New Nicolai with Pinion gearbox announced

Dirtnvert

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Sep 25, 2018
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I dunno, but that downtube looks massive.
Rando says its a moustache. I noticed that looking at the headtube for a defining shape. Headtube looks tiny in comparison.
I saw a commuter bike company speccing pinion that said "hopefully fall for n american certification for the batteries" / fingers crossed
 

Onetime

Active member
Aug 10, 2022
459
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Cali
It is a moustache you can google moustache+mgu you will get a similar picture!

Apparently they were thinking about delivering an NGU but with a chain instead of the belt oO.

There is a french article over there apparently from this summer: Project Box 46 : un moteur à vitesses intégrées Pinion MGU chez Moustache

Btw seems to be summer 2025 so ...
I wouldn’t buy it without the belt. I want the quiet longevity of the belt. Not a chain that needs constant lubrication and maintenance.
 

whitymon

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Nov 29, 2023
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Yeah I do not think they will do it but it was written in the article, at the very least, there would be different version.
 

rastablondi

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Jun 22, 2024
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Bavaria
Still offtopic
but here is a short video of moustache pinion MGU bike from eurobike2024:
 

shib

New Member
Sep 18, 2024
12
24
Germany
I was at the Nicolai house fair last Saturday, and they were kind enough to let me borrow a Saturn 16 MGU to pedal it up to the dirt hill next to the test track in all modes. I'd say it's about 30 meters of elevation gain, so not that much, but enough to be pedalling for a short while and get an impression regarding the motor sound. This is still highly subjective, but being very wary about the motor just being too loud, especially after the Simplon Rapcon being constantly roasted for being way too loud on YouTube, I was happily relieved - it's totally okay for me. Yes, you can hear the motor when pedalling up in the higher assistance modes, but so you can hear most other motors. The difference in sound when in different gears just comes from the general principle of having a gearbox (as mentioned further up), but in eco or flex/flow (the second lowest, can't remember which one that was), it's absolutely acceptable for me.

And it is BY FAR less loud than on all the videos I linked before, and all videos I watched on Youtube.

I'm totally relieved and look forward SO much now...

BTW, the whole factory was stuffed with S16 MGU frames, like 80% of the total frame output. That model seems to be adopted super well... many MGUs to be delivered soon! Couldn't find mine though, however I could not check the order numbers for all frames hanging around... :D
 

whitymon

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Nov 29, 2023
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I wish I could have been there but could not make the trip.

That said, at least for sales, they are pretty cool. They gladly would put a 170mm fork on the bike, for like nearly nothing.

Told me they have huge demand, and it was like 10 weeks for a delivery after order.

Show the bike to my wife and it was okay until she saw the price as she walk out my office ...
 

whitymon

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Nov 29, 2023
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My wife was okay with the purchase after explaining to her that this one last bike enables me to sell two others. ;) She just asked me to never talk about "that one last bike" again. So, to me this sounds like I can just buy bikes all day now. Yay!
Man I have zero success to sell my current bikes ... this is just not a thing where I live. Even half the price 1 year after purches does not make it enough.
 

Weeksy

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Dec 13, 2019
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Man I have zero success to sell my current bikes ... this is just not a thing where I live. Even half the price 1 year after purches does not make it enough.
I swapped a trek Fuel EX9.8 with a guy for a brand new Specialized Status and cash my way. The deal was £2650 to me.... He had it up on Ebay etc for £2350 for 6 months, he's now dropped it to £1850. This was a 2022 full carbon bike and absolutely immaculate, it retailed at £6500....
The second hand market is stone dead.
 

