No.22
Great Divide
Canadian brand No.22 has a mission – to make titanium the material of the future rather than a nod to the past
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In these days of easily reproducible and eerily similar bikes, choosing a bike is often as much about buying into a brand and an idea as it is about finding a mechanically superior machine. Although No.22 may not have a century of heritage or Grand Tour jerseys to show for itself, this new Canadian outfit certainly has a story to tell.
The North American bike-making industry has been suffering a bit of a decline of late, owing to pressure from cheap manufacturing in the Far East and the fact that
the US hasn’t seen quite the resurgence of artisan bike building that’s happened on our shores. Most notably, custom bike builder Serotta (or technically, offshoot company Saratoga) closed recently amid parent company intervention, internal strife and dwindling business. Serotta, based in New York state, was once seen as oneof the most covetable brand names in the bike world, and when word got out of its closure, No.22 was quick to offer some of its key workers a new job.
‘Having contracted Serotta to build some bikes for
us when we started out, we really got on well with the guys out there, and we hoped they would continue their operation in some form,’ says Bryce Gracey, co-founder of No.22 bikes (the company name comes from the atomic number for titanium). ‘Then only a few weeks ago the doors were locked and all the employees let go. But because we had developed that relationship we decided to work together. So now we are launching our own manufacturing facility in upstate New York imminently, and they will be full-time employees of ours.’
Gracey makes no secret of the fact that the Serotta team plays a crucial role in the bike’s technical strength. Being an architect, Gracey has approached the project from a purely creative perspective – building on his experience rather than technical knowledge as a bike builder.
‘We took it from a very architectural model, where we do the designs and submit those to a manufacturer who provides shop drawings from their end for approval and tweaking, and we sign them off and have our frames built that way,’ Gracey says.
Brands that deal in titanium often trade on heritage and luxury, but No.22 has set its sights on establishing titanium as a modern and competitive material.
‘Our big thing is to get Ti back on the shop floor and into the competitive market,’ Gracey says. ‘We think it isn’t given the justice it deserves. We just feel that metal is better value for a bike in terms of performance, ride quality and durability.’
The Great Divide is very much a blend of new and old. Wide tube profiles resemble modern race bikes, while the welds and head tube badge exude the expertise of Serotta veteran Frank Cenchitz. It negotiates the gap between tradition and modern performance skilfully. Gracey says, ‘You have to be careful to engage with contemporary features without losing what makes titanium unique.’
Testing metal
When it comes to how different materials perform on a bike, people tend to hold unfair prejudices – and I’m no exception. I generally steer clear of titanium out of fear of the ‘plush’ feel that people always attribute to it (give me speed and stiffness every time). Yet the Great Divide convinced me otherwise.
While I won’t go as far as to say the No.22 is the most blisteringly hair-on-fire ride I’ve ever had, it does give the feel of a fast bike. It feeds back enough of the road to perceive traction and a sense of speed but without ever compromising comfort – a tough double act to achieve.
The 3Al-2.5V titanium tubing, provided by Lynskey and constructed with an unusually wide diameter, makes for a stiff construction that allows for an impressive flat- out speed. Coming in at just under 7.5kg by our scales.
‘Speed is coupled with impressive handling. It’s a frame that begs to be pushed to the limit on descents’
It also nudges alongside all but the lightest race machines, so climbing isn’t a problem either. Its speed only falters at the very highest intensities where it reveals more flex than you’d find on top-end carbon race bikes. But the Great Divide doesn’t strike me as a bike that wants to be taken to the line in a sprint – it seems most at home on a pacy, hilly 100km ride.
That speed is coupled with an imp ressive handling performance, partly thanks to the stiff Enve 2.0 carbon fork. Given the combination of responsive feedback and cushioning effect of the ride, it’s a frame that begs to be pushed to the limit on turbulent descents.
While the Great Divide is fast enough to do any rider justice in a competitive group ride or chaingang, it’s one of the few bikes I’ve ridden that makes going slowly as much of a pleasure as the speediest rides. The best example of that was on one of my worst-ever days on a bike (which I’ll admit was due to an ill-advised quantity of alcohol the previous night). On that ride, having been dropped by the bunch, the Great Divide offered a gentility and comfort that allowed me to thoroughly enjoy my lethargic pace and almost forget the pounding in my head.
On closer inspection
When the frameset costs £2,400 you’d expect a spec to match, and in most areas on the Great Divide it does.
The Ultegra groupset is well placed and external cabling makes for easy maintenance. The wheels are No.22’s own design, handbuilt on Pacenti SL23 rims. They make for a sub-1,500g wheelset but with a sturdy and reliable feel. In relation to the price of the frameset, you’d probably call them training wheels, but they’re capable of meeting any serious demands you might make of the bike.
Ultimately, the Great Divide is an impressive entrant to the do-it-all bike market, being racy enough for a competitive rider but compliant and pleasant enough for long days in the saddle. Where No.22 has really achieved
its target, though, is that this is a titanium bike that doesn’t have to rely on good looks to be a worthwhile purchase. With some Ti bikes, nostalgia and a desire
to be alternative persuade us to overlook some of the performance sacrifices, but the Great Divide can perform every bit as well as similarly pitched carbon bikes, with the metallic benefits being simply a bonus.
It’s a sign that No.22 is a brand to watch. Its elegant looks, with nice touches such as the neat 22 emblem that sits on the rear brake bridge, reveal an impressive level of attention to detail. On the road, the bike reflects
every bit of that careful design. The Great Divide asserts that well-crafted titanium can sit equally comfortably
in the artisan showroom or on the shop floor alongside hi-tech carbon offerings.
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