Van Nicholas Boreas

The Van Nicholas Boreas blends classic aesthetics with a stiff performance orientated ride, with that recognisable titanium plushness thrown in for good measure. Basically, it's a beauty to look at, and the same to ride, plus in a cycling world full of gadgets and complexity it brings a feeling of simplicity, which is backed up by the now rarely seen rim brakes.

Our best road bikes buyer's guide rounds up our top picks from just £300 to north of £13,000.

> Buy now: Van Nicholas Boreas for £2,989 from Van Nicholas

Ride

Okay, so that final sentence of the opening paragraph makes it sound as though there is something old-school about the Boreas, but there really isn't. This is a modern frame and fork, with the latest components and a ride that matches.

Van Nicholas describes the Boreas as a 'smooth sprinter' and I reckon that pretty much sums this bike up. It feels stiff throughout, with a press-fit bottom bracket shell that could take as much power as I was able to push through the pedals and a front end that feels very tight when braking hard or hammering the bike through a twisty section of road.

It's definitely a bike that likes to be ridden hard, and it's rewarding in a lot of respects.

Underneath all that stiffness, though, is a smoothness that's unique to high-quality titanium and steel frames. A feeling of smoothness that seems to do away with any high-frequency vibration or harshness.

This means the Boreas is a capable all-round road bike, not just limited to the business end of a ride or race. It's comfortable, ideal for long rides, sportives or whatever endurance event you have in mind.

It really doesn't beat you up at all, even when you find yourself rolling along in the back lanes with their less-than-perfect surface.

As a climber the stiffness is obviously a bonus, and while in this build the entry-level Aksium wheels and Schwalbe Lugano tyres hamper performance a little by adding weight, it's still a very capable ascender. Swapping a pair of lightweight carbon wheels over from my own road bike highlighted just how responsive the Boreas can, even by shedding just half a kilo or so.

From a geometry point of view, the front end isn't as aggressive as you'll find on some race bikes, but the head angle isn't as steep as one that you would find on an endurance machine.

This brings a front end that is direct, capable of tackling high-speed technical descents without any drama but without making the steering feeling twitchy at slower speeds. It's a flattering bike to ride, and you don't need to have miles of road bike experience to get the best out of it.

Frame & Fork

The most common grade of titanium alloy used for bike frames is 3Al/2.5V, which is a blend of titanium with 3% aluminium and 2.5% vanadium, and that is exactly what Van Nicholas has used here.

On a titanium frame without paint there is nowhere to hide, so the quality of the welding has to be on point – and that is exactly what we have here. It's not quite as exquisite as that found on small batch, very high-end frames, but it's definitely above what you'd expect at this price point.

Detailing around the bottle cage bosses and other bits is neat and tidy, and things like the engraved head tube and rear brake bridge bring a little touch of class.

The 3D-cast rear dropouts include the rear mech hanger on the drive side.

It would be nice to see a replaceable hanger, if I'm honest, in case the bike is dropped or crashed, but titanium is a pretty robust material and the Boreas is backed up by a lifetime warranty.

All the cabling is run externally through guides are mounted on the head tube.

While the look isn't as clean as on a frame with internal cable routing, rim brakes are less cluttered than disc callipers and rotors, so the resulting look is tidy and more minimalist. And while this frame is limited to mechanical groupsets, the Boreas is also available in a Di2-ready version.

Tyre clearance is limited to 28mm on the frame and fork, but that's the limit of the dual pivot callipers anyway so it's no point Van Nicholas making it any larger. And in my opinion, 28mm is plenty on a bike of this ilk anyway.

The full-carbon fibre fork has the stiffness and compliance to match that of the frame.

The Boreas is available in five sizes from S to XXL, with my Large test bike having a 563mm effective top tube length.

The seat tube is 550mm (CTT), with a 170mm head tube and a wheelbase of 997mm.

The head angle is 72.5° and the seat tube 73° for the seat tube.

The claimed frame weight is 1.79kg with a further 344g for the carbon fork.

Finishing Kit & Cost

You can customise the build of your Boreas on Van Nicholas' website, which shows all the various build options. And if you do use the website, make sure you select the UK option so the price is shown in pounds. We have the base model that came in at £2,989.

It's fitted with a Shimano 105 R7000 11-speed mechanical groupset.

Even though this is getting a bit long in the tooth now and 12-speed 105 is on its way, it still performs excellently with great shifting across the cassette and chainrings.

What with virtually every road bike at this price point coming with hydraulic disc brakes these days Shimano still offer excellent rim brakes, with these callipers offering performance and value, just like the rest of the 105 groupset.

The standard pads don't offer the best bite on the market, but they do last well and once bedded in the stopping performance is very good, in the dry at least.

Among other offerings Van Nicholas also has its own VNT range, which has a mix of aluminium and titanium components.

To keep the cost down this model is specced with the aluminium kit.

It's decent stuff and the logo does give it a look that is a bit more upmarket than it is. The handlebar has a shallow drop like most do these days, so the drops are available for those of us who aren't that flexible and both the bar and stem offer plenty of stiffness.

The 27.2mm seatpost comes with a small amount of setback, and perched above it you'll find a VNT saddle.

I wouldn't say the flat profile saddle is my favourite seat and I'd probably change it for something with a bit more shape.

Mavic's Aksiums have been around for many years, and I've ridden more sets than I care to remember. I've always found them to be reliable, though, and they're easily stiff enough for general riding and training.

But at around 1,900g they aren't exactly light, so if you want to use the Boreas for something competitive or you like climbing, then you'll be on the lookout for something lighter.

It's the same thing with the Schwalbe Lugano tyres. They provide a reasonable combination of speed, grip and durability without really excelling anywhere.

They are good, cheap all-rounders and decent performers for the money, but as with the wheels, if you want to exploit the performance of the Boreas these would be worth upgrading.

The Competition

Apart from the entry-level offering in a lot of bike brands' ranges, bikes with rim brakes are becoming something of a rarity, so finding a titanium bike in a similar build is a challenge.

Reilly still offers the T325 nearly a decade after its launch. Reilly classes the T325 as a road race/sportive favourite and with a Shimano 105 mechanical groupset and alloy wheels it comes in at £3,699. Dave certainly liked it when he reviewed it back in 2014, when he saw it as a worthy alternative to a carbon fibre race bike.

The J.Laverack R J.ACK I is also a similar kind of bike aimed at the racer who wants classic looks. It too has a mechanical 105 groupset and alloy finishing kit though it's a little dearer than the Reilly at £3,845, but you do get the choice of either classic or race geometry. Dave was also impressed with the rim-braked R J.ACK III when he tested it, which has the same titanium frame but a higher-spec build.

You can still get a carbon road bike with rim brakes – for the moment anyway. I liked the Decathlon B'Twin Ultra 900 CF 105 back in 2020. This is no longer available but Decathlon still does the higher-spec Van Rysel EDR CF Ultegra for £2799.99, which looks like a genuine performance machine.

Conclusion

Overall, the Boreas fits the bill if you aren't interested in running disc brakes or an electronic groupset and want a road bike that you can ride far and fast. With a decent set of wheels and tyres it'll make a competitive racer too.

I love its classical looks, and it's well priced compared to the competition.

Verdict

Classic looks and a stunning frameset to ride, though it deserves better finishing kit than fitted here