NOVA Tube Sets

I recently ordered 5 of NOVA’s Columbus tube set packages: 2 SL, 2 Spirit for Lugs, and 1 Cromor. When I was unpacking the box, I noticed that the sets were not strictly SL, Spirit, and Cromor (as I expected they would be based on the online description). Instead, I found other tubes were mixed in to the sets. For example, I found that all five of my seat tubes were Zona, and that the head tube they supplied for the Cromor set was NOVA’s own brand. A few other anomalies as well.

Have others had similar experiences with the Columbus tube sets from NOVA?

My tubing supplier for Columbus is Metal Guru / Carl from Vicious Cycles FYI.

However, you really should be talking / asking questions directly with NOVA about this.

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Originally Posted by fortyfour

My tubing supplier for Columbus is Metal Guru / Carl from Vicious Cycles FYI.

However, you really should be talking / asking questions directly with NOVA about this.

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Thanks Kristofer. I will definitely be calling NOVA Monday — I was just trying to gauge if others on this forum had similar experience to what I described (i.e. is this “normal”?). If it is “normal”, at a minimum it feels like NOVA should make their descriptions clearer. Again, something I’ll discuss with them when I call.

How can you tell if a seat tube is Zona, or if a head tube isn’t from a particular mill?

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Originally Posted by e-RICHIE

How can you tell if a seat tube is Zona, or if a head tube isn’t from a particular mill?

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NOVA writes the SKU on each of their tubes with a sharpie. I cross referenced the SKU with the individual tubes on their website. The seat tubes all had the same SKU, and when I checked online it was the SKU that matched the Zona seat tube. Hope that makes sense.

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Originally Posted by nick.graham

Thanks Kristofer. I will definitely be calling NOVA Monday — I was just trying to gauge if others on this forum had similar experience to what I described (i.e. is this “normal”?). If it is “normal”, at a minimum it feels like NOVA should make their descriptions clearer. Again, something I’ll discuss with them when I call.

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Again, this is something that should be taken up with NOVA because if their description is misleading, they should know about it. No one here is going to give you much of any meaningful help.

Tips on mitering, set up, best practices, brazing/tig/fillet techniques do's and do nots, etc.? That's what this is place is here for. Misleading descriptions on 3rd party supplier websites selling tubing? Contact the supplier.

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Originally Posted by fortyfour

Again, this is something that should be taken up with NOVA because if their description is misleading, they should know about it. No one here is going to give you much of any meaningful help.

Tips on mitering, set up, best practices, brazing/tig/fillet techniques do's and do nots, etc.? That's what this is place is here for. Misleading descriptions on 3rd party supplier websites selling tubing? Contact the supplier.

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Thanks again, Kristofer. Per my earlier comment, I will be raising with NOVA tomorrow when they are open. I posted the original question in this forum not to air grievances, but to see if other forum users have had similar experiences to mine. This is the first time I have ordered tubes — understanding whether what I received is either typical or unusual will help me have a more informed conversation with the supplier.

I will report back after my conversation with NOVA if I learn anything that might be helpful for future users with similar questions.

Can't speak to the head tube, but there is some crossover between the tubes since many of them are made from the same steel with the same heat treatment. It is confusing sometimes when a tube somehow gets separated from its brothers.

It’s been six days since the OP checked in.

I’d like to read about the outcome.

Was there an error?

Is someone culpable?

What. Happened.

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Originally Posted by e-RICHIE

It’s been six days since the OP checked in.

I’d like to read about the outcome.

Was there an error?

Is someone culpable?

What. Happened.

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Thanks for checking in, Richard. I was able to connect with NOVA on Friday finally. They appreciated my confusion, and provided a helpful explanation.

They prefaced the conversation by advising that NOVA has been dealing with Columbus for over 30 years. They indicated that a number of the lines that Columbus markets are made from the same material (e.g. Niobium, Nivacrom, 25CroMo4, etc.). As such, you do end up with situations where Columbus is selling the identical tube (e.g. a 635 mm single butted 0.8/0.6 seat tube) under different lines (e.g. SL, Spirit, Zona) while charging different prices for each line. So when NOVA packages tubes together to make tube sets, they take advantage of these anomalies in an effort to pass on better pricing to the customer.

I did dig in a bit though with respect to my specific situation, as I understand that Zona is made with 25CroMo4, and SL & Sprit are made with Niobium (though now I think they’re made with Omnicrom). NOVA indicated that Columbus has changed this in the past few years, and that they all used to be made of the same materials. I confirmed the same on another VS forum thread. In any case, they gave me assurance that if they’re providing a Spirit or SL sticker with the tube set, the builder can have confidence they aren’t misrepresenting in applying the sticker.

Hope this helps. At the end of the day, I’m not selling frames (and don’t ever plan to), so the issue should probably matter less to me than it may to others. In any case, I was happy with the response I got from NOVA, and wanted to share.

Nick

Thank you for the update.

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Originally Posted by nick.graham

Thanks for checking in, Richard. I was able to connect with NOVA on Friday finally. They appreciated my confusion, and provided a helpful explanation.

They prefaced the conversation by advising that NOVA has been dealing with Columbus for over 30 years. They indicated that a number of the lines that Columbus markets are made from the same material (e.g. Niobium, Nivacrom, 25CroMo4, etc.). As such, you do end up with situations where Columbus is selling the identical tube (e.g. a 635 mm single butted 0.8/0.6 seat tube) under different lines (e.g. SL, Spirit, Zona) while charging different prices for each line. So when NOVA packages tubes together to make tube sets, they take advantage of these anomalies in an effort to pass on better pricing to the customer.

I did dig in a bit though with respect to my specific situation, as I understand that Zona is made with 25CroMo4, and SL & Sprit are made with Niobium (though now I think they’re made with Omnicrom). NOVA indicated that Columbus has changed this in the past few years, and that they all used to be made of the same materials. I confirmed the same on another VS forum thread. In any case, they gave me assurance that if they’re providing a Spirit or SL sticker with the tube set, the builder can have confidence they aren’t misrepresenting in applying the sticker.

Hope this helps. At the end of the day, I’m not selling frames (and don’t ever plan to), so the issue should probably matter less to me than it may to others. In any case, I was happy with the response I got from NOVA, and wanted to share.

Nick

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