I have a Nicolai G16 size L and I have to say I‘m pretty happy. I ride a lot of steep alpine terrain with many many tight step switchbacks. Some said it will not work in the tight switchbacks, for me it works better than any bike before because: 1) I got room (I’m 192cm tall) to shift my body weight to go into the nose manual and throw the rear around. 2) I can just ride many of the super tight turns like Chris explained instead of throwing the rear around. Over the past 2 years I have this bike I really developed a different riding style and widened my understanding of what is rideable. In the beginning I had a 170mm SC fork with 44mm offset (27,5“ font and rear) and after a year or so I changed to 37mm offset. By doing so the bikes behavior changed noticeably. The „Nachlauf“ trail? got bigger making the bike more stable/lazy when rolling slowly. But it also changed the lever ratio of stem and fork offset (35mm stem) I can now load the front easier and get more traction by doing so. I can also get the rear up easier when doing trials maneuvers. When I ride fast steering works differently, I then ride the G16 like my KTM 990 ADV R: I stand up and lean the bike using my hip/feet and pushing the left hand forward when ridind a left turn. When you do this the bike is very very agile. A dual crown fork would be very interesting, only downside I see at the moment is loading the bike in my car becomes more difficult without taking the wheel out and the high purchase price of DC forks. :-)
Thx a lot for your comment! It is super interesting to hear about your experience. You're spot on, a different geometry can be better but can also change your riding style a bit. As for the dual crown, sometimes we really don't understand why the market is not open to having dual crown forks on bikes. As Chris explained, besides the loading issue you're pointing out, dual crown is so much better tahn a bigger single crown. Look what Sepcialized, Cannondale and Hai Bike are doing by offering e-bikes with dual crown. It's a smart move. Will see how the market react.
@@FormulaItaly Honestly I think it's a visual/fashion thing, you never seen people riding dual crowns in half shell helmets or it's considered that it looks "weird"... I think if you got some pros on an enduro dual crown fork in the EWS you'd get people to buy it... the other thing is besides CSU creak issues the Fox 36/Lyrik etc. feel pretty damn good even for aggressive riding.
Formula cheers! I’ve been drooling over the Nero and the Selva for a while now. Incredible work. They really seem to fit well with Geometron bikes and their push for quality over quantity. Happy (early) New Years from Beth and myself!
I have a Geometron that has been evolving for a few years now since I first met Chris. I have the gearbox version (Pinion) and it's latest mods are: 29' front wheel hybrid, MORC 36 fork and EXT Storia V3 rear shock. The geometry has been a revelation - having adjusted my riding to suit over the first year or so, I'm now reaping the rewards BIG TIME and it's been an educational time working with Chris over these last few years - as a coach it has also expanded my understanding of the mechanics of bicycle riding and helped me develop new ways of explaining concepts to clients, and a racer my results have improved dramatically, despite my training time decreasing.
Very interesting. Riders have to understand that sometimes a very good geometry, especially if it's something new, need the willing to change riding style.
I have a G13. 130/140mm trail bike. Set up as a mullet bike. Took a lot of pointers from talking with Chris Porter about riding positions both sitting and descending. He speaks magical spells. The bike and my contact set up now is not only efficient, but is more comfortable than ever when riding. And the bike is an all-round wonder.
I have a G-16 (Chris Porters old bike) and a G-19 from Jack Readings team and I love them both! The confidence and feedback the bike gives you is 2nd to none would never change them for the world!!
The only thing wrong with this interview is that it's just too short. Wish someone would sit this guy down for an hour plus and just say "Talk to us about the bike industry, design, and components for as long as we have hot coffee and cakes here.." In fact someone just get him to start his own podcast.
This was so good, Chris always makes you come away with looking at your own riding and bike differently.. he is a gem for mountain biking. Thanks for this.
I have a Pipedream Moxie, and if I'm not wrong is one of the longest hartdtails on the market. The concepts of Porter have changed the way we design bikes in an unbelievable way.
HI, I ride Patrol Transition Bike with a 64 head angle with short chainstay. I don't care the weight . I like the words of Chris Porter. He explain in simple way what we are looking for ... in not a simple way at all. Cheers.
This is my first time hearing Mr. Porter. I’m disabled with mobility impairments. I’m just getting into trying to ride bikes again and he mentioned wanting a bike for trails but also for downhill. It sounds similar to what I’m trying to what I’m looking for. Rigid bikes feel like I’m not wasting energy but full soft suspension is what allows me to ride to begin with. My energy that’s lost trying to accelerate trough the shocks may not seem like much, but when you have a very limited amount to work with, you really want to use it as efficiently as possible. I can only ride 20-30 minutes on smooth surfaces. Finding a good bike that fits my needs at an affordable rate that I could possibly manage to buy on my very very fixed income.
I have a G16 XL built as a mullet (29/27.5). I'm 6'5"/196cm. Such a good setup for me. I had been looking for a bike for someone my size for a very long time. I ride DH, enduro, XC, everything on this thing. It's what the old so called "all mountains" dreamed of being.
I've been riding for about 4 years. Started off with a 2015 Trance in medium...moved over to a Reign Medium....then a 29' Evolve Alpha Large (local squamish company). Finally I settled for a Pole Machine Medium. As you know Pole's geometry is very similar to Geometron/Nicolai. Being a weekend warrior, I upsized my bike practically every year - which gave me the max amount of confidence for me to learn, improve, ride faster have more fun due to limited saddle time. I can definitely say that if I still wouldn't ride some of my local trails if I was still on my 2015 Trance, and if i managed, it definitely wouldn't be as fun. The steeper seat angle and slack head angle makes such a night and day difference. There's no going back for me. I would be happy to rock a dual crown fork, but still lacking the skills to nose manual or throw the rear for tighter corners. I definitely feel like there's a minimum speed limit requirement to properly navigate with a DC fork.
As Chris explains in the video, you won't need to do noose manual on the dual crown, especially if you have enough steering build into the frame (slack head angle).
Had a few enduro based bikes from various yeti's to a Vitus esommet vr...always a sizing issue for me in regards to stand-over height, I'm 5'7 caught between a small and medium and always seem to be cutting tubes to lower my stand over height in mediums which I prefer due to the longer wheel base and better fit in the cockpit. This problem is usually always down to how low can I get a dropper post in the seat down tube so that riding steep terrain and taking big jumps to flat becomes easier and not having my balls being obliterated in hard landings because of my short legs. Many seat-post down tubes are angled in the geometry limiting dropper height. Why can't we have a more vertical seat-post tube slammed/cut really low for the dropper whilst having the ability to be raised to let say 180mm from an ultra low position. Integrated seat-post dropper in the seat down tube frame would be a good idea.
