Creating the Nukeproof Mega 275c

Ridden to two consecutive Enduro World Series overall all wins, Nukeproof’s first ever carbon frame, the Mega 275c, started life as a side project designed to conquer the Megavalanche.

“The original concept of the Mega came at a time where we were discussing with CRC team manager Nigel Page the potential to sponsor the race team with frames as well as components. The only issue was we didn’t have any frames,” said Nukeproof Marketing Manager Rob Sherratt. “In the background Dale McMullan (Engineer) and Michael Cowan (Owner) had been developing a bike to take on the Megavalanche. They had reached the limit of what they could modify on their trail bikes and developing their own frame from scratch to blend the best of their downhill and trail bikes (all mountain/Enduro wasn’t really a category in 2008).”

While Nukeproof bikes have come quite a long way over the years from the industrial looking tanks from the brand’s infancy, the Mega, as with all of Nukeproof’s bikes started with a pencil and pad of paper.

“The overall packaging of the bike will always come from the linkage points, which Dale designs to give the characteristics he was looking for from the bike. The sketching of the general look of the concept is all done in house by our graphic

designer Enrique Repellos,” says Sherratt. “This is generally still the process for all new products to this day. Dale will design/engineer the bike and the linkage with Enrique on the sketch pads. However, we now have a 3D modeling department to help bring these to life, test and engineer the bikes prior to production”

“The frame design starts around 3D linkage/suspension points, then wheels, geo, components, this way we can ensure things will fit and the first prototype will work, we also do a lot of FEA testing to ensure the design will be strong enough to pass ISO and ride testing, this saves a lot of time in the long run,” he continues.

With Nukeproof being a smaller brand, they run a tight ship and involve its sponsored athletes from the outset.

Though it may have started analogue, the latest Mega launched in October of last year is anything but. According the Sherratt, the brand felt they had a pretty good jumping off point with the 2016 bike; there weren’t too many geometry changes bar some scaling between the larger sizes. Many of the improvements Nukeproof was looking to make came through implementing new technology like Metric shocks and boost rear spacing. The biggest however was jumping headfirst into carbon fiber.

“This was our first carbon bike with the Mega 275c...we had to ensure that the 275c had the performance benefits over its alloy counterpart and was not just to be an aesthetic project,” Sherratt said. “Obviously, it needed to be lighter, but also comfortable to ride, not too harsh without loss in front triangle stiffness. We looked to offer even better performance downhill and also improved pedalling performance over rough ground.”

Being that the Mega 275c is Sam Hill’s bike of choice, it’s no short order for Nukeproof to deliver the best possible platform for the EWS.

“It’s a balance between strength, weight and