Newcastle. A long way from Mojo HQ unfortunately. Regularly get to Hamsterley, Inners, Glentress etc.

Found myself needing something read to occupy sometime one day this week and grabbed a copy of mbuk. Was surprised to see there was in fact an article about the geometron in it.
Was a favourable review of the frame and a very favourable review of the level of service Chris and mojo put in to help get the bike tuned to his riding style.

I found it interesting that test rider feel he was going slower than he actually was and kept over jumping things.

I’m just back from a trip to Spain with Doug at Basque MTB and Ed aka Greatrock on the Back Country Pyrenees tour.

Apart from the fact the riding, overall, was the best I’ve ever experienced, it was also very challenging especially at speed. We rode everything from high mountain steeps, 3 EWS stages in Ainsa to super tight switchbacks, often with technical features all the way around, the Geometron took it all in its stride, flattered it’s rider and surprised everyone.

I think on one or two hairpins and climbs we may have broken the internet.

Demo day at the Forest of Dean for Nicolai bikes 7th and 8th November….

The guys from Nicolai will be over with a range of bikes, Mojo will be there, uplift will be available and a BBQ…

Chainline, any more details on the demo day; for example would I need to book? I can’t seem to find any details when I search online…

Are they bringing ION GPI over?

I’ll get some more details on the Demo day, need to talk to Matt today. Perhaps I can get him to put something on STW, if not I’ll post details.

Check out Nicolai Bikes UK facebook page.

I assume the GPI will be coming over. Again I’ll ask Nicolai.

@toofattoride there will be 3 GPIs all sizes to try.

Great news. Shame that FOD is so far away from London.

3hrs, same distance for me near as.

Anyone from London coming on Sunday 8th November and wants to join?

Anyones?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nicolai-Mojo-GEOMETRON-Enduro-xc-all-mountain-bike-/171983640038?hash=item280b0615e6:g:iCsAAOSw9mFWMnuM

£4K… A hard sell 2nd hand. I wonder if you get to set it up again?

I like it, if I had 4k burning a hole in my pocket…..

That advert smacks of someone caught up in the hype, buy with haste repent at leisure and all that…..i should imagine once manufacturers have milked the whole ‘short chainstays, conservative head angles’ thing to death you’ll see Porter’s Geometron appear in various guises as the next big thing from the main manufacturers.

I like it, makes perfect sense for riders like me….super stable at speed, DH slack when aiming down, steep enough seat tube and long enough chain stays to stop it pulling wheelies while climbing, if you’re an XC whippet you’ll hate it but for ‘winch and plummet’ riders it looks ideal…..may stick a -2 degree headset in my Trance and see if I can get close to the same thing.

Short chainstays are crap, unless you’re a slopestyle rider throwing whips and need that ‘in the air’ maneuverability then most of us would benefit from more stability on the trail not less from a stupidly short twitchy rear end that often limits tyre choice too!

It’ll never ever be xc weight but if you were committed and a light rider using one for light trail you could get it down to 28lbs usuign a few mfrs tricks like Schwalbe tyres etc…but there is more frame to begin with. Hard to know if the owner is genuine about having to sell or as you say found out it isn’t for him.

Anyone e-mailed the seller to see what the craic is? One day to go…

lots of views and watchers. at £3500 or less that’d be a great buy. I expect a lot of people will go frame/fork package and transfer/buy other parts so the bike is a harder sell.

odd that it has no dropper, although I guess not everyone uses one.

I’m sure Chris would give advice on shock set up (spacers etc for weight) If I didn’t have one already I’d be in there..