I've demoed a G1 a couple of times and must say it feels just a trail bike ! Fast and responsive and plenty of pop . Seriously considering it as my next bike .
I've rode BMX for years and over the years I've bought so many new geometry frames with short rear ends and steep head angles. They just become too twitchy and hard to ride. Bunny hops and manuals are so responsive they are awefull to ride. I have a 2007 frame with a longer rear end and slacker head angle. That is something different bunny hops are higher and the bike is so much more stable. The knowledge I learnt about geometry on the bmx carries over to my MTB choice and even helped me set up my motorbike to handle so much better.
Recently picked up a pivot cycles firebird and love it, sweeps through corners like a downhill bike and feels like it is riding on rails in the corner. Paid decent money for it, but this guy is correct about buying the right geometry, great vid.
Had a demo on one a these in summer. Coming off a Bronson with coil shock the geometron changed all my perceptions of a good bike. Soon as money permits!
I'm 17 yo and I'm very tall rider (2m). After riding mojo HD3 (430reach, 68ha), which was terrible, i tried to go as far from it as i could. I built an XL mondraker dune carbon (500reach) with HA slackened to 63.5 degrees and i absolutely love it. If i only knew about G1 that time... Sometimes i feel like i need some more reach and chainstay length (and nice steep STA). One day i'll definitely buy a geometron... I live in Russia, and people here mostly prefer short and beefy "light-fr bikes" like scott voltage, most of them just don't accept these "tram-like long" beasts (we call it "tramvay"). They think that long wheelbase and slack angles won't let you turn fast enough, but many (even 1.7m tall) dudes change their opinion after taking my Dune for a ride. Also, i've seen some people, who told that my dune is "useless tramvay", buy 2018+ bikes from leading brands, which now have almost similar geometry (~500reach in xl, ~64.5 HA) and chaim to like these stability, body position, etc... :) Chris, you are doing a good job by giving people bikes, which are made exactly like they should be. Thank you.
Yeti SB150, size medium is the best bike I have ever ridden. So grateful I was able to get it this summer. It is the 1 bike to do everything on. Light enough to be fast on XC trails and to peddle up any mountain. 29” wheels to roll right over things that would have been scary on 26”. So much suspension travel that bumps that fling other bikes around get soaked up with ease. When it is time for lift served DH riding, this bike is hard to beat. With the geometry and switch infinity, I see no need to have many bikes for all the different types of riding when this one will do it all.
I have mk1 g16 mojo in longer and a large sick/Marino so really like the long low slack set up. I would say the two things I would change on my g16 (which the mk2 and g1 do have anyway) is shorter chain stays (prefer for making the bike a bit more playful, use to run 27.5” wheels in 26” dropout on my banshee spitfire) and have shorter seat tube to allow a bit more adjustment with a 150mm dropper
I am always surprise to see how under the radar Liteville and Syntace go. The industry is right now testing/adopting what my 2015 Liteville 101 model incorporated back them with mixed wheels, I can either go for a 29" rear or a 27.5" As a trail bike it was sold with a 27.5" in the rear. And yet again, regarding all that talk about the 3 aluminium tubes on the seatpost, Liteville again came up with the Eightpins integrated seatpost back in....2017? Doesn't Chris know about this stuff? I'm sure he does, maybe I am not seeing all the interview. If Liteville had a better PR everyone would be riding their bikes... for good or bad.
If they only had better customer service I would by one any day. Really innovative brand w excellent quality. Too bad they are such dicks to deal with. Dig their quality, innovation etc., but I would never buy another one.
Good comment! Agree with you, double crown at 180mm travel makes a lot of sense, way better than huge single crown forks in so many sense. The question is: are riders ready for that? We have a dream, exactly like Chris, we dream of a day where the Mtb Industry will be less fashion-driven and more performance-driven. This would be a benefit for everyone.
Riders will be ready, when Richie Rude, Martin Maes and Sam Hill start riding dual crown forks. My personal dream: One day, it will be easy, to buy suspension spare parts for my mountainbike.
@@thomas6312 you right, but Richie Rude just won the final EWS on a single crown 38mm stanchions prototype. That means that, at least Fox, is not going into that direction.
Unfortunately the bike industry like all industries is driven by the market! The market is driven by sales! Sales are driven by salesmen! Sales are driven by the almighty dollar! Therein lies the problem! We need more People like Chris Porter in the industry in the world! Free thinkers not driven by money!
I switched my yt Capra for a pole machine. Didn't expect it to be so agil. Total stunning experience! Almost feels like a "trail" bike. But as there is no 29er 180mm selva so far, I had to pick a lyric 😥 However I also switched to a cura 4 and this break is spot on!
Thx a lot for your words on the Cura 4. The Selva 29r in 170mm will come in 2020. Still not sure about 180mm, it's a lot for a 29". Would you ride a dual crown 29" in 180mm?
@@FormulaItaly yes I reckon a 180 29 single crown fork is way to much unless built really tough with a really well built CSU .....on a single crown fork it's not the Fork legs that are the weak point it's all the flex that gets put through the CSU ....I've gone through 2 on my fox 36 in less than a year .
@@daveandmerlin what you say about your experience on single crown forks is really amazing. We would like to push a bit more dual crowns for heavy enduro use but sometimes we're surrounded by people that say: "People don't like it, it makes the bike looks like a downhill machine, not enduro".
@@FormulaItaly to be honest when you can ride DH tracks as fast as a DH bike but on a Enduro bike Dual crown forks are the way forward for a heavy hitting Enduro bike . Mind alot of companies are bringing out ebike single crown forks ....see how strong they are ?
Like others commenting, I currently have a 1 year old G16 and am extremely happy with it. I wish I'd had it 15 years ago! I would not be against dual crown forks but i guess they may end up being more expensive?
Thx a lot for your comment. Of course, a dual crown is a bit more expansive than single cause you've more costs for production. On the other end, it can be a little bit more reliable and will last longer on your bike. Not sure if the cost/benefit ratio would be so bad.
My ideal bike would have a 62-64*hta (I'm at 64* right now). I like 400-415 chainstays for a playful bike and 440mm chainstays for racing. I want more standover and shorter top tubes.
