[mandown]

Die Deutschmaschine

over two years ago, i was looking for a new frame. i was tired of my balfa bb7 being such a pig, and i wanted something that would be more of an all-around rig. i didn't want anything too long or too high. i wanted a short seat tube for tons of standover. and i wanted something that would pedal up if i needed it to. i had always been a fan of Nicolai aesthetics, and i looked at the UFO and the UFO ST (Xy9ine was selling his UFO back then). however, the pricing was tough to agree with for a new Nicolai. i stumbled across the Bottlerocket as transition was getting ready to release it to the masses and i determined that was the bike i wanted.

flashing forward a couple of years, i loved the Bottlerocket and was completely happy with it. then one day while surfing the web, i stumbled back across the UFO ST again. i noticed the geometry was almost identical to the Bottlerocket. it got me thinking about it. then fate kicked me in the butt by guiding me to a guy selling his. the bike was in amazing shape and the price was right, so i put down the benjamins and never looked back.

the Bottlerocket was a good way to get off the ground, but the UFO took me through the stratosphere and right outta this world. i got this beast built up and hit a few shuttle runs with it on saturday. i was blown away.

the geometry was almost identical to the Bottlerocket, but the UFO adds 2.5" of travel, for a total of 8" of bump eating madness. the bike felt instantly comfortable and the only adjustment i needed to make was to the seat height (the extra travel means the tire can buzz the saddle).

i noticed frame stiffness for the first time. i had never noticed how different bikes had different stiffness. this thing was so stiff that it could not be ignored. it let me dig into corners like a mad man (by my standards). the extra travel in the rear let the bike settle deeper in corners, then boost out of them from the shock rebound. it felt so sick compared to anything else i had ever been on that i don't know why i didn't do this sooner.

the only current planned changes are to the pedals (my atomlab C-clip came off and the pedal body shot off the spindle - nice for a set of month-old pedals; i thought they fixed that problem?). i also just got a set of new brakes for the beast; Magura Carbon Louise BAT with 203 rotors front and rear.

 

[bullcrew]

Nice bike I hear they arer faster looking in person!
Hey I heard of those pedals having issues!
Good ride sat and the bike looks sweet!

 

[Zark]

looks nice Adam! enjoy.

 

[FCLinder]

Nice man!!! Enjoy it.....

 

[brake_and_bleed]

love german heavy metal...
looks like its already dusty thats the way!

i miss my lambda soo much!

 

[sethimus]

bad german spelling ("die deutsche Maschine" but nobody would talk like that)
bad color taste
failed

 

[w00dy]

You kinky Mofo.

 

[mandown]

perfect german spelling - it is a lyric from great song by And One -

color isn't my favorite, but i got it for an amazing price and $150 will powdercoat it any color i want.

mandown = FTW!

 

[gonefirefightin]

sehr gut!!!!! das ist scholn

 

[giantrider89]

^^^ no L in schon......unless u were trying to say something different....

 

[mandown]

let's keep the schadenfreude to a minimum here.

 

[mandown]

^ - no, i got it cheap enough that i can afford $150 to powder coat it any color i want.

 

[bullcrew]

He got it STUPID CHEAP! I want the sellors name so I can mail him a "punch in the forehead!

 

[freakrock]

Congratulations man, your bike looks awesome! have fun with it.

PS: die deutschmaschine lebt!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mandown]

ich werde. after all the bike just begs - bestrafe mich

 

[Gelbwurstbrot]

nice bike
Further you need a Syntace bar and stem
and a Rohloff speedhub
Spank make nice rims. Have a look at the Subrosa

 

[mandown]

no speeeeedhubz plzthx.
spankrims - yesplzthxokbai

 

[boone]

HAHAHAH , there it is
Way to go mandown. I was lookin forward to this all weekend
Glad you are happy.
The stiffness of that frame is CRAZY. I just cannot believe it every time I get on mine. The other thing I notice about this thing, when you let off the brakes in the rocks or bumps it just feels like it wants to go faster and faster. I will be sad to let mines go!

Love the report and keep the pics coming bro. Congrats!

 

[TGR]

boxxer ride?

sweet bike though...

 

[mandown]

^yup, but with team lowers. i likes

boone - glad it came through. the frame handles sickhouse. i'm coming up for a visit so we can look like twins

 

[CBJ]

Sweet frame and angles looks spot on.

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

what is it?

 

[mandown]

2007 Nicolai UFOST
LInk

 

[boone]

Angles are spot on is an understatement
This thing feels sooooo goood!!

Twins it is...though yours is dressed in much bigger clothes than mine will be.

 

[ZHendo]

very nice looking bike, the craftsmanship is great. it's a bummer they're so pricy though, but i guess that also helps make them so desirable.

