Nov 25, 2021

Pro Bike check: Sam Hill's Nukeproof EWS race bikes

Back in October, the flat pedal thunder from down under dropped his two race bikes off in the shop after a hard season of EWS racing. Let’s take a closer look at Sam Hill’s Nukeproof Giga 275 that he used at EWS Tweed Valley.

Frame

For the tight and technical terrain riders were facing off against at the final round of the 2021 EWS season, Sam opted to go for 27.5’ wheels front and back on his EWS Tweed Valley race bike which, according to Sam, allowed him to dart around through the dense forests of Innerleithen, where quick direction changes are par for the course.

The Giga uses an eccentric main pivot to change the progression of the frame from 25.5% to 29%.

Suspension

The Nukeproof Giga 275 dishes out 180mm of suspension travel front and back allowing it to make light work of anything in its path. Controlling all this travel falls to Rockshox, Sam is running a Zeb Ultimate fork and a Blackbox rear shock which allows for some high speed compression adjustment, a first for Rockshox shock.

Blackbox, set up in 2000, is Rockshox’s R&D programme focussing on using racer feedback to develop the next generation of Rockshox suspension technology. Sam has been a part of the Blackbox programme for well over a decade now and continues to offer his feedback and ride impressions to the Blackbox engineers.

Drivetrain

Keeping the wheels turning, and the cockpit tidy, is a full SRAM AXS drivetrain. No cables mean less fuss and when every second counts, being able to easily and quickly change out parts makes a huge difference. AXS makes changing a broken derailleur a very quick process.

Aside from the ease of swapping parts out, the AXS drivetrain uses an overload clutch to help protect the derailleur in the event of an impact. This means the derailleur can disengage the motor when struck by a trail side obstacle, move out of the way of the obstruction and return to its normal position, meaning damage from impact is greatly reduced.

Alongside the 10-52t cassette is a 32t narrow-wide chainring.

Brakes

A massive part of being able to ride at the speeds Sam does, is having total confidence in your brakes, knowing you can slow down in an instant is central to confident riding. Code RSCs are the brake of choice here, with excellent power and heaps of modulation they’re an easy choice.

Paired up with the Code brakes are the new HS2 rotors from SRAM. Featuring a newly designed brake track to increase power by 7%, along with a thicker rotor (2mm) and special heat dissipating paint, Sam is able to slow down reliably, even after some of the Tweed Valleys steepest and longest descents.