given the weight of the wheels already I could see me running a Rohloff on one of those.

My first thought when looking at fat bikes, it seems daft to design bikes designed and otherwise ideal for the filthiest conditions winter can throw up and then to use derailleurs. However I think there is an issue with hub spacing with most fat frames when using hub gears. I don’t know if anyone has managed to adapt a Rohloff to work with the wider spacing.
There is a 9:Zero:7 frame with a rear 135mm hub spacing but I don’t know if there are any others.

The Pugsley is also 135mm, as are a few smaller brands.

You are, however, missing the point slightly as many of the newer releases are being targeted at “trail” users rather than snow/sand riders. Mind you, a quick look at the Iditarod bikes would indicate that many riders are happy with 170 or 190 rear ends.

Apaprently Sandman have tried a fat bike with a Pinion gearbox. Now that would be superb..

Ok, Maybe not peanuts to build.
It won’t be too expensive as I’m sure being a Nicolai it will be overbuilt so the tubes wont need to be fancy.
On One can build a whole bike with gears for less than 900 pounds.
What’s the different between bikes apart from the brand names?

The difference could be labour costs and the amount of frames manufactured.

On One and other pretend manufacturers have the economies of scales that using the same factories as many othe cycle sellers. I presume that Nicholai still make there own bikes in Germany.

Is “niche” really worth that much extra?

Is “niche” really worth that much extra?

for some people, yes.

Same as some people buy an Audi or Miele dishwasher or whatever.

You may not agree/understand but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense to others.

I wouldn’t spend £2500 on a Santa Cruz or Yeti frame but I can understand that some would

1350 euros is only 51 euros more than an Argon AM 🙂

Once you’ve seen a Nicolai in the metal you get an appreciation for why they cost what they do; they may look like other bikes from a distance bit nobody else builds frames like Nicolai do.

I imagine that parts like this aren’t cheap?

I had a Nomad. That I could understand as santa cruz had to pay licence for VPP and with their premium the mk1 frame was not so expensive.
Such a price for a hardtail is crazy. A singlespeed downhill hardtail at that.

Such a price for a hardtail is crazy.

in your opinion.

Plenty of carbon and Ti hardtails go for a lot more than that.

Those parts above that scotroutes shows a picture of are welded together to make the chainstay and seatstay bridges hollow.

I’m not denying they’re well made.
Most bikes today are fit for purpose and well made and conform to CE.
In order to justify that additional money is it any better than the On One Fatty?
That’s what I find hard to comprehend.

Is your Nomad better than an El Guapo?

I sold the Nomad WHEN i was skint,never rode an El Guapo but I hear it is a good bike.I have a second hand 06 S Works Enduro complete bike that cost half of Nicolai frame.I bought this 3 years ago.
I also had a second hand 456 that was amazing but I’ve just sold it due to illness.
If you do buy the Nicolai I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

so you bought and sold bikes priced according to the amount of money you had available at the time, the same as everyone else does.

If I had £1400 for a frame that would be on my list same as a very expensive Nomad was on yours when you had what it cost.

That’s the first bike I have seen in years that I WANT for no reason whatsoever.

+ 1! 😀

I see a bike just about every day that I want for no reason whatsoever.