Mike, Tracy and I had a chance to take out two of the most popular bikes in the Nukeproof lineup.
While we didn’t have the most cooperative SoCal June weather we defined what we liked about the spec and how the Nukeproof Mega 290 and Reactor 290 ride on trail.
Mega 290 & Reactor 290: Nukeproof Ride Review
In this Nukeproof review we’ll glance at the spec of both the Mega 290 Factory and the Reactor 290 Elite builds.
Where do the bikes stack up in the BikeCo lineup? What are some variants we’d see on our personal bikes?
Later we’ll get into HOW the bikes ride and the overall Nukeproof trail personality.
Nukeproof Build Kits
Learn more about the Nukeproof Factory and Elite Build Kits with these tabs or keep reading for more about the Reactor 290 and the Mega 290’s trail personality.
Nukeproof Mega 290 Carbon Factory Spec Highlights
The Nukeproof Mega 290 Carbon Factory build is essentially an XT bike with FOX Factory Suspension.
The Mega 290 has 160mm of rear travel paired to a 170mm fork and is a confident Enduro or All Mountain bike.
The FOX Factory fork and shock both provide adjustment through PSI, volume spacing, high and low speed rebound as well as high and low speed compression settings. This gives the bike a wide range of tuning options for any rider size.
Shimano’s XT drivetrain and brakes with 203mm rotors front and rear perform as you’d expect.
Spec’d with Double Down tires front and rear it’s set for aggressive riding from the get-go.
DT Swiss EX1700 wheels provide a great platform to mount an Enduro / All Mountain appropriate tire selection from around 2.3″ or 2.4″ to 2.5″ or 2.6″ if you prefer.
Mega 290 Factory Build Thoughts
While the three of us tend to build very different bikes for our personal quivers we actually had a lot of parallel thoughts on the Mega 290 Factory build.
This is a bike that’s spec’d nicely from the factory. We each had a short list of what we’d probably change if we were going to make this bike our own and really we only had a single build “issue”: the saddle. It’s slippery! Now, you can see in the images we were riding in a low cloud which probably made everything a little more slippery – but everyone noted that the saddle would be the first thing off the bike for any of us.
Mega 290 Factory Spec Upgrades
So what are some personal upgrade or swap ideas for the Nukeproof? Well take this with a grain of salt as the three of us have more years riding then we’d like to admit as well as enough gray hair to be really particular (note Mike’s jersey…), so our upgrades or swaps would all be pretty personal preference things.
Each of us have a preferred brake setup that would go on the bike but as far as spec brakes the Shimano XT are absolutely workable.
All of us have a go to cockpit. Most likely we’d all gravitate to higher rise carbon bars and I would have to have my preferred grip too.
Tracy likes the Double Down tires front and rear. I might go to my EXO+ setup or at least the EXO+ in the front with a DHF for maybe a touch faster rolling setup.
Mike’s finally entry on this was a GX AXS derailluer, he rides wireless drivetrains and was convincing us how lowering the work load on my thumbs would improve my climbing (not much could make my climbing too much worse compared to these guys haha)
If you want to go through the notes on a Nukeproof Elite build (basically an SLX bike) click over to the Reactor 290 tab for more details.
Nukeproof Reactor 290 Carbon Elite Build Highlights
The Reactor 290 Elite build features Shimano SLX drivetrain and brakes as well as FOX Performance Elite suspension giving it a very credible setup. The Reactor is a 130mm travel frame paired to a 150mm fork for a nice Trail and Light / Medium Terrain Enduro bike.
The Performance Elite suspension features the more advanced dampers with improved compression control similar to the FOX Factory options, just without the Kashima coating.
Shimano’s SLX bits feature excellent performance in a bit more cost-conscious at a small weight penalty compared to the XT spec of the Factory builds.
Reactor 290 Elite Spec Review
Our conversation on the Reactor 290 Elite spec had a handful of tangents.
Before we get too deep into what we would have done to “make it ours” so to speak let’s take a glance at the SLX buyer’s opinion.
This is a nice SLX spec. If you didn’t have an established go to for say, like almost every bit on your bike there’s little on this bike that really glares at you. Except the slippery seat. It’s slippery.
