Factory Visit | Nicolai Bikes Head Quarters in the Harz Mountains
I had the Nicolai Ion 16 for about 48 hours before I rode it. Mostly I just looked at it. Every time I walked into my bike room and saw the stealthy, murdered-out, flat-black bike, I noticed another little detail. The bike looks simple at first but closer inspection reveals care, creativity, artistry, design and engineering. I’m not talking about “bling” but rather like “easter-eggs” hidden in video games and computer programs that you only discover by pressing the secret button sequence. You find the details in the bike if you just stare at it for a while.
That same analogy holds true for the Nicolai factory as well. It is possible to miss it if you don’t know what you are looking for. I was confused when the magazine editors suggested that I make a visit – why in the world should I spend 11 hours in the car just to see where these guys sell and ship their bikes? I was assured that Nicolai was “something special.” I was also told that my new test bike would be waiting there for me.
Our Scottish photographer, Ross, was up for yet another road trip so we jumped in my van and headed north. We were both surprised when the weather changed from rain to snow, as it was still only early October and hoped that we weren’t mistakenly following the GPS back south to the Alps. All was well though when we arrived in our hotel located in a small village on the edge of the Harz mountains. Despite the fact that our hosts at the hotel spoke no English, we managed to find our rooms and get some tasty country meals.
We did, in fact, miss the factory in the morning. We drove through traditional German villages with no sign whatsoever of a business or industrial park. Again we suspected the GPS was failing when we repeatedly drove up and down the road and saw nothing that resembled the image in my mind. Ross finally spotted a Nicolai sticker on a van parked in the courtyard of a farm and it turned out that we were finally at our destination. And yet, even when I turned off the engine, the were no noisy factory sounds or signs to tell us where to go, so we just started knocking on doors.
We eventually found my contact, Moritz, and he gave us a terrific tour of the factory. Inside the historic farm buildings were loads of modern tools and state of the art equipment. The contrast between the exterior and the interior was stark as CNC machines drilled blocks of aluminum and fabricators fused tubes with big, fat welds. Even though Nicolai is considered a boutique bike brand and only makes about 1200 frames a year, the site is smaller that you would expect. The renovation of one of the barns will give the team much needed space to spread out and add a showroom, but the entire footprint will remain small because there is no more room in the village for expansion.
Although the factory is cool, the bikes are the main attraction here and the details really stand out. The linkages are like jewelry and the hand crafted welds are artwork. Custom-machined cable guides complement proud “MADE IN GERMANY” engraving on the chainstay and if you want to claim the bike for life, ask them to personalize the seat stay with your name as well. As we moved along our tour, Mortiz stopped and exclaimed, “but now, we have to grab our sausages!” The look of confusion and shock on our faces elicited clarification from Moritz … apparently Friday is a special day (sausage Friday) and a local butcher provides gourmet sausages to the crew. He was right to be enthusiastic because the mid-morning snack was outstanding and simply added more color to the environment.
We moved into the painting room to take a look at the custom options available. No doubt about it, the paint jobs are beautiful and top notch quality. If you want to keep it simple – that’s fine, but if you want to go wild – that works too! The folks at Nicolai won’t judge you for whatever crazy paint scheme you choose, even if it comes out looking absurd. A custom bike is yours to love like an unattractive baby … as long as it is the best quality. The final steps of production are where you see care that is rare in bike manufacturers. The headset and seat tubes are reamed and all the pivot, bottom bracket, and ISCG tab faces are milled. Nicolai prioritizes frame alignment throughout the entire production cycle to ensure that all the parts work together seamlessly. Watching the final alignment service with the shock installed is similar to watching a chiropractor work on a supermodel – I know he has to get that frame straight, but man, I pray he knows what he’s doing!
The farmhouse, the CNC machines, and the beautiful paint jobs don’t mean a thing if the bike doesn’t perform. That’s why I finally pulled the bike off the stand and took it out to get a little dirt on the tires. Setting up the suspension on the Ion 16 was pretty straight forward and sitting on the bike was comfortable. Once I’ve got a few rides on it, I’ll write a proper bike check and detail the complete build. Until then I’ll enjoy putting in some rides to see how the bike breaks in.
Words: Evan Phillips Photos: Ross Bell