@@FormulaItaly I think i'd have a blast on it. The long chainstay would make it almost impossible for me to manual with my short legs/height, but I'll bet it would rip on a race course.
Very interesting. I will definately testride one at Nicolai, since they are near my hometown. So far the geometry that felt the best was my Fuel EXe in large. Somehow feels right. I am curious about the Geometrön geo.
I've always thought Mr. Porter's meanings made sense. I'm 179 cm and prefer downhill and steep technical stuff. I've moved from "short" medium sized bikes to large long Mondrakers both downhill and trail/enduro. This season I modified both bikes to be even longer and slacker and guess what, they both are even better than before. I was always holding back on doing this because it felt like overdoing it, but I proved myself wrong
Good interview and good thoughts. Very pragmatic. It must be said though, that for those of us not racing, the stopwatch is usually not the most important factor. The "esoteric" feel of the bike can be just as important. Does it inspire confidence? Does it feel stable when jumping? is it playful when we want it to be?
I completely agree, and that is part of my point I guess. There is more to mountain bike enjoyment than what can be measured with a stopwatch. The "right" direction for one kind of rider could be 100% the "wrong" direction for another type. the "best" bike geometry is not quantitative.
Cool to watch this now and see so much of what they said become a reality. Bike geo has followed suit, coil shocks are common on trail bikes, and there are enduro specific dual crown forks on the market. Maybe you guys can toss me tomorrow’s lottery numbers too? Ha
I have Radon swoop 29. with me 177cm is recommended in M so I buy XL. 490 reach 62,5HA (with offset headset). next upgrade shorter cranks 165, coil shock. want to try 27,5 rear wheel and dual crown fork. PS. would be so nice a send me Nero R for the test, please? :)
Very interesting. Any reason why you want to try 27,5" in the rear? We're always experimenting, but if a dual crown for enduro will come out, and we're not saying it will, it's not gonna be just a shortened downhill fork. Anyway, do you see yourself riding a dual crown on long travel enduro bike?
My most progressive bike is a pivot firebird 29 dual crown mullet with a 63 degree hta wish the seat angle was 74.5 since I am only 5’9” a super steep seat angle is not as necessary.
A little team with no corporate guidelines to follow might be the best to push the developments forward. We can be happy there are still some entrepreneurs in the bike market left. Chris Porter´s ideas + Nicolai handcrafting = amazing bikes ツ He reminds me of Ulrich Fahl from Tune, unfortunately many great companies from the former century have been eaten by the big ones or gave up to develop (AMP / Horst Leitner, Chris Chance, YETI / John Parker, Salsa Cycles...).
I really liked the Cotic BFE 2017 Size S frame geometry, upgraded to intense tracer 275 (2018) felt the bike was smaller in size S and behave differently during climbing which made easier but even on the Cotic BFE steel hardtail was not much of a difference in climbing.
Giant Reign 27.5 2015 L I want: - steeper seat tube - same bb height - same chainstay length - a bit more reach - a bit slacker head angle - shorter forker offset - 29" wheels - more seat post travel I'd like to test Pole bikes.
@@FormulaItaly I don't want to go lower. My crank is already pretty beaten. Reign 27.5 was one of the first bikes from major brands to go slacker, longer and lower. To me, it has the perfect numbers beside seat angle. I'm ready to try longer front center.
I am riding a 2016 Reign with a -1.5° Works Components headset and a 37 mm offset CSU in a 160mm 36 - perfect. I tried it with 170mm of travel and a 44 offset but it felt not right. It was very demanding to proper load the front wheel on all but the steepest trails. I would love to try a bit longer chainstays though. I think Steve Mathews from Vorsprung is on to something with the missing elongations of chainstays this days while everybody is doing longer reach numbers.
@@FlorianScheikl Search for Cy Turner (Cotic bike founder) interviews and articles. His vision of bike geometry is very close to Chris Porter's. In a article or video (don't remember sorry) where he explained the development of the last generation of Cotic bikes, he precisely talked about that balancing front and rear center has so much more importance that wheelbase only in the way a bike turns. Another really interesting guy along with Chris Porter. For sure Chris Porter inspired bike development of some other brands these last years. I'm sure of one at least. Transition for their 2018 generation bike with shorter fork offset. Chris Porter said in an interview that Lars from Transition contacted him for advices. And Lars also said in another interview that he started playing and testing with different offset lenght when he red an article of Chris Porter talking about it.
No more low BBs. It may make a difference to the elite people in competition, but not to rest of us. It is much more beneficial to have a bike you can pedal anywhere than one you can only pedal on straight flat trails.
@@FormulaItaly Low, I ride an extra large bike which came with 180mm cranks that I have changed to 165mm. I also have some adjustment in the geometry, so slackened the head angle and raised the BB height. I have a old Foes Fly which has a really high BB, which on a lot of trails would be as quick if not quicker even though it's very old fashioned in it angles. I'm more than happy to have a measure. If so, where do you measure to/from?
Banshee Spitfire, I like the overall fit but if I could.... I would slack the HA from 66 to 64.5 Steepen the SA from 74 to 78 degrees, Keep the reach the same but lengthen the chainstays to accommodate the SA change from 437mm to 448mm. so you know, more or less exactly what I currently have.....
@@FormulaItaly Sure would! But I think that you need to progress with the geometry you ride incrementally. I saw an interview with Minaar where he said he had a test race bike when riding with orange with Geo numbers he asked for. Very close to modern numbers, but that it rode horribly. Not because of the bike, but because he wasn't ready for it.
As someone who grew up racing motocross, I always thought mountain bikes were laughably fragile. They're getting much better nowadays but still quite fragile.
@@FormulaItaly i dont know, i like things that work rather than fashion. I am riding hardtail now after years of full sus and i its more fun picking lines. Too many things have changed in the bike scene, only just git 27.5 wheels and it's taking a while to get use to.
I’m on a G16 29er 175mm travel. I want a fork that doesn’t creak. I may upgrade to a G1 at some point with longer CS and a dual crown fork for an über-enduro bike.
To. How much front travel do you have? I am getting a longer shock to get 175mm travel rear. Considering upping my fork to 170mm to balance the travel. Any thoughts?
