FAST BIKE FRIDAY – NUKEPROOF REACTOR 290 FACTORY

It’s Fast Bike Friday! This week we’re casting our eyes over the rowdy, aggressive Nukeproof Reactor 290 Factory carbon trail bike. A bike that’s built to be super-fun when the trails point downward but is efficient too when you need to pedal back up to the top of your favourite run. Packed full of clever design details and proven engineering principles this 29” wheeled trail bike is a true all-rounder and is ready to enhance your riding experience every time you swing your leg over it; so let’s take a closer look…

Nukeproof’s Reactor is a 130mm trail bike; in terms of suspension travel and where it’s positioned within the Nukeproof range the Reactor sits below Nukeproof’s Super-Enduro bike the Giga with 170mm of rear travel and the Enduro-ready Mega with 160mm of rear wheel travel. In comparison the Reactor is a much more versatile bike; make no mistake, the geometry, suspension kinematics and that 130mm of rear wheel travel combined with 140mm of travel up front mean this bike is definitely still designed to excel at aggressive trail riding, just without compromising any of its climbing efficiency and all-day trail bike ride-qualities.

The Nukeproof Reactor 290 Factory is an aggressive trail bike that also happens to be a versatile all-rounder…

The Reactor frame is available in carbon or alloy with two wheel size options – 27.5” or 29” depending on your own preferences. The two wheel size options are built around two totally different frames that were developed in parallel with each other; as you’ll no-doubt be aware the popularity of 29” wheels has slowly crept through almost all MTB sub-disciplines, from cross-country right through to downhill, over recent times thanks to their fast-rolling properties. The Reactor rides fantastically in both guises, so the choice is yours, which do you value more? The manoeuvrability of 27.5” or the out-and-out speed of the larger 29” wheel? Today our focus is on the all-carbon Reactor 290 Factory complete with Kashima coated shocks and Shimano XT groupset. This carbon option features a full UD woven carbon fibre main frame and rear triangle for a strong, super-stiff and responsive chassis which is robust enough for the rigors of gravity-fed riding while still being lightweight and agile on the uphill gradients and in the air.

The Reactor’s full UD woven carbon fibre frame and rear triangle is built to fly up hill AND handle the rigors of aggressive trail riding…

All cables are routed through the Reactor’s carbon frame for a clean look and to help protect your gear cable from the elements…

So what makes the Reactor 290 Factory such a versatile trail bike? What have Nukeproof done to ensure that this bike is as equally capable of flying up hill as it is shredding the downs? They’ve cleverly utilised a four bar horst linkage to have higher levels of anti-squat when you’re in your climbing gears and lower levels of anti-squat when you drop the chain down the cassette – clever stuff! The Reactor behaves itself and climbs efficiently before transforming into a trail hooligan when you point it downhill; the horst link and rear Kashima coated Fox Float DPX2 shock combine to provide a low anti-squat and a progressive rate for small bump compliance, good mid-stroke to handle fast corners and pumping as well as great end stroke progression to handle the big hits encountered during your most aggressive downhill runs.

The Reactor 290 Factory features a two-position flip chip on the Swinglink driven 4 Bar Horst Link Suspension married up to that tuned Fox Float DPX2 rear shock. Nukeproof’s Trail/Rail flip chip allows you to adjust the geometry of your Reactor from ‘Trail’ to ‘Rail’ mode – Trail as the name suggests is best suited for general trail riding when your riding is as much focused on clearing the tough, technical uphill climbs as it is on the downhill sections. Flip the chip to Rail mode and the bike drops the bottom bracket by 6mm and the head angle by half a degree to set up the Reactor as a more gravity-focused corner shredder that feels even more stable at speed.

That Trail/Rail flip chip lets you tune your Reactor’s geometry to suit your favoured riding style and the type of terrain you typically ride…

The Fox Float DPX2 factory series rear shock with Kashima coating and Swinglink driven 4 Bar Horst Link gives 130mm of progressive rear wheel travel…

Upfront Nukeproof have spec’d the very capable Fox 36 Float Factory Series fork with a Kashima coating and their user-friendly, tuneable Grip 2 Damper. With 140mm of travel these Factory forks match the Nukeproof’s rear suspension platform brilliantly and are super-plush and progressive throughout their travel. With those nice wide 36 stanchions and a Boost thru axle the Fox 36 Float is super-stiff laterally to give really positive steering and tracking through even the most high-speed, rough, loose turns giving you all the confidence you’ll need to push your gravity-assisted riding to new levels.

The Fox 36 Float Factory Series fork provides 140mm of plush, progressive travel…

That Kashima coating prolongs the life of  the fork’s stanchions and provides enhanced lubrication between surfaces…

Credit to Nukeproof, when they spec groupsets they don’t cut corners by mixing and matching componentry like some other bike brands; the Reactor 290 Factory features a full Shimano XT groupset – full drivetrain, brakes, chainset and trigger shifter – the lot. This brilliantly functional 12-speed groupset provides crisp, precise gear selections regardless of the conditions you’re riding in or the gradient that’s being negotiated; changing gear under power and out of the saddle is no problem and the rear derailleur’s clutch mech helps ensure that your chain remains secure and doesn’t unship when you’re ploughing through the really rough stuff at full chat. There’s a great spread of gear ratios too with a wide-ratio 10-51T cassette paired with a 30T chainring up front there’s a gear to cover every eventuality, from the steepest technical climbs to flat-out descents you’ll never feel under or over geared.