Beyond the tires, brakes, cockpit setup preference changes (like we touched on with the Mega 290 Factory build in the other tab) the only other bits that stand out for consideration of upgrade are the wheels and maybe the seatpost.
We started debating about if you were to throw a little bit more cash at this bike where would it go?
Wheels play a big part in a bikes personality so we tossed around ideas on well if we did this, or that to this bike but when we looked at the price consideration it put us into the neighborhood of the Factory build with improved wheels as well as the XT drivetrain and brakes.
And frankly – that’s how models should be spec’d. I like that Nukeproof has a relatively closely grouped build price point and that you can see the value in all of the available models.
Devil’s advocate though: how mean would the Elite look with some carbon hoops on it and new hubs?
So how did each of the Nukeproof bikes ride on trail?
Well as you’d expect, even though the Mega is a 160/170 bike and the Reactor a 130/150, they had some brand personality similarities when we compared notes.
Nukeproof Trail Personality
Nukeproof Sizing
Mike, Tracy and I are sort of close in height. Well, close enough that I can’t really think of who’s the tallest or shortest.
Each of our current personal bikes is a Large, albeit mine is a Mondraker Foxy so it’s a LONG large.
I’ve always been kind of between sizes at 6’1″ with long legs and arms. Lately I’ve been riding longer bikes and think it has been helping my lower back some – so I went with the XL Nukeproof Mega for our test ride.
Mike tends to ride Large although some bikes he may adjust depending on top tube length to keep him in a better position for his neck and back.
Tracy and I have traded bikes a lot over the years and generally we’re super close in setup. I think most of his personal bikes have been Large lately.
Once I jumped on it I had no doubts it was the right size. I never felt “lost” in it at all. In fact I kind of struggled to see how a 20mm shorter reach would have worked either. So I started giving Tracy a hard time about his Large selection. By the end of the ride he agreed that the XL would have been a nicer fit.
Mike rode the L Reactor 290 and seemed like he enjoyed the fit as its closer to his current quiver of bikes although the reach is a little shorter on the Nukeproof compared to other brands.
With almost all size bikes having room for longer dropper posts these days fit has become height as well as leg length and determining where you are on the “average” comparison of that.
I come in on the X-Large for height and the XX-Large for leg length according to Nukeproof. The XXL was going to be much to long for me but the XL was a good fit.
For taller riders, it makes sense that Nukeproof offers an XXL if the XL is a comfortable fit for me.
Nukeproof: On Trail
All of us enjoyed the miles on the Nukeproof Trail / Enduro models. Mike has actually ridden both of these bikes as well as the Giga and is a great resource for our team on the overall Nukeproof personality as well as the variations in their lineup.
Nukeproof Personality
As a disclaimer: we didn’t get the greatest conditions to really test these bikes.
But between the three of us, with a lot of years of doing this, there were a handful of things we agreed on about the Nukeproof trail performance.
Planted / Balanced Traction.
The bikes have a notable even balance on the front and rear wheels. In just about any reasonable riding position it was very easy to feel both wheels working together. You had to get way, way too far off the back to get the front end light. And I was uncomfortable getting far enough forward on the bars to have the rear wheel feel light (with one exception I’ll get into later hahaha…)
Along the same lines as being “planted” the bikes had an appropriate front to rear wheel feel climbing and descending.
I found the Mega 290 was a very forgiving bike to ride which became important on the descent as conditions turned more sloppy than any of us frequently ride.
Overall the Nukeproof rode most similarly to Ibis models we work with.
It might have had a little more “up and down” pedaling variation than my Yeti or Mondraker – but like the Ibis bike’s this motion directly equates to rear wheel traction so I didn’t find the bike sluggish to accelerate. It was well behaved even up some of the slippery climbing sections when the wheel was clawing up and over rocks or terrain shifts.
The Mega and Reactor had a little less “pop” than you might expect from a Yeti or Mondraker on trail. Some of that is from the suspension’s design but some of it is from the shock and fork setup as well.
