First milling, then welding, then painting - most of it by hand. Hardly any other brand celebrates aluminium as a material as much as custom specialist Nicolai from Mehle near Hanover. But now the company from Lower Saxony is ushering in a new era: The Nicolai Saturn Swift is not only the brand's first Light E-MTB, but like the Nucleon 16 hydroformed tubes in a production bike for the first time.
Functionally far more decisive: The Saturn Swift is not only the first Light E-MTB from Nicolai, but in addition to the Enduro G1 Eboxx also the first e-MTB with slightly less suspension travel and more agile handling. There are two variants to choose from. The lightest is the super-exclusive Saturn 11 Swift down-country bike with 120/105 millimetres of travel. As the name suggests, it was modelled on the classic Saturn 11 with the same range of use and suspension travel. This is also the case with the Saturn 14 Swift, which, with 150/138 millimetres of travel, is intended as an all-rounder for serious terrain and should therefore be the better choice for many riders on trails.
Nicolai Saturn Swift with Bosch SX drive: The facts
- Motor: Bosch Performance SX
- Battery: Bosch, 400 Wh, removable
- Suspension travel: 120/105 or 150 / 130 mm
- Wheel size: 29 inch
- Hand-welded aluminium frame made in Lower Saxony
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL
- From 16.5 kilos (Saturn 11, manufacturer's specification)
- From 19.4 kilos (Saturn 14, manufacturer's specification)
- Four models between 8999 euros and 14999 euros
- Expected to be available from October 2023
Hydroforming and with removable battery: the frame of the Saturn Swift
The frame of the Saturn Swift models comes with identical geometry to its motorless counterparts, but offers some technical innovations. In order to integrate the motor and battery into the frame, the main frame has of course been significantly redesigned. Nicolai has opted for the hydroformed top tube already familiar from the Nucleon high-pivot bike and combined it with a new, hydroformed down tube.
As usual, Nicolai has added some milled parts to the tubeset, for example for the head tube, the shock rocker, the motor mount, the dropouts and the frame reinforcements. The frame houses the new Bosch SX drive and the compact 400 watt-hour battery from Bosch, which can be removed from the bottom of the frame. To do this, a quick release is loosened, then the lower motor cover can be folded to the side and the battery removed. Without the cover, the battery is held magnetically in the frame so that it does not fall out in an uncontrolled manner during removal. The magnetic cover for the charging port is also a smart detail.
For trails and serious terrain: the Saturn 14 Swift
As the name suggests, the Saturn 14 Swift is modelled on the Saturn 14 trail bike and largely adopts its long geometry. The suspension has been slightly revised for use on an e-bike. Above all, less anti-squat should provide more comfort and traction uphill and prevent the rear triangle from hardening too much under high e-bike chain pull.
Saturn 14 Swift: The geometry:
- Steering angle: 64.8°
- Seat angle: 76.5°
- Reach: 500 millimetres (size L)
- Chainstays: 452 millimetres
- BB drop: -30 millimetres
From 8999 euros: The Saturn 14 Swift models
The Saturn 14 Swift will be available in three preconfigured models named after German low mountain ranges. The higher the mountains, the more valuable the equipment. It starts with the HLS (for the Hils in Lower Saxony), which is available from dealers for € 8999 with Fox Performance suspension, mechanical GX and M1900 wheels from DT Swiss. According to the manufacturer, the weight is 19.8 kilos. The special feature: the fork only has 140 millimetres of travel and narrow 34 mm stanchions.
The TNS (for Taunus) for 10999 euros is much more downhill orientated with Fox 36 Factory and 150 millimetres of travel, albeit only with a Fit4 cartridge, as well as a potent Float X Factory rear shock and weighs 19.7 kilos according to the manufacturer. Braking is with Magura MT5, shifting with Sram's new transmission in the X0 version. The HRZ (for resin) goes one better with premium Hope brakes and Caron wheels from DT Swiss and is also slightly lighter at 19.4 kilos. The price is 11999 euros.
Exclusive tuning racer: The Saturn 11 Swift
The list of components clearly shows that the Saturn 11 Swift is not the bike for the masses. Super-lightweight wheels with synthetic spokes from Pi-Rope and non-plus hubs, as used in Dangerholms Tuning-Spark Intend Samurai fork, lightweight components from Tune and Bike-Ahead, Srams XX Transmission: Nicolai has installed everything that is noble and expensive on this bike and thus reduced the weight of the aluminium light e-MTB to 16.5 kilograms according to the manufacturer's specifications, despite the removable battery. The geometry is already familiar from the Saturn 11 without motor, the suspension travel of 120/105 millimetres is designed for light trails and lots of propulsion. The price is exclusive to match the equipment: 14999 euros.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
