- So this is my 2018 Nukeproof Mega Pro bike check.
(energetic electronic music)
So for 2018, Nukeproof have revamped their whole range
with new geometry, and in some cases,
new frame materials.
So there's a carbon fibre model of the Mega
available in the 27-5 wheel, but actually
I wanted the 29-inch wheel bike,
like a lot of people have wondered why I wanted
the alloy bike, but it's purely because I wanted
to ride the bigger wheels.
So this is an XL, and this is one of the biggest XLs
you can buy as a stock bike.
In the past there's been some really other long bikes
in the market, like Mondraker for example,
and the new Scott bike, but this is even longer.
This has got 5-15 reach on it,
so that's one of the longest available on a size XL bike,
hence why I'm running it with a nice short stem.
It's got a roughly 6,7,8mm top tube, so again,
nice and roomy, there's a lot of room on this bike.
450mm chainstays, so it's a very neutral riding position
between the two wheels there.
Like last year's model, the cable routing runs on top
of the down tube, it's really neat and easy to operate.
And there is just the slightest little hole
in the bottom of the seat tube here
just to pop up the internal cable routing
for the dropper post.
Out back is very slightly different.
You've got a wider main pivot now,
so it's one by a specific, you can't really run this
with a front mech on there, but why you would
on a bike like this, I don't know.
It's got the boost spacing, so that's 12 x 148 out back.
It does make it slightly stiffer, but more importantly
it gives you better clearance,
it gives you a better chain line.
The seat angle is a fairly climbing-friendly 75.5,
so it keeps your weight pretty neutral on the bike.
But you pair that with the long chainstays,
you've got immense traction, and the front wheel
never wants to wander or climb,
so that's a really good thing.
Up front you've got 66-degree head angle,
which to some, might not sound the slackest,
but actually flattens the bike really well.
It's based around a 160mm travel fork.
I don't think it needs any more than that,
but I noticed some people writing stuff
like the Megavalanche, might want to just up it
to 170 for an event like that.
Out back, it's got the new Rockshox Super Deluxe Shock,
so this is a 210 x 55mm shock.
It's got the newest little bearing mount in the back,
so the action on this is just incredibly supple.
It's completely changed the way
I've had to set up from my previous one.
On the old bike, I was running six bands on the rear shock.
On this one, I'm actually running
three of the spacers on the inside,
and it's quite a significant difference in feel.
Obviously the rebound is a lot easier to adjust on this now.
It's already got this sort of clicker dial.
It's obviously got the compression switch here,
so you go high, medium, and low.
I'm gonna quite often use that medium setting when climbing,
just to keep the bottom bracket raised up a bit
so I don't clap my feet all the time.
Up to the cockpit of the bike.
I'm running a 35mm Nukeproof stem on here.
It actually comes with a 50mm standard,
but I've got a bit of a weird body shape,
I've got long legs and really long arms,
but my upper body is quite short.
I found the 50 just a little bit too long for me,
so I swapped that out for a 35.
I'm running two 10mm spacers under it.
It's quite high, but I really like a high front end.
I'm running a 38mm rise bar, full 800mm width.
As a rule my bike's set up, so
I run my brake levers pretty high,
certainly in comparison to Blake.
You know he likes his down and out of the way
for bar springs and stuff.
I prefer mine quite up, it's a bit more
of a motors, or feeling, position.
Also, I'm running the Crank Brothers Highline Dropper Post,
and I really like having
the little color-coordinated grip tape on there.
Obviously it looks quite nice.
Blake likes his one to not stand out and runs a black one,
but I like mine to stand out, it looks pretty trick.
Also, it's a good visual reference
when you're actually just going for it.
Interestingly, I do chop and change with my handlebar grip,
so they're the Ergon GD1s, and they offer them
in slim and thick profiles.
Pretty much all the time I'll run the thin profiles,
but if I'm riding a bike park,
in particular somewhere Alpine or Whistler,
I'll opt for the thicker grip
just to have a bit more hand padding.
They're both excellent grips, but you do have
to play around with them to get your sort of sweet spot.
The wheels are the stock items that came with the Nukeproof,
but I have set the tyres up tubeless,
and the tyres are Continental Der Barons.
Although they're not a dry-weather specific tyre,
they do hook up pretty well in the loose conditions
out here in Spain, but they work especially well
back home on the local trails,
which is just horrible clay, to be honest.
I'm running about 29 lbs in the rear,
about 25 in the front, but do go as low as 26 and 21,
depending on how poor the conditions are I'm riding in.
Seatwise, it's an Ergon SME3.
This is the shortest of the range,
compared to some of the other seats I ride.
Keeps it nice and out of the way on the bike.
It's got a nice, flat nose.
Some people have questioned why I run it slightly nose down.
I kinda treat this bike as a winch to get back up the hill,
and it helps me sit
in a really comfortable position, basically.
When it's down and out of the way for descending,
obviously it doesn't matter too much.
The post itself is a Crank Brothers Highline,
and it's a 160mm drop.
Transmission wise, it's a 12-speed Sram Eagle GX setup,
and it's running the monstrously big
500% gear range cassette on the back here.
It's just astonishing for climbing, to be honest.
Up front, I'm running a 32-tooth chain ring.
I haven't had the opportunity to change it.
Yeah, I would prefer to be running a 34
for conditions like this,
but back home you really do need that lower gearing
when you're riding in partly sloppy conditions.
There's an MRP 1x bike chain guide up front.
I'm actually gonna put a bash guard on this,
which I've not done yet, which I had on a bike
that I took to Whistler, because I did find
that the bottom bracket hurt in this bike
and the way I like to ride some trails and stuff,
here and now, was just catching the chain ring.
So that's a nice little addition I'm gonna add later.
There's Truvativ Descendant Cranks on there, and you've got
Crank Brothers Mallet E pedals
in the limited edition green colour,
just to kind of match them with the bike.
And finally, slowing the bike down,
a Sram Guide RE brakes, up front
it's got a big 200mm rotor, out back it's 180.
So there you go, that was my Nukeproof Mega 290 bike check.
If you wanna find out a bit about installing some
volume spacers into your shock, click right down here,
it tells you how to do it on Rockshox and Fox Shox.
And if you want to see my Canyon Spectral bike check,
click down here.
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