I suspect with time I could have put more “pop” back into the Mega to have it ride closer to my preferred quicker out of corners, pumpy style bikes (but that style also tends to break free from traction faster too – so it’s really a personal setup preference at that point – read on for my detail notes and why understanding a review is helped by understanding the reviewer…)
Lively at Any Speed
Another aspect that’s important for bike performance, does the bike require a certain speed to come alive? Class leading bikes have good handling characteristics whether you’re riding at consumer, expert or even race paces.
The Nukeproof felt good in the range of speeds I was able to get it into. Some bikes struggle with sluggish handling at lower speeds or get nervous at high speeds. Bikes like Nukeproof, Ibis, Mondraker and Yeti put a lot of effort into their testing to ensure the bikes are playful and fun for the widest range of riders.
The Mega felt like it had more in the tank than I got close to giving it, but never felt like that school bus on a figure eight track that some “bigger” bikes parallel at lower speeds.
Nukeproof Reactor 290: On Trail
Mike’s notes carry a lot of weight as he puts many miles on a variety of bikes. From Nukeproof, Ibis, Mondraker or Yeti he’s very familiar. So it was interesting to listen as he fit the Reactor 290 between other BikeCo models.
“The Reactor rides a like a little bigger than pretty burly built Ripley. You know the Ripley with the bigger fork and shock that we’ve done in the past.
I’d say maybe closer to the Ripmo even. Not quite as big as the Ripmo travel wise but the Reactor is closer to a ‘fast’ Ripmo setup more than a big ‘Ripley’ probably.
The Nukeproof suspension feels similar to the Ibis although it would take me a little bit to get the Nukeproof as precise as the bikes’ I’m comparing since I’ve had more time on them.
On the Reactor I felt confident that the bike would turn in and hold a line. It felt pretty good over the chunkier stuff but we were kind of going slower today because of conditions too.
Nukeproof Mega 290: On Trail
Tracy and I have ridden a lot of bikes, in a lot of terrain over the years. Generally we both gravitate to a similar model capacity even if we ride different brands. So it made sense that both of us wanted to test the Mega 290 out of the Nukeproof lineup.
Overall we had pretty similar trail notes. I’m going to go deeper into my thoughts a little later as there’s A LOT of things that you feel and have to take into account on a demo ride and I think it’s important to be transparent and realistic – you can get an idea of how the Nukeproof bikes behave from this review but there is so much range of adjustment available as well. Anyway – back to the quick takes on the Mega 290 On Trail.
Tracy had some good insight
“The bike didn’t feel twitchy or nervous. Even as the trail got slick I felt like I could hold the lines I wanted.
It pedaled like I would expect for a 160/170mm bike. It wasn’t a slow pedaling bike at all. Could be tough to tell given how sticky the ground was too. But with the road ride before the dirt I felt like it compared well with other bikes its size.
I never felt the bike get nervous at speed. Couldn’t tell with today’s conditions but it might have that Yeti personality where it loves more and more speed.”
I agreed with all of his notes after the ride especially the speed capacity. I was able to get the bike up to a lively pace in a couple of the areas that weren’t as soupy and the bike never gave me any indication that it wouldn’t like a little more.
Both of us noted that the Mega was quite notable at holding lines in both the dry and wet conditions. You’d roll the Mega into a corner, get that lean angle going and that bike just carved in.
With the setup I noted the bike would take a lot of weight input from your feet while keeping the front end planted.
Quick Conclusions: Nukeproof Riding Review
So what’s the quick take on the Nukeproof Mega 290 or the Nukeproof Reactor 290?
Well drawn from the combined notes we had really positive notes overall on both the bike’s spec and value as well as the on trail personalities.
The Mega and Reactor both feel well planted, confident and forgiving on trail. These aren’t bikes with knife edge personalities and even a pretty basic setup provided a really enjoyable ride.
Nukeproof bikes overall feel like they have a bit of “monster truck” in them, similar to Ibis bikes, and ride comfortably feeling maybe slightly “bigger” than they are.
I know I put the Mega into situations that it was well behaved in without requiring over the top theatrics or heroics from me as a rider.
