The Nucleon 16 is a high-pivot 29er enduro bike with a mullet option in the 160 to 180 mm travel category that uses a new type of shifting technology: the Supre Drivetrain from Cedric Eveleigh’s Canada-based development company LAL BIKES. Our earlier Nucleon models, such as the Nucleon DH or the Nucleon Evo, also utilized alternative shifting concepts and combined them with a high-pivot suspension design. These bikes used a modified 14-speed ROHLOFF gearbox with the axle positioned at the level of the swingarm pivot point well above the bottom bracket. A primary drive to the gearbox and a secondary drive from the gearbox to the rear wheel were required. Suspension and shifting performance, robustness and durability of the early Nucleon bikes were excellent. However, the gearbox, including the housing and design-related additional components, caused a weight disadvantage. And even the precise, high-quality ROHLOFF transmissions never quite matched the efficiency of a derailleur system when shifted under load.

Anyone who has followed our brand over the past 25 years has probably come to a certain conclusion over time: You can recognize a Nicolai at first glance. Machine aesthetics. Form follows function. Brutal design. – So shaped one probably rubs one’s eyes at first sight of the new Nucleon 16: Extruded tube cross-sections, a head tube gusset with ports for internally routed cables, an integrated bash guard and a stylish seat tube brace with an integrated clamp. Design also seems to have played a role alongside engineering in the voluminous rear end with its wide phases and dynamic lines. Kalle Nicolai provides the following explanation: “”Life is change. Regardless of our traditions, with the Nucleon 16 we have constructed a completely new bike for a wide audience.””

The Nucleon 16 is designed as a 29er, but can also be ridden as a mullet with a 29er wheel in front and a 27.5er in the rear. The geometry is based on our Geolution Trail concept: a relatively long reach, 490 mm in size M, combined with a 78.3 ° steep seat angle provides a sporty, central riding position and an optimal load distribution between front and rear wheel. The chainstay length grows with the different frame sizes and thus ensures a good balance. The head angle of 64 ° is slightly more moderate than on the extremely flat race enduros of the NICOLAI G series. This allows for more agile handling without significantly compromising running stability and high-speed behavior. The Nucleon wants to be fun, fast and agile. Whips and scrubs are part of that. The extremely low top tube provides plenty of clearance with a standover height of 668 mm and encourages an all-action riding style. Whether enduro, all-rounder or freerider depends finally on the riders. With the Nucleon 16 in any case all gravity and speed fans will have a exceptionally potent base.

With the Supre Drive, NICOLAI can now for the first time optimally use the performance advantages of a high-pivot suspension in a long-travel enduro bike, with 1×12 setup and 510% total gear ratio. To better understand what is so ingenious about this, it is first necessary to take a look at the two key technologies in detail as well as their specific details and features.

You can find all further info about the bike in the press release below.