Portuguese bike maker Nordest goes big with their all-new Gimonde Ti 32, a hardtail crafted for off-road adventures on 32″ wheels. Leveraging the made-to-order nature of their titanium bike offerings, Nordest built a 32″ mountain bike hardtail that you can customize for anything from adventure bikepacking to big-wheeled trail riding. It comes only in stock geometry to fit riders on the taller end of the spectrum – as those big wheels would suggest. But Nordest can also create a fully custom geometry design to help smaller riders itching for 32″ to ride bigger wheels, too!

Nordest Gimonde Ti 32″ titanium downcountry MTB hardtail

(All photos/Nordest)

Nordest already builds a lot of interesting, affordable steel & titanium mountain bikes and backcountry gravel adventure bikes. So, it seems fitting that their first venture into 32″ wheels combines a bit of everything they do best.

The all-new Nordest Gimonde Ti 32″ is officially called a downcountry bike. But really, it looks like a trail-ready hardtail that would be just as happy to be a backcountry bikepacking rig. And thanks to Nordest’s made-to-order titanium ethos, you can pick whichever direction you want it to lean – either building it up with a rigid carbon for more gravel riding, or with geometry tweaked for up to a 130mm travel 32″ suspension fork to hit more technical trails.

What makes it unique?

Nordest describes it as a bike developed for “a new kind of downcountry riding — one built for travel, for bikepacking, and for trips that don’t come with a return ticket.“

To create a bike on giant wheels equally capable of going up, down, and everywhere in between, Nordest created an all-new geometry “built to thrill” around the 32″ wheels

“Short 468mm chainstays paired with big 32er wheels keep the ride snappy and eager, while a 76° saddle tube angle locks you into the perfect position for fast, efficient climbing. Add an extra-long top tube, a short 40mm stem, and a slack 66° head tube angle tuned for 490mm rigid fork to 580mm suspension forks lengths, and the result is a frame that’s playful, purposeful, and just the right amount of wild.”

Of course, that doesn’t work easily for riders of all sizes, so the Gimonde 32 only comes in two stock sizes, which Nordest calls M/L and L. The versatile downcountry AND adventure-ready geo is simply a “best fit” for riders 1.78m (5’10”) and taller, according to Nordest owner and bike designer Pedro Jerónimo.

For smaller riders, Jerónimo is still confident that he can develop a one-off custom geometry to fit their individual riding style and needs. Just not a universal solution.

Tech details

• double-butted TI-3Al-2.5V titanium hardtail mountain bike frame for 32″ wheels
• 32 x 2.4″ max tire clearance
• available with full carbon Kuxto adventure bikepacking fork
  (490mm a-c, adjustable 52/44mm rake, anything cage mounts, light mount, internal brake & dynamo routing)
• option for suspension-corrected geometry up to a 580mm axle-to-crown fork (~130 mm travel on 32″ wheel)

• downcountry, adventure-ready geometry for taller riders – size M/L & L only
• full custom geometry available for smaller riders, for only 100€ extra
• 44mm headtube for tapered headsets
• full-length external cable routing, with stealth dropper post routing
• 31.6mm seatpost, with external seatpost clamp included
• 3 sets of bottle cage mounts, plus rear rack mounts
• 73mm threaded T47 bottom bracket
• Boost spacing
• UDH compatibility
• 1950g frame weight (size M/L, claimed)

Nordest Gimonde Ti 32 – Pricing, options & availability

Nordest’s new Gimonde Ti 32 downcountry adventure bike is available to order now. But as each frame is built to order – crafted around your ideal fork length – delivery time is approximately 12 weeks after you order. Standard M/L & L sizes – built to your desired fork axle-to-crown length – sell for 1900€, including delivery within the EU. Individual fully custom geometry adds just 100€ extra on top of that, with the same 12 week delivery schedule.

If you want to build the Gimonde Ti 32 up as a rigid bikepacking bike, Nordest also offers a 2200€ stock-sized frame kit with their Kuxto carbon fork and a Cane Creek 40 headset. Also available in custom geo, for 100€ extra.

Nordestcycles.com

Nordest’s own Story Behind the Name

Nestled in the heart of Trás-os-Montes, just a few kilometres from Bragança, the small village of Gimonde occupies a privileged place in both the geography and the collective memory of this austere yet generous land. Its location is no accident: the village sits at the confluence of two rivers, the Sabor and the Onor, whose waters meet in a natural embrace that for centuries made this corner of the world an inevitable landmark for all who travelled the roads of the northeastern transmontane region.

That quality of being a river crossroads made Gimonde something far greater than a simple stopping point. For generations, it was the great gathering place of the almocreves — the muleteers and itinerant traders who rode from village to village across the comarca, bringing door to door the goods that the people of the interior could scarcely obtain any other way. Before setting out on their routes through the mountains and valleys of the region, the almocreves would meet in Gimonde to stock up on sardines, the most prized and most sought-after item in their trade. There they loaded their baskets and saddlebags, agreed on prices and mapped out their routes, and steeled themselves for the days of hard travel that lay ahead.

From that deeply rooted custom grew an expression that became etched into the everyday speech of the whole area. When an almocreve took his leave of family or neighbours before heading out to earn his keep, he would say, with a mixture of resolve and quiet resignation: “Vou para Gimonde ganhar-me a vida” — “I’m off to Gimonde to earn my living.” The phrase said everything: Gimonde was not a place of rest, but a point of departure, the threshold from which the daily struggle to survive began in a land of harsh winters and fragile livelihoods.

Among the villages that looked to Gimonde as an essential waypoint, Carção stood out — a hamlet further north, in the municipality of Vimioso. For its inhabitants, the road to Bragança or to the markets of the comarca passed inevitably through Gimonde. It was the place to pause, to drink cool water from the river, to exchange news and learn what was happening in the neighbouring villages. In a time without telephones or paved roads, Gimonde quietly fulfilled the indispensable role of a hub of human connection.

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