Inside Neuhaus Metalworks – BIKEPACKING.com

There’s a short list of bicycle brands that have had as much success as Neuhaus Metalworks in their first five years of business. Despite their accomplishments, Neuhaus founder Nick Neuhaus and designer/engineer Daniel Yang have made it their mission to grow slowly and with purpose. If there’s an example of “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” in the bicycle world, Neuhaus Metalworks is it. They’ve found success during a tumultuous time in the bicycle industry, transitioning from offering only custom US-built frames to a growing lineup of Taiwan-made production bikes, which they call their Core Collection.

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The first thing I asked Nick when I rolled up to their small shop in Marin County, California, was what he thought he had done to earn such a good reputation in so short a time. He explained early on that he and Daniel agreed that neither of them wanted to grow or expand their product line just for the sake of being bigger. He has seen brands come and go, and more often than not, there was a decision to make a big move or gamble that would ruin the brand. And unfortunately, in some cases, it did. Neuhaus is the epitome of slow and steady, which, from an outsider’s perspective, has worked flawlessly.

In February, 2025, Neuhaus Metalworks launched its Core Collection, marking an exciting new chapter for the previously custom-only bike brand. The Core Collection combines some of their best designs at a fraction of the cost of the US-made models. They started with the 120mm travel steel hardtail, the Hummingbird, which Logan reviewed and awarded a top spot in our 2025 Gear of the Year Awards. Last month, they released the NOVA32, one of the first 32-inch production bicycles you could actually buy.

Although these sound like big leaps, after spending the better part of a day with Nick and Daniel, it’s clear that Neuhaus’ growth has been calculated and customer-focused. This strategy extends far beyond how they run the business, though, including more than just decision-making. Everything from their marketing and use of social media to how they communicate with customers, design, and fabricate positions them in the industry and aligns with this vision.

Ahead of the 2026 Sea Otter Classic, I spent time with Daniel and Nick to learn as much as I could about the business. I also got a first look at the Neuhaus bikes that will be on display at Sea Otter later this week, including a new titanium 32-inch hardtail, the Hummingbird Ti32, and a new 130mm travel steel hardtail, the Solstice. But first, let’s learn more about what it takes to build an honest bicycle brand in 2026.

An Honest Bike Brand

Nick believes it’s their willingness to share that has customers connecting with the Neuhaus brand. They try not to keep secrets and pretend like they have all the answers. Instead, they share openly with their followers and gather feedback that way. Daniel’s YouTube channel, YANG MFG, is a great example of them displaying their willingness to learn and share. Daniel has created quite a following in a short time, and Neuhaus is surely gaining followers and attracting customers as a result.

“We see it as an opportunity to give customers a peek behind the curtains,” Nick explained. “Whether it’s his trip to Taiwan to tour the factories they work with, or his experience making a carbon rim at Light Bicycle in China. I think it’s a big part of it. Just being super open about what we do.”

Many other ideas never make it out of the shop, and Daniel and Nick have a process for deciding what to share with the public. If an idea goes through enough iterations, feels good, and brings value to the end user, they’ll move forward with it. Nick said that the best part of his job is when a customer reaches out after years of riding one of their bikes and says they still love it. He takes these relationships seriously and is committed to supporting customers as best he can.

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Their 32-inch bicycle is a prime and current example. They designed it, built it, tested it, and it was pretty good. So they didn’t waste any time and shared their thoughts on the new platform ahead of the 2025 MADE bike show, where it was officially debuted. Nick said, “It was probably being ridden around in the parking lot as much as it was at our booth. That’s great, bikes are meant to be ridden.”

Slow and Steady

Before their current location, Neuhaus was based out of a 600-square-foot workshop on Nick’s property. In the previous space, Nick was much more cautious about how he used it. He describes bigger spaces as “a trap” that you’ll inevitably fill with stuff one way or another. At the previous spot, he still managed to cram in two vertical mills, a horizontal mill, a massive lathe, a giant toolbox, a bike stand, two frame fixtures, a work table, and a surface plate. “It was 100% the image that you imagine when you think of a handmade bike,” Nick said.

A few years ago, they moved into their current space, a roomier 1,875-square-foot workshop. Now, there’s very clearly a bike work side, complete with an organized work station for bike builds heading out to customers, an area for fabrication, and a corner set aside for welding. These changes were made because they aligned with the direction they saw the brand heading: less custom work and more production bikes. They’ve brought on a few part-time employees to help with bike builds, which has allowed Neuhaus to keep their commitment to fast lead times and fast communication.