RichMorr

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Jun 16, 2024
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I swapped a trek Fuel EX9.8 with a guy for a brand new Specialized Status and cash my way. The deal was £2650 to me.... He had it up on Ebay etc for £2350 for 6 months, he's now dropped it to £1850. This was a 2022 full carbon bike and absolutely immaculate, it retailed at £6500....
The second hand market is stone dead.
I just sold my Santa Cruz 5010 CC custom build with carbon wheels the full works. Had about £7k in the build and it sold for £1750, but had to sell it :(
 

madre

Member
Jan 20, 2020
22
65
Germany
I was at the Nicolai house fair last Saturday, and they were kind enough to let me borrow a Saturn 16 MGU to pedal it up to the dirt hill next to the test track in all modes. I'd say it's about 30 meters of elevation gain, so not that much, but enough to be pedalling for a short while and get an impression regarding the motor sound. This is still highly subjective, but being very wary about the motor just being too loud, especially after the Simplon Rapcon being constantly roasted for being way too loud on YouTube, I was happily relieved - it's totally okay for me. Yes, you can hear the motor when pedalling up in the higher assistance modes, but so you can hear most other motors. The difference in sound when in different gears just comes from the general principle of having a gearbox (as mentioned further up), but in eco or flex/flow (the second lowest, can't remember which one that was), it's absolutely acceptable for me.

And it is BY FAR less loud than on all the videos I linked before, and all videos I watched on Youtube.

I'm totally relieved and look forward SO much now...

BTW, the whole factory was stuffed with S16 MGU frames, like 80% of the total frame output. That model seems to be adopted super well... many MGUs to be delivered soon! Couldn't find mine though, however I could not check the order numbers for all frames hanging around... :D
Thats my experience too, when i rode the Nicolai MGU on my Hometrails the Motor/ Shifting Sound is by far more silent than the Sound on every Simplon Rapcon Video on the internet. Wrote those on different Comment Sections of the Video, but normaly no one is interessted in , because they want to love there own Engine and hate every new one ..
 

whitymon

New Member
Nov 29, 2023
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Europe
I just sold my Santa Cruz 5010 CC custom build with carbon wheels the full works. Had about £7k in the build and it sold for £1750, but had to sell it :(
Yeah I am not in that magnitude, was a gift bike of 2k from my wife, a good trek procaliber 9.5 but hell no one wants it even for 900 euros.
At some point it's gonna be stripped and convert into a lamp or whatever...
 

shib

New Member
Sep 18, 2024
12
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Germany
I'm hoping that with Nicolai bikes not being sold at regular shops at huge discounts, unlike the "big brands", I will have an easier time selling my G1 and Saturn 14 Swift. People who want them can either buy them new for the full price from Nicolai, or take what's on the used market... I'm not expecting to get anywhere near to what I paid at all, but if both bikes (Saturn 14 Swift as a complete bike and G1 as a frame with shock and some parts, as it donates most parts to the MGU) get me near to what the MGU frameset costs, I'll be happy enough. We'll see!
 

whitymon

New Member
Nov 29, 2023
122
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Europe
I'm hoping that with Nicolai bikes not being sold at regular shops at huge discounts, unlike the "big brands", I will have an easier time selling my G1 and Saturn 14 Swift. People who want them can either buy them new for the full price from Nicolai, or take what's on the used market... I'm not expecting to get anywhere near to what I paid at all, but if both bikes (Saturn 14 Swift as a complete bike and G1 as a frame with shock and some parts, as it donates most parts to the MGU) get me near to what the MGU frameset costs, I'll be happy enough. We'll see!
That is a good question.

I might be wrong, but premium bike tend to decrease a lot on used market, especially also on niche brand. Let's be honest Nicolai is unknow for a tons of people out there, so it would limit the understanding on why the prices are high.

But I wish you will be able to sell them for a good price! On my side, I still arguing in my mind if this is a legit affair to spend 11k on a bike.

I still wonder something btw, if there is any kind of issues, motor, shifter etc how is it going to be solved? Do you need to go through Nicolai or try with Pinion? I have seen nothing where parts would be sold to customer directly.
 

whitymon

New Member
Nov 29, 2023
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Europe
Interesting comparison, I would not have bet that.

I have to agree on the display, an option for something smaller or integrated would be great, especially if you fall, right now you might be out of business.

