First Look: The Unno Ikki is a Stealth Electric Enduro Bike

Dec 15, 2023
by Seb Stott  
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Unno has revealed its first "SL" eMTB. It's called the Ikki, named after Miellekki Montes, a mountain system on Venus, apparently. It uses TQ's HPR50 motor system, which is claimed to be the lightest and quietest on the market. It's also super compact, allowing Unno to deliver an e-bike that looks almost identical to a regular MTB. The TQ motor is so quiet that it should sound like a mountain bike too. As for the weight, Unno claims 18.5 kg / 40.8 lb for the lightest model in size 2 of 3. That's pretty respectable for a long-travel eMTB, even considering the modest 360 Wh battery.

Aside from the motor, it has a very similar design to the Unno Burn enduro bike and Mith full-power e-MTB, with 160 mm at the rear, a 170 mm fork and mixed wheels.
Unno Ikki Details

• 160 mm travel rear, 170 mm front
• Mullet wheels
• TQ HPR50 motor (50 Nm & 300 W)
• 360 Wh battery (1,830g), 160 Wh range extender sold separately
• Dual crown compatible
• Sizes: S1-3 / 435, 470, 510 mm reach
• Claimed weight: 18.5 kg / 40.8 lb (Factory, Size S2)
• Price: $9,795–$12,295 EX VAT
• unno.com


photo
Unno's in-house designed motor protector
photo
A pair of short links provide very progressive suspension.

Frame Details

A full-carbon frame conceals the internal battery inside a svelt downtube, barely wider than its analog sibling, the Burn. There's an integrated display on the top tube while the charging port is tucked neatly near the base of the downtube. The range extender hangs down below the top tube or a bottle can be mounted above the downtube - not both simultaneously. You can fit a dual-crown fork up front and a 2.6" tire in the rear.

Just like the Burn, the suspension is very progressive, with the leverage ratio between the rear wheel and the shock starting at 3.5:1 and finishing at 2:1. That makes it one of the most progressive bikes out there. But most of this change happens before sag; by 35% travel (the recommended sag percentage), the ratio has dropped to 2.6. The change in leverage from sag to 100% travel determines how much bottom-out resistance the frame provides, but even in this travel range, the ratio drops by 23% which is decidedly on the progressive side. Unno say the sag should be set to 35% (+/-5%) at the shock, which corresponds to more than 35% of the rear wheel travel.

photo

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Geometry

The geometry is identical to the Mith and very similar to the Burn. All three sizes get 450 mm chainstays, 64-degree head tube, 77-degree seat tube and 15 mm BB drop measured from the 27.5" back wheel. That suggests a BB height of around 336 mm, which is pretty low especially if you factor in 35% sag. Like the Burn, seat tubes are long, measuring 440, 460 or 490 mm by frame size.

Maximum seatpost insertion measures 230, 245 & 275 mm, respectively. By my calculations, that means that a 180 mm travel OneUp V2 seatpost (one of the shortest-stack seatposts) would just fit in the S3 down to the collar, while a 150 mm would fit in the S2 and almost fit in the S1. Of course, you could run longer droppers if you don't need to have your seatpost slammed to the collar; if you were to fit a 210 mm OneUp dropper in an S2 frame, you'd need at least 52 mm of seatpost shaft showing above the seat clamp.


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Unno Ikki Race
photo

Specs & price

Two builds are being offered: Race and Factory. Confusingly, both use Fox Factory suspension (Float X2 shock & 38 fork), but the Race makes do with GX AXS Transmission and DT Swiss HX1700 wheelset. Note: the claimed weight of the Race build has been updated to 18.9 kg (41.7 lb).

The Factory build specs XX AXS transmission, DT Swiss 1501 carbon wheels and SRAM Reverb AXS dropper post.

In both cases, dropper posts remain short on travel, ranging from 120 mm to 180 mm. Either way, you get a Deux one-piece carbon cockpit with headset cable routing.

photo
Unno Ikki Factory (range extender sold separately)
photo



Ikki Race:
USA: $9,795 – VAT Excluded
- UK: £10,195 – VAT Included
- EURO: €10,295 – VAT included
Ikki Factory:
- USA: $12,295 – VAT Excluded
- UK: £12,795 – VAT Included
- EURO: €13,095 - VAT included