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Michael was helping with a customer’s Hummingbird build while I was at the shop, and Nick joked that he was working off his son’s bike, which was built for him to race earlier this year. Nick supports a small group of local riders across various disciplines, including Michael’s son, who learned about Neuhaus from Nick while riding BMX bikes. Now both of Michael’s kids ride Neuhaus bikes, and it’s clear from talking with him that he appreciates both the bikes and the people behind them. For Nick, racing is an important and fun part of cycling. He grew up racing and loves supporting riders whenever he can. All of the BMX bikes are made in-house but follow their own standard geometry. Nick’s dad, now retired from a career in the automotive industry, also helps out at the shop a few times a week. You can tell he’s proud of what his son has created.

A Low Friction Business Mentality

Although the Neuhaus brand has been evolving and growing, Nick and Daniel have purposefully maintained a specific look and style over the years. Not only does it make every bike look the part, but it’s a factor that has allowed them to bring bikes to market fairly quickly. In most cases, they design and build a prototype in their California workshop using 3D-printed parts and tubes that are nearly identical to the cast or machined parts their partner factory uses to make their production bikes. All of their models use the same components, like dropouts, yokes, and headtubes, so there’s no guessing or risk-taking on their part. They know how the frame will come together, and so they’re confident when they hand off their designs to their manufacturing partners in Taiwan.

When Neuhaus was focused on custom frames, 3D-printing was a function of form for their scale. Since moving over to production bikes, the scale is big enough that they don’t need to rely on it. Nick showed me some examples of their 3D-printed yokes versus the production versions, and despite a slightly different look and an extra weld or two, they are indistinguishable. Plus, when used correctly, cast parts can be higher-strength and lower-cost.

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The same can be said for Neuhaus’ in-house-designed UDH dropouts and their default external cable routing system. Nick said he’ll avoid internal headset cable routing at all costs, and “he’ll die on that hill.” Most of Neuhaus’ custom frame tubing is Fairing’s Velospec Pro, which is an air-hardened, double-butted 4130 Chromoly steel. The BMX bikes are primarily made from Reynolds 853, and Reynolds even sponsored the Neuhaus BMX team last year.

All of their framebuilding materials, tubing, and small parts live on shelves when you first enter the shop. Nick explained that the Hummingbird and Nova frames use the same IS headtubes, including the short 90mm version they helped develop for their smallest frames. Nick shared, “No one else wanted them, so we had to place an order of 45 headtubes. Four and a half years later, we’re almost out of them. We had to do it because shorter riders deserve great bikes as well.”

All of Neuhaus’ 3D-printed parts, like Y-yokes and chainstay yokes, are made in China. Nick mentioned several times that his previous career in telecommunications taught him about finding the lowest friction route, and that has carried over to Neuhaus. Printing in China is easy, they do a good job, and they’ve developed a relationship with them, so it just makes sense. As we made our way to the boxes of dropouts, Nick explained that they’ll be looking for their own solution that’s forward- and backward-compatible with Paragon Machine Works dropouts, since they announced their closure.

Building a Neuhaus

The shop’s fabrication zone is packed with massive lathes and various milling machines for cutting and modifying the tubes that make up each Neuhaus. There’s a 1909 Brown & Sharpe No. 1 1/2 universal horizontal milling machine that Nick bought from a friend of a friend. On his drive home with it, a bunch of tube scraps rattled out, and he immediately recognized them. It turns out it was the milling machine that Ibis had used for years. Nick’s friend even dug up a photo of Scot Nicol, Ibis’ founder, leaning against the mill with a stack of frames beside it. An 80’s Bridgeport variable-speed head vertical mill sits beside the Brown & Sharpe and is set up for cutting chainstays and chainstays alone. “I turn it on once a month,” Nick explained, “but it holds down this part of the shop.”

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As you might expect, switching between their other duties and actually fabricating frames for customers or for prototypes is a difficult transition if your head’s not in it. Knowing this, they split in-house frames into smaller subassemblies so they can pick away at a project instead of having to smash it out in one go. They have detailed technical drawings for each subassembly that show cut lengths, tube diameters, threaded boss locations, and any additional features the customer may want. Things like bend locations and angles are included on these sheets, and it even shows fixture setup dimensions, so there’s not much guesswork when it comes time to fabricate. Breaking tasks up has allowed the small team to be more efficient with their time, rather than facing an insurmountable mountain right off the bat. They could theoretically build a bike from start to finish in five hours, but it’s usually spread over a few days. In the past, Neuhaus was producing two custom frames per week, but now it has slowed to make time and space for the core production bikes.

