Haha... Yeah, I never demo'd one neither did Nicolai develop it.... Please, try and read the link I posted on page 1... Sums it all up really......
72 ha steers nicely on a 100mm 29er hardtail so not surprised if it handles well but boy does it look steep!
People are expressing their opinion. Do they have to say nice things just to please you and the OP or would you prefer an honest opinion?
Uh no, I understand the concept that people [i]say[/i] they don't like it because they don't like how it looks. I just don't understand how anyone could think that looked bad. It's the best-looking bike I've seen in years (head angle aside).
Seriously, you must have to watch out for toe overlap, no?
You don't want to take yourself out on a corner and then take a core sample of your own flesh with those bars!
I couldn't quite think what the green and white reminded me of but then it came to me.[IMG] 
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You don't want to take yourself out on a corner and then take a core sample of your own flesh with those bars!
This. My mate Rob gave me a minute start on a downhill, after waiting for 5 minutes at the bottom I knew something was wrong. I walked 1/3rd the way back up to meet him ashen faced on the way down. He'd overcooked a corner and slammed the bars into his stomach, he pulled his shirt up and asked me to tell him how it looked... A white bubble in a sea of red moush.
It wasn't serious, fortunately, but it must have stung a bit! His bar end had fallen out and he'd never got around to replacing it.
Damn, I'm missing a trick here - I've been designing bikes to ride like bikes when people actually want them to ride like bulldozers 😉
That sure is a bike only its father could love
Local kid came off his bmx near here last year. His unstoppered bar core-sampled his liver. Touch and go week in intensive care and he will probably never recover fully...
Other than that it looks interesting.
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Local kid came off his bmx near here last year. His unstoppered bar core-sampled his liver. Touch and go week in intensive care and he will probably never recover fully...
Quite - Dragon DH series wouldn't let you compete without bar ends for that reason. Simon, really, get something in those bars will ya! You want to enjoy that bad boy for years to come.
To be honest the HA does look a little on the steep side, but having read the [url= http://twentynineinches.com/2011/08/01/nicolai-helius-ac-short-term-test-final-review/ ]review[/url] I've seen on the bike it seems to work rather well.
But it looks a bit more normal here.
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Doesn't make me want one any less though, and I can see it happening this year at some point if I can just get over the [i]"I'll only have one MTB"[/i] thing I've got buzzing round my head.
Standard stock geometry on a medium ac29er...after 6 hours riding today to get it dialled in, I can confirm the geometry and ride abilities are blob on !
And more importantly , not one pedal strike......! 😛
I suppose the ha does look steeper than my ti456, which it is, but it's flawless in operation..
My only criticism is the wheels....they be.ong to dipper as I'm waiting for mine to be finished... Arch ex on nobby nic 2.25". These will give the bike more finesse and will be a little less bulldozer like, which suits me...
To say I'm delighted is an understatement... It completely out performs my helius am 26"er in all areas....especially technical climbs...
I reckon with 2 sets of wheels, crest and flow, there'd be very little you couldn't attempt on the standard bike..
Looking forward to getting my shadow plus mech and my wheels...
Looks great, did you buy some new riding gear for the occasion? 😀
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^^^^^^^^
Superb....
Haven't ridden a 29er with that sort of head angle for quite a while and don't plan to. Yes they steer quick, but for me it's too quick, too twitchy.
Has anyone mentioned that the head angle looks a bit steep yet ??
Damn, I'm missing a trick here - I've been designing bikes to ride like bikes when people actually want them to ride like bulldozersThats the best thing anyones written on this thread. So many people determining ride assumptions based on one parameter, christ.
I had the same view, coming off a 66deg bike. OMG the HA was what I kept thinking! OMG the loooong chain stays was what I kept thinking. I was in the process of ordering one so wanted to see for myself Borrowed Dippers, rode it loads solidly for 3 weeks, as an all round, do it all trail bike it rocks a hard one. Its bloody great.
iI manualled really well (a huge surprise) is stable, steers pretty fast but not silly (50mm stem, 750mm wide bars important here), is very stiff, comfortable, nice long TT for room to breath. pedalled well. Just great really. I really would say close to the 'one bike' for all.
The trouble is, so much media hype, so many people harping on about slacker and slacker, its just one number among many.
A great quote by someone on here about Enduro bikes and how you define one, I think he said something like, loads more travel than you need, loads slacker than you need is your perfect Enduro bike...
I rode Cwm Carn DH on my 120mm/100mm XC race bike the other day rather than finish on the XC loop, 26" wheels, lefty fork, 70deg HA. It was great fun, jumps, drops and all, can't say it felt dangerous either. Probably not quite as fast as if I was on the 66deg slugger AM bike, but much easier when I pedalled up again.
Enjoy it TLR.
Chainline , exactly.... It rides way better in real life than by analytical forum angle theorists would assume......