Posted In:
eMTB Reviews and Tech First Looks Enduro Bikes Unno Unno Ikki


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Member since Dec 29, 2014
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112 Comments
  • 216 1
 I'll be honest, I used to give a bit of an eye roll when I read comments about how terrible headset-routed cables are. Then I got a bike at the beginning of the year with that set-up.
Now, I F****** HATE IT! It's awful. Already destroyed the headset bearings after 10 months because water and mud just go through the big holes at the top. Even just putting forks back in has become a pain in the arse since all the cables have to line up perfectly. Please stop making bikes with this setup and go back to how it was.
  • 37 0
 Congratulations
  • 8 0
 What bike?
  • 8 13
flag vinay FL (Dec 15, 2023 at 3:48) (Below Threshold)
 Route cables and hoses externally and plug the holes in the headset cap. Should work a charm on bikes with headset routing. That said, I do feel your pain if the complete bike came with the cables and hoses routed like that.
  • 3 1
 10 month is good going! My megawatt hs lasted 3!
  • 19 0
 I wondered why my derailleur was shifting so poorly, switched the SLX shifter for XT I had, it got worse. Changed a cable and no change. Now I’m losing my marbles… I opened up the headset on my bike and the shifter housing exploded from being at a 90 degree bend so I had to reroute new housing through the bike. It literally frayed like 3 inches of housing right where it bends to leave the stem. I’ve had the bike for 50kms. I’ll never buy another headset routed frame.
  • 8 1
 When you remove the fork, chase the steer tube down with a section of 1" (I use pvc) pipe. When you're done, chase the pipe up with the steer tube. It'll keep the cables in place.
  • 10 0
 @vinay: even easier: just sell the bike, make fun of every bike with headset routing, and don’t buy any with headset routing.
  • 5 4
 I can’t believe you would ignore all the comments and think it’s fine.
It’s almost like the comments are ubiquitous for a reason, and it’s not for a meme
  • 2 0
 @Ryan2949: i had a hydraulic hose almost worn through because the shop left it too long and it was bent and rubbing. Almost all the way through the housing.
  • 2 0
 @daugherd: When I worked at a shop as a tech selling Scott, I remember the other tech's would leave the cables long as they were too lazy to shorten them, then they would force the cables through, causing them to bend a ton. People did this a lot with dropper housing too. Super annoying when customers came back with frayed or slow droppers.

The bike I bought with headset routing also had the brake hoses cut too long and forced into the headset.

Funny is I didn't realize it was a headset routed bike (Cannondale Moterra Neo Carbon), but I bought it because it was over 50% off. Wasn't an issue until it was...
  • 4 6
 @nickfranko: What comments did I ignore? Should I have cheered with @JohSch and answered @fiatpolski's question? My mere point is, ride the bike the way you like to ride it, not how it is spec'd. If internal routing is essential but headset routing is a no-go then indeed @bigtim is out of luck with this bike. But if merely the headset routing is a pain and the bike is amazing otherwise, external routing could be a solution. Sorry, I offered him a suggestion without taking your fragile mind in consideration.
  • 1 0
 @fiatpolski: his soon-to-be ex-bike going by his (rightful) rant
  • 1 0
 @vinay: I think his remark about ignoring comments was directed at Bigtim
  • 1 0
 Yeah also own a headset integrated bike and I no longer take the fork off for lower oil change because it's so difficult to put back in.
  • 2 4
 you live in the UK. 10 months for a headset is fucking good mate!!!
  • 4 1
 @Mtbdialed: nah, a hope headset lasts me 2-3 years
  • 1 0
 RIP @bigtim 's headset bearings. Cable tourism claims another too soon. Press F to pay respects
  • 1 0
 @rich-2000: bro....a Hope headset lasts me less than a year, and I live in dry ass Colorado. not rusted out, but pitted to f*ck and indexed because its soft af stainless.
  • 3 0
 @Mtbdialed: strange. Maybe you steer too much lol (I’m joking btw)
  • 1 1
 @rich-2000: LOL. more like I just ride too much. perhaps those shiny Hope headsets are just meant for display!??
  • 1 0
 @bigtim