If you are looking for reference..up to 6’1″ for Medium or ‘Longer’ All based on 30-35mm stem and 760mm – 800mm bars.
sizing:
Long = 1.65-1.75m
Longer = 1.75-1.87m
Longest = 1.87-1.96

Yeah I thought that no dropper post was a bit odd too. I think £4k is optimistic given its quite niche. Would be tempting at a lower price..

i should imagine once manufacturers have milked the whole ‘short chainstays, conservative head angles’ thing to death you’ll see Porter’s Geometron appear in various guises as the next big thing from the main manufacturers.

really? Ok the geometron is the slackdaddy right now, but mondraker, kona, banshee, SC newmad, and all the nuskool enduro bikes are selling on the slack HA, long front centre+ tiny stem,wide bars, steep SA etc for the last few years

Short chainstays are crap, unless you’re a slopestyle rider throwing whips and need that ‘in the air’ maneuverability then most of us would benefit from more stability on the trail not less from a stupidly short twitchy rear end that often limits tyre choice too!

and im yet to ride a bike with a twitchy rear end (that didnt have the wrong tyres on!), even my Cowan with tiny chainstays (and terrible tyre clearance!) is great to ride, I got a large and longer forks so its longer and slacker too and that helps with stability and confidence

obviously not ridden the geometron, but longer stays ime = less fun on berms, less manouverability, harder to jump, if you are riding long flat out DH straights maybe they are better, Id have to ride one and see, my hardtail has sliding dropouts but id need a full suss to experiment on and see if it was worth it

‘Long’ Chainstays = normal chainstays 2 years ago.

the nuskool enduro bikes are 2.5-4 degrees steeper than a geometron depending on model. That is a big difference and with significant differences in reach, even for the Mondrakers

For example the comparing equivalent sizes in terms of recommended rider size, so M Geometron, a M Nomad is

The XL size is 5mm shorter TT than a M G’Tron, 50mm shorter overall, 45mm shorter reach, 3.5 degrees steeper HA, 3 degrees slacker SA. So I would still find it cramped based on what I’m used to.

Thats not to say it doesn’t work brilliantly for others, that it’s wrong or anything or that there aren’t people that could ride it much faster than I ever can my G’tron, there are, but that for me the G’tron makes sense and feels right and means I get the best out of what I can do.

In term of lower slacker they also are more than previously..its just that the G’tron, in the words of Pinkbike, has ‘Deviant’ geometry! Which I suppose is literally true even if that’s not what they meant. Maybe they should have checked their reviewers glowing comments before using that in answer to a question that clearly came from someone who read the review!

I agree the geometron has jumped a few degrees on ha and cm on reach over the others, but its been a progression, 1/2 a degree a year or so on head angle etc
I’d be very keen to have a go on one and interested to see if the top EWS racers start using the Porteresque geometry.
I’m just not as cynical as deviant that the manufacturers are trying to con us with substandard bikes!

I don’t think the manufacturers are trying to con us – I just think it’s hard to sell bikes which have radically different geometry to what most are used to because it can take quite a while to adapt to and get the best out of a bike which handles very differently to what you’ve been riding for a while.

I’m noticing this myself, trying to switch between a pretty long slack low full-sus and a shorter steeper taller hardtail. Even though I’ve spent about twice as many hours on the hardtail in total, in the last year most of my riding has been on the full-sus and when I get on the hardtail it feels so nervous and unstable in comparison. But go back a few years and that hardtail was pretty similar geometry to many all-mountain full-sus bikes!

Also, I think there’s a general misconception that slack head angles don’t climb well when it’s slack SEAT angles that are the real issue. Slack head angles can wander a bit at lower speed but with the right geometry to keep the front weighted it isn’t a problem and more than made up for on the way back down.

Also, I think there’s a general misconception that slack head angles don’t climb well when it’s slack SEAT angles that are the real issue. Slack head angles can wander a bit at lower speed but with the right geometry to keep the front weighted it isn’t a problem and more than made up for on the way back down.

Get and inline post or flip it around, slam your seat forward or even swap out to one that puts you further forward. These are all things 99% of riders havnt bothered to do so why are we all drooling over steep seat angle frames?

