Czech steel mountain bike builder Zoceli has a new short-travel trail bike – the Narum. Built with a rigid one-piece back end the new Zoceli Narum pairs 135mm of rear wheel travel to a 140-160mm fork to create a playful ride for every type of trail riding from swoopy singletrack to all-mountain shredding.
Plus, take a closer look at their best-selling handmade Naosm enduro frame and the long-travel Dobordelu freeride bike with its main pivot concentric with the bottom bracket… terminal lugs ring type
We’ve been watching the progression of Zoceli’s full-suspension steel mountain bikes for a few years, all designed and handcrafted in the Czech Republic. They also have some fun names, for those who dig into the Czech language. The brand itself “z oceli” means simply the bikes made ‘of steel‘. And now the new trail bike “na rum” means ‘for rum‘. Like, let’s go for a ride to get a shot. Drink and ride responsibly, of course. But just another reminder not to take riding bikes too seriously.
The new Narum is another new short-link 4-bar suspension design, this time with a vertical linkage-driven shock. Designed to be a progressive, poppy trail bike, the Zoceli Narum can be setup with either 135mm or 125mm of rear travel (with a 185 x 55mm or 50mm stroke Trunnion shock).
Zoceli framebuilder Martin Saida designed the Narum and its geometry around a 140mm fork. But you can also build it with up to 160mm forks if you are looking for something slacker.
Besides their 26″ slopestyle bike, the Narum is Zoceli’s shortest travel mountain bike. It’s definitely designed to be more of an everyday trail bike vs. their bigger bikes that are more suited to bikeparks or full-on gravity racing. That said, the Narum still provides a stiff ‘steel is real’ platform ready for abuse, and gets slack geometry that’s capable of handling steep technical terrain.
The Zoceli Narum frame is handbuilt in Brno, Czechia in the heart of Europe from a mix of chromoly and Columbus steel tubing. Its 3-piece rocker & 1-piece lower links are machined from 6060 alloy, and all threaded pivot hardware are CNC-machined from 7075 aluminum. All threaded pivot hardware is replaceable. Links rotate on standard-sized sealed bearings and stainless steel hardware. Frameset weight without shock is claimed at 3.7kg.
The Narum features a UDH universal derailleur hanger, machined headtube for a zero stack tapered headset, a BSA threaded bottom bracket, Boost spacing, post mount 180mm rear brake, clearance for up to a 36T chainring, and a max 2.5″ rear tire.
And of course, gussets all around for plenty of strength with classic thin steel tube aesthetics.
The frame features internal cable routing with fully-enclosed guides, including for a 30.9mm dropper seatpost. It requires a 34.9mm seatpost clamp.
It comes in 4 stocks sizes (M-XXL) all with a slack 65° head angle and steep 80° seat angle. Three geometry options are offered based on the same 140mm front travel and either 135mm or 125mm out back. Zoceli varies BB drop & frame stack to maintain the same BB height with either 27.5″, 29″, or a mullet combination of wheel diameters.
Build it up however you please! Read on for pricing and availability.
Jumping back over to the Naosm is Zoceli’s most popular bike currently – a steel enduro bike frame with 150mm or 160mm of rear wheel travel. Saida designed it around 160mm of front wheel travel. But you can also go up or down with 150-170mm forks.
The enduro bike is just a half a degree slacker up front than the new trail bike, and actually has shorter frame reach and slacker seat angle putting rider weight a bit further back to go down steeper tracks.
Suspension-wise, the Naosm also gets a short-link 4-bar suspension design. But here those links rotate in opposite directions from each other. And the horizontal shock is driven by the lower link, which also happens to rotate on double-row bearings.
The Naosm is also welded in-house from chromoly tubes, a folded plate cage, and Columbus tubing. That box around the pierced lower seattube also houses a stainless bottle opener for post-ride adult beverages.
The Dobordelu freeride bike is both bigger and a bit more complex. It gets 175mm or 180mm of rear wheel travel from another short-link 4-bar design, paired to 180-200mm forks. But this time, the lower main pivot is concentric around the threaded bottom bracket. That’s said to help keep chainstays short and chain growth to a minimum on this big freeride shredder.
Integrated around the Dobordelu’s lower link, Zoceli has developed a built-in chainguide with a Sag-o-meter to help dial in suspension setup. Plus, a mini rear shock fender.
Again you get Crmo and Columbus front & rear triangles, connected with 6060 aluminum links, and replaceable stainless & 7075 pivot hardware. This time with a slack 64° head angle and the same Reach as the enduro bike.
Zoceli sells their bikes exclusively as frame-only – with just a SRAM UDH and a DT Swiss rear axle. So, we don’t often see complete bikes. These two are just a couple of builder Saida’s own bikes to get an idea of what these steel shredders look like with wheels on ’em. Everything from the shock to the tires is up to you.
The new Zoceli Narum sells for 2600€ for the frameset. On the other hand, the Naosm & Dobordelu are a bit more expensive at 2880€ & 2980€, respectively.
Each Zoceli frame is made to order in 4 stocks sizes (M-XXL). Then, you get to pick from 27.5, 29″, or mullet wheels geo. As a result, it also means you get to pick your paint color. Zoceli includes any RAL powder coat color in the standard price. Clear powder coating adds 85€ extra to see the raw steel tube colors underneath, and 220€ chrome plating can give your new frame a mirror finish. Custom wet paint is possible, too.
Frame orders require a 50% deposit up front, with delivery lead times between 2-3 months. Although, a limited number of pre-built frames are sometimes ready to ship right away. Like that size L orange Dobordelu that you can buy now.
Cory Benson is the EU Tech Editor of Bikerumor.com.
Cory has been writing about mountain bikes, enduro, cyclocross, all-road, gravel bikes & bikepacking for over 25 years, even before the industry created some of these names. Prior to Bikerumor, Cory was a practicing Architect specializing in environmental sustainability, has designed bike shops & bike components, and worked as a bike shop mechanic.
Based in the Czech Republic for 15+ years, he is a technical mountain biker, adventurous gravel rider, and short & medium-haul bikepacker. Cory travels extensively across Europe riding bikes, meeting with key European product developers, industry experts & tastemakers for an in-depth review of what’s new, and what’s coming next.
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