I wish for a bike in which my bodyweight is perfectly balanced between the wheels, in an "Universal Athletic Position". Perfect balance would mean there's enough weight on the front for cornering and doesn't lift when climbing, but not so much that the rear slips when putting power down on climb and the front "dives" off of drops and jumps. It should be optimized, first priority, for this athletic position (out-of-the-saddle). I don't care if the seated position is minimally different than the standing position (82+d STA), but I don't want all options to be extra long wheelbase. I don't care if the HA is 80d in order to get the WB in a shorter length, as long as it steers okay--I'd be willing to ride with a backwards fork, if you told me it carves better due to 130mm mech. trail.
Had a dual crown enduro bike 2006-10. Kona CoilAir Supreme custom built with a Marzochi Junior T 170mm. Hated the weight and the long chain stays. I don't care if they are faster on the stopwatch they're less fun.
I have a Canyon Torque, and if I have a steaper seat angle. I love her even more. The bike is a beautiful bike to go downhill but went it come to go up... Inst that good
As someone who likes mountain bikes and mountain biking, I tried to imagine the best road bike. Ended up with a mountain bike, with a 1x, dropper post and Maxxis Hookworms. Not sure how I got there
I probably wouldn't watch the video if I knew its subject matter is the downhill bike, rather than allroad / adventure bike, but for those more inclined to ride MTBs, it might be rather entertaining.
I quite respect him for having the balls to go against the grain when it comes to geometry and bike design but I personally stick to slightly more conservative numbers (sc nomad 4, low setting) as without manualling and hopping over stuff biking would be a lot less fun for me.
It makes sense, but this could be just a matter of adapting riding style to different geometry. YOu maybe need time to get used, but you can definitely learn how to manual and bunny hop also with a Geoemtron or a bike with similar geometry.
I have a Kona precept 120 modified to 140 27.5+ yes it a 3× and happy with it and it fast on the down a to fast 38.6mph on a fire road 1/4 mile. and stoping wasn't that great especially when the turn was coming up pretty quick. I do not at all see what's the big deal of a 1× other than it figured out a way to make beach cruiser suspension that's all I get out of it. I don't see the practicality of myself no options no fun. Unless you're being channel up the hill and going downhill all ,But then it doesn't matter . Think bike industries need to stop with this one by silliness,I have not tried it yet but it would be interesting to see how a 3×12 would perform. Instead of a very expensive beach cruiser drivetrain today.o! I got that speed on the higher gear range five crank off the top of the hill just to see what would happen. The place I ride is in hartshorne nj. And going up that same hill is fun to.But then again some mountain bikes aren't hartshorne rated. With good wheels set makes all the difference.
One beneficial thing of 1x is the fact that cleans up the cockpit, which is something good nowadays with dropper posts, e-bikes and maybe more controls coming in the future.
@@FormulaItaly yeah but still no options ,I have a 1× it's to limit what you can do .but what I'm saying is it should not be a standard, more of an option you can scale back from, if that person wants to do, it should be up to the individual. Not an obligation.i rather have an option than nothing at all a very expensive nothing at all.
It’s easy to make a large bike for large people, but none of the extreme long low slack manufacturers can make one for anyone under 5’6”. Small people get stuck on shitty geometry compromises. Can’t design a bike that can fit anything other than a 125 dropper sticking a mile out. Can’t design a bike with a stand-over under 70mm. Top tubes under 590. Spring shocks to stiff. It is always something wrong.
Absofuckinglutly. 😀 other than a few minor design modifications with regard to geometry and materials the bicycle is an antiquated piece of Machinery just as is the automobile. Hopefully 3D and 4D printing will lead the way for some revolutionary changes.
The biggest problem in the bike industry is e-bikes. Go to a major bike brand outlet and half of it is fucking e-bikes, bikes used to be about simplicity and environmental friendliness, but now it’s all about batteries and motors. A waste
I like the way Porter thinks, function taking the lead in decision making and process 👍
Expensive bikes need to look beautiful.
@@aaron___6014 I guess it helps for sure. I favour function over aesthetics, lots of both is preferable.
Everyone's better off for this guy existing and pursuing his passion.
I have a Nicolai G16 size L and I have to say I‘m pretty happy. I ride a lot of steep alpine terrain with many many tight step switchbacks. Some said it will not work in the tight switchbacks, for me it works better than any bike before because:
1) I got room (I’m 192cm tall) to shift my body weight to go into the nose manual and throw the rear around.
2) I can just ride many of the super tight turns like Chris explained instead of throwing the rear around.
Over the past 2 years I have this bike I really developed a different riding style and widened my understanding of what is rideable. In the beginning I had a 170mm SC fork with 44mm offset (27,5“ font and rear) and after a year or so I changed to 37mm offset. By doing so the bikes behavior changed noticeably. The „Nachlauf“ trail? got bigger making the bike more stable/lazy when rolling slowly. But it also changed the lever ratio of stem and fork offset (35mm stem) I can now load the front easier and get more traction by doing so. I can also get the rear up easier when doing trials maneuvers. When I ride fast steering works differently, I then ride the G16 like my KTM 990 ADV R: I stand up and lean the bike using my hip/feet and pushing the left hand forward when ridind a left turn. When you do this the bike is very very agile.
A dual crown fork would be very interesting, only downside I see at the moment is loading the bike in my car becomes more difficult without taking the wheel out and the high purchase price of DC forks. :-)
Thx a lot for your comment! It is super interesting to hear about your experience. You're spot on, a different geometry can be better but can also change your riding style a bit. As for the dual crown, sometimes we really don't understand why the market is not open to having dual crown forks on bikes. As Chris explained, besides the loading issue you're pointing out, dual crown is so much better tahn a bigger single crown. Look what Sepcialized, Cannondale and Hai Bike are doing by offering e-bikes with dual crown. It's a smart move. Will see how the market react.
@@FormulaItalySpecialized already had dual crown on Enduro bike.. but the rest of geometry wasn't up to it at that time I guess.
@@FormulaItaly Honestly I think it's a visual/fashion thing, you never seen people riding dual crowns in half shell helmets or it's considered that it looks "weird"... I think if you got some pros on an enduro dual crown fork in the EWS you'd get people to buy it... the other thing is besides CSU creak issues the Fox 36/Lyrik etc. feel pretty damn good even for aggressive riding.
@@hobmarg beside "creak issues" is not a marginal point. Don't you think?
@@pulDag 100% agree
This was great and very insightful. Thanks for putting this interview together!
Thx a lot man!
Formula cheers! I’ve been drooling over the Nero and the Selva for a while now. Incredible work. They really seem to fit well with Geometron bikes and their push for quality over quantity.