Well, we tried to warn you...
  • 60 4
 I could get 48hrs of health insurance in the US for that price! What a ripoff!
  • 2 2
 That's what you get for not settling for NX. These have at least GX drivetrain components on there. Pretty sure the NX version (and dropping to Fox Performance, talking about priorities) would leave you with a bit of change for a meet and greet with your doctor Smile .
  • 1 3
 $5000 Less than the top spec UNNO and you could have a 2024 Alien Rides Moto X that does 60mph.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE6bvV4eWws&ab_channel=SurRonster
  • 52 4
 Ikki by name, icky by nature. Really can't get on board with that seat tube.
  • 11 2
 I'm fine with the looks, but not the length of the seat tube. Even as far as 10yrs ago seat tubes were shorter than that.
  • 5 2
 @justwan-naride: Yeah, the seattube is silly tall. I think it is a consequence of their choice for an interrupted seattube to allow for this rear suspension design. They still want to claim that they can fit a reasonably long travel dropper seatpost and slam it all the way down hence probably that tall seattube. Which seems like a common but daft kind of decision making as unless they see a reason to have the post all the way lifted to minimum insertion with the dropper extended, they'd be better off with a shorter seattube. Those who use the long travel dropper will still get the full range but at least those who opt for a shorter travel dropper can lower their saddle a good bit deeper to take advantage of that nice and low top tube.
  • 1 2
 came to say this, you beat me to it.
  • 3 0
 It makes no sense. Why have the low slung toptube if your seat tube is to the moon??
  • 1 5
flag vinay FL (Dec 15, 2023 at 7:22) (Below Threshold)
 @iduckett: Chances are it works well with the way the loads from the shock and linkage are introduced into the frame.
  • 1 0
 @justwan-naride: the seat collar is exactly that the height it would be with a conventional top tube! lol.


it's just an optical illiusion
  • 2 1
 @Mtbdialed: 440 seat tube on 435 reach? GTFO Unno! Both my Med Process frames ('16 134 and '22 153) have 405-410mm seat tubes (435-455 reach). That mast is at least 30mm longer than it needs to be.
  • 1 0
 @iduckett: do either of your Kona's have the shock going directly through the line of the seat tube, thereby cutting it off? let answer that for you....no. no they don't.
  • 2 0
 @Mtbdialed: 440mm for a size small is not an optical illusion, it means I would be restricted to using a 130mm travel seatpost at best. On my current bike with a conventional seat tube length of 400mm I'm using a 170mm at 5'4". Anything less than 150mm is not acceptable for a size small in 2023.
  • 2 0
 @Mtbdialed: Yea, I get that it was necessary for the Unno shock placement, but if the seat tube length is that far compromised then it’s a design flaw, IMHO.
  • 2 1
 @iduckett: no, not really. IMO, people take having more dropper to an extreme that ends up being a detriment, or at best a panacia for poor riding technique. Let me explain: there is dropping the saddle out of your way, and then there is dropping the saddle too far as to not be able to manipulate the saddle with the inside of your knees. Take a DH bike, and take the saddle off completely and ride it down something steep, maybe hit a few meter gap jump....I bet it will suck and you will be scared, due to not have the saddle as a rudder in the air and on tech descents. Same happens on an Enduro and trail bike too! I am 6'2", generally ride Large size bikes if they have modern geo, and run a 180mm post and it's gods plenty. 200 would be too much. Yes....too much dropper post is possible.
  • 2 1
 @Mtbdialed: Having the saddle at knee height (or actually, just above that) with the cranks level will give you most room to manipulate the saddle sideways with respect to your hips and feet. For me my knee is about 50cm from the ground (me being about 6ft tall). I think I like to push against my saddle at about 55cm high. I might push with the leg where my pedal is lower than bb height (so pushing a big higher up the leg) but I don't think I ever push with the leg where the pedal is up (where I'd push with my leg below the knee). Hard to tell for sure but I don't think I do. So for me, with a 400mm seattube and the seatpost slammed, that more or less gets my saddle where I want it be. Both not being in the way when shifting the hips for and aft over the bike (in particular when pumping and cornering) yet still giving me something to push against for control.
  • 2 0
 @justwan-naride: have you considered growing and riding an adults bike? Big Grin

I am joking....
  • 3 0
 @Mtbdialed: I've tried everything to no avail, still short.
  • 2 0
 @Mtbdialed: My hightower certainly does and it has a 405mm seat tube so...
  • 1 0
 @Mtbdialed: Yea, for sure the seat is a good reference point. For me, at 5'9", and 32" inseam, the seatpost slammed feels pretty good maneuvering for steeps, whips, etc. On modern rigs w/ steeper seat tube angles you can still feel the wider part of the seat at your knees. Think it just depends on your height. And I think it's more of an issue for shorter riders. Maybe it's a detriment for some going too short, but arguably it's easier to have the option to extend your post out, then to be forced to have it too long to begin with. I personally wouldn't buy a bike like this sight unseen, or without test riding it. Not like I'm buying an Unno anyway, lets be honest.
  • 24 0
 Headset cable routing doesn't even look good. Just makes the headtube and spacer tower look fat as shit.
  • 10 0
 You know that super hot chick that ends up getting plastic surgery and ends up looking like a clown, or the rich people that buy those ridiculous expensive shoes that look like they were meant to walk on the moon. That's what's happening to mountain biking. We're getting f'ing weird! Lets chill out!
  • 7 1
 MTB started weird... all the 'normies' are recent additions. Wink
  • 1 3
 Things move on and change. This is the way of the world. You can still collect vintage bikes from whatever era you think is the best.
  • 9 0
 Wow, e-bikes are really starting to look like normal bikes! However that seat tube mast and cable routing are hideous.
  • 5 0
 I'm genuinely curious who's buying these bikes, and why. The only answer I can come up with is to look/be different? Everything I've read about these bikes mentions how horrid the seatpost is, how miserable the one-piece bar/stem are, and clearly the headset cable routing is a miss. So you've got your cards stacked against you, but you still decide to plop down $10-13k?

