Nox Epium: Trendy, lightweight e-mountain bike made in EU

Lightweight e-mountain bikes are trendy. A lot is happening in the lightweight E-MTB segment, especially with the new Fazua motor. The new Nox Epium is no exception. Nevertheless, it is independent in many respects. For example, it is "Made in EU".

It doesn't matter where products come from, as the last few years have clearly shown us. Therefore, the first unique selling point I would like to address is the origin of the Nox Epium. The frame is manufactured in Portugal, painted in Germany and design, development and assembly take place in Austria. A big thumbs up for that!

Sure, of course you use the tried and tested parts for the components and they are not all produced "regionally". But you know what you can expect in terms of performance. But before we get into the individual models and the details of the equipment, let's examine the concept behind the bike.

Nox Epium – the concept

Lightweight E-MTBs are trendy. Nox also positions the epium there. Nox goes to great lengths and promises about the bike: "As a symbiosis between e-bike and bio-bike, the EPIUM catapults you into other spheres. You'll get the power to ride higher and farther while maintaining the natural ride feel we all love. It allows you to experience more than ever before - both on extended adventure tours and for adrenaline-charged bike park rides. Our full suspension segment has reached a new peak. Nox Epium - Light, quiet, powerful and progressive. Be ready for an E-MTB experience that goes beyond body and mind – designed and produced in Europe.”

In general, you can not only decide between different finishes, equipment and sizes. There is the new Nox as the Epium 5, an All Mountain with 160/150 millimeters of travel and the Epium 7 with 180/180 millimeters, an Enduro.

The heart of every mountain bike is the frame. Ample suspension travel at the front and rear ensures riding comfort and good downhill performance. According to the manufacturer, the full carbon monocoque frame, which weighs 2,7 kg, comes with its own frame geometry, which should be balanced and suitable for many types of riders. According to Nox, special emphasis was also placed on flexibility. They say the geometry of your bike can be perfectly adapted to your needs using the flex linkage system.

The second core element of an eMTB is the motor. With the Epium, this is the brand new Fazua Ride 60 with 60 Nm of torque and 420 Wh of battery power. And it is also Made in Germany.

Nox Epium—All Mountain

All Mountain stands for all-round suitability and we will go into more detail about this model. If you are interested in the Enduro variant, you will find the link to Gravity Magazine below.

All Mountain, the "whole mountain" or "every mountain" wants to be conquered up and down. This requires a balanced geometry. The steering angle is modern and slack, the seat angle rather steep, as you would expect. The geometry is unique due to the rather long rear triangle with 469 millimeters and rather compact top tube lengths. Nox does not follow the "longer+flatter" hype. Presumably, at Nox they don't just want to serve the "full throttle downhill fraction" but rather build a bike that as many types of riders as possible can handle. A very good approach for an All Mountain. Due to the slightly longer tail, we assume good climbing properties and smooth running without having ridden it.

Geometry makes an important part of function, but chassis and components also matter. Nox does not experiment with the chassis. With a stroke of 150 millimeters at the rear and 160 millimeters at the front, you are well advised in almost every situation. The cheapest model uses a Marzocchi chassis, the two higher-quality models rely on Fox forks and struts. The wheels come from DT Swiss, gears and brakes from Shimano. So in every point of packages because you should be able to trust in reliability and good function. This continues: the telescopic supports come from Fox, the cockpit from Race Face. The tires are based on the new Continental Argotal, which we do not know from practice.

Nox Epium – details and price

The battery is also worth mentioning, it has 420 watt hours and is removable. The cover is held with a Fidlock closure. In addition to the voluntary manufacturer's guarantee, there is also a crash replacement option, which is very welcome if the worst comes to the worst. Tires up to 27,5 inches fit in the rear triangle, which accepts 29″ and 2.8″ wheels via a flip-chip dropout. In series, however, the all-mountain always uses 29 inches. Using a so-called “flex lincage”, these are two possible mounting positions for the shock absorber, you can choose between a more sporty and a more comfortable rear end set-up.

The three model variants cost €8.599, €9.199 and €10.899. The top model comes exclusively in the color Moon, the other two are available in the colors Jupiter or Mars.