Happy (early) New Years from Beth and myself!
I have a Geometron that has been evolving for a few years now since I first met Chris. I have the gearbox version (Pinion) and it's latest mods are: 29' front wheel hybrid, MORC 36 fork and EXT Storia V3 rear shock. The geometry has been a revelation - having adjusted my riding to suit over the first year or so, I'm now reaping the rewards BIG TIME and it's been an educational time working with Chris over these last few years - as a coach it has also expanded my understanding of the mechanics of bicycle riding and helped me develop new ways of explaining concepts to clients, and a racer my results have improved dramatically, despite my training time decreasing.
Very interesting. Riders have to understand that sometimes a very good geometry, especially if it's something new, need the willing to change riding style.
I have a G13. 130/140mm trail bike. Set up as a mullet bike.
Took a lot of pointers from talking with Chris Porter about riding positions both sitting and descending.
He speaks magical spells.
The bike and my contact set up now is not only efficient, but is more comfortable than ever when riding.
And the bike is an all-round wonder.
I have a G-16 (Chris Porters old bike) and a G-19 from Jack Readings team and I love them both! The confidence and feedback the bike gives you is 2nd to none would never change them for the world!!
The only thing wrong with this interview is that it's just too short. Wish someone would sit this guy down for an hour plus and just say "Talk to us about the bike industry, design, and components for as long as we have hot coffee and cakes here.."
In fact someone just get him to start his own podcast.
we're very happy you liked the video. THX.
its not an hour, but will 43 minutes do for you? see ua-cam.com/video/07-UyrtSCXk/v-deo.html
This was so good, Chris always makes you come away with looking at your own riding and bike differently.. he is a gem for mountain biking. Thanks for this.
Thx a lot for your comment, means a lot for us. Keep an eye on this channel.
I have a Pipedream Moxie, and if I'm not wrong is one of the longest hartdtails on the market. The concepts of Porter have changed the way we design bikes in an unbelievable way.
HI, I ride Patrol Transition Bike with a 64 head angle with short chainstay. I don't care the weight . I like the words of Chris Porter. He explain in simple way what we are looking for ... in not a simple way at all. Cheers.
This is my first time hearing Mr. Porter. I’m disabled with mobility impairments. I’m just getting into trying to ride bikes again and he mentioned wanting a bike for trails but also for downhill. It sounds similar to what I’m trying to what I’m looking for. Rigid bikes feel like I’m not wasting energy but full soft suspension is what allows me to ride to begin with. My energy that’s lost trying to accelerate trough the shocks may not seem like much, but when you have a very limited amount to work with, you really want to use it as efficiently as possible. I can only ride 20-30 minutes on smooth surfaces. Finding a good bike that fits my needs at an affordable rate that I could possibly manage to buy on my very very fixed income.
Nice to see a manufacturer actually caring about bikes, geometry etc. and being active in the comments section :-)
Thx a lot man! Keep an eye on this channel.
@@FormulaItaly Definitely will do :-)
I have a G16 XL built as a mullet (29/27.5). I'm 6'5"/196cm.
Such a good setup for me.
I had been looking for a bike for someone my size for a very long time.
I ride DH, enduro, XC, everything on this thing.
It's what the old so called "all mountains" dreamed of being.
I've been riding for about 4 years. Started off with a 2015 Trance in medium...moved over to a Reign Medium....then a 29' Evolve Alpha Large (local squamish company). Finally I settled for a Pole Machine Medium. As you know Pole's geometry is very similar to Geometron/Nicolai. Being a weekend warrior, I upsized my bike practically every year - which gave me the max amount of confidence for me to learn, improve, ride faster have more fun due to limited saddle time. I can definitely say that if I still wouldn't ride some of my local trails if I was still on my 2015 Trance, and if i managed, it definitely wouldn't be as fun.
The steeper seat angle and slack head angle makes such a night and day difference. There's no going back for me. I would be happy to rock a dual crown fork, but still lacking the skills to nose manual or throw the rear for tighter corners. I definitely feel like there's a minimum speed limit requirement to properly navigate with a DC fork.
As Chris explains in the video, you won't need to do noose manual on the dual crown, especially if you have enough steering build into the frame (slack head angle).
And there's me on my Specialised Rockhopper with non of this suspension malarkey. A great video from an innovater.
Thx a lot for your appreciation.
Had a few enduro based bikes from various yeti's to a Vitus esommet vr...always a sizing issue for me in regards to stand-over height, I'm 5'7 caught between a small and medium and always seem to be cutting tubes to lower my stand over height in mediums which I prefer due to the longer wheel base and better fit in the cockpit. This problem is usually always down to how low can I get a dropper post in the seat down tube so that riding steep terrain and taking big jumps to flat becomes easier and not having my balls being obliterated in hard landings because of my short legs. Many seat-post down tubes are angled in the geometry limiting dropper height. Why can't we have a more vertical seat-post tube slammed/cut really low for the dropper whilst having the ability to be raised to let say 180mm from an ultra low position. Integrated seat-post dropper in the seat down tube frame would be a good idea.
It seems you're describing this www.eightpins.at/en/index-en/ in a bike with similar geometry to Geometron bikes.
Great interview. Could we have a repeat please that explains the geometry in detail and compares it to “regular” bikes?
I've demoed a G1 a couple of times and must say it feels just a trail bike ! Fast and responsive and plenty of pop . Seriously considering it as my next bike .
Which geoemtry do you have now?
I've rode BMX for years and over the years I've bought so many new geometry frames with short rear ends and steep head angles. They just become too twitchy and hard to ride. Bunny hops and manuals are so responsive they are awefull to ride. I have a 2007 frame with a longer rear end and slacker head angle. That is something different bunny hops are higher and the bike is so much more stable.
The knowledge I learnt about geometry on the bmx carries over to my MTB choice and even helped me set up my motorbike to handle so much better.
Recently picked up a pivot cycles firebird and love it, sweeps through corners like a downhill bike and feels like it is riding on rails in the corner. Paid decent money for it, but this guy is correct about buying the right geometry, great vid.
Thx a lot man! Really happy you liked the video.
Had a demo on one a these in summer. Coming off a Bronson with coil shock the geometron changed all my perceptions of a good bike.
Soon as money permits!
G16 is the best bike have ever owned. Thank you Chris Porter
I'm 17 yo and I'm very tall rider (2m). After riding mojo HD3 (430reach, 68ha), which was terrible, i tried to go as far from it as i could.