Even with a forward seating position a slack head-angle bike still handles like a pig uphill. Its just more efficient and easier as it puts you in a better position relative to the pedals, ie. similar relative position you would have on a normal bike on flat trails.

The geomotron is designed to winch up steep access roads, not ride technical uphill trails. There is no shame in it, it has a purpose and its very good at it.

Get and inline post or flip it around, slam your seat forward or even swap out to one that puts you further forward. These are all things 99% of riders havnt bothered to do so why are we all drooling over steep seat angle frames?

Except that I have inline dropper posts on both my full-sus and my hardtail, the former has a much slacker head angle but a much steeper seat angle, and goes up hills better. There’s only so much adjustment at the saddle rails and most dropper posts are inline so you can’t reverse the layback.

I have to disagree about the climbing, it rides up technical trails extremely well. As usual I hope you’ve ridden one to back up the assertion. The GPI gearbox version even better uphill.

The length of the rear and central position provide excellent traction and control since the rear is weighted but the front not light. It flat out climbs well with no excuses.

I’m running a DH shock with no additional compression High or Low over the ‘internal’ settings and I get almost no movement when pedalling due to the careful matching of climbing gear ratio to anti squat characteristics and point of sag.

I’ve done a lot of tech climbing on it now in Spain and the UK on slippy, rocky, rooty and dry, dusty rocky terrain with others on more conventional AM bikes; Bromads galore, Orange, Ibis and it’s just as good and better when it gets really really steep as you can stay central to get rear traction much more easily without the lift.

This made me smile, one of the PB comments to a question about Geometrons (where ‘deviant’ geometry came from)

“Thing is, for the geometron to come into its own, you would want climbing to descending ratio to be at least 10 to 1. It’s a bike that would be wasted on anything other than double black diamond, beyond diagonal gnar.”

I don’t think slack head angles make for crap climbing. Not been lucky enough to try a Geometron, but my 2012 Orange Alpine has a 64* HA and the front doesn’t wander. I run the saddle most of the way forward and the chai stays are 435mm long and a 1200mm wheelbase. It has no problems on tech climbs or tight switchbacks. It’s running coil forks and shock so no lock out and minimal LS compression.

I think the Geometron is a step in the right direction, and have seen a few out on the trails and they don’t seem to struggle on either the rough natural stuff or trail centres.

Tom KP

I’m planning on pushing my sliding rear dropouts all the way out after looking into this frame, I’ll not gain much but it makes sense

So has anyone attended the Nicolai demo day at FOD?

Yep, it was pretty interesting. I’m now wondering if I can sell my DH and enduro bikes to fund a geometron.

riklegge – Member
Yep, it was pretty interesting. I’m now wondering if I can sell my DH and enduro bikes to fund a geometron.

Sounds like it was a pretty positive ride on the bike then.
Might try to get myself down there today.
What did you need for the demo? Just some form of ID?

Sorry for the late reply gaz552. I booked in advance with mojo, but I don’t think this was necessary, it wasn’t completely booked out. I didn’t even need ID, and one of the Mojo crew (usually Chris I believe) rides with you to check setup. Great fun, and the bike rocks.

Decided to head down to FoD for a ride today and see if I could get a run on a geometron. Was speaking to Chris and he had me sit on the medium (longer) size bike (for reference I’m about 5′ 10″) and actually it really doesn’t feel crazy long on the reach or anything, it just felt comfortable. Someone else was coming to take it out after that so I came back a hour or so later and got to ride it along with Chris and some of the nicolai guys.

First thing, pedalling up hill is great. The only thing holding it back was my fitness and a chest infection that won’t go away.

On the way down, over the first set of table tops first thing I noticed was that it is long but it keeps you very centered and it felt different but good different.

After the first section we headed down sheepskull (trail conditions were crap it was raining), once again hopping over the first sets of roots the bike felt longer than I’m used to, but even with the poor conditions I was able to start pushing it over whatever I wanted and cornering was great.

