IT’S TIME OUR TO PUT THREE TOP HEAD-TO-HEAD THE TO FIND OF... WINNER BIKE OF THE YEAR 2021
As ever, getting to the point of having just three finalists was a tough, drawnout process, this year especially. With the restrictions in place, we weren’t able to swap bikes around between testers as much as usual and had to pedal our laps of BikePark Wales rather than shuttle them, which meant testing took longer (we’re writing this just 48 hours ahead of the mag going to print!). It wasn’t until the final run on the last day of testing that we were able to cement the positions of the three bikes here. And when it came down to picking the eventual winner, well, we’d argue it may have burned out poor old Rob’s last brain cell and aged him by about 10 years. Still, we got there in the end, with a bike that feels like it can deliver in the meanest terrain.
REFINED AND ready
Despite being established models, the three bikes here have relatively new frames, as they were all updated in 2020. And, in case you hadn’t spotted the welds, they’re all aluminium, too. Let’s start with Nukeproof’s Mega, which is better than ever. For 2021, its suspension kinematics have been tweaked to deliver a more supportive feel to the middle part of its 160mm of travel, with a smoother ramp-up as you transition into the final few millimetres. While the previous iteration had that ‘drop your heels and monster truck’ feel to it, the new Mega is a different beast and feels a whole lot livelier.
Although Whyte’s G-180 29er is technically a new bike, it’s basically a reworking of the G-170, which won this test last year. It employs the same four-bar, Horst-link suspension layout, but frame travel has been bumped up to 167mm, and it uses a higher starting leverage ratio and a more rearward axle path to help improve initial sensitivity. Antisquat has also been increased, in a bid to make it more responsive to rider inputs.
Trek’s latest Slash uses their established Active Braking Pivot design, which keeps the suspension active under braking by isolating the two forces. Rear wheel travel is now 160mm and is controlled by a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate shock incorporating Trek’s ‘Thru Shaft’ technology. This proprietary design sees the shock shaft go through the damper body and exit out of the bottom when compressed. Because the shaft doesn’t displace any extra oil as it enters the damper, there’s no need for the usual internal floating piston used to compensate for this. The theory, at least, is that the absence of an IFP makes for a seamlessly smooth, lag-free transition from compression to rebound, and an incredibly active back end.
But it isn’t just the suspension that’s changed on all three of these bikes – their frame geometry has altered too. Both the Whyte and the Nukeproof boast identical reach, and rear-centre (aka effective chainstay length) numbers. The reach on the medium G-180 and Mega has been increased to 455mm for 2021. While Whyte also lengthened the rearcentre of the G-180, to 440mm, Nukeproof reduced theirs, to the same figure (it was formerly 450mm). The Slash offers a slightly shorter reach, at 450mm, and a marginally shorter rear-centre, at 437mm (in the lowest setting).
Head tube angles are almost identical across the board, all squeaking in around the 64-degree mark. On paper, at least, it seems Nukeproof are ahead of the crowd when it comes to effective seat tube angles. The medium Mega sports a 77-degree angle, and this gets steeper still as you go up in frame size, to ensure that climbing remains efficient, no matter how tall you are. We measured both the Whyte’s and Trek’s seat angles at just over 76 degrees. BB heights are similar across all three bikes – 342mm on the Nukeproof, 343mm on the Whyte and 344mm on the Trek.
The Slash features Trek’s ovalised ‘Mino Link’, which sits inside the suspension rocker (at the seatstay pivot) and lets you alter the head and seat angles by 0.5 degrees and the BB height by 7mm. Whyte also offer geometry adjustment, via their ‘Shape.it’ link, which allows you to alter the G-180’s head angle by 0.6 degrees and its BB height by 8mm. There’s also the ‘Shape.it UP’ link, which they offer seperately in case you want to convert it to a mixed-wheelsize ‘mullet’ bike.
When it comes to frame details, each brand has a number of highlights, ranging from the neat integrated seat clamp on the G-180 to the internally-piped cable routing on the
THE MEGA’S SUREFOOTED FEEL BOOSTS CONFIDENCE AND IT SKIPS ACROSS ROOTS OR BOULDER FIELDS WITH MASSES OF COMPOSURE