I built an XL mondraker dune carbon (500reach) with HA slackened to 63.5 degrees and i absolutely love it. If i only knew about G1 that time... Sometimes i feel like i need some more reach and chainstay length (and nice steep STA). One day i'll definitely buy a geometron...
I live in Russia, and people here mostly prefer short and beefy "light-fr bikes" like scott voltage, most of them just don't accept these "tram-like long" beasts (we call it "tramvay"). They think that long wheelbase and slack angles won't let you turn fast enough, but many (even 1.7m tall) dudes change their opinion after taking my Dune for a ride.
Also, i've seen some people, who told that my dune is "useless tramvay", buy 2018+ bikes from leading brands, which now have almost similar geometry (~500reach in xl, ~64.5 HA) and chaim to like these stability, body position, etc... :)
Chris, you are doing a good job by giving people bikes, which are made exactly like they should be. Thank you.
Hearing Chris smoothly explaining everything with all that passion in his eyes, just confirmed me that I want a G1 with a Dorado
Yeti SB150, size medium is the best bike I have ever ridden. So grateful I was able to get it this summer. It is the 1 bike to do everything on. Light enough to be fast on XC trails and to peddle up any mountain. 29” wheels to roll right over things that would have been scary on 26”. So much suspension travel that bumps that fling other bikes around get soaked up with ease. When it is time for lift served DH riding, this bike is hard to beat. With the geometry and switch infinity, I see no need to have many bikes for all the different types of riding when this one will do it all.
I've been riding a G16 for 2 years. Best bike I've ever had. The only thing I'd consider replacing it with is a G1
I have mk1 g16 mojo in longer and a large sick/Marino so really like the long low slack set up. I would say the two things I would change on my g16 (which the mk2 and g1 do have anyway) is shorter chain stays (prefer for making the bike a bit more playful, use to run 27.5” wheels in 26” dropout on my banshee spitfire) and have shorter seat tube to allow a bit more adjustment with a 150mm dropper
I am always surprise to see how under the radar Liteville and Syntace go. The industry is right now testing/adopting what my 2015 Liteville 101 model incorporated back them with mixed wheels, I can either go for a 29" rear or a 27.5" As a trail bike it was sold with a 27.5" in the rear.
And yet again, regarding all that talk about the 3 aluminium tubes on the seatpost, Liteville again came up with the Eightpins integrated seatpost back in....2017? Doesn't Chris know about this stuff? I'm sure he does, maybe I am not seeing all the interview.
If Liteville had a better PR everyone would be riding their bikes... for good or bad.
Liteville is a great brand, often with interesting innovations. They have a very solid fanbase in Germany. Sure Chris knows their bikes.
If they only had better customer service I would by one any day. Really innovative brand w excellent quality. Too bad they are such dicks to deal with. Dig their quality, innovation etc., but I would never buy another one.
I'm on a G16. So there is no need for improvement geometry wise, but I'am yearning for a 160 to 180 mm DC fork with improved bushings and lubrication.
Good comment! Agree with you, double crown at 180mm travel makes a lot of sense, way better than huge single crown forks in so many sense. The question is: are riders ready for that? We have a dream, exactly like Chris, we dream of a day where the Mtb Industry will be less fashion-driven and more performance-driven. This would be a benefit for everyone.
@@FormulaItaly I will by a mrp triple clamp fork. Because ist the only one available as 3 clamp trail fork.
Riders will be ready, when Richie Rude, Martin Maes and Sam Hill start riding dual crown forks.
My personal dream: One day, it will be easy, to buy suspension spare parts for my mountainbike.
@@thomas6312 yep. I agree with u. Is a shit to buy spare suspension parts.
@@thomas6312 you right, but Richie Rude just won the final EWS on a single crown 38mm stanchions prototype. That means that, at least Fox, is not going into that direction.
Unfortunately the bike industry like all industries is driven by the market!
The market is driven by sales! Sales are driven by salesmen!
Sales are driven by the almighty dollar!
Therein lies the problem!
We need more People like Chris Porter in the industry in the world!
Free thinkers not driven by money!
I switched my yt Capra for a pole machine. Didn't expect it to be so agil. Total stunning experience! Almost feels like a "trail" bike.
But as there is no 29er 180mm selva so far, I had to pick a lyric 😥
However I also switched to a cura 4 and this break is spot on!
Thx a lot for your words on the Cura 4. The Selva 29r in 170mm will come in 2020. Still not sure about 180mm, it's a lot for a 29". Would you ride a dual crown 29" in 180mm?
@@FormulaItaly yes I reckon a 180 29 single crown fork is way to much unless built really tough with a really well built CSU .....on a single crown fork it's not the Fork legs that are the weak point it's all the flex that gets put through the CSU ....I've gone through 2 on my fox 36 in less than a year .
@@daveandmerlin what you say about your experience on single crown forks is really amazing. We would like to push a bit more dual crowns for heavy enduro use but sometimes we're surrounded by people that say: "People don't like it, it makes the bike looks like a downhill machine, not enduro".
@@FormulaItaly to be honest when you can ride DH tracks as fast as a DH bike but on a Enduro bike Dual crown forks are the way forward for a heavy hitting Enduro bike . Mind alot of companies are bringing out ebike single crown forks ....see how strong they are ?
As far as I know, dual crown forks are not clear to use on pole machine. That's why I stay for the moment with my single crown.
Like others commenting, I currently have a 1 year old G16 and am extremely happy with it. I wish I'd had it 15 years ago! I would not be against dual crown forks but i guess they may end up being more expensive?
Thx a lot for your comment. Of course, a dual crown is a bit more expansive than single cause you've more costs for production. On the other end, it can be a little bit more reliable and will last longer on your bike. Not sure if the cost/benefit ratio would be so bad.
I really would like to try a DC fork on my e-bike.
My ideal bike would have a 62-64*hta (I'm at 64* right now). I like 400-415 chainstays for a playful bike and 440mm chainstays for racing. I want more standover and shorter top tubes.
Not really far from a G1
@@FormulaItaly I think i'd have a blast on it. The long chainstay would make it almost impossible for me to manual with my short legs/height, but I'll bet it would rip on a race course.
Yes. Sizing need sorting and some standards introduced
Very interesting. I will definately testride one at Nicolai, since they are near my hometown.
