BENJI’S NUKEPROOF REACTOR 290C ELITE
MONTH 11: What impression has our Trail Bike of the Year made after (almost) a year’s riding? Benji spills the beans
What attracted you to the Nukeproof Reactor?
We’ve all seen Sam Hill ruling the world on his Mega but the appeal of a more trail-friendly bike – that takes a water bottle – is hard to ignore. It was mbr’s Trail Bike of the Year this year too.
Did you change anything straightaway?
Surprisingly for me, not much! I just installed my saddle of choice and got on with riding. The spec is pretty much bang-on for a trail bike. Once into the proper test period I swapped out some bits here and there, mainly for the sake of it. The main point I encountered was that the large and XL sizes have short head tubes, and thus arguably should come specced with higher-rise handlebars. I also installed a -2° Works Components angle adjust headset and one offset shock bushing to give the bike a near 63° head angle, which I really like, but plenty of riders will be happy with the stock 65.5°.
Was the bike easy to set up?
Yes. I don’t recall faffing with anything for any significant amount of time. Set the sag, quick kerb test of rebound, go ride. I did eventually play about with volume spacers (you have to fill the time during global pandemic lockdown somehow) but I ended up back at square one (none).
How did it ride?
It is one of the comfiest trail bikes I’ve ever ridden. The pitter-patter suppleness of the back end was the main takeaway for me with the Reactor 290. I’ve put hundreds of trail miles in on this bike and it was always a pleasant place to be. At the extreme end of things it’s arguably a tad short in reach (I’m kinda in between sizes) and steep in head angle but perfectly fine for a trail bike. I do hope Nukeproof adds a couple of degrees to the seat angle in future iterations though. On a side note, I did experiment with a mullet set-up (using offset shock bushing and the flip-chip set to high) and it was plenty of fun on the right terrain. It’s a nice bonus that the bike can be set up that way if so desired.
Did anything break or wear out?
The dropper post cable became stiffer over time (they always do) but that’s about it.
If you could change one thing about your longtermer what would it be?
Geometry is one thing, right? So 15mm more reach, 2° slacker head angle, 2° steeper seat angle. And for the record I’m 6ft 1in.
Would you buy this bike?
Perhaps surprisingly, no. It’s a brilliant trail bike but it’s just a few millimetres here and there from being perfect for my taste and height.
I also always think that alloy versions of bikes offer hugely better value for virtually no loss in real-world performance.
HIGHS
Superlative rear suspension performance n Pretty much perfectly specced for trail riding n Nice balance of frame stiffness and forgiveness
Frustratingly, almost-there geometry
Shimano SLX rear brake suffers from wandering bite point syndrome
Front end is a tad low for taller riders on L and XL sizes
nnnLOWS
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