Anyone ridden the Mojo Nicolai yet?

Cubemeup has

pitchpro2011 - Member
Cubemeup has

Reckoned there would be a few stw people who'd have tried it by now.

Forgot to mention the one that was outside had a set of Fox 40's on it, so I'm guessing it was getting ready for some punishment.

Resurrected for interest. Anyone had a cabby on one?

No, but I'd like too, if nothing else to confirm my prejudices.

It did very well at an Enduro race at Cwmcarn at the weekend, especially on the sections on the DH track - but I guess moar slack is always going to help when the going gets supersonic, it's the climbing and the tight twisty stuff I wonder about, I rode my DH bike on a tight twisty XC track a few times, it was a sod to get around, I just couldn't turn it fast enough at low speed.

Oh, and CC is about 5 mins from Mojo so their riders would know the course well.

I'm intrigued though.

I saw that they did well at cwmcarn. It's the. Climbing that intrigues me too.
I'm intrigued by the bike, but I'm put off by the £200 required to test one which is only redeemable if a whole bike is purchased.
I may well be in the market for a new frame/forks soon,and there's no way I'd but something which is such a radical departure from the other bikes have owned without a test ride (even a very short one) and I ain't paying £200 for the pleasure. May as well get a custom geo nicolai.

Demo a mondraker, if you think its shit...dont go anywhere near the Mojo bike

The cost for a demo is a bit steep, but then you are also getting an uplift and one of the tech's to help you. Probably be a lot more takers at £100, but then that probably wouldn't help them cover costs.

It's not too extravagant considering the whole bike costs, but disproportionate for frame and fork. Can't help but think they'll lose customers (like me) if they don't let people have even a little rip on it especially considering how unique it is.

They only have very small batches of the frame for sale - the first batch sold out. So, at this stage, they probably aren't worried about losing customers.

they probably aren't worried about losing customers.

I'd love to try it... But £200 for a demo seems like what you do if you want your demos to be a revenue stream rather than an actual way to sell your product. Most people'll be buying these unseen, based on hype.

perhaps they are trying to put people off demo riding it in case they don't buy it after #conspiracytheory

In their defence they do say that you can ride the bike around the car park if you just want to get an idea for sizing. The £200 demo is stated as a 1-2 day option with a mechanic, your own bike and uplift.

It's expensive if you just want to piss about on someone's expensive bike (as 90% of people on demos) but if you look at it the other way it's a nice option to confirm it's right you are genuinely interested in the bike. £200on a demo isn't as bad as £6000 on a bike you can't get on with.

Having been involved with numerous demo days during my time with bike shops I can confirm it takes a lot of time, effort and resources often for very little tangible reward. The majority of people just want to mess around on new bikes, or you get parents dumping kids off using you as a child minder, or you get randoms berating you for not offering it on a weekly basis etc etc etc.

Granted there will always be timewasters but for the serious buyer, isn't the entire point of a demo to see if you like it or not?
There is no guarantee that you will. I'd not buy a car without a test drive, and I wouldn't pay to have one.
At £2900 for frame and forks, you're in car territory.

£200on a demo isn't as bad as £6000 on a bike you can't get on with.

/\x1000.
If you are serious about buying one you'll likely get one and get your money back.If you don't it'll be a very informative and interesting day out.

wrecker

I'd not buy a car without a test drive, and I wouldn't pay to have one.
At £2900 for frame and forks, you're in car territory.

You're in 10 year old used car territory. Whereas the bike we're discussing is a limited edition custom geo collaboration between a very niche specialist manufacturer and renowned suspension tuner. So I don't think the car test drive comparison is valid. The other thing is, car dealerships tend to be surrounded by roads, the ideal testing ground for cars.

If you went a company who built extremely rare, expensive high performance off road racing machines (I dunno, Milner or Bowler) and expected them to offer you a free jolly around the forest in one of their £60k machines out of the blue it might be a fairer comparison. I doubt they'd just throw you the keys.

If you went a company who built extremely rare, expensive high performance off road racing machines and expected them to offer you a free jolly around the forest in one of their machines out of the blue it might be a fairer comparison.

Yeah, it was a ropey comparison.

If you went a company who built extremely rare, expensive high performance off road racing machines (I dunno, Milner or Bowler)

If you are serious about buying one you'll likely get one and get your money back.If you don't it'll be a very informative and interesting day out.

So is it the main issue with the £200 demo cost, is that should you like the bike, you only get the £200 off the price when your buy the full bike, not off the price when you are only buying the frame or frame and fork option? (Which I imagine a lot of people on here would go for)

For me, yes, but it would also be nice if you could get (perhaps an hour?) demo for ~£50. I bet there's enough interest to fill up a few demo days around cwmcarn. If it's as good as they say it is, then they could well get some sales from it.

wrecker - Member

it would also be nice if you could get (perhaps an hour?) demo for ~£50.

