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Ion 16 Breaks Cover

64K views 270 replies 42 participants last post by  jjkitt 
#1 ·
If you go onto the Nicolai website, there is a picture that shows the Ion 16 is being launched at Eurobike, complete with zerostack head tube.
 
#179 · (Edited)
on another note...

the clamp for the front derailleur seriously disappointed me, uuuuuugly and not worthy of being mounted on a N frame... took half an hour to transform it into "acceptable".



I can recommend routing the rear brake hose through the horst link:



I couldnt' get a clean routing because the PM mount is so wide in comparison to an adapter that the fitting wouldn't clear the mount without having to go up-and-over...

got a 2 hour ride in yesterday during a sunny patch at round about freezing... nothing spectacular because I'm still having problems with my meniscus after a bouldering incident back in december :(

although I've done no training the past 4 months I was astonished how well Ion + I mastered the climbs, so I'll give that to the bike... rear felt plenty stiff when mashing the pedals and bob was almost non-existent. It does feel pretty slack with the "low" setting and 170 Lyrik, will flip it to "high" next round for comparison. On a ca. 500m stretch with lots of roots, some of them arm-thick, the rear felt nice, not cushy soft, just well damped and controlled, taking enough of the hits to let me stay seated (post fully extended) and pedaling, BB height was not an issue...

hope to get in some serious trail riding with airtime soon :thumbsup:
 
#180 · (Edited)
Ion 16 slack.................

Bicycle tire Bicycle frame Wheel Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle fork
Here's mine at last , all built up but no chance of riding as everywhere is covered in snow.

The low stack height is very alien to me at the moment, I'm so used to a much higher bar height, but we will see how things are when I can get out for a ride.

It looks like I'm the only one who hasn't gone for the raw effect.

Bicycle tire Bicycle frame Tire Wheel Bicycle wheel
Bicycle tire Bicycle frame Tire Bicycle wheel Bicycle wheel rim


I measured the fork angle with my iphone (which is accurate enough) and very slack
........ at 63.5 ( un weighted) in 'low' setting, this is with a 170 lyric and Hans Damf up front and Conti RQ 2.2 at the rear.

Below is my spec:

  • Rider height, weight, ride style: 5ft 11inch, 90kg, All Mountain, XC, DH, Freeride.
  • Frame, Size & Colour:, Gloss White & Anodised Black, Zero Stack Tapered Headtube, 12mm Rear Axle
  • Fork: RS Lyric 170 DH Solo Air
  • Shock: Cane Creek DB Air, 216mm i2i, 63mm stroke
  • Brakes: Formula R0 F&R, 203mm front, 185mm rear
  • Cranks: Sram X9 with MRP 28T Bling Ring
  • Shifters: Shimano XT
  • Rear Deraileur: Shimano Zee (short cage)
  • Pedals: DMR Vault
  • Stem: Renthal Duo
  • Handlebar: Easton Haven Carbon
  • Seatpost: RS Stealth Reverb
  • Seatclamp: Hope QR
  • Saddle: FiZik Gobi
  • Bottom Bracket: Hope Stainless
  • Cassette: Shimano 36-11XT
  • Chain: KMC Gold
  • Headset: Hope
  • Grips: Renthal Super Soft Lock On
  • Front Tyre: Continental 2.2 Rubber Queen or Schwable 2.35 Hans Dampf (running tubeless)
  • Front Rim/Spokes: Mavic Crossmax SX
  • Rear Tyre: Continental 2.2 Rubber Queen Queen or Schwable 2.35 Hans Dampf (running tubeless)
  • Rear Rim/Spokes: Mavic Crossmax SX
  • Misc: MRP Micro G2 chain device, helicopter taped in specific zones

Bathroom scales weight = 13kg (which i think must be incorrect)
 
#184 ·


here you got , now 13950gr , but finally it will be 13900gr in a few days , with

Marzocchi 55 rc3 evo v2 ti
Monarch rt3
Hope m4 brakes
Carbon handlebar
xtr transmission
sixc crankset
ztr flow+ti spokes+ dt240s wheels
Minion front
Ignitor rear
Reverb stealth
Selle Italia slr xc flow
size M
 
