NO.22 BICYCLE COMPANY GREAT DIVIDE £4500

› An impressive frameset that comes into its own on rougher surfaces

his bike is named after the watershed that runs along the line of the Rocky Mountains in the US and divides the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic. Well, the No.22 Bicycle Co also crosses borders – it designs its bikes in Canada and has them built by American craftsmen.

This frameset is finished to the highest level we’ve seen in titanium. It combines traditional elements, such as the round tubes and cowled dropouts, with a PF30 bottom bracket and a tapered headset hidden within a straight 44mm diameter headtube. The titanium tubes are either double- or triple-butted, and CNCmachined on a lathe prior to mitring and welding. The finish, which mixes sandblasting and mirror polishing, looks fantastic and we love the geometry, too.

A steep 73-degree head angle and 72.5-degree seat angle ensure the Divide handles responsively, and thanks to the precise ENVE 2.0 road fork there’s no distortion between the head-tube and front axle.

The Divide rides just how we like our titanium: it feels rock solid through the drivetrain, with those big 22mm chainstays keeping the rear end tight, with the natural give in the tubing helping it glide across rough surfaces. Those wide chainstays did mean we occasionally rubbed a heel, though.

The 22’s handling leans more towards sharpness than stability, which we like, and it’s buttery smooth on rolling terrain. The tall gearing necessitates more out-ofthe-saddle action than we’d like on steeper climbs but the frame is full of life beneath you. Through fast corners on descents you can feel the fork’s torsional rigidity – it actually trumps the frame in this regard.

The specific spec is up to you, and UK importer VAM Performance did the honours for us. We love the Zipp SL cockpit with the SL-88 bar’s great compact drop shape, and the Fizik Arione VS saddle (though an Aliante would probably be more endurancefriendly). The pro-compact 52/36 Shimano Ultegra crankset is fine but a wider cassette than the 11-25 would make climbing easier to pace at times. We’ve no complaints about the lowprofile Campagnolo Neutron wheels, though. They’re well made, stiff and built around super-smooth hubs.