Rob Roskopp was praising them a few months ago for taking risks, but they all seem to be risks that are a detriment to the consumer. Something that Santa Cruz has always stood steadfastly against by avoiding things like pressfit and all of the other trends that came and went.
  • 4 0
 They kind of seem like the equivalent to a Maserati. The looks are kinda cool, but goofy from some angles. The performance is OK-ish, but definitely not as good as others in the same price range. Probably depreciates like crazy when you buy one.
  • 17 10
 My god i would buy this in an instant if I was a dentist , really really good looking
  • 21 1
 I just don't get it at all, I think that seat tube by itself looks awful, but hey, each to their own!
  • 21 3
 bike looks amazing! 10/10 would buy!
BUT

cable tourism
dropper insertion
progression
sizing

makes it a -3/10
  • 3 1
 this looks like something a dentist would buy
  • 1 2
 I also think they look really good. Seems to be a love/hate design
  • 2 1
 All I see is a bike that should have been designed by POLE
  • 1 0
 @cro-magnon: I love progressive kinematics, eh
  • 3 2
 @cro-magnon: Not to mention the 360wH battery... in the realm of 900s, this doesn't compute whatsoever at this price range.
  • 2 0
 just noticing now: how does one change the rebound settings? there isn't any space to access the knobs is there? sure changing rebound doesn't happen every ride but its straight up annoying anyway!
  • 1 0
 @cro-magnon: You can't access the knobs. Current Unno line up is the epitomy of form over function.
  • 4 0
 The freaking seattube length... WHY are they still so tall? A short dropper is a hard pass for me, every time. Otherwise, impressively stealth.
  • 4 0
 I normally rip on e-bikes because they look terrible but I have to admit this looks good! It almost looks like a normal bike!!!
  • 10 6
 Wow, in the UK this thing costs literally double what I paid for a Ducati Scrambler.
  • 9 4
 But your Ducati wasn't new at that price was it? No, because a new scrambler is around the same price as this. Wait till you can get one of these 2 years old, it will be about half price (or even less).
  • 11 10
 @inked-up-metalhead: no matter how you frame it, I'm lightyears ahead on value. This monstrosity can get in the sea
  • 10 3
 The Scrambler is equally ugly as well. Ducati makes some beautiful Motos - the Scrambler is not one of them Smile
  • 4 2
 @TommyNunchuck: well it kinda does, a new rolls Royce is quarter of a million quid, but you can get a 50 year old one for 5k. Compare new to new, second hand to second hand, or the entire argument is irrelevant.
  • 4 2
 @inked-up-metalhead: the fact that a new Scrambler and this are anywhere near each other in price show just how stupid the pricing really is.
  • 2 3
 @nickfranko: not really. One size, one spec (other than potential electronic add ons) probably an engine shared between other models, a much larger global market with fewer companies, lower demands, not top of the range, not a boutique brand, basic suspension designs, a motorbike is primitive and limited in comparison to any mountain bike.

youtu.be/BS9ugdl1FZc?si=HUIAntQtfAqpnaRw

This video explains it better than I can.
  • 2 1
 @inked-up-metalhead: I've got to agree, comparing new vs used is absurd, and the quality is apples and oranges. I had a scrambler, it was fun to ride, but definitely the equivalent of an aluminum frame NX build mtb as far as the quality goes. And also, they're completely different things.

It is well established that the economics of motorcycles and bicycles are different and that this comparison is irrelevant.
  • 5 4
 If ebikes are so great how come every bike company is racing as hard as they can to build ebikes that looks like real bikes, and why are consumers attracted to the stealth look? Shouldn't manufacturers and consumers be celebrating and emphasizing that they're ebikes?
  • 1 3
 The best solution is pretty much always meeting in the middle. If only the political system could figure that out...

Real bikes look better, ebikes are more fun to ride (don't waste your keystrokes disputing this, nobody who has ridden one disagrees)... a middle ground that looks and feels like a real bike but is more fun to ride sounds pretty great to me.

