Supre Drive MTB drivetrain in detail
The Supre-Drive drivetrain works with a conventional cassette and a Superboost hub with an installation width of 157 millimetres. Instead of a conventional rear derailleur, however, a super-lightweight derailleur with just one guide roller is used. This keeps the rear derailleur out of the line of fire and makes contact with stones or other derailleur killers virtually impossible.
Integration into the frame means that a completely separate rear triangle is required. The lightweight rear derailleur reduces the weight of the rear triangle, which also minimises the unsprung mass. The chain tensioner with friction damper is located above the chainring and is oil-damped and therefore speed-dependent. With slow movements, such as when shifting to larger sprockets, the force to be overcome is low, whereas with fast strokes, chain slap is effectively prevented.
Despite the idler pulley (Idler) required for high-pivot bikes, efficiency has also been taken into account. All idlers are particularly large (22 teeth) and the position far to the front minimises skewing. Compared to a conventional derailleur system, the efficiency should only be one per cent worse.
Nicolai Nucleon 16 relies on Geolution geometry
Of course, there is also a frame around the gears, which can be ridden either in a mullet set-up or with 29-inch wheels. Downhill enthusiasts can ride forks from 160 to 180 millimetres. The rear suspension travel is 165 or 178 millimetres, depending on the shock.
For the geometry of the new Nucleon 16, Nicolai also relies on the Geolution concept with a long reach (490 millimetres in size M) and a super steep seat angle of 78.3 degrees. At 64 degrees, the head angle is still slack, albeit somewhat more moderate by Nicolai standards.
Thanks to the five frame sizes, the Enduro can make riders from 1.64 to 2.10 metres tall happy, according to the manufacturer. The bike shown here weighs 16.6 kilos without pedals. Prices start at 7499 euros for the complete bike and 3099 euros for the frame without gears and shock.