It’s a team effort to keep up with all the other tasks around the shop, while also managing the production side of the business. Alex, Dave, and Nick’s dad, Jack, all play an important role in the shop’s daily tasks. Alex and Dave help with assembly and packing up bikes for shipping, and Jack comes in every Wednesday to pick up frames from the powdercoater and delivers them to the shop for a quality-control check and frame saver application. Nick likes to plan his work around the time of day when he’s most present. Making the switch from answering emails all day to welding a custom titanium frame, for example, isn’t a fluid one.

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I asked whether they’ve discussed bringing on an additional full-time employee, and Nick says it’s been a conversation, but they aren’t in a hurry. There have been opportunities to expand in a big way, but instead, they find deficiencies to fill before moving on to that next step. They’ve been moving slowly and scaling when it’s right, which has allowed them to pause when needed without everything crashing down. “It’s just like the fable of the tortoise and the hare. You know, slow and steady, which is the way I ride my mountain bike.”

An Afternoon in the City with Daniel

Although Daniel wasn’t able to be at the shop during my visit, he went out of his way to show me around the north end of San Francisco, starting at Ornot’s showroom/shop. As I tend to avoid cities, it was eye-opening to explore the city and its trails on two wheels with someone who knows all the little dirt connections, vehicle-free routes, and stunning coastal views.

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Daniel echoed a lot of what Nick had shared with me, but also mentioned how inspiring it is to run a bike brand based in an area with such rich framebuilding history. Daniel sees mid-sized brands like Neuhaus as a huge driving force behind innovation, carrying on the legacy of some of the industry’s greatest thinkers and framebuilders, like Joe Breeze, Tom Ritchey, and Bruce Gordon, many of whom called the San Francisco Bay Area their home. “It is really exciting that in the 80s and 90s, those legendary framebuilders worked together with Taiwanese manufacturers to develop high-performance steel bikes. And now, 30 years later, we are working with the same production partners to continue the legacy of the humble steel bike,” Daniel explained.

Aside from creating nice bikes, Daniel sees media creation as a huge opportunity for the brand. This is why the YANGMFG YouTube channel, although more of a personal project, has been a focus for him. He loves finding ways to educate his followers and share his enthusiasm for product design and fabrication, and is eager to find new ways to offer customers more than just bikes. Together, Nick and Daniel really do feel like the superteam of bicycle brands. They are clearly incredibly passionate about their craft, eager to learn, understand the average rider, and they call the shots. With that, let’s take a look at some bikes!

Neuhaus Hummingbird Ti32

Like the NOVA32, the new Neuhaus Hummingbird Ti32 is a production 32-inch hardtail mountain bike. Neuhaus tells us that the frame design is ready; they are just waiting on the availability of 32-inch forks. In the meantime, they set aside two extra complete bikes, built up with custom Italian-made Bright Suspension forks, for riders who want to be extremely early adopters. Reach out to them if interested. The Hummingbird Ti32 uses many of the same features and designs as their steel Hummingbird, but is built around a stunning titanium frame.

The Hummingbird Ti32 will be on display at the ORA Engineering booth, which is Neuhaus’ partner factory for their production frames. The build features a prototype Manitou Mattoc 32 Fork and Reynolds’ prototype Alloy A32 rims. Joshua Riddle, the Global Marketing Director at Hayes, said the Reynolds rims use similar profiles to their 29″ offerings. They are still in the R&D phase. Neuhaus landed on their own fixed UDH dropout design, an integrated headset, and possibly the shortest chainstays on a production 32-inch mountain bike at 445mm. The overall design doesn’t deviate much from the steel prototype Hummingbird 32, except for a fixed UDH dropout to save weight.

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The frame has an ovalized top tube, which is important on the smaller sizes, where it contacts the downtube. Had it not been ovalized, the joint would have been far less strong. The frame has all the same features as their other bikes, but executed slightly differently. One example is instead of the raised seat tube bottle bracket, they used standoffs so bottle cage bolts don’t interfere with seat post insertion. Even though the tubing sizes and diameters differ, the various junctions and connections all look the same as their other models. They landed on a heavily formed ovalized chainstay yoke to ensure they met the tire clearance they’ll share with customers. There are no asterisks or guessing games.

As mentioned, this is an early release of the Hummingbird Ti32 and is only available as a complete build. There are two sizes available, large and extra-large, and they are available now. It sounds like more Hummingbird Ti32s will be on the way soon. Learn more at NeuhausMetalworks.com.

