- Today, for this bike check, we're checking out
our very own Blake Sampson's Nukeproof Scout,
which is a little bit different to the regular Scout,
which as you know, is a trail bike.
Blake has sorted this out to race the Megavalanche on.
(upbeat hip hop music)
(booming jingle)
So, at the heart of any bike, of course, is the frame,
and this one is the Nukeproof Scouts.
This is their aggressive trail bike.
You could set these up, though,
for cross country, or like Blake has,
near enough as a mini downhill bike
to cope with the rigours of the sort
of rocky, rough terrain you get here
out in Alpe d'Huez.
As stock it's running a 45 mm reach,
so this is a size medium frame,
and the standard head angle is 65,
but Blake's is a little bit different,
we'll get to that in a minute.
Out back it's got 435 mm change stays
and there's plenty of room in here
to get up to 2.8 inch tyre.
Blake's not running those though, again,
we're gonna update with spec when we get there.
The frame is super versatile,
it is very, very stiff and very strong.
This is already been through the Mega qualification
and a day of absolute abuse on the mountain,
and other than a few scratches and dings
that you would expect for this kind of stuff,
it's still shining.
Now, up front for the business end of Blake's bike,
he's running quite an aggressive cockpit here.
He's got a 50 mm Nukeproof stem, of course they make a 60
and they also make the stumpy 35,
but the 50 is what works for Blake.
Sitting on the top of that he's got his
direct Nukeproof mount for his Garmin
on the top there, so he can record his ride details.
Handlebar wise, he's running the full rise
and the full width Nukeproof carbon option,
so that's a 38 mm rise and a full 800 mm wide.
Pretty wide, pretty aggressive setup.
Grips on the end are the Ergon GD1
in the slightly slimmer option.
We're gonna chat to Blake
about his rider preferences shortly.
For brakes, Blake has upgraded from the Guides
that come standard on this bike,
to something a little bit more downhill-friendly
and downhill-oriented.
That means of course, he has the Code brakes fitted,
so they're really, really powerful.
What he's got on here,
you might see on his carbon lever blade,
it's also got his custom name written on there,
so it's got Samson, little special one
just from SRAM for him.
He's also mounted his Eagle shifter directly to this,
and he's run it in quite a flat position,
I tend to run mine quite down so I can get
easy access to thumb, but I guess he wants it out the way
on an event like this.
I've also noticed that he's running his brakes
at a fairly normal angle, a lot of riders
like them quite flat for alpine stuff,
so we're gonna talk to him about that.
Something you won't see from your angle there,
is he's running a Crank Brothers dropper remote
on the underneath, of course he has his number board
on the front here and he's also got
two sets of chain master links there.
Because, in a race like this,
it's quite likely you're gonna smash something,
perhaps the mech and you're gonna have to take the chain off
and rejoin it in order to finish the race.
The Mega Avalanche is all about survival.
So when it comes to forks, this bike as standard
actually comes with the Revelation running 140 mm of travel.
Perfectly adequate for most things you'll ever do
on a Nukeproof Scout, but of course, out here,
you really do need that bit extra.
So, as far as I know,
he actually pinched these off Neil's Nukeproof Mega,
which I'm not sure Neil knows about,
'cause he is somewhere else at the moment.
He's got fitted inside here three volume spacers,
so it's nice and, it ramps up for him,
a nice controlled fork.
He's not running it too hard,
but he's got a bit of low speed compression on there
just to keep it up and stop it from diving.
So, it's a very supple fork and really good on the hands,
which you need on a hardtail of course,
on this sort of terrain.
He's got a GMBN mud fender just strapped on here,
just to catch the basic stuff that can get on your goggles
in a run like this, but nothing too big
that's gonna interfere with it.
The calliper, of course, is a pro-only
red Code callipers down here, they look super cool,
and he's running a massive 200 mm rotor.
Wheel wise, are DT Swiss E1700s,
they're nice and sturdy, a nice wide 30 mm rim,
sealed cartridge bearings on the hub.
It's got the center-lock system
rather than the six bolt system
that you see on a lot of bikes.
And he's running the Kaiser downhill tyres,
so they're 27.5 by 2.4,
with the really thick downhill casing.
He's also running Nukeproof ARD inserts
on the inside of these,
and he's running way too much sealant
because he knows that he's gonna need it in that final.
Out on the back of the bike
he's got the same red calliper as he has up front,
but he's running a 180 mm rotor on the back.
Now some people might wonder why he's not running a 200
somewhere like this, but of course on a hardtail,
the back end's bouncing around all over the place,
so he's just gonna be locking that wheel up all the time,
so we're running a slightly smaller rotor 'cause
he doesn't need quite as much braking power on there.
