The EuroVelo cycle routes, when completed in 2020, will total over 70,000 kilometres of trail, through 42 countries. It’s a series of 14 long distance routes with the longest — EuroVelo 13, the Iron Curtain Trail — extending over 10,400kms. Each route is a potential bucket list ride, one which Etienne is about to undertake upon a new frame by Belgium’s Nicolas Noblet.
For over three years, Nicolas has been building frames as his full-time occupation. He has engineered plenty of track and road frames, including two ‘homage’ frames to the 80s and 90s — complete with period correct components — and also a couple of touring frames. Spirito Libero is the latest, destined for a once in a lifetime trip.
Etienne and his wife will take three weeks to ride Eurovelo 15, wending their way for 1,230kms along the banks of the Rhine, from its source in Switzerland to its mouth in the North Sea. The route passes nine UNESCO sites and a multitude of art galleries and museums, including Germany’s Museum of the Island of Hombroich, featuring a new exhibition space designed by Tadao Ando.
The silver-brazed frame and fork is made from Columbus ZONA XL tubing, with Llewellyn lugs and braze-ons. “The fenders are stainless Gilles Berthoud, painted to match,” Nicolas tells us. “The front hub is a Son 28 dynamo, the front light is the Edelux II. Campagnolo Athena triple, Mavic rims and White Industries rear hub, Chris King headset and Paul brakes complete the ensemble.”
Special thanks to Nicolas Noblet for the photos. Head to his website for more.