I am NOT saying this is that bike. Haven't ridden any kind of Unno before, can't comment on them at all.
  • 1 0
 @seb-stott question for you that I probably should know the answer to.... When the PB editors list their personal weight are you listing that fully kitted out (shoes, pads, carried tool and snacks) or an at home casual step on the scale round about number?
Thanks much
  • 1 0
 Wow that headset routing is so close that they could have just gone a little further around and gone in the side of the top tube and down to the downtube. It would have given roughly the same aesthetic, but avoided the faff of going through the headset. Still way too much cable bending in reality though. Just forget the whole stupid headset routing thing... please.
  • 2 0
 If the top tube flattened out and terminated 3 inches higher on the seat tube and the seat tube was 3" shorter, I think it wouldn't be such an eye catcher/sore.
  • 5 0
 Its definitely Ikki
  • 1 0
 What is this new craze with headset cable routing?!!!
Who thought this is useful or pretty? Please make it stop!
This is worse than press fit BBs
Talk about form over function...
  • 2 0
 I'm personally not interested in e-bikes, but serious question to those who are:

Why would anyone at this point buy an e-bike that doesn't have a Pinion MGU drivetrain?
  • 1 3
 Sram transmission solves the same problem and works very very well, to the point that I definitely wouldn't limit my frame selection so severely to insist on a pinion.
  • 2 0
 @venturavin: not even close. Explain how all that unsprung weight sitting way out back solves the problem.
  • 2 3
 @ultimatist: You read PB more than you ride bikes if you worry about, or even use the term, "unsprung weight". I was referring to the problem of premature wear, gear skipping, and broken chains that plagues ebikes running drivetrains built for regular human power. MGU is rad and I would love a bike with it, never said otherwise, but Sram transmission at least makes an ebike drivetrain reliable enough to go have fun and not worry about your shifting which is really all that matters.
  • 1 1
 @venturavin: how do you know so much about how others spend their time, creepy boy? OP may have been referencing a myriad of other benefits that Pinion MGU provides, not just the improved shifting under load you rashly assumed.
  • 1 1
 @ultimatist: huh? I specified right in my comment how I know how you spend your time. And there’s not much rash assuming involved we all know the benefits of gearboxes. Sorry for triggering the gearbox fanboys.
  • 1 1
 @ultimatist: also for the record I love gear boxes, been rooting for them for decades. It’s just the PB pitchfork mentality behind marketing campaigns I can’t stand.
  • 3 1
 It is so infuriating that bikes are cheaper in the US than in the EU despite the company from the EU
  • 4 0
 Apples to pears. Compare prices without VAT in both continents. Cheaper in Europe.
  • 1 1
 please bike industry bring back this crazy frame design like the 90's, now with ebikes we don't need to be stuck with the same suspension/pedal efficiency that brought us were we were before ebikes.
  • 1 0
 Mmh maybe they could have designed their on extender, do it in a triangular shape and fix it in that super low standover area. The saddle won't ever get close to it anyway.
  • 1 0
 yeah it's ironic that you need water more when you're doing an extended ride. They could also just put a couple bosses under the down tube
  • 1 0
 Shame, Unno's used to be the epitome of sexy but that mast has really changed it for the worse.
  • 2 0
 replicants...they are amongst us....
  • 2 0
 $12,295 EX VAT + 21% = $ 14 876
  • 1 1
 the US do not have as high sale taxes are europe.
Some state actually have 0% state sale taxes.
  • 2 0
 finally a bike event dentist cant afford
  • 2 1
 the bike is really ugly imho but I am impressed by the integration, it looks like a non-electric mtb well done
  • 1 0
 How the hell do the designers think that one can make a good setup of the rear suspension, there is no room at all.
  • 3 2
 What is that ugly ass thing dangling off by the rear wheel?

Oh right, I'll keep waiting for a Pinion MGU equipped bike.
  • 1 0
 I would buy the bike is seat tube for 470 reach to be around 430mm or under. Plus insertion for this bike sucks
  • 2 1
 It would look better with pegs and a throttle
  • 1 0
 Stealth until you throw your back out trying to pick it up.
  • 1 0
 Reckon “Ikki” is a proper name here.
  • 1 0
 They need to fire the guy that designed the seat tube on all their bikes.
  • 2 0
 Icky is correct
  • 1 0
 Such a badly designed bike
  • 1 0
 Cheaters on the way to your local enduro race on this thing
  • 1 0
 looks a bit loke a Spesh, tbh
  • 1 0
 Headset cable routing? Ikki!
  • 1 1
 Please bring back the good looking bikes like the Unno Ever etc
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