Daniel’s Hummingbird Ti32 Prototype

Just in time for Sea Otter, Daniel built up his own prototype Hummingbird Ti 32 and pedaled it during our ride together. Seeing him zip around San Francisco, the 32-inch wheels hardly look out of place, and at six feet tall, Daniel looked comfortable and well-balanced on the bike. Much like my experience riding 32-inch wheels, Daniel repeatedly called out, “It’s just rolling over everything!” as he flew over little sections of roots and rocks.

Daniel’s bike is built up with a trusty Shimano XT drivetrain, Light Bicycle rims, the new Vittoria Peyote 32 x 2.4″ XC Race tires, and the custom Bright Racing Shocks fork they’ll be offering with the Hummingbird Ti32 frames.

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Neuhaus Solstice

The new Solstice is another addition to the Neuhaus Core range. While it shares a similar look to the Hummingbird, which is intentional, Nick assures me it’s a totally different-feeling bike. It’s designed around a 130mm travel fork, compared to the 120mm fork on the Hummingbird, and it has a slightly slacker 65° head tube angle. The Solstice has a fixed UDH dropout rather than the sliding dropout on the Hummingbird. As Neuhaus puts it, it allows riders to “push harder, without biting off more than a hardtail should chew.”

It’s built up around a 4130 Chromoly steel frame, 29-inch wheels, and is designed to play nicely with 2.1″ to 2.6″ tires. Modern specs include boost hub spacing, a threaded BSA 73mm bottom bracket, a tapered IS42/52 headtube, and a 31.6mm seatpost. Each size has two bottle mounts inside the main triangle, a third under the downtube, and the seat tube bosses leave room for full seatpost insertion thanks to Neuhaus’ clever bottle bracket.

The Solstice they built up for Sea Otter features a stunning blue and white enamel camp mug-inspired paint job that gets more and more interesting the closer you get to it. A burly Fox 36SL fork, chunky Vittoria rubber, and US-made Astral Serpentine rims are ready for whatever you want to throw at it, and 5Dev cranks and stem add some required trade-show bling.

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The Solstice is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship to customers next month. A frame will set you back $1,299 USD, the frameset with a Fox 36 SL fork costs $1,899, and the Eagle 70 and Shimano XT builds cost $3,699 and $3,899, respectively. The Enamel Blue paint job pictured here is the only color option for this first run of frames. Learn more at NeuhausMetalworks.com.

Nick’s Neuhaus Hummingbird Core Sample

Lovingly referred to as his “clapped-out Hummingbird,” Nick’s personal steed is a reminder that beautiful bikes gotta get dirty eventually. This is actually the very first Hummingbird Core sample made by their production partner in Taiwan, ORA Engineering. It was shipped to Nick ahead of the 2024 MADE bike show and was built from parts from his previous Hummingbird Custom. The finish is just an ED coating. “I expected it would have chipped up by now, but it has actually proven to be a very durable finish.”

The bike has gone through a few different builds, including a singlespeed setup a few months ago, but Nick prefers its current state, gears included. He swapped out his worn-out 29 x 2.4″ Vittoria Syerra tires for the new 29 x 2.6″ Vittoria Agarro Trails, but he prefers the narrower width and will likely swap them out for the same tread, but in a 2.4″.

Nick uses the bike on a wide range of surfaces and trails, including everything from cross-country trails and gravel to gnarlier black-diamond singletrack. “It is just a bike that always has a familiar and confidence-inspiring feeling, and I love it.” The custom wheels, hand-laced by Andrey Shishkin of Elex Sports, are a standout component for Nick. They feature Onyx Vesper hubs, Canadian-made We Are One rims, and BERD spokes.

“This is the first wheelset I have run without tire inserts that has lasted me more than six months—these are going on two years. The silent Onyx freehub and quiet nature of the BERD spokes provide an experience that is hard to describe. I also really like my 5Dev cranks. After four years, all the scuffs, scratches, and wear marks on them tell a story and remind me of the many great rides I’ve been on.”

Neuhaus Hummingbird 32 Prototype

The steel Hummingbird 32 was designed and built in the Neuhaus workshop to test the new platform before ordering the titanium production model. It blends what they’ve learned about riding 32-inch bicycles with their popular hardtail mountain bike platform. There aren’t a whole lot of forks out there specifically designed for 32-inch wheels; most are repurposed from other bike genres, so Neuhaus worked with Bright Suspension in Italy on a small run of forks to sell alongside the Hummingbird Ti32. It’s a stunning inverted fork with a CNC-machined crown, carbon legs, and an Italian race car aesthetic.

