This test was carried out against (and at times within) a backdrop of testing the most expensive carbon downhill bikes in the world.
To begin with, this is not the most expensive carbon downhill bike in production. In fact it’s almost the opposite. At £3999 it’s half the price of a Santa Cruz V10 or Specialized Demo and it’s made of aluminium! It does however have similarities to the expensive bikes in that it hosts similar components, angles and…well one of the most thrilling and successful racers ever now rides one of these bikes…Sam Hill. The differences of price and frame material do not affect its performance.
Does the bike matter? Yes of course it does.Apart from the aforementioned sizing essentials what every rider needs to take into account is the dynamic ride and how to make it work for you. CRC Nukeproof team rider Joe Smith came along to one of our test sessions and highlighted the slight changes that make a difference to performance. Joe rides with extra spacers under his crown, Matt Simmonds his team mate goes so far as to add a higher bar too. Both have RockShox dampers, but more of that later down.
DIRT MOUNTAIN BIKE | BIKE REVIEWS
Do the components count? Yes they do.
Take for example the brakes. In Avid you have arguably the best performing race brakes on the market. Compared to Shimano Saint they are neither too fierce and don’t have the awkward three stage action at the lever point. For dabbing and scratching a slither of speed off the circuit you have the best acting brake there is. Forks, RockShox BoXXer R2C2, if you think you need 
bigger stanchions with less reliability then you are mental. Speed wise the fork is up for anything, supportively excellent and you spend more time on the hill than with a grease gun in your shed. Drivetrain is all good stuff again from Sram and the own brand extras such as post, bar, stem, seat and wheels give the bike a balanced visual. At 760mm the bars are too narrow on a large bike. The 780mm gave increased room on the bike.
This is the hard one. Having ridden Joe Smith’s bike I know the bike can be even better. Shod with a beautifully prepped BoXXer World Cup (and Mavic wheels) the bike shaves weight and gives a slight edge in terms of grip, although at higher pressures the WC loses sensitivity. Yet it’s in the rear damper that I find most interesting area of the bike. Riding Joe’s bike with the same 450lb weight spring on and a new RC Vivid yielded a different performance to the standard Cane Creek shock. The key part was the shock’s ability to ‘push through’ more, which offered up increased grip yes, but more importantly held the bike in a slightly better ride height, which in turn had a positive effect on riding position. The Vivid is also many times easier to set up than the standard Cane Creek. I don’t believe the Cane Creek offers an advantage on this bike and have no doubt with Vivid that the suspension is a good as most bikes out there.
And the numbers…
The fact that Nukeproof have an empty extra large space on their website in the geometry section of this bike suggests there is more to come. I hope so because there is so much going for the Pulse. The Large isn’t short compared to many large bikes – the Trek for example is shorter – yet measuring the wheelbase alone misses the point, for it’s the interrelationship of numbers that gives the bike and rider a centralised position. My thoughts centre around whether the bottom bracket slightly too high, does the Cane Creek need to be better tuned for the suspension design? 10mm each side of the bar, 10mm on the downtube, 10mm lower on the BB and 10mm lower on ride height might make the difference for the taller rider.
Slightly heavy, the large Pulse still has a killer component spec. Working on a longer bar/bottom bracket dimensions like the team riders remedies the small sizing a touch, but I still felt too much weight being placed up front on the bike and coming out of tighter corners there is not enough room in the cockpit compared to a large Specialized Demo. Riding Joe Smith’s bike gave a crucially important insight into this bike in terms of shock progressivity and weight (the production needs to be lighter), but all said and done, for anyone under 6’ this bike has to be a serious consideration. Find the specs to the Nukeproof Pulse DH Pro below.
Price: £3999.99
SPEC| Frame | Nukeproof Pulse T6 6061 aluminium, Fallout Linkage, 210mm |
| Shock | Cane Creek DB |
| Forks | RockShox BoXXer R2C2 |
| Headset | Nukeproof 4911SS |
| Bar | Nukeproof 760mm |
| Stem | Nukeproof Direct Mount |
| Grips | Nukeproof Element Lock–On |
| Chainset | Truvativ Descendant, 165mm, 36 tooth |
| Chainguide | SRAM X0 |
| Cassette | SRAM PG–1030, 11/26, 10 spd |
| Chain | SRAM PG–1031, 10 spd |
| Shifter | Sram X9 |
| Derailleur | SRAM X0 Type2 |
| Brakes | Avid Code |
| Seat | Nukeproof Pulse Race |
| Seatpost | Nukeproof Warhead In–Line |
| Wheels | Nukeproof Generator DH |
| Tyres | Maxxis High Roller II 2.4 |
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