Eurobike 13 – NS Bikes
Polish brand NS have a product range that expands year on year, and for 2014 they go all the way with the release of their first downhill frame. You may have seen prototype versions of the bike, but we got our hands on the finished product.
Built around a Horst link design, the Fuzz will come as a frame only option as well as 2 complete builds, the Fuzz 1 & Fuzz 2. We took a look at the Fuzz 1 with it’s signature NS black/yellow/green paintjob. The frames will come in 3 sizes, all using the same rear end, with chainstays adjustable between 420 & 438mm, but with 3 different top tube lengths, all coming in with a slack 63.5 degree head angle.
The rear end uses a 12mm bolt through with 157mm axle, with a 83mm bottom bracket shell. The frames feature optional internal cable routing, but for those not wanting the hassle there are removable cable mounts on the outside too.
The frame only option will come with an adjustable headset giving more head angle options, the complete bikes coming with a standard headset. The top end Fuzz 1 will feature Boxxer forks, Avid Code brakes & Sram X7 gearing, while the cheaper Fuzz 2 gets lower grade Sram componentry & Domain forks.
Some other sweet details on the frame are the flush right hand dropout, giving a clean look to the back end of the bike, as well as a tidy integrated seatclamp. All the bearing points on the frame will feature 2 cartridge bearings rather than a standalone bearing as used by most manufacturers, prolonging the life but most likely costing you a lot more if you do ever need to replace them.
NS also had a prototype enduro bike on their stand, it’s in the early stages of development & far from finished, but it looks very promising. Constructed from tubing custom made for NS (they stress that they never use hydroforming), and running 160mm travel, this bike will be designed to take either 26″ or 275 wheels as it comes with replaceable dropouts.
The linkage parts have been machined to save as much weight as possible, and again it features optional internal cable/house routing. We have no news on when this will be available, but it looks like NS have stepped their game up from the days when they were purely a dirt jump company & are keen to make their mark in all divisions of the MTB market.
On board both of the bikes we looked at were the updated ‘Evidence’ bars from NS. Available now in a ‘Plus’ & ‘Lite’ edition, the Plus is a 800mm downhill bar with a 47mm rise & weight of 320g.
The Lite model weighs in at 295g & are aimed at the enduro market, in a 762mm width & available in the full range of 2014 NS colours, including a couple of great looking anodised finishes.