When we first spotted the new belt drive Nicolai back at Eurobike, it was a bit tough to see all the details with the bike under a consistent coat of mud. But that was kinda the point of the mid-travel all-mountain 29er trail mountain bike. Dropping the traditional rear derailleur for a Pinion gear box, the newest aluminum bike from Nicolai is all about building a ride ready for trail adventures in the harshest conditions.
Nicolai ION G13 GPI Qlfline belt drive trail mountain bike
Nicolai may give some unwieldy names to their bikes, but there is a lot of data stashed in the name. The ION name graces all of Nicolai’s current four bar full suspension bikes with the short downtube mounted linkage. The G-series bikes all share their modern long & slack Geolution geometry for all-mountain capability. The 13 is cm (133mm, actually) of rear wheel travel.
The GPI then denotes the Gates:Pinion interface that sets this bike apart, with a Horst-link, high pivot suspension layout designed to all but eliminate belt (chain) growth. An idler pulley behind the bottom bracket allows you to tension the belt while sticking with a standard fixed thru-axle Boost rear end.
The 29er trail bike is designed for all day adventure riding & racing, far from the trail head, and in fact that’s how it got so dirty having been raced at the German Enduro champs – the Upland Enduro.
With a low center of gravity thanks to the Pinion, the wagon wheel ION G13 GPI is available in five frame sizes (S-XXL), a boon for really tall riders looking for an all-mountain bike. And it gets clearance for up to 29 x 2.5″ tires. Cable routing is all external, with nice modular anodized alloy cable clamps, but it does include routing for a stealth dropper seatpost.
Like the rest of the ION bikes, it features an ET-Key flip chip at the rear linkage mount that lets you adjust the head and seat angles by a small 0.7° to fine tune your setup.
Nicolai ION G13 GPI framset
The Pinion gearbox is at the heart of the bike with both 12 speed P1.12 and 18 speed P1.18 versions available. The ION G13 GPI is available as a frameset for 4250€ including a Fox Factory shock, the Pinion P1.12 & crankset, a 39T Gates CDX chainring & 39T Gates CDX sprocket, and the centerline Gates belt. It can be built up into the complete bike of your choosing, paired to a 120-140mm travel fork, and a whole host of colors.
Nicolai ION G13 GPI QLFline complete bike
Or you can get the complete bike for 7300€. For now Nicolai is only listing the QLFline complete build. Taking its name phonetically from the Külftal region where Nicaolai does most of their trail riding, it is essentially their premium ideal factory build kit.
Included in that premium build is the Fox Float Factory EVOL shock and the 140mm travel 34 Float Factory 29er fork. Plus there is a healthy dose of premium components comprised of 30mm internal WTB KOM i29 rims laced to Hope Pro 4 hubs, Hope brakes & stem, and Ergon contact points.
