First Look: The Nordest Candonga 2 is a Pinion Smart Shift-Equipped Titanium Gravel Bike - Velo

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When Pilot Cycles announced the Scram Pinion Smart.Shift at the beginning of the year, it was the very first of its kind. Back then, there was no other gearbox-equipped titanium gravel bike on the market that combined electronic shifting with proper drop bar shifting ergonomics. Now, Pedro Jerónimo is throwing his hat into the ring with a far more affordable offering: the Nordest Candonga 2, priced at 3,785 €.

Whatever the differences in geometry and frame weight may or may not be, the 2,000 € price difference between the Nordest and the Pilot is also going to be rather difficult to ignore. I labor the point because if you’re in the market for a Pinion Smart Shift-equipped titanium gravel bike, your options are limited to the above.

The Pinion C1.12 gearbox offers a monstrously wide gear spread of 600%, with even spaces between each of the 12 gears (17.7%). That’s a wider range than you’ll get on on a Rohloff Speedhub (520%) or any 12s derailleur-actuated mountain bike drivetrain currently available. The C1.12i Smart Shift delivers that same spread, only the shifting is electronic.

But, the real beauty of the system isn’t its lack of cables. Rather, its the Pre.Select mode. It automatically adjusts the gear ratio for the rider while coasting, dependent on the rider’s preferred cadence. So, after rolling downhill, the system will shift to select the most appropriate gear that best matches your new speed and how quickly you like to spin.

I haven’t yet ridden the Pinion Smart Shift system, but my experience of such a feature on the SRAM Powertrain was wholly positive. It essentially means you’ll never have the nasty surprise of “pedaling into nothing”, unless of course your speed has exceeded what can be achieved with the hardest gear in the range.

The Nordest Candonga 2 offers a more relaxed geometry as compared to the Pilot Scram, with a 69.5° head tube angle versus the 71° of the Pilot. It also offers a smidgeon more tire clearance: up to 700c x 50mm, versus the Pilot’s 45mm.

Geometrically, the Candonga 2 isn’t far off that of the recently-released Nordest 3003 Ti. While the latter is designed specifically around a flat handlebar, the Candonga 2 is offered in two geometries to suit flat- and drop-bars. The flat bar geometry is a fraction slacker with a 69° head tube angle. A major difference is seen in the rear-center length: the 3003 Ti, designed around a traditional derailleur-based drivetrain, has a compact chainstay length of 420mm, while the gearbox-equipped Candonga 2 has a much longer rear-center of 430-450mm – adjustable by virtue of the sliding dropouts, in place for tensioning of the belt-drive.

There are just four sizes to choose from, with seat tube lengths at 480mm, 500mm, 520mm and 545mm. Those are paired with reach figures of 369mm, 382mm, 390mm and 398mm. Those four sizes should accommodate riders between 5ft 2″ tall and 6ft 4″ tall.

The effective seat tube angle is 74.5°, the BB drop is 85mm, and the wheelbase on the largest frame size is 1,102mm. It’s quite a lot lower than the Pilot Scram, which has a BB drop of just 72mm.

The Nordest Candonga 2 frame, with Pinion C1.12i Smart Shift gearbox, weighs a claimed 4.97 kg in Size M/L. That alone is priced at 3,785 €, or you can get the mechanical shift C1.12 for 2,999 €.

Both the flat bar and drop bar versions are designed around a fork with an A2C measurement of 400m, with a 52mm rake. Fork options are the 990g Cane Creek Invert Fork – a 30mm travel suspension fork, or Nordest’s own Albarda carbon fork (465g) – a rigid affair with clearance for a 700c x 54mm tire and bosses for the mounting of Anything Cages. Frameset price with the suspension fork is 4.149 €.

The TRP HyWire electronic shifter units are the only drop-bar solution on the market for the Pinion C1.12i Smart Shift gearbox – so you’ll have to factor in the additional 499 € that these cost when you do your sums. The flat bar crowd will get Pinion’s grip shifter.

Orders can be placed anytime from now, with delivery expected around 10 weeks thereafter.

nordestcycles.com