Nakita Blaze C 27.5'' 2016

This is my first review written in English and I hope it's not the last one because it's a custom review for a patreon supporter... The Nakita Blaze C 27.5'' 2016 is an old model from a very small European brand and is not going to be very interesting for many of you, but I hope it's really helpful for the owner of the bike. This model has a lot of problems, but at the same time there are many ways to improve it and make it work a bit better.

As you can see in the first table and in the last graphs the system of the Nakita Blaze has a very poor Pedalling Performance. Anti-squat levels went through the floor and they can't reach 100% even on the lowest possible gears (22T-36T). Using a 1x11 or a 1x12 drivetrain is not a good idea, 2x10 is not too bad, but the best option is going to be a 3x10 (22T-30T-40T). Even then the system is going to need a little bit of help from the damper of the shock, so getting a shock with a handlebar remote could be a really good option. Pedal-kickback (16º) is very low (the lower, the better...), as you can expect from this type of system. Anti-rise (94%) on the other hand is pretty bad, but that's going to be the smallest problem with this bike.

In the Leverage Ratio graph we can see how this system is highly regressive (2.0~2.8). Some people say I'm always complaining about bikes being too linear or slightly regressive, but this time everyone is going to agree about the LR being way too regressive. In the pictures you can see how the bike is using a Fox Float (190mmx51mm) with a small volume air chamber, and that's the way to go, but if you buy a new shock and use an EVOL air sleeve full of spacers, the results are even better. With a very progressive shock this bike can work as a Trailbike, but it's not the best candidate for a bigger fork, the rear travel is a bit lower than advertised and I think it's better to stay with a 130mm-140mm fork, anything more than that and the bike will feel unbalanced.

Best regards,
Tony.