A Tribute to Avon, the heart of the OBX
There are hundreds of thousands of miles of paths in the U.S. to explore on a bicycle. One of my all time favorite places is the 150 miles stretch in North Carolina, especially in and around Avon, North Carolina, where you’ll find what we call the OBX, the Outer Banks. The OBX bike paths extending from Corolla to Ocracoke include picturesque trails through forests next to the water, shoreline routes, and protected corridors through town. Their motto is “Share the Road.” What’s not to like about that!
Paying homage to Avon, North Carolina, our designers have created the Nova bike. Nova spelled backward is ''Avon.'' So you could say that his lightweight foldable bike is our tribute to the great city of Avon.
Weighing in at only 24.5 pounds, the Nova is easy to carry around, which makes it a great commuter bike. Additionally, its compact folding size makes it easy to store in any vehicle. So, it has become the bicycle that is perfect for just about everyone.
When it comes to the components, our quality is top-notch - what you have come to expect from a Downtube bike. The Nova's 8 speed cassette with trigger shift drive train makes traversing through hilly regions an almost effortless process. This bike also features a frame protector, kickstand, water bottle interface, head tube bag system interface, and front derailleur braze on - to allow for either 16sp or 24sp. This makes the frame expandable, so it will grow with you.
You can ride the Nova on any kind of terrain - from the flats to the most challenging hills. We built the Nova to handle anything. This combining of the bike's ability to handle any terrain with extreme mobility makes owning a Nova a great experience. It is truly a bike that you can take anywhere and ride anytime.
As an example of its extreme flexibility, the Nova can be adjusted for use by kids as young as 9-year-olds up to adults 6' 1" tall. The Nova is the definition of a flexible bike - a one size fits all winner.
With its quality parts, unmatched flexibility, and affordable price, the Nova is a folding bike that will give you many years of awesome biking experiences.
New 2022 upgrade available with cold forged cranks, ISIS bottom bracket, disc hubs and mid cage rear derailleur ( which provides more ground clearance ).
Features
- Xtra light aluminum frame
- Microsoft 8sp drivetrain
- Trigger shifter
- Adjustable height stem
- Disc hubs & tabs on fork and frame
- Kickstand
- Folding pedals
- Lightweight threadless headset system
- Solid V brakes
- Rise handlebars for additional adjustability
- Headtube bag interface
- Water bottle braze on
- Front derailleur braze on
- Hubs and seatpost have quick releases
- Uses standard bike parts, so everything is easy to replace/upgrade
- 11-34 cassette for a wide gear range. Noone else offers a 34T low gear.
- 24-77 gear inches
Specifications
| FRAME | Downtube Aluminum frame |
| N/A | HLT-400-1 850B *100L |
| FORK | Chien sheng 20" steel unicrown type,TIG welded |
| HANDLEBAR | HL Corp. MTB-AL-153PP alloy W:560mm R:30 |
| HANDLEBAR STEM | HL Corp FB-AL-196-8 alloy φ28.6*25.4 *400 L. |
| BAR ENDS | N/A |
| GRIPS | Jie Li JL-311/312 110/80mm |
| HEAD SET | Chuh Chinn |
| SADDLE | Yibotong 6502 w/C.P clamp & spring w/F & R black bumper |
| SEAT POST | HL Corp. SP-213 alloy φ30.4*500mmL |
| SEAT PIN | Chin haur |
| B.B. PARTS | NECO |
| CHAINWHEEL | Prowheel 1/2"*3/32"*46T |
| CRANK | Prowheel 170mmL alloy |
| CHAIN GUARD | Prowheel |
| PEDALS | Chic sheng folding plastic |
| CHAIN | Z80 1/2"*3/32"*112L |
| TIRES | Kenda K177 20"* 1.5" |
| TUBES | Kenda |
| RIMS | Dino VP-20 alloy 20"*1.5" 14G*28H w/machined sidewall |
| SPOKES & NIPPLES | Shun Lih 14G*56pcs, W/short brass nipples |
| FRONT HUB | Joytech FH-A171DSE 14G*28H*M9" alloy w/QR |
| REAR HUB | Joytech JY-752DSE 14G*28H*M10"*135 alloy w/QR |
| R/DERAILLEUR | Microsoft 8sp |
| SHIFTER(S) | Microsoft trigger shifters |
| FREEWHEEL | 8sp 11-34 cassette |
| FRONT BRAKE | Zhang Star 958DX alloy V-brake |
| REAR BRAKE (I) | Zhang Star 958DX alloy V-brake |
| BRAKE LEVERS | Zhang Star 322DG alloy |
New bike instructions can be found here
29 Reviews Hide Reviews Show Reviews
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Shipping to Hawaii
I bought a Nova and although it took ages to arrive it wasn't Downtube's fault. I live in Hawaii and UPS dumps boxes in Honolulu to have them barged over to the other islands. What I want to say, besides I love my cute little bike, is that I was very impressed with the materials it was shipped in: all except a handful of plastic were put into the recycle bin. Thank you Yan for thinking of the environment.
