Bike Check: Sam Hill's Ferrari Themed Carbon Mega 290 - Trophy of Nations Finale Ligure 2019
Photos: Kike Abelleira
With the Trophy of Nations basically equating to the World Championships of enduro, it's no surprise we're seeing some custom bikes for the riders to be racing on Sunday. Nukeproof have decided to celebrate all things Italy with a trio of Ferrari themed Nukeproof Megas ready to canter through the rough, rocky Finale trails.
One of the most interesting bikes here is the prototype carbon Mega 290 that both Sam and Kelan Grant have been racing for the Nukeproof team since Whistler, while Elliott Heap sticks on the smaller 275c. The aluminum Mega 290 is now three years old but has had minor tweaks throughout the years to keep it on-trend. With the Mega 275c being released over a year and a half ago, we're not surprised to now see this carbon version in development for its bigger brother.
It looks very similar to the aluminum version at first glance but we wouldn't be surprised if there have been some race-inspired geometry changes to bring the platform on top of current trends. Unfortunately, Nukeproof are staying very tight-lipped about any further details for now.
Sam has been racing on a carbon Mega since the Whistler EWS. Coincidentally, he hasn't finished worse than second since so it must be working for him.
The shape of the carbon front end looks similar to the aluminum version of the 290 except for the linkage. On the carbon version, the link bolts directly onto the toptube whereas on the aluminum model it sits a bit below it.
The stays remain aluminum on this bike as they did on the production version of the Mega 275c.
13 is Sam's old moto number. He has stuck with it for his entire racing career and it's in his Instagram handle too. It's a number that's unlucky for most but Sam says he "just likes it" and poor luck seems to not be the case for him.
Remember Sam Hill's Day of the Dead bike from Finale and Ainsa last year? The graphics carry over here on these bigger, aluminum Mavic wheels.
The carbon Mega 290 is set up for internal cable routing, unlike the aluminum frame, however that won't be a huge worry for Sam as he's running a full AXS set up with drivetrain and dropper post in Finale.
The all-important numbers on Sam's signature Horizon bars.
Yosemite Sam ready to fire on all cylinders in Finale.
The Nukeproof fleet all revved up to go. Elliott's also has his moto number while Kelan's 419 is the Sky TV channel number for Extreme Sports that got him first interested in mountain biking through shows like Drop-In TV, back in the day.
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I thought it was the Irish flag being the origin of nukeproof.
At first glance it's a bit odd thougj
"The shape of the carbon front end looks similar to the aluminum version of the 290 except for the linkage. On the carbon version, the link bolts directly onto the downtube whereas on the aluminum model it sits a bit below it."
Edit: I see that's fixed now...
That's not the downtube.
I don't think that's true, however - looks like the aluminum top tube has less of a downward bend than the Carbon one (which isn't limited by 'bendability' etc), thus the actual pivot point is the same.
We might not notice that at all but from marketing point of view it is bad. We want Sam's bike
These single attachment point ones are really for avoiding scratches on your hands from branches and protecting levers. Hit them hard enough and they will definitely either snap or bend far enough back.
PS: the alloy raw version is pretty sexy though.