David Turner about the Nitrous 
 
The big change for the 2023 model year is the switch to 'post mount' rear brake. This will make sourcing brakes much easier for any of us shopping for new brakes as well as allow for older brakes to be re-cycled onto a Nitrous frame for those building a bike from a raw frameset. 
 
Why was the Nitrous created? For fast cross country type rides, but with a fully modern geometry. There is no reason that a XC / fast trail bike designed to really be pedaled in anger should have a seat angle from 1992 and the head tube angle from a decade ago. Modern longer lower slacker works better than the old geometry just as well on light fast bikes as heavy enduro class bikes. 
 
Why a hard tail?  For many of us, there is a ton of riding that does not require a full suspension bike, and with trail sanitation happening daily, more and more trails are more and more fun on a hardtail!  So I decided to make a fast, lively feeling mountain bike with stable, modern geometry that utilizes a beautiful steering, short stem and install a wide bar. 
 
Voila, something far more capable feeling than any gravel bike when the going gets rough, and conversely far more nimble and responsive than a full suspension bike for powering along on the less demanding terrain that so many of us have easy access to.
 
The first part of designing the Nitrous was to make it inspiring to ride up the hill, almost urging you to new speed. With the low weight and balanced geometry, you will look at the steep sections of your favorite trails and know you can go further and faster than ever before.  To create that snappy feel I pulled the chainstays in nice and short. As always there is a balance to frame geometry aspects and the first couple protos were even shorter, but I really felt the bike should be more stable.  So the chainstay was stretched just a bit for some more stability on ungroomed trails. To maintain the awesome traction on the rear wheel, the seat tube angle was slackened a little.   
 
For me, the 'longer’ part of the longer, lower, slacker ditty means that you can now install a crisp steering, super short stem and still be in a focused, powerful position while climbing. This  ‘longer’ aspect to frame geometry also puts the front wheel further in front of your center of mass for more descending stability, and this is especially important when pushing the limits outside of the smoother flow trail networks.
 
Then there is 'lower', while not a super low bottom bracket, the Nitrous does have a very short (lower!)  seat tube allowing longer dropper posts. Whether you want the big drop for getting way over the back wheel in the rough or looking bitchen in the parking lot, this new school frame dimension allow the seat to be 'lower' than ever!
 
Ok, now we need to talk about the ‘slacker’ part of the ditty. To be sure the Nitrous is slacker than most hardtails ever built. But it is by no means the slackest, the race to create the most extreme numbers is over. What is important is that the head angle is properly designed for the type of riding most will do on the Nitrous. Not so slack as to cause wheel flop on the tight technical turns and more importantly, it is not so slack that one cannot weight the front wheel on flatter turns.
The results of all the testing and geometry tweaking was to give the stability we expect out of a modern bike, without losing the liveliness we crave from a high performance hardtail. 
So, is the Nitrous a fast XC bike or is it a stable ‘downcounty’ trail bike capable of zooming thru the woods ducking branches and carving up the spaces between the trees, or is it the perfect bike for Leadville type endurance races? I would say yes, it is. 
 
 
S
M
L
XL
rec'd height
5'1"-5'6''
5'6''-5'10''
5'10''-6'2''
6'2''-6'6''
effective TT
585
615
640
670
seat tube
370
400
430
470
seat tube angle real
75°
74.5°
74.5°
74°
head tube
85
100
125
155
head-angle
66°
66°
66°
66°
bb drop
62
62
60
60
chainstay
435
435
440
445
reach
420
443
462
478
stack
610
623
644
672
wheelbase
1140
1166
1200
1233
standover@mid tube
760
775
805
835
Max post insert
250
210
240
280
{ All specifications are subject to change. Measurements are given in ‘Millimeters’ and ‘Grams’ unless otherwise noted. }
Frame Specs
Frame Specs
Seat Post Diameter
30.9mm
 
 
Headset Dimensions
44/56 semi integrated ZS 
 
 
BB Shell
T47 Threaded
 
 
Fork Length
120-140
(Geo based on 120 fork) 
 
POST mount rear brake
180 max
 
 
Max Tire Clearance
29'' x 2.5'' or 27.5'' x 2.8''
With good clearance 
 
Max Boost chainring size:
36t oval 38t round