 

[ultraNoob]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Nicolai!
"The Mercedes-Benz of Bicycles"

 

[Luckybikes]

Awesome looking bike man love the color acctually.

 

[Ian Collins]

never could understand how nicolai can take a single pivot bike and turn it into an overcomplicated franken bike

 

[CBJ]

Ian its Germany that is just one of the things they do. More engineering and less design.

 

[TGR]

well it's not like it has serious drawbacks, after all it's still a single-pivot bike, the fact that you can adjust the shock in many different positions is nice

 

[Bullit21]

Nice work Adam. Now you are going to kick my ass even faster than usual. I owe you a phone call to get the details. Did you ride it with Jay this weekend?

 

[mandown]

well it's not like it has serious drawbacks, after all it's still a single-pivot bike, the fact that you can adjust the shock in many different positions is nice

don't vorget the the ability to mount the derial hanger in 15 different locations.

 

[boone]

never could understand how nicolai can take a single pivot bike and turn it into an overcomplicated franken bike

How in the world is this single pivot overly complicated?
A couple holes for travel adjust and a few for geo adjust. Looks about perfect to me.

And the price of these particular frames is a LOOOOOT less than you would think.

 

[banrider]

how does it perform as a DH rig?? Im considering either a Ufo St or a Transition Blindside ( I already own a Bottlerocket..) to replace my fatty Banshee Scream...

 

[mandown]

it feels awesome as a dh bike. if you like the BR, it feels almost the same, but with more travel. i'm guessing the Blindside might feel similar (both designed by transition), but it has a noticeably longer wheelbase and slacker head angle. if your DH riding is smoother and more turn oriented, then the UFO is where it is at. if you are on more wide-open and/or rockgarden, the longer wheelbase of the blindside might be the better option.

 

[banrider]

cheers for the info...I guess it's going to be a tough decision between the Blindside and the Ufo St... btw, how much does it weigh?? and....do you miss your old Bottlerocket???:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

it feels awesome as a dh bike. if you like the BR, it feels almost the same, but with more travel. i'm guessing the Blindside might feel similar (both designed by transition), but it has a noticeably longer wheelbase and slacker head angle. if your DH riding is smoother and more turn oriented, then the UFO is where it is at. if you are on more wide-open and/or rockgarden, the longer wheelbase of the blindside might be the better option.

 

[mandown]

I don't miss the Bottlerocket yet. I have only put one ride on the UFO though. I think I may end up paying a pedaling penalty for the UFO on climbs, but I haven't had that issue yet. Not that the bottlerocket was a climber, but it wasn't bad for what it was.

The UFO is coming in at about 42lbs. The BR was close to that too. I did a part swap off the BR with the only changes to the UFO = heavier rear tube and wheel combo, a heavier headset, and the UFO also runs a bigger shock for more mass. Nicolai's site says 11.4 lbs for the frame/shock combo. Transition claims the BR is 8.1 without shock, so add 796grams (per sicklines) for a DHX rear and you get 9.9 lbs claimed for a BR. I'm not sure about that extra 1.5 lbs. It seems doubtful based on my build.

 

[mandown]

update:

i did my 2nd day of riding on the new UFO ST. the only change - i got a set of Magura Lousie Carbon BAT brakes. the first ride i did on it was in a place that i am not that familiar with. this second ride was on a trail that i've ridden to death. i was stunned at how much faster i hit this go-to trail. i rode much more aggresively and didn't feel out of control at any point (granted, there was fresh rain, so the trail was tackier than usual).

the UFO is so fast and so quiet, i'm shocked that i've ever ridden anything else. it rolls along and makes no noise on the trail, which is a welcome change. the handling is fully predictable. the biggest issues i had were with flat tires (not the bike's fault) and trying to get around tight switchbacks. on my bottlerocket, i could tap the front brake and bring the back end up to swing around the corner. this technique didn't work as well with the extra suspension in the rear. the extra sag meant i couldn't find the sweet spot for getting the rear wheel up as easily. by the end of the ride i had become a bit more comfortable on the tight turns, but i still have a way to go.

shockingly, the bike pedals well for climbs. there are three long pedal sections on this trail and i was able to get through them just fine. i'm not saying this is some XC hill climbing machine, but it did go up like a champ considering the build and design of the rig.

as noted by someone else earlier, in the rough stuff this thing accelerates when you let off the brakes. i was amazed at how well it handled the rough. in one section i had picked up more speed than i had realized. as i approached a small rock drop that leads into a left hand turn with an exposed right side edge, i realized that i was way to hot to make the corner and stay on the hill. it didn't "feel" like i was going that fast, but i sure was. one quick brake-check later, everything was ok.

i can't say enough good stuff about this bike. this is my all-time favorite rig.