Wondering how the Nukeproof might fit into your personal riding? Chat with a member of our sales team. They’re all versed with the class leading brands BikeCo works with: Ibis, Mondraker, Nukeproof and Yeti. Our staff is trained on where these brand’s personality is as well as what tuning options are available to modify a bike to your desired requirements.
Remember: class leading bikes, ones with not only the “right” geo (which has converged somewhat over the years) but also the RIGHT suspension and balance have a setup range. And it can be hard to really understand it from a demo ride.
Since I’ve bitched for so long about those doing reviews being more transparent about “what” and “how” they ride you can keep reading for more details on my ride and how experience allows a better understanding of what a bike is about and where it fits.
But first enjoy some pics of Mike and Tracy from our Nukeproof Ride Review on the Luge!
Reviewing the Reviewer
I’ve been pushing for a long time that reviewers give more personal insight to their experiences that go into a published review. So to wrap up this Nukeproof Ride Review I’d like to provide insight to what I thought, what my exact notes were, what I ride and how I come up with some of my conclusions during a review.
There are a handful of things that experience will help you quickly define and if you know how those are about to effect your ride you can more accurately speak to a bike MODEL and not a SETUP so to speak.
What Did I Notice in Setup?
Some of my notes on while I setup the Mega 290 would help me better understand what the bike WAS doing on trail and what it COULD do as well.
Mega 290 Ride Review Notes on Setup
Factory Suspension
Both the fork and shock were low on volume spacers for my preference. This means I used the compression settings to increase support that would be more finely tuned by increasing the ramp rate.
It’s a demo bike – the odds it would have a perfect package are low. Knowing that I was running more compression meant that I would forgive a little bit of potential harsh small bump compliance in the rear as well as initial support into corners.
Cockpit
First, I have bad hands and hate grips with outboard collars. It hurts my hands, messes with my ulnar nerve and causes numbness and pain up my arms. This bike had grips I didn’t like but I would try to run my hands further inboard than I usually do.
Bars were aluminum and 25mm rise with not a lot of stem spacers. I generally like to have larger rise handlebars and carbon (it makes a big difference in my hand and arm condition to ride with carbon bars)
Tires
Double Down Assegai front and Double Down DHR rear. An aggressive setup but appropriate for the bike. I typically run EXO+ DHF / DHR pairing so I knew that tire package would be a bit heavier than I’m used to.
Setup Forgiveness Based on Spec
Will it ride Harsh?
So based on the volume spacers, compression settings, grips and bars I knew I would potentially have to forgive some front end “harshness”. In other words, it would not be a fair fork test for sure if that’s what we were testing!
Luckily the fork was freshly serviced and overall it felt good. I think the oil and seals being new helped this a lot (and actually made me think I really need to service my 38)
Can I Get It In Control?
Hand height is important to me for a couple reasons. First, I have back issues which mean I kind of need my bike setup in a certain way to minimize that. This is a personal issue and varies from rider to rider. If you’ve got enough gray hair you’ll probably understand and if you have the gray hair and don’t understand it I’m jealous for sure!
Second you gain or lose a lot of control by having hands in a position you can get power applied. This applies to both your hand height as well as width. Just like riding too wide of bars having your stack too high or low can numb the handling reducing your ability to have quick adjustments with minimal input.
I did notice that the Mega liked to be leaned in to corners more than my usual setups that I tend to understeer slightly and lean which snaps them into corners a touch faster. I’d still give the Mega passing grades on this because my hands were low combined with the fork setup not having the precise feel I’m used to after all the years of Pro Tune forks and a specific setup.
Acceleration
Some would say climbing. I don’t climb well enough to speak to it! So, for me to feel a bike’s efficiency I’m looking at how it handles burst acceleration. Heavier tires are going to change that around which I noticed on the road climb to the Luge but not as much once we got in the super tacky and then super slippery dirt…
Geo Differences
My personal bike is a Mondraker Foxy RR with a 170mm fork. So all and all most of the geo between what “I’m used to” and what I was testing was relatively close (especially when you factor the published Mondraker numbers are from a 160mm fork so mine has a slightly slacker headtube, higher bb and longer wheelbase).