“This is not a repurposed upside-down enduro fork,” said Nick. Because it’s not repurposed, it’s incredibly lightweight and very short—the 110mm travel Bright fork is the same length as a Manitou, RockShox, or Fox 100mm travel fork. The shorter fork allowed Neuhaus to gain back some of that travel, which they think is important for what the bike is designed for. The fork uses standard SKF seals with a little retaining ring and closely resembles a proper motorsports fork in terms of internals, shim stacks, and tuning. “The way this fork can feel is limitless.” It’s an expensive component, priced around $2,500, but Nick says it has the same axle-to-crown and offset as the 32-inch forks that are inevitably coming, so there will be other options that can easily be swapped in and work well with the frame.

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They built up this prototype in-house with the new Industry Nine Solix hubs and I9’s house-brand 32-inch carbon rims, GX AXS Transmission, 5Dev Titanium XC cranks, and a bunch of other Industry Nine parts. To see it in person, head to Industry Nine’s booth at Sea Otter.

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Neuhaus NOVA32

Nick described the new NOVA32 as a “super gravel bike.” Although I’ve only logged a couple of 32-inch rides so far, I fully agree. It’s a 32-inch mountain bike built around a 4130 steel frame, a carbon fork, and Maxxis Aspen 32 x 2.4″ tires. It uses the same tubeset and design as the Hummingbird hardtail, but it’s been tweaked to accommodate larger-diameter 32-inch wheels. The NOVA32 officially launched in March, and Neuhaus said they quickly moved through most of their inventory, but it appears all sizes are currently available if you’re on the hunt for a super capable 32-inch cross-country bike.

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The NOVA32 I photographed was built up with Neuhaus’ 32″ GW 7W23-3022 wheels, stunning 5Dev cranks, a PNW dropper post and bar, and the new Vittoria Peyote 32 x 2.4″ XC Race tires. The NOVA32 is available as a frameset (frame and fork) for $1,799 USD. Neuhaus is offering a rolling chassis, priced at $2,599, which includes a frame, NMW NOVA Carbon fork, 32″ GW 7W23-3022 wheels, Maxxis Aspen 32 x 2.4″ tires, and a headset and seat clamp. A Shimano XT mechanical complete build will set you back $4,498. Learn more here.

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Neuhaus Hummingbird Core

The Hummingbird was Neuhaus’ first Taiwan-made production model. As Logan so eloquently put it in his review, it “upends the ‘more progressive or bust’ bike bias, serving up a lively, comfortable ride that still delivers when the trail gets spicy.” It’s a lightweight 120mm travel steel hardtail kitted out with all the same features as the rest of their bikes, plus sliding rear dropouts. The Hummingbird’s stated tire clearance is with the dropouts in the shortest position, so the Hummingbird clears 29 x 2.6″ tires no matter how they are set.

The Hummingbird they built up for Sea Otter was a fun challenge to see just how lightweight they could get a production hardtail without losing its trail-worthy capabilities. As pictured, it weighs an astonishing 24 pounds, thanks to a high-quality frame, Berd HAWK30 wheels, Ti 5Dev cranks, a Transfer SL dropper post, and a RockShox SID Ultimate fork. There’s no question that you could shave a few more pounds off a Hummingbird complete build if you really wanted to embrace your inner weight weenie.

The sage-colored Hummingbird is available to purchase now from Neuhaus, following a similar pricing scheme as the new Solstice. There are five sizes available, and it can be purchased as a frame-only or as a complete build. Grab one for yourself or learn more here.

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Closing Thoughts

First of all, if you’re in California and can make it to the 2026 Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, I urge you to come check out these bikes in person. Neuhaus Metalworks won’t have a booth of their own, but most of the bikes you see here will be on display in other brands’ booths at the event. Nick and Daniel will also be wandering around the show, available to answer any questions you may have. Or, if you really want to start a conversation, ask them about their thoughts on 750D tires.

After spending several hours with the duo, I’m impressed not only by their bikes but also by how they’ve positioned themselves in the industry. Together, their attention to detail and ability to connect with their customers are admirable. I’m excited to see what Neuhaus gets up to next, knowing they’ll get there following an informed, low-friction road.

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Stay tuned for more from the 2026 Sea Otter Classic. And if there are any specific brands or products you want us to check out, let us know in the Conversation below!

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