New Nicolai with Pinion gearbox announced

[MOG]

Me likey

Nicolai Bikes

Saturn 16 MGU Reveal 🤯 Our new E-MTB has landed! The Saturn 16 MGU is being presented to the public for the very first time today at the Bike Festival in Riva. As a 29er E-Enduro with 160 mm travel,...

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[Pyr0]

10,999 euros with a raw frame and 720 battery

Nicolai Saturn 16 MGU, 10.999,00 €

Das neue Nicolai Saturn 16 MGU mit Pinion MGU Motor-Getriebe-Einheit jetzt konfigurieren

www.nicolai-bicycles.com

 

[Ark]

does this one also so und like an old ribbon printer?

 

[Binhill1]

My last two non electric bikes were Nicolai great bikes I thought.

 

[Mrj35]

Me likey

View attachment 139625

Nicolai Bikes

Saturn 16 MGU Reveal 🤯 Our new E-MTB has landed! The Saturn 16 MGU is being presented to the public for the very first time today at the Bike Festival in Riva. As a 29er E-Enduro with 160 mm travel,...

www.facebook.com

looks great, just needs 190-200mm front rear suspension, a 500wh battery range extender and we are good to go . Ill be switching to a gearbox bike in about 3 years, hopefully by then the moto brands have understood a bunch of us want dh ebikes lol. Husqvarna was actually on the right track with the 2021 extreme cross.

 

[AlumiPro]

looks great, just needs 190-200mm front rear suspension, a 500wh battery range extender and we are good to go . Ill be switching to a gearbox bike in about 3 years, hopefully by then the moto brands have understood a bunch of us want dh ebikes lol. Husqvarna was actually on the right track with the 2021 extreme cross.

Not bad looking aluminum MGU eBike.
I’m hoping to trade my current 180mm-190mm Crestline in for a MGU Crestline in the future!…..guessing it’ll be 2-3yrs from now

 

[Chairman]

Not bad looking aluminum MGU eBike.
I’m hoping to trade my current 180mm-190mm Crestline in for a MGU Crestline in the future!…..guessing it’ll be 2-3yrs from now

Same thoughts here. Current whip is a 200 185 bastardised Cannondale that goes pretty good but a 630 battery running heavy dh tyres restricts rides to a little over 2hrs and 1200 metres but I guess It will have to hang in there another couple of years. I want a gearbox so bad. I love my Zerode with a Pinion but I have lost my enjoyment of climbing on an acoustic.

 

[AlumiPro]

I hope future MGU’s are able to reduce the tensioner hanging down in the danger zone. Not ideal for the terrain I ride, which is the main reason I want a MGU…..My poor SRAM transmission gets so beat up.

 

[tooFATtoRIDE]

I hope future MGU’s are able to reduce the tensioner hanging down in the danger zone. Not ideal for the terrain I ride, which is the main reason I want a MGU…..My poor SRAM transmission gets so beat up.

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Maybe something like this?

 

[AlumiPro]

Maybe something like this?

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Yes…….just not attached to a Bankrupted bike brand with delaminating rear swing arms(very sad to see happen)……which I was so extremely close to purchasing before my Crestline. It would have been cool to see the Voima with an MGU for sure.
I have followed your progress with your single speed belt drive Voima, will you be adding an internal gear hub?

 

[kntr]

Id rather have the tensioner at the rear hub.

 

[AlumiPro]

Id rather have the tensioner at the rear hub.

Like the Rotwild? I’d smack that rear chain tensioner for sure.

 

[kntr]

Like the Rotwild? I’d smack that rear chain tensioner for sure.

View attachment 139825

Yes like the Rotwild. Im in the USA and none of the pinion ebikes are available yet.

 

[slickrock]

Like the Rotwild? I’d smack that rear chain tensioner for sure.

View attachment 139825

Yeah, but not with a chain. Must be belt drive.

 

[slickrock]

Maybe something like this?

View attachment 139757

Dude, is this your bike? If so, since when did you move to away from Pinion tensioner to the Universal Transmission tensioner? As you know, this is exactly the tensioner I want to outfit my Sonni with. Both Poles have plenty of room for a transverse tensioner like the UT and also benefit from the suspension's nearly zero chain growth thru its entire travel.

The irony is this UT tensioner was designed by/with Nicolai (for their Bosch setups), but looks awkward on their new MGU bike because the bikes tight rear suspension clearance is cramped by the large MGU motor with nowhere for the tensioner to go but down into the bash zone. But on the Voima it looks great!