A full 11-speed Shimano XT groupset gives you all the gears you’ll need and performs flawlessly in any riding conditions…

So as we’ve already discussed, the Reactor 290 Factory features the larger 29” wheel option; much has been made of the evolution of big wheel riding across most types of mountain biking. The larger wheels roll over obstacles more efficiently and help you to hold your speed over technical terrain; where previously 29er wheels were either deemed too vulnerable to damage when being used on more aggressive gravity-focused bikes or were regarded as too heavy when they were over built to cope with those extra forces encountered during rowdy trail riding, these issues have now been ironed out such is the speed of technical development within the bike industry.

Most wheel manufacturers have now successfully hit that sweet spot between strength & weight and at the top of the tree is specialist wheel brand DT Swiss. The Nukeproof 290 Factory comes spec’d with a pair of DT Swiss XM 1700 Spline 30 29” wheels with a wide 30mm inner rim width which helps give a nice square profile to the tyre when it’s seated on the rim, this means the tyres tend to have a flatter surface area in contact with the ground as it’s not as pinched as it might be on a narrower rim; more contact with the ground means more traction, grip and control.

The DT Swiss XM 1700 Spline 30 29″ rims provide a nice square tyre profile helping to place more rubber in contact with the ground…

Front and rear wheels feature sealed bearing Boost hubs that are durable and laterally stiff…

This aggressive Maxxis tyre is so good it’s almost become the established norm to stock one on such a trail bike as this – 2.50 Assegai on the front…

On the rear wheel Nukeproof have spec’d a slightly narrower, more versatile 2.40 Maxxis Dissector with a shallower tread profile which rolls faster than a more aggressive option such as the DHR. This is another hint towards how Nukeproof see this bike being ridden – uphill and downhill in equal measure…

Finishing kit on the Nukeproof Reactor 290 Factory consists of Nukeproof’s own components including Horizon handle bars, stem and saddle. As you’d expect on a bike that’s been designed to excel on technical terrain and super-steep drops the Reactor features a dropper seat post; there’s a Bikeyoke Divine Stealth dropper and a Shimano SL-MT500-IL cable-activated remote lever on the left side of the handlebar. Nice little finishing touches include Sam Hill signature lock on handle bar grips – not surprising considering Sam is Nukeproof’s Enduro mountain bike star and overall winner of the Enduro World Series.

Finishing kit includes Sam Hill signature lock-on grips…

With a rich Enduro racing heritage and a solid reputation for building some of the most well-engineered gravity-focused mountain bikes available – namely the Mega and the Giga, you can be confident that Nukeproof have taken a lot of the dependable, proven suspension technology and agile frame geometry from those models and carried elements of those designs into the construction of the Nukeproof Reactor, albeit with a more watered-down, all-rounder type of approach. This is the trail bike of choice if you want to buy into that gravity-focused reputation and rich racing heritage but are looking for a trail bike that will efficiently carry you back to the top of your favourite techy trail or partner you in riding all-day epics, linking together all of the most technically-demanding sections you know between tamer, more civilised pedalling stretches where you just want to get your head down and tick off some arduous miles on your mountain bike.

The Reactor 290 Factory is a capable trail bike which benefits from Nukeproof’s rich racing history and gravity-focused design ethos… 

Click below for a full walk around of the Nukeproof Reactor 290 Factory…

Full Specification:

• Frame: Nukeproof Reactor 290 Carbon, 130mm Travel, UD woven Carbon Fibre frame, internal cable routing, ISCG 05 mounts, Enduro bearings, Threaded 73mm BB, Boost 148mm rear axle spacing, 3D contoured rubber frame protection
• Rear Shock: Fox Float DPX2, Factory Series, Kashima, 3 Position, EVOL LV, Custom CL, DRL, Rezi A F F tune, 210x50mm, Bearing End, 1x 0.3 spacer fitted. (SHORT ID: D6S9)
• Fork: Fox 36 Float, Factory Series, Kashima, Grip 2 Damper, 140mm, 44mm Offset, BOOST, Black (SHORT ID: D6GD)
• Head Set: Nukeproof, 44-56 IITS
• Shifters: Shimano XT M8100-R, 12-speed Rapidfire Plus, I-Spec EV
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT M8100, SGS 12-Speed, Shadow Plus
• Cassette : Shimano XT M8100-12, 12-Speed (HYPERGLIDE+), 10-51T
• Chainset: Shimano XT M8100 12-Speed, Hollowtech 2, 170mm, 30T, 52mm Chainline
• Brakes: Shimano XT M8120, 4 Pot Brake, Metallic Pads with Fins
• Wheelset: DT Swiss XM1700 SPLINE 30, 29″
• Front Tyre: Maxxis Assegai 29”x2.5 WT 3C MaxxTerra/EXO+/TR
• Rear Tyre: Maxxis Dissector 29”x2.4 WT 3C MaxxTerra/EXO+/TR
• Stem: Nukeproof Horizon, 50mm, Black
• Handlebar: Nukeproof Horizon V2 25mm Rise, Width – M780mm, L800mm, XL800mm)
• Seat Post: Bikeyoke Divine Stealth w Shimano SL-MT500-IL Remote lever, M/L:160mm drop; XL:185mm drop
• Saddle: Nukeproof Horizon SL, Black

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

 

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