So far the geometry that felt the best was my Fuel EXe in large. Somehow feels right. I am curious about the Geometrön geo.
There is definitely too much bullshit in the bike industry at the moment, even though these frames are crazy expensive i love them
I've always thought Mr. Porter's meanings made sense. I'm 179 cm and prefer downhill and steep technical stuff. I've moved from "short" medium sized bikes to large long Mondrakers both downhill and trail/enduro. This season I modified both bikes to be even longer and slacker and guess what, they both are even better than before. I was always holding back on doing this because it felt like overdoing it, but I proved myself wrong
Good interview and good thoughts. Very pragmatic. It must be said though, that for those of us not racing, the stopwatch is usually not the most important factor. The "esoteric" feel of the bike can be just as important. Does it inspire confidence? Does it feel stable when jumping? is it playful when we want it to be?
sure, but it's hard to measure the "esoteric". How can you really tell if you are going in the right direction?
I completely agree, and that is part of my point I guess. There is more to mountain bike enjoyment than what can be measured with a stopwatch. The "right" direction for one kind of rider could be 100% the "wrong" direction for another type. the "best" bike geometry is not quantitative.
@@FrankWalsh ok, got it. It's interesting, but at the same time very hard to translate into a good product maybe.
Cool to watch this now and see so much of what they said become a reality. Bike geo has followed suit, coil shocks are common on trail bikes, and there are enduro specific dual crown forks on the market.
Maybe you guys can toss me tomorrow’s lottery numbers too? Ha
What about this new boost hub standard?
That dropper post example!" Thinking outside the frame "you might say
I have Radon swoop 29. with me 177cm is recommended in M so I buy XL. 490 reach 62,5HA (with offset headset). next upgrade shorter cranks 165, coil shock. want to try 27,5 rear wheel and dual crown fork. PS. would be so nice a send me Nero R for the test, please? :)
Very interesting. Any reason why you want to try 27,5" in the rear? We're always experimenting, but if a dual crown for enduro will come out, and we're not saying it will, it's not gonna be just a shortened downhill fork. Anyway, do you see yourself riding a dual crown on long travel enduro bike?
@@FormulaItalysometimes I cath my ass on the rear wheel that's why I want to try 27,5. and I can see myself riding dual crown fork on my bike.
My most progressive bike is a pivot firebird 29 dual crown mullet with a 63 degree hta wish the seat angle was 74.5 since I am only 5’9” a super steep seat angle is not as necessary.
A little team with no corporate guidelines to follow might be the best to push the developments forward.
We can be happy there are still some entrepreneurs in the bike market left.
Chris Porter´s ideas + Nicolai handcrafting = amazing bikes ツ
He reminds me of Ulrich Fahl from Tune, unfortunately many great companies from the former century have been eaten by the big ones or gave up to develop (AMP / Horst Leitner, Chris Chance, YETI / John Parker, Salsa Cycles...).
I really liked the Cotic BFE 2017 Size S frame geometry, upgraded to intense tracer 275 (2018) felt the bike was smaller in size S and behave differently during climbing which made easier but even on the Cotic BFE steel hardtail was not much of a difference in climbing.
Giant Reign 27.5 2015 L
I want:
- steeper seat tube
- same bb height
- same chainstay length
- a bit more reach
- a bit slacker head angle
- shorter forker offset
- 29" wheels
- more seat post travel
I'd like to test Pole bikes.
Lots of changes here. Pole is kind on the same page of Geometron, but honestly, a lot of bike brand are going slacker, longer, lower.
@@FormulaItaly I don't want to go lower. My crank is already pretty beaten.
Reign 27.5 was one of the first bikes from major brands to go slacker, longer and lower.
To me, it has the perfect numbers beside seat angle.
I'm ready to try longer front center.
@@jaimeronan Get shorter crank arms. According to tests, there really is no performance disadvantage unless you go ridiculously short like sub 150 mm.
I am riding a 2016 Reign with a -1.5° Works Components headset and a 37 mm offset CSU in a 160mm 36 - perfect. I tried it with 170mm of travel and a 44 offset but it felt not right. It was very demanding to proper load the front wheel on all but the steepest trails.
I would love to try a bit longer chainstays though. I think Steve Mathews from Vorsprung is on to something with the missing elongations of chainstays this days while everybody is doing longer reach numbers.
@@FlorianScheikl Search for Cy Turner (Cotic bike founder) interviews and articles. His vision of bike geometry is very close to Chris Porter's. In a article or video (don't remember sorry) where he explained the development of the last generation of Cotic bikes, he precisely talked about that balancing front and rear center has so much more importance that wheelbase only in the way a bike turns. Another really interesting guy along with Chris Porter. For sure Chris Porter inspired bike development of some other brands these last years. I'm sure of one at least. Transition for their 2018 generation bike with shorter fork offset. Chris Porter said in an interview that Lars from Transition contacted him for advices. And Lars also said in another interview that he started playing and testing with different offset lenght when he red an article of Chris Porter talking about it.
this man sounds so chill :o
No more low BBs. It may make a difference to the elite people in competition, but not to rest of us. It is much more beneficial to have a bike you can pedal anywhere than one you can only pedal on straight flat trails.
How much is BB height on your bike?
@@FormulaItaly Low, I ride an extra large bike which came with 180mm cranks that I have changed to 165mm. I also have some adjustment in the geometry, so slackened the head angle and raised the BB height. I have a old Foes Fly which has a really high BB, which on a lot of trails would be as quick if not quicker even though it's very old fashioned in it angles. I'm more than happy to have a measure. If so, where do you measure to/from?
@@doranimal you normally want to measure it from ground to the center of the bb. B sure to do it on a flat, leveled.
Banshee Spitfire, I like the overall fit but if I could.... I would slack the HA from 66 to 64.5 Steepen the SA from 74 to 78 degrees, Keep the reach the same but lengthen the chainstays to accommodate the SA change from 437mm to 448mm. so you know, more or less exactly what I currently have.....
Not very far with your geometry right now, but the changes will make for a very different bike.
@@FormulaItaly Sure would! But I think that you need to progress with the geometry you ride incrementally. I saw an interview with Minaar where he said he had a test race bike when riding with orange with Geo numbers he asked for. Very close to modern numbers, but that it rode horribly. Not because of the bike, but because he wasn't ready for it.
Simple and direct.
The market isn't always right!