From sheepskull we then headed down skirun (it’s quite rocky with some rooty bits), and the length of the bike was started to no longer be noticeable and I was able to just get on with looking ahead and choosing lines.

So all in all, the bike feels way better than you’d expect it to, and the suspension was fantastic, at no point did I feel pitched and I didn’t find myself lacking front end grip either.

I had finally decided to go for a large transition patrol, but that test ride even though it was brief and trail conditions were crap was very encouraging.

Thanks to Chris and the guys for the test ride and the chat and advice while heading up and down the trails.

Think he’s a little (hopelessly) optimistic on the price.

I’d be intrigued to try one – my experience of FG with Mondraker’s wasn’t favourable, but things evolve.

More so, I’d like to see how a ~4kg frame w/X2 shock somehow comes out lighter as a full build than a 2.6kg frame & shock, covered in carbon & light bits 😉

Hob Nob – Member
Think he’s a little (hopelessly) optimistic on the price.
I’d be intrigued to try one – my experience of FG with Mondraker’s wasn’t favourable, but things evolve.
More so, I’d like to see how a ~4kg frame w/X2 shock somehow comes out lighter as a full build than a 2.6kg frame & shock, covered in carbon & light bits

Without question it feels different, but it seemed like I was getting used to it very quickly. I found body position wise it felt more like riding my motocross bike, so maybe that helped.

No idea what the weight of the bike was but it didn’t feel at all heavy when riding it, I imagine I’d need to lift it side by side with one of it’s carbon rivals to see how much heavier it is.

On a side note, the X2 worked great to the point of not noticing it, and the XTR 11 speed feels really nice.

That’s odd, my post was in reply to a message that’s gone missing. There was someone linking to a bike for sale on EBay that was ~£4K.

The X2 is a great shock though, agree on that!

Noticed that too Hob Nob. Maybe a moderator deemed it as spam or something.

5’10 on a medium today , cockpit same as my medium Five in terms of length but massive increase in wheel base and reach.
Suspension set up was incredible and consequently grip was staggering.
The most amazing thing was, you just rode it, and never really thought about the bike!! It just did everything well.
One hell of a bike, deviant geometry …….hell yeah !!and it works.
Get out there and try one, the future is here already!!

Thanks to everyone that turned up. Despite pretty dreadful weather it was busy both days. For both Chris and Nicolai.

I don’t work for either but help out due to a technical background and a long association and involvement in feedback so its good to be able to talk to people from an (average) riders perspective.

Interesting to see some serious racers with access to their equipment come along, ride the geometron and, get back post ride with a massive smile and go away wondering how they could make it happen.

A few Enduro 29 riders along too..

I was chatting to the Nicolai guys about their factory enduro rider Daniel, he didn’t want to change bikes mid season so has been riding his std bike. Now the season is over he tested the Geometron geometry back to back and on ride 1 found himself 17secs faster on a single run….

I don’t race now, but I think it gives an indication of the confidence and feedback you get to push further than you might otherwise.

I’d agree with catvet’s descripotion, well put, you forget about the bike and just focus on the trail, very liberating.

Chainlin: if you are who I think you are, thanks for the chat after I gave it a test ride. Also did ever get that head light working?

I too can vouch for the fact that, you just concentrate on picking a better line. you don’t have time to worry about if your about to loose grip etc. Because you wont you wont!!!

Thanks Paul, I am and I did fix the headlight! For a 10min job it took about 4 hours due to chatting.

I think there will be a lot more demo days. it’s clearly a bike that needs to be ridden to make a any kind of decision and it’s character not judged on paper.

It doesn’t really matter if someone doesn’t like it or think it’s for them. If they go away able to articulate to others a real experience of riding it and (hopefully) dispel the myths of it being only a DH bike or that it won’t go around tight corners, won’t pedal well etc. it’s worth it.

Also its possible to chat about the options, the fact you can choose to configure it with less travel if you want or try it with super light wheels to see if it works for you like that before committing.