#186 ·
well, finally got in 4 hrs of serious trail bangin'... still have the smile on my face :D

performance in the rear was awesome, felt bottomless (x-fusion vector hlr air), very controlled midstroke when hammering berms and pumping the roots and rocks, no noticable flex and had 2-3 mm shock stroke in reserve... got courageous and started hitting the 2 sections of trail that would justify using a dh bike at the same speed I would on my Ion20... WOW, that worked really well, of course not as stable and quite a bit heavier on the "bodywork" end of matters, but very composed and fast. it's matching my lyrik rc2dh very nicely and when I get more time on the new shock to find my setup, I'l probably have to do some tweaking of the fork^^
 
#188 ·
Are there any more reviews on how the bike rides? I try to read the German forums but google translate isn't too helpful and I can only make out problems with fitting shimano front mechs.

Not many ride reports about and I'm having second thoughts and thinking of cancelling my order as all I read is problems. :S
 
#193 ·
I have managed to ride mine about a dozen times and i have no negatives to report, i run a 1 x 10 setup so dont have any issues with drivetrain.

So far i would say it climbs exceptionaly well for me as my previous bike was a Helius AFR which has a very slack seat angle which puts your weight over the back. The downhill qualities are superb, again campairing to my AFR i would say it is better, this must be due to the head angle of 63.5 in low setting with a lyric 170.

My only issue at the moment is the crap monarch rear shock which is a temp solution whilst i wait for my Canecreek DB Air. But even with this lame shock it climbs and decends exceptionaly well.
 
#189 ·
which problems? my shimano slx mech fits perfect... german mtb-news forum is lacking ride reports as well, nobody (besides myself) has posted anything beyond "wow", "excellent" etc etc.

I'm not a heavy pedaler and doing the uphill is just a means for hitting the down in my case. I have no real comparison for uphill performance, but I met up with one guy from the german forum to let him test ride mine. he had a trek slash and ordered an ion16 right after riding mine, he was blazing fast on the up (I felt like I was going backwards :D) and did a good job going down and said it was loads better than his slash up and down.

I recently did an all day shuttle assisted 8 runs on one of my favorite trails and have to say the dh performance is immaculate. it has a totally solid and reassuring feel that makes you want to go faster and faster, I was really blown away by the speed at which I could hit really gnarly sections and yet it still is flickable and nimble in the techy stuff.

german "world of mtb" magazine tested 14 enduro bikes in their latest issue and the ion 16 was deemed the "[URL="http://nicolai.net/files/mtb_05_2013.pdf]"testcrews favorite"[/URL]. their only gripe was that they felt it could have a slightly steeper seat angle. if you are desperate I could translate a synopsis for you but you'd have to give me a few days because I've got other things to do (like riding my ion16^^)...

I figure that the Ion16 is pretty much a enduro racers dream, maybe not the best on the climb but whoa, going down it's gonna be hard to beat.

yet another of my 2 cents
 
#190 ·
which problems? my shimano slx mech fits perfect...
On my Helius AM - model before the chainstay direct mount - I had to dremel out a corner of SLX short cage front derailleur to fit it properly. Long cage would not fit. I think they design it around SRAM. Not a big deal - most long travel bikes with front derailleur have some fitment issues. We do not hear about them a lot as most bikes are sold as completes, with an appropriate part already installed.
 
#191 ·
It´s true , on my ion 16 the xtr front derailleaur does not work fine , I use a 24/36 sixc crankset with a xtr derailleur and I can´t adjust correct the chain with the 24 chainring , I tried differen combinations of spacers on the cranks and at this moment with the 24t the chain touch the derailleaur , I´m waiting for a response from Nicolai about it and I hope adjust the chain as soon as possible, on vid of last Monday with my ion.

 
#194 ·
Thanks for the replies guys, certainly put my mind at ease. I guess I was getting attracted to all these new bikes being released and the 650b craze and wondering if i made the right decision.

