SEAN’S NUKEPROOF SCOUT 290 PRO

MONTH 5: Sean revels in the smooth-shifting joys of a complete SLX drivetrain

£2,449.99 / 29in / nukeproof.com

Over the past five months the Scout has presented a faultless scorecard when it comes to reliability. OK, the test started in early spring, so it’s not been subjected to the worst that a British winter can throw at a bike. Still, it got me thinking… does the high-end kit on this top-of-the-range Pro model contribute to its dependability?

Wind the clock back 10 years or more, and riders often judged a bike by its groupset alone. Over time, we’ve learned that geometry, sizing, suspension performance and tyre choice are ultimately better ways of improving performance than the bragging rights of high-end XT, XTR or X0 drivetrains.

That said, the spec highlight for me is the Scout’s SLX 12-speed transmission, which sits above the newly overhauled Deore and in the shadows of Shimano’s benchmark XT hardware. It’s a groupset that often gets overlooked but it hasn’t missed a beat from the first ride – unnoticed in this case being a plus point, as it is so quiet and efficient I’ve never given it a second thought.

Dig a little deeper into the build kit on the

WHY IT’S HERE Sean addresses the hardtail imbalance in our longtermer fleet

Pro model and it’s the attention to detail that I feel contributes to this unshakeable reliability. Nukeproof’s cable routing is clean and direct, with full-length outer casing from the shifter to the rear mech. No fiddly internally routed piping here. Slick shifting is further aided by the genuine Shimano inner cable and outer casing, a rare but welcome sight, and without doubt a real plus point.

But what about its performance in the mud? Well, I’ve certainly read other mbr longtermer reports flagging up problems with Shimano’s 12-speed gearing when the weather turns foul. The Scout has a Shimano chain fitted as standard and with a complete SLX transmission (including chainring and cassette) it works as one, and as intended. As such, I’ve yet to experience any noise, miss-shifts or swearing.

So the one thing that product managers often got right in the past was that they had the good sense to spec a full groupset rather than the mixing of brands that we often see today. A sound but stealthy move from Nukeproof, even if it bumps up the price.

SLX rear mech worked faultlessly come rain or shine

THE RIDER SEAN WHITE Position Freelance writer/tester Mostly Rides Forest of Dean, Mid Wales Height 6ft 2in Weight 87kg THE BIKE ■ Flagship version of Nukeproof’s 29er aluminium hardcore hardtail that promises verstility as well as gravity-fuelled fun ■ Pro model gets ‘overforked’ with a 140mm-travel Rockshox Lyrik; the Comp and Race spec bikes get 130mm-travel forks ■ Complete Shimano SLX groupset ■ Maxxis 3C rubber with reinforced casings adorn DT Swiss’s M1900 Spline wheelset

30t SLX chainset handles drivetrain duties up front

The brakes? You guessed it... SLX