I think the problem is they aren't a bike shop or bike rental company. So organising a one hour demo probably entails as much work as a day. Phone calls and email exchange with prospective customer. Arranging time/dates. Scheduling other work/manpower to take up slack for whoever is dealing with demo. Meet and greet customer. Yak about bullshit. Sign releases and waivers. Take them to the trails....set shock/fork/tyre pressure and cockpit to customers liking. Wait about for an hour, maybe two if the customer decides to dick about. Listen to customer yak about bullshit for an hour after demo and pretend to care 🙂

I bet there's enough interest to fill up a few demo days around cwmcarn. If it's as good as they say it is, then they could well get some sales from it.

I think it says somewhere on their site they only have 3 demo bikes. So logistically pretty difficult to organise a demo day of any meaningful size. Even when you ask people to demo a bike for 20 mins in order to let other people ride it, they generally take 40mins to an hour. Maybe two.

Very validjimjam, all good points. I's a shame though eh?
Will likely take the geometron out of contention for me.

wrecker

Very validjimjam, all good points. I's a shame though eh?
Will likely take the geometron out of contention for me.

Well yes. Especially if you really want one. As a long time fancier of Nicolai bikes I'd personally love my own custom one, and I very much doubt I would be replicating the Geometron, certainly not the chainstay length. I'd have to throw some green somewhere on the bike too.

Having said that, if they offered a free demo near me, I'd be all over it, just out of curiosity.

wrecker - I think the problem is with this bike that a quick up and down [i]wouldn't do[/i]. It's so radically different that a certain adaptation in riding style will be necessary to get the best out of it. I had a couple of runs in Whistler on a proper DH bike and rode way slower than I did on the same trails on my 5" trail bike. As for the frame and fork deal, £200 represents a good %age of their margin, no wonder they don't discount it. On a 6 grand complete bike it's not such an expense.

read all the posts. was hoping someone had ridden it.

a day with Mojo and a tec on a Nic. would make a great surprise gift.

* leaves laptop open on coffee table while getting a drink....

jimjam - Member

Having said that, if they offered a free demo near me, I'd be all over it, just out of curiosity.

Suppose that's the problem isn't it, if I could scam a go on it I would too, but there's no chance I'd buy it. So it's about deterring the purely curious timewaster, while not putting off the serious, and after that it's just a matter of sliding scales.

clubby - Member

wrecker - I think the problem is with this bike that a quick up and down wouldn't do. It's so radically different that a certain adaptation in riding style will be necessary to get the best out of it.

It's not [b][i]THAT[/i][/b] radical though is it?. In trail/Enduro bike terms maybe. Maybe it's just slightly ahead of the curve. Something like a GT sanction isn't a million miles away in terms of geometry, and could be made closer with an angle set and/or offset bushings. Also, I seem to recall seeing a few long medium Nicolais kicking around on the uk distributor's site. It seems like a custom Long tt/ Med st Ion would give you a good indication of how the bike would function at least. Might be worth seeing if anyone has one of those they'd be willing to lend for a spin.

It's not THAT radical though is it?

I am very tempted when I have some spare cash to treat myself and book a demo.
I raced motocross most of my life, so if the geometron manages to feel anything like that and still be decent for pedally trails I'd be happy.

So, I have one. The longest one. I've not had it long but it's pretty spectacular (of course, might just be new bike syndrome 🙂 ).

I'm 6'5. Most XLs aren't big enough. My previous bike was an XL Yeti SB95C (amazing bike). To get seated reach with short-ish stem, I had the saddle pushed all the way back on the rails. All my previous bike had been this way, so I was used to it. But still, seated steep climbs meant riding the nose of the saddle to avoid the front lifting. And when descending, the top tube, though fairly long, was still not long enough.

Now the trend is for longer top tubes, but still, there is only really one production bike long enough - the Mondraker. And then, along comes the Geometron and it looks great. The big difference in the reach between it and other long bikes (Mondraker, Strive Race, Kona Process, Transition) is the steepness of the seat tube means that the length is forward-biased.

My geometron climbs amazingly. I expected the front to wander and flop a bit, but it's pretty easy to stop it from doing that. It pedals really well (and not just for a long travel bike, for any bike). The frame is bombproof and the suspension bearings are huge and stiff. Out of the saddle sprinting is impressive.

Going down, on my limited time with it, and my limited diagnostic skills, it's very, very impressive. Super stable, as you'd expect - get your weight over the front (not difficult when you are my size) and it corners brilliantly. I have 800 wide bars and a 35mm stem. It'll take a while to get used to the extra width when I'm in the trees. Going off drops, the bike doesn't even blink.

In the end, the chainstays are at 445 which isn't *that* long (same as my Yeti).

It's a DH bike which pedals (very well). It's heavy but I don't think that matters (my weight is far greater). The suspension is top notch, having been given the Mojo treatment. I have mine set up for steep trails, but it seems pretty good on the flatter, pedally stuff too.

Biggest drawback - it's too long for my workstand! (Feedback Sprint) unless I clamp it at the rear wheel (painful). It only just fits on my roof rack.

In the end, I bought mine because it promised to fit me, be bombproof, and offer something (fairly) different to your standard trail weapon. I can always lower the travel if I need it steeper (and shorter). But I suspect I won't.