Again, it's a DT Swiss E1700 on the rear
with a Nukeproof ARD insert,
so much sealant inside there it's almost a joke,
but he definitely needs it.
When he came down from that quali run,
you could see sort of sealant all round the sides
of the sidewall of the tyre.
And he was running about 35 psi,
so that's a pretty firm tyre.
But obviously you need some sort of element of grip up there
but you don't wanna run them so soft
you risk pinching them too bad.
The tyre, of course, is the Continental Kaiser 27.5 by 2.4.
We did look at running a larger spec tyre on here,
but to be honest, there was more danger of him
tearing the sidewalls on them,
so this actually worked out a lot better for him.
It's a much tougher tyre,
it's got the wire beading on there, tougher sidewalls,
and of course, combined with the Nukeproof ARD system
on the inside and a load of tyre sealant,
it's proved pretty robust.
Now I'm quite surprised after the quali
that there's no loose spokes and the rim is totally true,
and he told me he hit some stuff
really, really hard on there.
Hard enough to nearly bounce him clean off the bike.
And just looking at the tyre,
which was a brand new tyre earlier this week,
it's already showing severe signs of wear.
It just shows you what the terrain here does to a bike.
When it comes to transmission,
he's running SRAM Eagle 1 by 12.
It's the XO on the back here,
so that's the 10 50 cassette, massive gear range,
and he's obviously got the SRAM chain on there.
Up front he's got a 34 tooth X-Sync 2 chainring.
Quite a nice size chainring there with the MRP Upper Guide.
You don't often lose a ring,
but you just need the extra bit of security,
especially on a hardtail.
Cranks are 170 mm,
and he's running the Crank Brothers DH Mallet pedals.
Super strong, tough pedal, big platform
so if he doesn't clip in first time
he knows he's gonna be able to
rest his feet on the pedal and carry on regardless.
You also might question why Blake's running clips,
'cause he's a flat pedal rider.
But, when you're riding something as rough as this,
you need all the help you can get
to stop your feet bouncing off the pedals.
Of course, these feel quite similar to flat pedals
in the fact that you can move around on them,
but you have the security of the cage,
so kind of the best of both worlds for an event like this.
And finishing kit on the bike
includes the Crank Brothers dropper post,
this one is the Highline model with a 150 mm drop.
I did ask if he could fit a 170 on,
but it was a little bit close with the collar on here,
so 150 suits Blake nicely.
Saddle is the Ergon SM Comp on here,
and what you might notice is
he's got slightly bent rails on it.
Spoke to Blake about this
and he said it pretty much saved him
because he had a bit of a moment
running through a really rocky section,
completely out of control, no footed,
and this bad boy saved his undercarriage.
All we need to do now is find out this thing weighs,
and then we're gonna go and have a little chat to Blake
and see why on Earth he picked a hardtail
to race probably the roughest race of them all,
and find out a little bit about
what he's most anxious for race day.
Let's have a little weigh of this then.
So that's 14.57 kg,
or 32 lbs, 7 oz.
That's as much as my Mega.
So, who better to speak to about the bike
than the rider himself?
- Yeah, hello.
- Okay, so you've obviously,
you've done quali now on this. - I have.
- Pretty crazy bike, really, by all accounts
to be riding down from that.
- From that across the moon, they call it,
it is rough as anything, I couldn't,
there's bad words for it, but is--
- Without stating the obvious,
how does this compare to riding a full suspension bike?
- The magic carpet, I would say.
This is rough.
It's totally different riding style.
The way you sit on your bike,
the way you move your body weight around,
'cause you don't want,
it just kind of shifts you to the front,
all you body weight, 'cause it's bouncing too much.
- Yeah, well I guess there's,
you've gotta preserve the bike a bit,
'cause I noticed that your wheel's still really straight.
I'm pretty amazed at that, to be honest.
- And I haven't had a puncture, oh, tough wood.
- Yeah, well that's pretty good going,
they're pretty heavy-duty tyres,
- They are. - I've told everyone,
you know, you've got the ARD inserts on the inside of those,
and extra fluid.
So you're saying about all your weight
shifting to the front, also noticed that
you've magicked up a RockShox Lyrik.
- [Blake] I dug deep in my pocket to buy those.
- Oh, did you? - Yeah.
- Did you? - Yeah.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- It's not from Neil's bike?
- Who told you?
How did you? Okay, so you've got this on here,
obviously this is gonna help the arm pump and hands a bit,
but it's gotta be pretty gnarly on that.
- It is gnarly, I'm not gonna lie, it is super rough,
I'm picking my line very wisely,
hence why my tyres are kinda in good shape,
'cause I'm not doing all the crazy lines.