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Reasonably priced folder with real parts
I have had my Nova for a few months now. It is fantastic. I wanted a reasonably priced folder, but something with real parts. This was the perfect option. I travel a lot and it can come with me anywhere. It takes about 20 seconds to set up and I am off and running. When I first got it, I had a question on how to pull the latch out. Yan was able to help me immediately and all was well. The frame is nice and comfortable. It will be with me for a long, long time. One mistake I made was not to buy the travel bag. Do this. It's not a big deal but I have scratched up my fork and I can't help but thi ...Read More
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My Favorite Bike
I will make it short... It is a great bike. I have a road bike, a mountain bike, an A-Bike, and the Downtube. The downtube has quickly become my favorite. It lives in the trunk of my car, and has the unforeseen advantage of being useable by my 7 year old, as well as me. It feels like a bike, not a toy. I have jumped ramps, done wheelies, rode backwards sitting on the handlebar... yeah... it is a bike. If I was to complain, this is my list: - It is small and light enough...but not enough to easily fit in a suitcase - The gearing is too close together... top speed is not really fast. Otherwise, this bike is super... I love it.
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Excellent bike!
I love my Downtube Nova! It has worked perfectly from the get-go and has been 100% trouble free. I've been riding it every day for the past month. I had originally bought it to take on a sailboat (which I did), but I realized that it fits really neatly in the front seat of my car, so I've used it when I was too lazy to put my bike rack on.
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Great Value
We needed a folder for my wife when traveling in our RV. She is not the bike enthusiast I am so the Nova seemed like a good value. It arrived in 2 days. After unboxing, I aired up tires and off I went. After a few minor adjustments to brakes and derailuer all was good. Folding was very very tight and I contacted Yan to see if some WD 40 would do the trick. He got right back to me and after a few squirts the hinge freed nicely and the fold is on the money. This is a great value bike with outstanding customer service. We hope for many miles of smiles.
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So far seems good for the price.
Seems okay, bought it for going to and from the train station and my office. It arrived well packed and survived the cross county trip. I had it tuned up at a local bike shop after it arrived, it needed a lot of adjustments. The only frustration so far is that when trying to put fenders on it the threads I the front fork are not the standard size and I had to buy additional (bigger) hex screws than those that fit every other hole on the bike. Over all for the price I think this is a Good deal. I will review again when I have had it longer. Also communication with the owner was quick and helpful.
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Great Bike and an even better deal
I can't understand how these guys do it. This is much nicer than the bikes at my local bike shop and it is less than half the price.
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Lightweight Folder Fun
I might never own a 24 pound road bike, but I now own a 24 pound Nova Folder, It shifts nice. Brakes as well as any other bike I own. Looks pretty cool in yellow. I had to take a few minutes to understand the side latch, a little different from my Downtube 8FS..It has a hard rubber C shaped gasket that spreads, rather than be squeezed. Once I understood that, it was easy. On the other hand, the steerer tube hinge is easy to use and holds tight. The 14T top gear gives me about 14-15 mph at my fastest pedal rate. I'd like a little more speed so I'm going to try a 11-28T (free wheel) gear. One thing is true, This bike wants to be on smooth pavement. I have the tires up to the max and you feel every bump going faster. It will be much nicer when I ride with my wife. She gets the 8FS with full suspension, but she rides slow, so I'll be fine.,
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Great lightweight bike for my girlfriend
Just have bought 8FS. It is my second bike from Downtube. Riding on bumpy surface I can feel a difference. It's worth it for me to have a full suspension bike. Although for my girlfriend Nova is better because of a lighter weight to carry.
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Downtube Nova
I've had my nova bike for about 6 years now and have put many, many miles on it. We live part time on our sailboat, and I bought the bike for the boat so we could store it easily. It has been perfect and has stayed in wonderful shape even thought it is constantly exposed to salt air. When my family visits and rents bikes, I can keep up with them easily on my cute little nova even when they are on much bigger bikes. I'm a huge fan!
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Love my Downtube
Love my Downtube folding bike. Only 4 stars because brakes and shifter were not not properly set as promised before shipment.
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Love it
Love it. Light, steers like a dream. Pretty looking.
