Working their way quickly through the highly congested field of well priced and highly capable DH bikes that are currently in the market place, Nukeproof has flourished into a brand that’s widely regarded for more than just great value for money and well delivered products. Signing UK shredders Matt Simmonds and Joe Smith, and of course picking up Aussie big-dog, Sam Hill, made a big statement coming into the 2013 race season and with them, comes the Pulse.

An evolving and ever growing company, Nukeproof are a brand synonymous with the UK race scene at both a grass roots and professional level. With their popularity sky rocketing in recent months with race fans eying up the latest machine to be seen under one of the most influential riders of our time…

Words: Thomas Gaffney | Photos: Elliot Machin & Thomas Gaffney | Video: Tom Richards & Alex smith

About four months ago I took delivery of a size large Nukeproof Pulse Comp complete – eager to get shredding on this stunner, I was pleased to find it already 95% built in the box and with little else to do other than tighten a few bolts and get excited about what lay ahead… Having read into the build eagerly for the week before it’s arrival, I knew it was just right – not too flashy, but with a good enough spec to take a beating and get me on the trail without too much fuss. I did notice a few differences from my previous bike – this was all RockShox as opposed to being a fully Fox’d up Mondraker for the start, but there were no complaints what so ever. The angles where quite different to what I was used to too and with a top tube that was a little shorter, I knew I’d have to reserve judgement until on the Pulse met the dirt. That said, I was but I was eager to see how the changes felt as much as I was excited to get on a fresh DH bike…

The first time out on the Pulse and I was instantly at home – confidence inspiring from the off, nible in the air and the High Roller II’s kept me firmly stuck to the floor and cornering like a beast and without feeling sluggish or washy at all.

The RockShox suspension was a great change to make from the slightly dated Fox stuff I’d been running prior to the Pulse – it feels a lot firmer and more responsive in my opinion and a lot of people have asked me about the new Vivid shock and all I can say is that it works perfectly – only three knobs to twiddle makes it super simple and it just feels like it is working perfectly on every section. Since setting up the bike I have always ran the chips for the back axle on the longest setting – I tried positions, but I found that the back end tended to step out in corners whether they where tight or not when set up with the shorter wheel base. That and being on the tall side, the longer bike just felt right…

The bike also felt light and responsive (even though it’s over 40lbs) allowing it to be easily pumped through sections that needed more flow and less brake… The Pulse is also really easy to jump and throw around – another trait common in linkage based single pivot bikes.

The only issue I found with it at the beginning, was that it felt a little too short. Like I said, I’m tall, but at 6″ 1′, I’m no giant… Opting for the large size, which I would say felt a tad on the small side, so I stuck a new cockpit, which  soon sorted the issue out. Opting for a full Renthal set up using an uncut FatBar at 780mm, an Integra direct mount stem set in its longest position and mated to that, their awesome super soft compound lock-on grips. This instantly made the bike feel just right – the bars widened the reach giving the bike more length – other than that the specs are still the same, although there are the odd bits I have had to replace along the way…

The first was the X7 rear mech, which within the first two weeks was twisted and mangled even though it proceeded to work (just) until it really NEEDED to be replaced before an trip to the French Alps. Next to go was one of the actual pivot bolts… Looking back, I think this was a mix of a slight bit of play in that link and me over tightening the bolt… This sadly snapped 3 days before setting off for said to trip toFrance sending me into a mild panic attack, but thankfully the guys at Nukeproof’s  distributer (Hotlines) where fantastic and sorted me a replacement that arrived the next day… Absolute lifesavers and a great company! Funnily enough the last things to go was the gear cable and a spoke – sods law that these broke 3 days before writing this review, but saying that, this bike has had 4 months of pretty much constant battering to which it’s fared pretty damn well considering!

Here’s the Spec:

Out on the trail

At this moment in time I feel more confident than I have ever felt riding a bicycle – the Pulse has given me the confidence to hit the biggest jumps I have ever done and ride faster than I have done before – I’m not exaggerating and lots of my mates have not only noticed the change in my riding, have had a go themselves. The opinion was that the Pulse was a bike that was instantly fun from the word go and would certainly consider one as their next bike…

It has taken a fair few knocks and not felt the worse for it and even put up with two weeks being ravaged in the French Alps, which everyone knows is a bike breaker and the only real breakages have been caused through accident or neglect (I am not the best at bike maintenance). All together it is a well priced at £3000, very well specced as a race ready downhill machine and I would be disappointed not to see more of them around! This is easily going to be a bike to kick start your racing and gravity riding aspirations – I can’t wait to get back on it!

Video time!

Conclusion.

So, all that said and done, the last four months on this bike have definitely been my best four months on a downhill bike ever! That might sound a bit over the top and it could be because I had a mint two weeks in the Alps and a rad summer in the UK, but it has given me so much confidence in my riding and for the money, well, it was a bargain in my eyes. The spec is spot on – well mated RockShox units front and rear and with a good mix of components that do the job and get this beast out on the showroom floor for a penny shy of £3K is fantastic.

The Pulse Comp would be great for a whole range of riders ranging from the beginner looking for some fun in the hills to an experienced racer climbing the ranks – it rips, it shreds and it’s made me smile a hell of a lot and for that reason alone, I really rate the Nukeproof Pulse Comp and would certainly recommend anyone looking for a new off-the-shelf DH bike, to look this way.

Nukeproof Bikes and Components are distributed in the UK, US and elsewhere, through Hotlines-UK and for more on their stellar 2014 line (yes, this bike carries over as is) tap the logo below. Happy shredding, Tom.

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