Kalle Nicolai has proven that he is one of the most innovative German bike engineers, and not just with his geared bike project. And it was precisely for this reason that component manufacturer SRAM teamed up with Nicolai to build a kind of project bike with the latest Rock Shox and Truvativ developments. But then the future project turned into reality - the "Helius FR" is now available to order as a frame kit. In addition to the new "Pike Team", the Rock-Shox "Pearl" shock and the new Truvativ "Hussefelt" freeride cranks, the "Helius FR" is the first production bike to feature the Rock-Shox "Maxxle" thru-axle system for the rear axle.
With the "Pike" fork, Rock Shox has already proven that the stiffness advantages of a thru-axle do not have to be associated with time-consuming screwdriving. The front wheel can be removed just as quickly as with a quick-release system. The same applies to the rear triangle of the "Helius": here too, the Maxxle system offers nothing but advantages. Flip the lever, unscrew the axle, done. Especially on the tight singletrack sections of our test course, the "Helius" showed that it's not just the front-end stiffness that counts. We have seldom been able to manoeuvre around bends with such precision as on this bike. Stiffness is one of the main characteristics of the "Helius". Hard acceleration or a kamikaze downhill - only the suspension elements move here. These also do an excellent job on the "Helius".
Both the "Pike Team" fork and the new "Pearl" shock work very sensitively, can be precisely adjusted in terms of suspension and rebound damping and utilise the maximum suspension travel well. Overall, the "Helius" in this configuration is a little heavy at well over 15 kilos. However, this is mainly due to the heavy cranks and the heavy-duty wheels. Otherwise, it is very well-balanced on the downhills and is more composed than lively. It climbs very well in the right geometry trim.
CONCLUSIONS: The "Helius FR" is only available as a frame kit. We recommend slightly lighter wheels and cranks as a complete assembly.