I am actually picking my line perfect,
I don't want to, I'm just, I'm not hucking.
If I was on a full suspension bike I would huck it.
- Well, I looked at your quali time,
and I looked at it compared to some other pretty fast riders
and I know that they would have been
taking all the faster lines,
and they're only a couple of minutes quicker.
On a course of what, 20 minutes long on the quali course?
I think that says a lot for your riding style,
and the fact that you're looking after it.
- Yeah, I think that is the key-est thing to,
you've gotta look after your bike when you're riding--
- But that is only 20 minutes. - Yeah.
- The main event is far longer,
it goes from all the way up there
and all the way down there, behind you,
down to Lake Allemond, so, what are you worried about?
You've gotta be worried about something?
- Arm pump. - In a race like that.
- Arm pump.
And snow, I looked at the snow, again, I looked at it.
It looks horrible, I don't like the snow.
Yeah. (laughs)
- Is there a good way to ride the snow?
- Well, Ben Deakin and I went up there to look at lines
and the snow is disappearing fast because of the sun,
and it's rock or snow.
And I think, when I'm there I'm there,
I'm just gonna go for whatever's there and just, get down.
So I am scared of the snow and arm pump.
- Have you got any backup lines
if you get pushed into places you don't wanna be?
- Hell no, 'cause I've forgotten.
- So you're just going with it?
- I just going.
- So your arm pump's a concern, fitness?
Obviously at altitude it is pretty hard going up here.
- Yes, and to be honest, when you're on a hardtail,
when you're riding, there's no rest.
You can't sit down 'cause it's rough,
when you're on a full suspension
you can actually lift the dropper, sit down--
- That's interesting because a lot of people
say when you come off the glacier
you almost get respite where you can relax your arms
for a bit. - I thought that.
- And you can't? - You can't.
- Wow, so that's super hard. - Even the flat bits is rough.
- [Donny] So, what sort of time
are you expecting to finish in?
- Oh man, an hour? - An hour?
- (laughs) Yeah! - Oh right,
well let's see if you can do a sub-hour.
So I couldn't help but notice that
you've managed to bend the saddle rails,
that takes a serious impact to do that.
- Yep, my whole body weight bouncing up and down on that
going through the snow bull riding because
you can't put your feet on and ride a deep rut like this,
you have to ski it, tripod it through.
- Yeah, there's tripod techniques, seen that.
- Yeah, and it bent up, and it was like that.
No lie, and I was going down the fire road
and I couldn't even sit on it because I was sliding back.
So what I was doing,
I was jumping on the saddle with my bum,
sounds bad, but I had to bend it back
so I could sit on it for that climb over there.
- I guess,
I can't image you'd do that on a full suspension bike,
I reckon that's just 'cause you're riding a hardtail?
- Just because I'm riding a hardtail.
- All that impact going through the bike.
- Yeah, yeah yeah.
- Wow, and so also, something else different for you
is the fact that you're running clips.
(Blake exhales sharply) I know you run them
here and there at home, but normally you're a flats rider?
- Goosebumps thinking of it because,
I chucked myself in the deep end
and 'cause it's super rough I wanted by feet on my bike,
and I don't want them bouncing off.
And you can't go fast with your feet bouncing everywhere,
but you can go a bit faster on a hardtail
when you are clipped into your bike.
Because then your feet are attached to your bike
and you're not gonna go anywhere.
- Do you think that being attached with your feet
makes it easier on your hands as well?
- It does, especially in rough sections,
I can lean back onto my heels a lot more
and bring my body weight over and onto my legs,
let the bike rattle between, but still,
there's only so many places you can do that,
and you can't do it everywhere.
- Yeah, for sure man, yeah. No, fair play, dude.
Last thing as well, you upgraded the brakes,
and so, what I was talking about earlier was how
the bigger 200 rotor on the front giving your stopping power
but, the smaller rotor on the back,
and I'm guessing probably 'cause you're skipping around
and you're not gonna do that much braking with it?
- Yeah, do you know what?
I was overwhelmed on how rough it is on a hardtail,
coming down, I am more on the back brake
than I am on a full suspension bike.
'Cause I don't wanna go too fast and out of control,
'cause it's super easy to get out of control on a hardtail.
Especially when that back end hits a rock,
it just flicks you wherever it wants to go,
whereas that full suspension bike is gonna track that ground
a lot nicer, whereas the hardtail,
hell no it doesn't do that!
(both chuckle)
- I think you'll join me in wishing Blake well,
and if you wanna see how Blake gets on...
- Click over here on how gnarly
riding a hardtail on Megavalanche is.
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and as always on GMBN Tech, give us a huge thumbs up.
Cheers guys.