 

madre

Member
Jan 20, 2020
22
65
Germany
New Bike Day. Nicolai Saturn 16 MGU XL Custom Colour, Reverb AXS, 960 battery, Oak Components levers on the MT7 (way too expensive for a few levers but still a really worthwhile upgrade), rest Nicolai Standard. Picked up today at Nicolai Bikes and had a nice handover. New Pinion MGU update is on it. Motor is as I remembered it from the test ride. Slightly louder in the low gears than my Bosch in the eboxx, but much quieter than the carbon bikes you hear on YouTube. Ps: The large 750 Fidlock bottle fits in the XL frame. ( I think it also fits in the L frame ). Now it has to stop raining then we can continue


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Onetime

Active member
Aug 10, 2022
459
468
Cali
I personally love the look of the raw the best. It just looks badass! Plus it’s also easier to maintain. No paint to chip, no anodizing to fade or scratch. Raw really doesn’t need much at all.
 

whitymon

New Member
Nov 29, 2023
122
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Europe
I personally love the look of the raw the best. It just looks badass! Plus it’s also easier to maintain. No paint to chip, no anodizing to fade or scratch. Raw really doesn’t need much at all.
Yeah the only thing, and to me it was a deal breaker, is that all the parts related to pinion are not available to customer, like bosch: belt, shifter, controller etc.

I mean, I crash - more than I should - but these are parts located where you can be out of the bike with a small fall or a tree etc.

I cannot be out of a bike like that.
 

shib

New Member
Sep 18, 2024
12
24
Germany
You actually can buy all those parts online easily. Pinion Trigger is 89,90€, FIT Display/Controller is 189€ (pricey!), a new belt is in the 60-80€ area. I probably would hesitate to put a spare display in my stock due to its price, but trigger and belt are in the same price area SRAM X01/XX1 stuff is priced… I always had spare chains and triggers in stock and probably will do it the same with those things.

Re. display: I once broke my Bosch Purion 200 in Finale Ligure when my bike tumbled down a steep bank (without me on it - I parked it poorly). I was able to fix the display with cable ties to get back home, but it wasn‘t secure. Nicolai offered to send me a new display via UPS overnight express directly to Finale. It was our last day there so I asked them to just send it to my home address via plain post instead, but I would have been up and running again the next day… that‘s also what you‘re paying when buying a bike from them, not only the bike but exceptional customer care too.
 

whitymon

New Member
Nov 29, 2023
122
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Europe
Oh I did not found these (maybe because they are German indexed :D), good to know.

Yeah I do the same, I have spare part of nearly everything. These two are really expensive that is true, I wonder if there is a way to protect them. I nearly destroy my shifter recently and the display does not look fallproof!

But yeah I have the feeling Nicolai is a great company from my discussion with them.
 

rastablondi

New Member
Jun 22, 2024
15
45
Bavaria
I had a phone call today with Nicolai, because of my faulty "FIT LCD Remote" (after a few wet rides the plus "+" button died).

I can confirm:
Nicolai is really fast and provides a perfect customer service.
A new Remote is already on postal way to me.

But I see a real disadvantage of the FIT system:
For replacement of the "FIT LCD Remote" you need the FIT-Maintenance-Adapter (hardware) and the "FIT Maintenance Tool" (software).
At the moment only FIT dealers can do the replacement.
And software-updates as well.

So, a spare LCD Remote in your backpack will not help, if you have a broken LCD Remote on a trail.

Details about the FIT system architecture:
The "FIT LCD Remote" is the "Master Hub" of the system. It contains all the system settings.
The pinion MGU is just a sub-component.
If the LCD Remote is broken, you will not be able to use the motor and the shifting as well.

My conclusion:
The FIT system is currently a closed system.
If something is broken or there are bugs which require software updates, always a FIT dealer is required.
Not really owner-friendly.

Let's hope there will be some owner-friendly solution from FIT (or 3rd party?) in the future.
 
Last edited:

shib

New Member
Sep 18, 2024
12
24
Germany
Hmm, that’s interesting. On a Bosch system you can just connect a different display and are up and running again. Quite concerning that such an exposed part is the brain of the system, and makes me wonder why they did not go with a top tube integrated display… I mean, this is a mountainbike, it gets wet, dirty and tumbles around.
 

whitymon

New Member
Nov 29, 2023
122
53
Europe
This seems really odd. Really no way to like clone from another one in advance?

Maybe this was designed more for commuter bike at first.

It should not be so hard to switch to a top tube component or at least save the data in the motor.

Is there no Bluetooth either avalaible? Like backup it?
 

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