RICHMOND, Calif. (BRAIN) — Cycle Monkey on Monday announced a new partnership with Nicolai Bicycles to bring the German mountain bike brand’s line of handmade custom and standard-size aluminum framesets to the U.S. market — selling consumer direct and also offering sales to interested dealers.
Based in the Bay Area, Cycle Monkey will initially offer 20 frames and frame/drivetrain combinations featuring Pinion gearboxes and Gates Carbon Drive belt systems, as well as one complete bike: the E-14 long-travel e-MTB featuring a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 14-speed internal gear hub paired with Rohloff’s new E-14 electronic shifting system and Gates’ Carbon Drive belt system.
Cycle Monkey has been the U.S. service center for Rohloff since 2009 and is the brand’s predominant U.S. distributor for bike shops and consumers, Cycle Monkey owner Neil Flock said. (QBP and BTI also distribute Rohloff.) Flock also distributes the Pinion-equipped Taniwha enduro bike from New Zealand brand Zerode as well as bikes from Germany’s Tout Terrain, which also works with Pinion.
“We’re essentially the go-to for Rohloff in the U.S., and by extension we are the high-end internal drivetrain resource in the country. We started doing stuff with Pinion as well with Zerode, and Tout Terrain does a Pinion option on most of their models,” Flock said.
“Gates is operating Pinion’s official North American service center, but we have really close ties with Gates as well. Gates is really set up only to sell large volumes to OEs, and we help them with smaller-volume stuff for belts and now gearboxes. Our main interest in Nicolai is in the bikes with the Gates belt and Pinion setup,” he added.
At least initially, Cycle Monkey will not be warehousing Nicolai product. Instead, it will serve as Nicolai’s U.S. point of import and will perform assembly in-house.
“We are planning to essentially be a U.S. sales outfit. There are too many products and variations for us to inventory things,” Flock said. “So our intention is to get up to speed on the tech specs, pricing and configurations. Everything is built to order, so basically the entire range will be available, but we will be the in-country contact point.”
Nicolai offers a 12-week lead time on orders worldwide, and Flock said Cycle Monkey should be able to deliver to consumers and dealers in 13 to 14 weeks. He expects the overwhelming majority of his Nicolai sales to go the D2C route.
“We will work with any dealers who are interested, but it has been a long uphill battle so far with Zerode and Tout Terrain trying to find dealers connected with the idea of internal shifting in a package that’s at the higher end of the price spectrum that they work with,” Flock said.
Cycle Monkey’s Nicolai offering will include the Saturn/Ion full-suspension line, with 105 to 190 millimeters of travel and 27.5-inch and 29er wheel options, and the Argon hardtail line, with cyclocross, touring, XC, trail and fat bike options in 700c, 26-inch fat, 27.5-inch standard and 29er wheel sizes.
All Nicolai frames are handmade and built to order in Lübbrechtsen, Germany, allowing customers to determine the color of each frame part, exact sizing and preferred geometry. Cycle Monkey will offer two levels of paint in a range of colors (powder/raw or anodized), custom or standard sizing, and a choice of RockShox, Fox or Cane Creek suspension for full-suspension models. Consumers opting for Pinion- and Gates Carbon Drive-equipped models will be able to choose from Pinion’s range of 9- and 12-speed offerings.
For more information, visit Cycle Monkey’s website.
