VAARU Cycles

Im not a Vaaru owner yet.but I hope to be. Fantastic bikes and just as importantly, fantastic people. James was kind and patient enough to provide some advice to me on a titanium bike related issue when he really didnt need to. The kindness was appreciated - and I hope to repay it someday. Always trust good people!
Jul 17th, 2022

So, when you buy two that surely says something? Have owned my VAARU Octane 6-4 for 4 years now and taken it with me all over the world, it's a fantastic bike and still get's admiring comments today. It's outperformed my ability for over 10,000 miles, it's ridden the whole Tour De France route, and never yet put a foot wrong. The candy green version was built for my daughter after working with James on the design, it resides in Australia and to this day the only Vaaru in that part of the world. If you're reading this to try and help you decide if it's a make you're considering, then consider no more! It's a piece of art that will never let you down, it's timeless and a purchase you'll never regret, just pure class.
Dec 12th, 2020

When it comes to Titanium bikes I wouldn't go anywhere else. I'm so pleased with my Vaaru MPA it seems to be able to cope with everything I (and the British roads) can throw at it. Although I had a modest budget James's knowledge and experience helped me pick the very best spec I could get. It is a great frame to keep and a perfect basis to upgrade as and when I wear components out or can afford the next step up! The next purchase may be one of his custom frames...
Jun 3rd, 2020

Having had a desire to build a titanium bike for some years, after much research, I finally became the proud owner of a Vaaru GTA in late 2019. I originally had a mind to buy the MPA but was looking for plenty of clearance for 28mm+ tyres, mudguards and occasionally panniers. I took to the Vaaru online chat facility and James suggested the GTA might be worth consideration. From then on, despite me being based in the Midlands and unfortunately never able to visit Vaaru in person, James continued to provide excellent advice and competitive prices in specing up and building a complete GTA for me. I went for the brushed (unpainted) frame finish with the (optional and very classy) bead blasted logos, along with the very complimentary gloss black and silver Vaaru fork. The whole package is a rare thing of beauty and the frame is finished with a lovely attention to detail from all the welds, to the dropouts, to the semi-internal cable routing, to the matching headset and seatpost clamp, to the VAARU stamped into the tapered head tube. On the road the bikes performed flawlessly from day one and has proven to be unexpectedly rapid and an exceptionally capable and comfortable mile-eater. In summary, the GTA is my first titanium bike and already feels like a companion for life. There are obviously cheaper options out there, but if its in budget and you value a little individuality, premium quality, and a personal service, I cant recommend the GTA and Vaaru highly enough.
Mar 11th, 2021

A titanium bike has been on my wish list for several years, so the big decision was which one to choose once I had the funds in place. Due to the unique nature of the material it is a bike that should last decades, so getting the right choice was crucial or Id have many years to regret it! Several of the big US manufacturers were on my radar and also some of the smaller UK ones, but my preference is always to support an independent frame manufacturer if possible. Months of research on frame and components were starting to spin to my head, but I was pretty SRAM Red AXS was what I was looking for as a chainset. About the same time I started reading about Vaaru and their new use of 6AL/4V Titanium to manufacture a rigid/compliant frame and that got me hooked. My riding style is very much the grinder/rouleur; never going to outgun the big blokes in a signpost sprint, too big to be first up a climb (unless its a really long one!), but tuck in behind me on a 100 or 200km ride and youll have an easy life. Anyway, it sounded like a match made in heaven, so I bit the bullet last December. Unfortunately I then had a series of long overseas trips and horrendous weather whenever I was back in the UK, so it was not looking great and Id only done about 2 rides by the end of February. When the weather cleared up a bit in March I finally got a few rides in and this is a bike that takes a few rides to get used to. At first I definitely was being too gentle and worrying about the price tag (I didnt want to take a titanium bike out in the rain!!), but once I started to really throw it about a bit the rewards were amazing. The bike can cope with the absolutely terrible potholed, flint strewn surfaces that even my gravel bike (Mason, Bokeh) struggles with sometimes and has such brilliant balanced control that you can get away with a few misdemeanours. Even now Im used to it, I sometimes go into a corner thinking definitely overcooked this! and it just grips, bites and turns as if laughing at me for ever doubting. Part of this has to be the unbelievable performance of the Vittoria Corsa Control tyres which are phenomenal in their own right. The deep rim Enve wheels with Chris King hubs are super smooth and surprisingly easy to handle in cross winds, but do tend to get hit/sucked rather hard by passing trucks if Im ever on a main road. The most pleasing thing for me on reflection after several big days out is that the fairly aggressive riding position its pretty manageable and even after 100 miles+ Im still ready to get in the drops and give a bit more. So, I guess we also have to mention the indisputable fact that it is also the most gorgeous bike Ive ever seen, let alone been able to ride. Its kind of easy to forget this when you are just enjoying a big day out, especially now cafe stops are not a thing, but I will get people desperately trying to catch me up (or hanging back!) to get a better look. When I first started to talking to James at Vaaru and looking at some of the pre-built bikes he had, this was the only one I wanted, just pure simple titanium and the perfect spec. Nick
Mar 3rd, 2021