After a brief hiatus where Nevi stopped production, the Nevi Spinas LA-1 returns. The flagship of the range, Nevi's titanium masterpiece is a frame whose beauty and finish are matched only by its performance. The returning version features an even stiffer design courtesy of a thicker side wall (0.3mm thicker than the previous 0.5mm wall) in the downtube which conveys additional strength to boot.
Nevi are a small family run business based in Bergamo, northern Italy. Owned and operated by former Italian Pro rider Sergio Finazzi and his wife Consuelo; Nevi have been fabricating bicycle frames since 1992 and work solely with high grade Titanium. They are an innovative company - they were the first to employ a four bolt face-plate to a stem and back in 1994 created a Titanium frame with integrated seatpost.
Sergio Finazzi's most famous victory was a stage win in the Tirreno-Adriatico in 1987 but his fondest cycling memory from his time as a professional is from a gruelling stage of the 1988 Giro where he finished 7th. Starting in Chiesa Valmanenco, the day saw riders finish in Bormio, exhausted and battered from the cold and bad weather. Finazzi took 7th having ridden through snow on the Passo Gavia and it was this experience that led to the choice of brand name. Nevi being Italian for snow.
Nevi employ some special techniques in the fabrication of their frames. Water jet cutting allows Nevi to create novel shapes and their frame welding takes place in a Vacuum Chamber. The Vacuum chamber is key to Nevi's quality : All air (and therefore impurities) is removed and the chamber filled with Argon, an inert gas. By welding in Argon, the possibility of weld contamination is removed and gasses already dissolved in the metal can be released and removed without reaction, this yields far stronger welds. Welding Titanium is an art-form in itself. Take a look at the welds on a Nevi and you'll notice that they are different from many Ti frames. The Argon welding creates a smooth look to the weld and they are up to 3 times stronger than those from traditional welding. It is Nevi's special processes that allow them to produce a Titanium Road Fork that is strong enough to perform.
Nevi are so proficient working with Titanium that notable F1 teams outsource their Titanium parts' production to the company. In addition, Nevi have worked directly with another notable motorsport marque to create their incredible fusion process that allows the creation of super-strong parts.
Despite the rise and widespread use of Carbon for frame manufacture, Titanium remains an excellent alternative. Titanium has very high corrosion resistance and the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metallic element; it's as strong as steel, but only 45 percent the weight and it's twice as strong as aluminum, but only 60 percent heavier.
Titanium is strong, light and will last a lifetime. It also conveys a very smooth ride feel, soaking up road buzz beautifully whilst remaining reactive and responsive.
Nevi have a core range of Road frames from the Classic - a frame that uses an external Aheadset and as the name suggests, has a traditional look with narrow tubes; to the Stelvio and the impressive Spinas. Both the Stelvio and Spinas are available in an LA version and all frames are available in either a polished or satin finish.
The Spinas LA1 is designed as a high performance race frame. The Spinas is manufactured entirely from Ti aerospace grade alloy 3AL-2.5V - excluding drop-outs, BB shell and headtube which by function of design require a harder material 6AL-4V. The most obvious feature of the Spinas is the enormous 3-faceted down tube which is aero-shaped. The down tube is seam welded on the underside and it is what lends the Spinas it's incredible rigidity and power transfer, inviting you to ride from the first pedal stroke.
The tubes are seamless and cold released and the top tube features a 35mm diameter ovalised section for increased lateral stiffness to augment the that conveyed by the down-tube. The flattening of the top tube also helps to counter the effects of the improved stiffness by creating an area of vertical compliance which, when coupled to Titanium's natural road buzz-killing qualities, makes for an incredibly racy frame that doesn't punish the rider.
The Spinas LA1 is a Nevi's most reactive and responsive race bike. This is thanks not only to the huge down-tube and stiff bottom beacket but in part thanks to its oversized and tapered headtube. Like most modern race bikes, the shaping of the headtube and broad lower bearing help convey stiffness to the front end making for an agile bike that goes where you point it. The Spinas LA1 features a 11/2" tapered headtube for incredible stiffness and when partnered with the Nevi tapered fork offers deft handling and incredible cornering. While there is little in it, if you like your ride even more direct, I would suggest pairing the frame with an Enve 2.0 road fork
The LA-1 frames are truly something special : All the welds are smoothed down by hand - a process that literally takes hours and which leaves a stunning finish. In addition the bottom bracket shell and brake bridge are engraved with the Nevi logo and the frame is prepared for routing Di2 or EPS Electronic groupsets internally.
In an age of Carbon there is something to be said for taking a different approach. A hand-crafted Italian Titanium frame is special indeed : it is a frame that won't date and will remain a thing of beauty for decades while retaining its ride characteristics rather than have them fade over time, it has the added bonus of being 'Made in Italy' when so many are from the far east.
The Nevi Spinas LA1 is available with numerous other options including 2 additional routing options: Mechanical External or Mechanical Internal. Available in Nevi's standard geometry in 5 sizes and offered with a Lifetime warranty.
Price here is for Standard Geometry with electronic routing.
All Nevi frames are as customisable as you are likely to need, from Geometry to finish, disc brake mounting to routing-free for eTap, gold etched logos to your name etched on the frame.