But I still think the Ion 16 is what I'm after, something that has amazing downhill performance, but can still be ridden uphill, and looking at your reports it certainly seems to be the case.

Cheers
 
#197 ·
Was told my ION16 will start production this Monday, with a early June delivery. Getting pretty stoked!!

How is everyone liking their built ION16s? Any lessons learned, build/kit items your really glad put on, things you wouldn't recommend, etc...?

Cheers,
 
#204 ·
No database yet for ION 16, what size frames have you bought?
I'm thinking hard changing my Trek for the ION 16 to my next frame and can't even decide the frame size.

I'm 171cm and my inseam is 81cm, my Trek Remedy's 17,5" frame is spot on with the 50mm stem, the ION 16 S-frame has shorter toptube and the M-size frame has longer toptube than the Remedy, the reach is the same with the Remedy and the S-size but the M-size frame has 15mm longer reach, which is about the maximum distance that I can move the saddle forward.

So, if there's people with similar measures, please share some information, thanks!
 
#206 ·
I'm 1,70 and have an AM in M size. ION 16 has a toptube 1cm shorter, as far as I know!!
I think it is actually longer. 595 vs 585mm for Helius AM. And Ion has much longer reach - by 23mm. But is has 18mm shorter stack and steeper seat tube, so overall fit should be similar - just a bit more stretched. At ~174cm I ride M Helius with a 50mm slammed stem, and it is on the shorter side of my preference - but I do not ride at supersonic speeds..

At 171cm I would think M is a better fit.
 
#214 ·
Just received an update, my ION16 frame is out of anodization and should assembled shortly with an estimated shipment date of early next week! :thumbsup:
Would be interested to hear from those who have built frames, what they think of their shock and fork choices, anything they would do differently or things they could not live without.

Cheers,
 
#215 ·
Lyrik RC2DH 170mm / X-Fusion Vector HLR Air
the 170mil Fork does slacken the headangle noticeably, I ride it in the high setting at the moment. I love the shock and would buy it again with no second thoughts. What I would pay more attention to next time 'round is to not cut the steerertube as short as I did. the very low stack combined with ZS headset keeps the front waaaaay low. With the seatpost extended for "touring" my saddle is quite a bit higher than the bars and I'm having problems with my left hand fingers fallling asleep after 15-20min.

looking forward to seeing your build!
 
#216 ·
What I would pay more attention to next time 'round is to not cut the steerertube as short as I did. the very low stack combined with ZS headset keeps the front waaaaay low. With the seatpost extended for "touring" my saddle is quite a bit higher than the bars and I'm having problems with my left hand fingers fallling asleep after 15-20min.

looking forward to seeing your build!
raschaa,

Thanks for the info, especially the steer tube and stack height...I was planning to keep my steer tube longer so I can swap forks out between the ION16 and my 5Spot, but you just gave me a couple better reasons to keep them longer.

Thanks again, look forward to seeing the frame and starting the build.

Cheers,
 
#217 · (Edited)
My ION 16

Hope everyone is having great start to your summer. Well, I received my ION 16 yesterday after ordering it in February. Pretty stoked to have it! I cannot say enough good things about John Fagone at Bike Medics who made this possible. It was a pleasure dealing with him (John) he truly made it easy! I would highly recommend anyone in the USA considering purchasing a Nicolai to contact and use John. PM me if you would like John's contact information.
Cheers,
 

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#219 · (Edited)
by the way sre the pics taken at a bike shop or ist that your private "workspace"?
raschaa,

Thanks for the comment, the pics are at my local bike shop and with my mechanic (Phil). Phil stayed late (after closing) to help me...he was pretty excited to work on the frame. Hopefully I can finish it by Sunday and go for a ride if the weather holds out.

By the way, has anyone had any issues with the XX1 cassette? I think its one of the Hope EVO PROII XX1 freehub bearings binding when the cassette is on and mounted on the frame with the through axle fully tightened. My rear wheel will not spin freely, when I remove the cassette the wheel it does spins freely. Any suggestions would be most helpfull.

Cheers,
 
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