The exception that I saw was on wheelbase. My Mondraker is setup with the shorter chainstay and shorter wheelbase. The published wheelbase is 1253mm – given the longer fork I’ve added a couple mm to that but I’ve never really bothered to calculate it out.
On the Mega XL the wheelbase is 1275mm which would give it a touch more planted feel and change a little bit of the direction change personality.
On the road when I put a twitch through the front end I could feel the front end was a bit more planted than my bike. I couldn’t decide if that was the MaxxGrip tire or the longer front center.
During the descent I could feel that the Mega XL was “longer” in the first few corners but that quickly went away once I had four or five turns down.
Finally – let’s take a quick look at the conditions we rode in.
Between some morning rain and being in the cloud the conditions were pretty variable. We got in some sections that were hero dirt levels of excellence – no brakes just ride in, lean as much as you want and rip through it.
Then, well, it got sloppy…
Being SoCal locals none of the three of us really ride in sloppy stuff. So the details of the ride have to go back to the conditions were we have experience and kind of look the other way in conditions that are outside of the norm for us.
For instance some riders are always looking to fall in love with a demo or review bike. That’s not always going to happen (even for a bike you’ll love) and breaking down the experience can be important.
Here’s a good example of this for me:
First Ride Demo on the Mondraker FOXY
(didn’t love it but saw potential)
Extended “First” Ride when I bought one
(starting to love it – testing some stuff out, riding is ‘work’ you know!)
Extended Ride Review
(loved it by then)
Sorry for the sidebar, but the point is that you’re not always going to “love” a bike at this level at first sight. They’re technical pieces and you should treat it like that and go through what you’re really looking for out of the bike to make sure you get a bike that will get there with you. BikeCo’s staff is unbeatable at this…
Like overall – it was fun to get out with Mike and Tracy on the Nukeproof, but by the end of the ride I was kind of “blah” about having messy muddy everything to clean up, I was cold and I had a fall that dampened my spirits (and for a split second or two really scared me).
OK, not to dwell on crashes but this one was pretty funny and not that bad. If you’re familiar with the Luge picture the deep pocket turns before the trail “turns left” down the canyon with the right hand exposure. I think it’s three or five like left, right, left, right, left. Anyhow, I went in too hot as the flatter section of trail wasn’t too slippery, but as soon as it rolled into the steeper stuff it got sloppy. First corner I lost the bike, back end comes around and I’m sliding down, still up on the bike, but both wheels full drift. Into the next corner where the front end climbed up the rise and now the back wheel is in the trough, front wheel almost in the bushes still up. Still sliding. About then I see there’s really only one more turn before that left, which if I miss I’m going off the side, so my heart kinda thumps. Still at a full slide 90 degrees from the ideal direction I decide to smack my leg into the side of the trail to try to slow down and get off the back of the bike. Never fully fell just kinds slide all over and bury my leg in mud. Anyhow – I get down trail to take some more pics of Mike and Tracy and Mike’s like “ya, did you see those tracks through the corner? What a mess” or something along those lines. Then looks at me and puts together that those were all my “tracks” across the nearly the entire trail width…
When demo-ing or reviewing a bike you have to kind of put that aside to have a critical look at the bike, the setup and the spec to decide what you’re really feeling or not. I suggest that riders try to find 3 things they like, 3 things they didn’t really like and 3 things they’re neutral about to help your sales team understand if you’re on the right type / model of bike, size, spec and how the setup was.
Overall I can confidently say the Nukeproof Ride Review of the Mega 290: it’s a bike that rides planted, comfortable at speed, well behaved and consistent without knife edge performance. My experience says that for me, I would prefer ramping the suspension up to add some more “pop” to the bike to give it a little more when pumping the trail through terrain or in corners. The Mega rode “bigger” than either of my last two bikes the Mondraker or a Yeti SB130 Lunch Ride – but it should as it is a longer travel frame than either of those options.
I think it compares best to the Ibis Ripmo, maybe even a Ripmo with a 170mm fork.
Overall a fun Enduro bike comfortable and confident in terrain and speeds you’d expect!
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