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I really like this bike

 

[tooFATtoRIDE]

@Rob Rides EMTB Awaiting the full in-depth review and some words of comparison to Pole Voima.

Dude, is this your bike? If so, since when did you move to away from Pinion tensioner to the Universal Transmission tensioner? As you know, this is exactly the tensioner I want to outfit my Sonni with. Both Poles have plenty of room for a transverse tensioner like the UT and also benefit from the suspension's nearly zero chain growth thru its entire travel.

The irony is this UT tensioner was designed by/with Nicolai (for their Bosch setups), but looks awkward on their new MGU bike because the bikes tight rear suspension clearance is cramped by the large MGU motor with nowhere for the tensioner to go but down into the bash zone. But on the Voima it looks great!

I switched as soon as I realized that the Pinion tensioner would not work/be placed as I wanted and that the Gates tensioner was the way forward.

 

[RustyMTB]

Tangential, couple of my mates have just bought Zerode Katipos. Couple of rides in, one's loving it, the other not so much, says the drag is noticeable & the weight a slight hindrance.

 

[AlumiPro]

I really like this bike

View attachment 140484

I wonder if Cascade will develop a rear long travel link for it?…..it needs more travel!

 

[Plummet]

Not enough travel for this big travel junky. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for 180mm+ gearbox E.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I’d be tempted to remove the shock spacer giving 166mm rear and put on a 170 / 180 fork. The rear feels so free moving through the travel with the mech and cassette deleted.

The lack of noise going down hill is something that is hugely noticeable to me. In gear 1 the bike was able to climb stuff I couldn’t clear on the Bosch race motor (EDR Power stage in Finale Ligure)

I totally believe in this Pinion system. Nicolai bike is great too. I want to try it more on home trails.

 

[kntr]

I tried to order one but they dont ship to the USA. Plus the total was almost $15,000 without shipping! Why is VAT $1800 included?

$15,000 is a little much. I can buy a lot of spare derailers, cassettes, and chains for my carbon Levo. I guess I'll wait until prices come down in a year or two. Maybe another company sold in the USA will sell a pinion bike.

 

[AlumiPro]

Im so looking forward to owning a long travel QUIET WIRELESS MGU! Luckily Beats in my ears help drown out the Bosch rattle!

 

[cozzy]

My nicolai G19 DH bike was the best bike I've ever owned. Sadly sold it to fund a pole voima, worst decision ever ..
If they make something like that with 190mm rear travel, a headtube short enough to take a fox 40 (sub 140mm) and the mgu, that will highly likely be my next bike in a few years.

 

[RustyMTB]

I had a quick go on my mate's Zerode on Friday. Just up & down the road. Couple of very quick observations on the Pinion; it does add a noticeable weight to the bike. Full fat ebike guys wouldn't notice but on an normy it's definitely there. The bike is near silent, bigest noise is the tyres. The twist grip is lousy, the electric shift is definitely the way to go. Whilst you can change gear stationary, on the move if you don't ease off the pedals, there is a noticeable & audible clunk as it swaps gears. On this iteration there is drag but not enough to kill the experience.

Not bad in a normy, would be great in an eeb.

 

[Onetime]

Bummer it won’t be available in the US until the end of the year, do to the pinion battery not having US certification.

 

[tooFATtoRIDE]

 

[tooFATtoRIDE]

Bummer it won’t be available in the US until the end of the year, do to the pinion battery not having US certification.

Not all lost then, just a matter of time.
Also, plenty of time to cherry-pick your components, unless you are after the complete bike.

 

[Onetime]

Not all lost then, just a matter of time.
Also, plenty of time to cherry-pick your components, unless you are after the complete bike.

I would just get the frameset option and swap all of my parts over from my other bikes. I’m just not sure on the rear hub spacing and which rear hub design the belt drive gear uses. I would run it either mullet or full 27.5 too. Most likely with my 275 180 38 up front and an X2 out back. And if Cascade ends up making a new rocker link for more travel in the back, that would be awesome!

 

[tooFATtoRIDE]

I would just get the frameset option and swap all of my parts over from my other bikes. I’m just not sure on the rear hub spacing and which rear hub design the belt drive gear uses. I would run it either mullet or full 27.5 too.

Same approach here - frame only, with the 960W battery, raw finish. I expect it to be silly expensive, though.

Rear hub is a standard 148x12mm setup, no proprietary sizes there. It is the Shimano HG type with which the Gates rear belt sprocket is compatible. Onyx Classic 148x12mm Singlespeed Boost would be my choice (well, in the dream-land).

More tech info here: 2024 SATURN 16 MGU Tech Sheet