Thanks for the post decipher. Always good to hear feedback, from someone who owns a bike.

Your comment about it being a downhill bike that pedals is one I'd guessed would be the case due to reviews of the ION 16, the geometry and other enduro bikes these days. E.g. the GT Sanction commonly gets comments like that.

It's also a downhill bike that pedals *really* well, I have to say. I'd race something like the GT7 on it, I think.

Thanks for the post recipher, very informative. Glad to hear you're happy with it.

The suspension setup is bang-on. Very plush in the initial stroke, very sensitive to small bumps, but very progressive and a solid platform in the mid-stroke. Can't fault it. Particularly the fork.

I'm still getting used to it in the tight steep stuff. You definitely need to get over the front and lay it down more than I'm used to (or can). But I'm getting there. I think the 800 wide bar is a bit of a hindrance at the moment, but I'm persevering - maybe I'll put it at 780. The wide stance is useful for getting weight over the front.

On wide open trails, it's in a league of it's own.

I've gotten into trouble with it a few times, where my previous bike would have spat me out, but I've managed to save myself with this one.

Now, if Nicolai could make this bike with one of those Pinion gearboxes, that would be awesome and well suited for the UK all year round riding.

tooFATtoRIDE 😉

bringing back the thread….

Mudfish - at 6ft2 what size of the 3 would you be looking at? Longer?

Now, if Nicolai could make this bike with one of those Pinion gearboxes, that would be awesome and well suited for the UK all year round riding.

Now Nicolai has this Nicolai ION 16-GPI Pinion Gearbox Prototype [url= http://www.mtb-news.de/news/2015/08/07/exklusiv-nicolai-ion-gpi/ ](LINK)[/url]

Some pictures here:

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It is heavy, though. 16.4kg (36.1lb)

And ugly - in my head "the solution" doesn't have all that carp on it. Bet it's nice and quiet though.

That's interesting, it's always been heavily advised not to bend belt drive back on itself

Interesting that it's clearly not standard geometry on that pinion bike. Note the "long" designation on the seat stay.

Reach values ??from 485 mm to 520 mm and a considerable steering angle of 63.5 ° minimal to make it an exceptionally powerful enduro bike.

in my head "the solution" doesn't have all that carp on it.

this +1.

and 36lb. K'nell'.

Hi groundskeeper,
Yeah, gor use in the woods I currently feel -est might be too much, although Pilot (on here and mtbr) has a custom thats not much away from longer and her's 5'11 i think. -est is very long.

Ok chaps...its not a prototype.Those pictures are from the official launch (At a Rock/Bike festival :wink:) prior to the main launch at Eurobike.

It will be available to order post Eurobike with either belt or chain drive, either is retrofittable to the other, as are box internals of 9, 12 or 18spd. That one is 12sp, which is 150g heavier than 9sp but closer ratio's.

It is forward geometry utilising the geometry developed with Chris (and others but I think that bike will be offered in Chris Ps long/longer/longest designation.
Of course you can go custom do what you want within reason...like a shorter seat tube springs to mind) 😀 over the last 18 months.

Allegedly, (since I haven't ridden this one yet, not until next week, but from discussion with those that designed it and have been testing it for quite some time) The pinion application particularly suits the geometry, the weight distribution further enhances the cornering due to the technique used with this type of geometry, as anyone who has ridden or has one will attest, you don't get over the front in corners in the same way as on a shorter, steeper bike, much like you don't lean back on the steeps, its much more centrally weighted.

With the right parts (e.g. those on my current, but going to a new home, überlong (Longest equiv) Ion16 squeeze
[img][url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/512/19598793455_725f07c5f5_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/512/19598793455_725f07c5f5_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/vRSWtZ ]Untitled[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pilot/ ]Phil[/url], on Flickr[/img]

e.g. carbon wheels, Vecnum dropper, carbon bars, lighter brakes, lighter discs, lighter grips, lighter stem.. ) it comes in at 15kg or 33lb.

I understand the tensioner design/setup is there to manage belt tension dynamically, the objective to reduce the resistance to the suspension action as far as possible e.g. to try and replicate as close as possible a chain/derailleur free suspension action for more sensitivity.

With regards to the heavy bit, it is. But in terms of manoeuvring the bike, the weight is in the right place and there is hardly any unsprung weight, the rear belt sprocket is very light, its also running a single speed hub for a dishless build, it has also got a huge gear range.

In terms of extra effort to just pedal it, this might surprise you, it did me!
...for a 75kg man, pulling a 3000m climbing day (more than most of us are likely to do in a stint), at a steady 5mph for 2 hours solid on a mtb, in avg temps, with avg tyres, the difference in energy expended is 81Kcals.

As a bit of a weight weenie and experimentalist I was both inherently attracted to the advantages this bike offers and simultaneously horrified at a bike over 30lbs again...having said that, I think there are many, in fact I know there are having seen a 'how much does your bike weigh' thread on here that are utterly deluded about their bikes weight

Anyways ,I'll report back after I've seen for myself...If I love it, great, if not, I'll try not to convince myself I want it anyway and carry on with the tweaked custom version of mine....