As someone who grew up racing motocross, I always thought mountain bikes were laughably fragile. They're getting much better nowadays but still quite fragile.
i would love to see a good working 34mm twin crown fork. it would be light and stiff maybe even upside down like my old mr dirt fat forks
Very interesting approach. The problem is that MTB is very fashion driven sometimes. Do you recon the riders would take well a 34mm dual crown?
@@FormulaItaly i dont know, i like things that work rather than fashion. I am riding hardtail now after years of full sus and i its more fun picking lines. Too many things have changed in the bike scene, only just git 27.5 wheels and it's taking a while to get use to.
I’m on a G16 29er 175mm travel. I want a fork that doesn’t creak. I may upgrade to a G1 at some point with longer CS and a dual crown fork for an über-enduro bike.
To. How much front travel do you have? I am getting a longer shock to get 175mm travel rear. Considering upping my fork to 170mm to balance the travel. Any thoughts?
It's hard to believe with all the major manufactures out there none of them have found what he has.
I wish for a bike in which my bodyweight is perfectly balanced between the wheels, in an "Universal Athletic Position". Perfect balance would mean there's enough weight on the front for cornering and doesn't lift when climbing, but not so much that the rear slips when putting power down on climb and the front "dives" off of drops and jumps. It should be optimized, first priority, for this athletic position (out-of-the-saddle). I don't care if the seated position is minimally different than the standing position (82+d STA), but I don't want all options to be extra long wheelbase. I don't care if the HA is 80d in order to get the WB in a shorter length, as long as it steers okay--I'd be willing to ride with a backwards fork, if you told me it carves better due to 130mm mech. trail.
A steeper seat angle should be your address.
Salsa Deadwood works for me. I’m 6’5” at first I didn’t like the long length but I’m faster on it and getting faster with it
Had a dual crown enduro bike 2006-10. Kona CoilAir Supreme custom built with a Marzochi Junior T 170mm. Hated the weight and the long chain stays. I don't care if they are faster on the stopwatch they're less fun.
And BTW Chris porter knows what he is talking about
I have a Canyon Torque, and if I have a steaper seat angle. I love her even more.
The bike is a beautiful bike to go downhill but went it come to go up... Inst that good
Agree, a non-steep seat angle is not cool while pedaling up.
Exactly, that's Chris' point, seat angle nowadays is not steep enough, most of the time.
As someone who likes mountain bikes and mountain biking, I tried to imagine the best road bike. Ended up with a mountain bike, with a 1x, dropper post and Maxxis Hookworms. Not sure how I got there
I have a giant reign advanced 0 2019 27.5 enduro bike size large 170 mm front 160 mm back head angle is 64.5 degrees seat tube angle is 72.5 degrees
I probably wouldn't watch the video if I knew its subject matter is the downhill bike, rather than allroad / adventure bike, but for those more inclined to ride MTBs, it might be rather entertaining.
I quite respect him for having the balls to go against the grain when it comes to geometry and bike design but I personally stick to slightly more conservative numbers (sc nomad 4, low setting) as without manualling and hopping over stuff biking would be a lot less fun for me.
It makes sense, but this could be just a matter of adapting riding style to different geometry. YOu maybe need time to get used, but you can definitely learn how to manual and bunny hop also with a Geoemtron or a bike with similar geometry.
came from insta publicity, stayed here bc its the only good publicity ive ever had
Thx a lot man! We try to do our best to create good and usefull contents for riders.
I have a giant reign advanced 0 2019 27.5 head angle 64.5 degrees seat tube angle 72.5 degrees
I have a Kona precept 120 modified to 140 27.5+ yes it a 3× and happy with it and it fast on the down a to fast 38.6mph on a fire road 1/4 mile. and stoping wasn't that great especially when the turn was coming up pretty quick. I do not at all see what's the big deal of a 1× other than it figured out a way to make beach cruiser suspension that's all I get out of it. I don't see the practicality of myself no options no fun. Unless you're being channel up the hill and going downhill all ,But then it doesn't matter . Think bike industries need to stop with this one by silliness,I have not tried it yet but it would be interesting to see how a 3×12 would perform. Instead of a very expensive beach cruiser drivetrain today.o! I got that speed on the higher gear range five crank off the top of the hill just to see what would happen. The place I ride is in hartshorne nj. And going up that same hill is fun to.But then again some mountain bikes aren't hartshorne rated. With good wheels set makes all the difference.
One beneficial thing of 1x is the fact that cleans up the cockpit, which is something good nowadays with dropper posts, e-bikes and maybe more controls coming in the future.
@@FormulaItaly yeah but still no options ,I have a 1× it's to limit what you can do .but what I'm saying is it should not be a standard, more of an option you can scale back from, if that person wants to do, it should be up to the individual. Not an obligation.i rather have an option than nothing at all a very expensive nothing at all.
Eleven people who rated the video negatively, certainly use a Specialized
7:30, just lean more boys😂😂😉
yep!
Wheelbase is the main thing!
It’s easy to make a large bike for large people, but none of the extreme long low slack manufacturers can make one for anyone under 5’6”. Small people get stuck on shitty geometry compromises.
Can’t design a bike that can fit anything other than a 125 dropper sticking a mile out. Can’t design a bike with a stand-over under 70mm. Top tubes under 590. Spring shocks to stiff. It is always something wrong.
Small bikes are more complicated, true. We should have talked about this in the video. We will the next time, thx for suggestion.
Absofuckinglutly. 😀 other than a few minor design modifications with regard to geometry and materials the bicycle is an antiquated piece of Machinery just as is the automobile. Hopefully 3D and 4D printing will lead the way for some revolutionary changes.
What if faster is not the goal? What if fun is the goal?
Good point, balance is everything.
bike check?
i just need a bike that's not from 2008 ... lol ... and low end in 2008
Formula if you listen to guys like this or like Paul Aston and Rulezman I guarantee the bikes will be better
'lets gonna find out'..??????
Sorry, our english is broken here and there, but we'll do our best to make it better.
The biggest problem in the bike industry is e-bikes. Go to a major bike brand outlet and half of it is fucking e-bikes, bikes used to be about simplicity and environmental friendliness, but now it’s all about batteries and motors. A waste
Talking heads
Does this guy know about eMTBs??
Guessing no...
the stupid effing cartoons ruin it- they cut in right when Porter is demonstrating cool things
Thx for suggestion, we'll take in count for next edit.
Man bun, total fail...
seems like he has not much clue of Bikes and sells Nicolai bikes