SuperBike Double the trouble - the world’s first 650b enduro tandem Nicolai Bikes Helius AC 650 tandem Totally custom, totally bling, totally unique – this is the world’s first 650b enduro tandem read what MountainBiking-UK says about it: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B__wT1IfSm0EUmRUMW5LRjVLZkVtX05HZ1VfTkZZVE03bE8w/edit IF YOU’VE BEEN riding the world’s best (and worst) mountain bikes as your day job for 17 years, then it’s always tempting to get something distinctly different for your spare time. Especially if it’s something you can take anyone down super-techy trails on. Our northern tested Guy Kesteven talks us through his new two-seater trail terrorist. Tailor-made twin There are a few ready-made MTB tandems available for perverted pairs of riders but ‘off the peg’ just wasn’t going to cut it for this project. Having absolutely loved my utterly bombproof, never-missed-a-beat Nicolai Helius AM long-termer, I had no doubt about the ultimate chassis creators either. Nicolai have built a few 26in-wheeled twins (one was used to race World Cup downhills with a blind stoker) and a couple of 29er hardtail tandems, but 650b wheels seemed the obvious choice – smoother rolling for stuff you can’t wheelie over, but still tough enough to take the huge stresses of turning, braking and ploughing though rocks under 150kg of bike and riders. Most tandems have short wheelbases for sharper turning, but that means they’re unstable and tuck-prone on steep descents or in loose corners. Instead, I wanted the maximum grip and stability of full on, 66.5-degree head angle enduro bike geometry. That meant working with Nicolai’s chief designer Moritz to create a unique custom frameset. Details were sorted, drawings signed off, the deposit paid and 10 weeks later – bang on time – the biggest frame box ever arrived. The sculpted head tube, outrageous keel gussets either side of the front bottom bracket, huge roof-tile welds and immaculate machining were stunning to look at, but reality didn’t start to hit until the build-up began. Tandemania The result is nothing short of incredible. A bare frame weight of 6.6kg (14.5lb) has translated into a 19.3kg (42.5lb) complete bike. That’s less than 10kg per rider and even with two kilos of tyre, the carbon wheels mean this beast accelerates and climbs like it’s possessed. Given what a gruesome, grinding mess shifting two often unsynchronised engines can be, the X01 has been incredible too – silk smooth despite a 2m-long gear cable and effortlessly accurate even under serious twin turbo torque. The slack front end and relatively low BBs have created handling that’s far better balanced and more stable than I’d dared hope. Fast and Furious power slides and drifted corners are the default setting for singletrack, and it bunnyhops and drops pretty well too. The massive difference between unsprung (wheels, fork lowers, rear end, brakes) and sprung (front end, cranks, cockpits, riders) weight makes it slack-jaw smooth through seriously rough terrain. In fact, only the danger of sumping out stops this pedalled Panzer in its tracks. It popped its downhill singletrack Strava KOM cherry on its second serious ride, and with brakes burning and shocks bottoming regularly, it’s already the best testing tool and fundoubling freak machine I’ve ever ridden. c THE ESSENTIALS CNC’ED DETAILS Nicolai’s detailing is outstanding. The deep-set head tube logo, drilled gussets, linkages, dropouts, eccentric front BB, chainstay yoke and cable guides are all made in-house RAW POWER Nobody produces monster strength, monster sized welds like Nicolai and a raw, unpainted finish is the best way to properly showcase them. It takes away any worries about paint scratching too Mountain Biking PERFECT PIVOTS Nicolai’s unique custom-machined synthetic bushings run on ceramic coated axles for maximum filth resistance and wobble free lifespan DOWNHILL DAMPER A RockShox Vivid Air DH shock with a monster 70mm stroke provides the control needed to float 150kg of rider and bike down the most radical trails. Twin shock positions deliver 128mm (5in) or 140mm (5.5in) of rear wheel travel SRAMtastic SRAM had been in on the project from the start, but herding two of every wishlist component on to this crazy all-mountain ark wasn’t simple and the last crate of cranks and chainrings arrived the day before this photoshoot. The kitlist is a proper abuse of power though. SRAM’s carbon ROAM 60 wheels are driven by a unique twin X01 drive system and stopped with Avid X9 Trail brakes. Power-assisted control comes from a 750mm Truvativ Jerome Clementz BlackBox bar and AKA stem. Twin RockShox Reverb Stealth posts hold Charge saddles with Hope seat collars, and a RockShox Vivid Air shock and Revelation fork (until a Pike arrives) give 150mm (5.9in) of front and 140mm (5.5in) of rear travel. Shimano pedals and Mavic’s new Crossmax Charge and Roam XL tyres complete the double Helius DNA. ONE BY 11, TIMES TWO Twin SRAM X01 chainrings on an X0 triple spider mean no grinding, chain-destroying front mech changes or special crossover cranksets. The X-Sync chainrings won’t let the chain drop, however rowdy the riding gets BEEFED UP BRAKES The sculpted 142x12mm dropouts are configured for a 180mm rotor directmount brake to give serious stopping power. Replaceable inserts remove any worries about stripping the threads CUTTINGEDGE TECH It says something about how tough SRAM reckon their new ROAM 60 carbon wheels and 11-speed drivetrains are that they didn’t hesitate to include them in their ultimate tandem
