2012 PopCycle BeachRacer Plus

After riding this bike as a Beachracer for almost a year, I recently rebuild it to the BeachRacer Plus model. (So actually the frame is from end 2011).
Did just one ride on it, but it feels very good, even more in the loose sand (heritage of its origin?). The tires are a bit too big, as the front touches the rubber brake sleeve, but no problem with braking. I thought the different weight distribution could be a problem, but I haven't noticed it this time!

Some quick specs:
Frame: PopCycle Ti Frame
Headset: Chris King
Brakes: KCNC VB-1
Cables: Powercordz
Fork: Spinner Aeris 300 29
Crank: Stylo
Gearing: NuVinci 360
Seatpost, stem & bar: eXotic
Rims: WTB Freeride
Fronthub: DT 350
Tires: Continental XKing 2.4

Looks good, what is the saddle? Is it carbon?

Would you recommend the Exotic components? for some reason I don't trust the stength of their carbon

Yes, the saddle is full carbon. It is of course very hard, but the biggest problem for me it that it is to small. I did a 50 mile ride on it and couldn't bike for a week!

The eXotic stuff is very nice. I would recommend it, yes. All the components on this bike are from the matrix series, so actually wrapped aluminium. Not the same weight as full carbon, but half the price or so. When the BeachRacer was build, I was pressed for time because of the race schedule. eXotic could deliver in a few days, while the original supplier would take some time. Furthermore, the choice for carbon here was primarily for anti-corrosion, so matrix was good enough.

i like it

It really needs a smaller tyre or longer V-brake arms up front. If the plastic cover is already touching the tyre, mud clearance would be a major problem.

How's that NuVinci hub? I've been looking into alternatives for the regular cassette and mech, but so far I haven't found anything that's both aesthetically pleasing and durable.

I know it is very little clearance, but fortunally my local dune trail is mostly sandy and that doesn't give any problems (up till now, fingers crossed). The tires were one sale and as the frame can easily handle 2.5 tires I thought this would be great, not taking into account the fork.

The NuVinci Hub. It is a bit difficult to answer actually as I have no comparison with other internal gear systems. This bike is one of the few that uses this hub for offroad, so not many reviews up till now. Good reviews I have seen and heard from the Roloff hub, but also the cheaper Alfine 11. The choice for the NuVinci was made for several reasons. First because it is a CPT system (so continues), Secondly, I just fell in love with the simplicity of it. When I saw an exploded view of the Roloff hub, I instantly thought "this doesn't belong on a bike". Again, I know about all the positive experiences. The Nuvinci hub has worked perfectly up till now. It is pretty heavy with 2.4 kg, but only a bit more then the Roloff. Efficiency seems pretty good, but less then a chain of course, and drops off at both ends. I have no data to compare to other internal gear systems. It is said to be completely maintenance free, but that I can only confirm in due time.
The gear ratio is somewhat limited due to a limit in torque, which gives an equivalent to a single chain ring of 32 and a cassette with a 10-36 range.
It feels... ummm different. It is hard to explain, but sometimes it feels very efficient and other times it feels like it needs more energy then usual. It is probably a combination of the gear setting and the applied torque. The stepless setting is great but really needs time to get used to. I love the maintance free feature, in like no chain slap, no mi-sfigting, shifting under load and standing still, but that is not unique to this design of internal gear hub. Last but not least, compared to Roloff, it is much cheaper!