. I had them purged and adjusted two years ago by Hope at the 2022 Roc d’Azur. Pedals are Shimano XTR, and I still have the Race Face stem and handlebars with a Chris King headset.
It’s finished
A full 12-speed Van Nicholas titanium MTB ‘Tuareg’
It’s finally finished, with new wheels and new components required to run a 12-speed setup. Also, as I was going down south for the Roc d’Azur. With a dry, sandy and rocky terrain, I switched out my regular tyres, Maxxis Ikon and Ardent, to the newish Schwalbe Racing Ralph and Racing Ray as I’d read some good reviews about them.
Years ago, I had binned some Racing Ralph’s as they puncture too easily, but they seem to have corrected this now with a new rubber texture. I admit trying them at the Roc d’Azur, I was really very pleased with them and found them better suited for the terrain than the Maxxis
Final thoughts
Two months later. I’ve ridden the Roc d’Azur. The bike performed perfectly. (I’m getting good at setting up my bikes) I had no problems with the bike or my setup.
Riding a 51-tooth back cog did make my life a little easier than the previous Shimano 11-speed 46-tooth that I’d been riding for many years. I’m now 66 years old in 2024, soon 67, so that was a little easier on my old legs
List of components
Van Nicholas Tuareg Titanium 27.5
Shimano XTR derailleur long cage
Shimano XTR 10-51 cassette
SRAM 6mm offset 32 tooth chainring
Hope Tech X2 brakes
Rockshox Sid RL 100mm fork
Race Face stem and handlebars carbon
Chris King headset
Brooks carbon rail C13 saddle
Update September 2025
I've just changed the XTR pedals to Favero Assioma Power Pedals. You can read about these here:
favero-assioma-mx-2-power-meter-pedals-a-quick-review
favero-assioma-power-pedals-and-cycling-dynamics