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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.
 
#39 ·
I wouldn't rate that too high at the moment because the '13 frames Nicolai is presenting at Eurobike were most likely built in a hurry. I figure they're more like pre-production prototypes and there is porbably gonna be more or less changes to them before they are made available to the market....

there were quite a few "inconsistencies" with the '13 ACs that have been posted in the other thread, some had iscg tabs, others didn't, one had no seat tube gussets (maybe a S frame?)....

anyways, seeing that the Ion16 is part of the gravity range at N and the Ion 14 + 18 both have the "AM" Gusset I'm pretty sure the 16 will get that too.... at least I darned sure hope so ;)
 
#42 ·
BTW, wouldn´t that be a nice match to the Ion 16?



X-FUSION Prototype
• Single crown, inverted design
• Travel: 160mm
• Air sprung
• Uses twin-tube HLR damper from Vengeance
• External adjustments: rebound, separate high and low compression, air pressure
• Weight: 4.3lbs (claimed, prototype)
• Availability: TBA
• MSRP: TBA


Courtesy PinkBike.com
 
#44 ·
Thanks for sharing some ripping great pictures from Eurobike.... Very nice to see...

On the recovery now, again, don't get Pnuemonia, far from good.... Am on the speedy heal for a Wednesday 5th departure from NZ for Whistler... Yeah ha.... Feeling a million times better than this time last week... Thanks for the get well massages...

I cant stop steering at the ION 16!
 
#47 ·
Has anyone ridden an Ion compared to an AM or AC, more an AM I guess.

I am very tempted to ask Nicolai to build me a 150mm 29er Ion based on the 16/18 as it has a number of features Nicolai wouldnt do for me earlier this year. However they have at least listened and begun to make them available.

So I have a great 29er AC/AM hybrid, I love it. None of the features is a compelling reason to change. So I am interested as to whether there is any discernable ride quality/character differences.
 
#48 ·
So I am interested as to whether there is any discernable ride quality/character differences.
No experience, but here are some comments on the Ion 14 from Antonio Osuna (the guy behind the Jeronimo Cycles designs).

Linkage Design: Nicolai ION 14 2011

Also discussed here...

http://forums.mtbr.com/nicolai/ion-14-thoughts-710267.html

Basically, what he says is that is very similar to the Helius line and has good characteristics. The main difference being the leverage ratio being linear on the Ion against the linear-progressive of the Helius.

The Ion 14 (according tho those numbers) should pedal a little firmer than the Helius and be a little less sensitive in the early travel... which is desirable on a 4X bike like the Ion 14.

The Ion 16 may be an entirely different animal, though. It's brand new, so hardly anybody has ridden it.
 
#55 ·
Dunno. Just made a research of the German forum MtB-News.de, only one hit, no suitable informations. If you are interested, you can read a current test in the magazine "World of Mountainbiking", issue 7, 2012, pp. 70-80 online for free (in German, translate it online yourself) or buy a download immediately for € 2,99 (see heading line of the linked website).
 
#57 ·
Production plan for the Ion16 is January so will be sending mid to end of February... Vincent said they were going to build as many as they get orders. One in Raw, size L is for me! :D

The aforementioned wheels have one serious drawback. Rim inside width is very small at 17mm and will probably only handle a max tire width of 2.2. I have a pair of those "cheap chinese carbon rims" coming my way that I am going to lace to my SunRingle Charger Pros with 24 spokes. I hope those do the job on my Ion 16 then...
 
#69 ·
to chime in with my fellow countryman, N is most likely trying to make sure the ion16 is not used beyond its designated spectrum. FR is a term that conjures up visions of hucking and the likes which the frame has not been designed for. Its intended use is enduro racing where alot of guys are riding 140-150mm bikes. as is typical for any Nicolai it will probably withstand quite a bit of abuse, but alas there are a lot of folks out there that will break pretty much anything...

as mentioned above this has been the center of quite a bit of debate in geman mtb-news forum. bottom line is that most buyers will be running it with a 170mm fork seeing that that is more or less standard for that bike category. it will probably do just fine as long as you don't start "heavy hitting" with it.

if in doubt the Ion18 is probably the bike for you and all owners I have spoken with rave about its uphill capabilities, albeit it is not a xc bike^^

regarding your mail not getting answered; their second salesperson Moritz is off work due to a massive crash at Megavalanche and Vincent is drowning in mails (up to 400 daily...).
 
#70 ·
I've seen the debate, but alas I don't know German. I've thought about the ION 18, but I think that it is to heavy for Enduro racing. I thought mainly because I'd like to run it with 170 X-Fusion (which is the same length as an 180 mm fork) or Marz 55 just to have a bit of reserve if the going get tough. No big hucking and rampage style riding. The most extreme will be something like Whistler or some shore-like technical riding. But it will mainly be a enduro ride and epic all-mountain travelling, with an occasional light FR. But seeing from the videos The Helius AM was more than capable for that stuff, So I'm hoping that the ION 16 will be more than up to it. I like it more because of the awesome HA.
 
#72 ·
If you expect the ION 16 to be more stable than the AM than you are wrong.
One hint is the frame weight of the ION 16 which is 200g less than the AM.
Next is you can order the AM with the AFR downtube which is than good for
180mm forks. The geo of course is not new-school and the suspension is more
linear than progeressive. The ION 16 still has no gussets in front, but might get them
when finally released. For Enduro-races the ION 16 should be the better bike. For a
Do-It-All-Bike I personally would prefer the AM, and I am close to pull the trigger on it.
 
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