Nicolai has a US distributor, bringing the E-BOXX

[Admin]

Sounds like Nicolai is coming to the USA, I actually spoke with a rep who talked about the E-BOXX and Kalle Nicolai's legacy in the mountain biking space. Their designs are hard core but beautiful and iconic (they can be built to spec for the rider including color). I think Nicolai also worked on the design of the Smart Ebike which is coming out soon (I've been trying to find and test ride one out here in New York but they aren't in yet).

• German custom builder Nicolai now has a U.S. distributor - Nicolai offers stock and custom frames and bikes, including several models using gear box transmissions paired with Gates Carbon Drive belt-drive systems. Frameset retail prices range from $2,000 to $6,000
  
• Custom Mountain Bikes by Nicolai Bikes Now Available in the United States by Nicolai USA - At the core of the drive is the CenterTrack belt. Made in the USA, this 11-mm pitch, carbon-fiber belt is stronger than and as efficient as a traditional bike chain.

Red Bull did a video of Kalle Nicolai and his team in a farming town in Germany talking about custom manufacturing. Kind of interesting. They've got a webstore up where you can see the different frames including the ION 16 and 20 E-BOXX. I like how it protects the battery



I'm trying to figure out whether there are gears built into the bottom bracket with the Bosch system or if these still use rear cassettes? It looks a bit different than other Gen2 Bosch systems I've seen on the Haibikes.

 

[MarcD]

Those look like some serious frames. As you pointed out, I think the cage protecting the battery is a cool feature. And the big coil over rear shock looks beefy, too.

 

[Chris Nolte]

I'm trying to figure out whether there are gears built into the bottom bracket with the Bosch system or if these still use rear cassettes? It looks a bit different than other Gen2 Bosch systems I've seen on the Haibikes.

Court - Those are actually Gen1 Bosch Speed Drives. There's no gears built into the BB, just the drive. They might be releasing the Gen2, but the Gen1 serves them well anyway. They are actually very involved with Grace as well, as Karlheinz Nicolai is the cofounder of the company along with Michael Hecken. If you look, you'll see the similarities between the Grace MX, using the same drive and battery mounting. Their facility is something I fantasize about often I think it would be awesome to have a bike manufacturing facility in an old farm building.

Grace MX

 

[Admin]

Court - Those are actually Gen1 Bosch Speed Drives. There's no gears built into the BB, just the drive.

Interesting... thanks for the background and insight Chris. It's a neat looking design (makes me think of the word cyborg) and it looks like they could even have room for water bottle braze ons on the downtube with the Grace MX