Andi and Hannah have been testing and swapping hardtails in anticipation of a summer of dry, fast trails.

WORDS ANDI & HANNAH

PHOTOGRAPHY AMANDA

We’ve been hunting down that rarest of bicycle items: the hardtail. Along the way we discovered dragon’s blood, hen’s teeth and the Holy Grail, but we left all of those at the trailside in the interests of bringing three reviews to you.

This 2021 collection of hardtails is a mixed bag: we have the brand-new Salsa Timberjack, which has its eye on the trail that leads to a riverside camp spot and perhaps a nice artisan coffee stop. There’s the Nukeproof Scout 290, a thoroughly modern hardtail which is just itching to take on an enduro and prove that full suspension isn’t always necessary. And then there’s the Ragley Big Wig, launched in 2013 and arguably the original ‘modern’ steel 29er, still flying the flag for fun and functionality. For this test, Andi and Hannah have swapped the bikes between them so you can get a couple of perspectives on each. Andi is a little taller at 178cm and rides harder, faster, and flies higher. Hannah is 3cm shorter and more likely to be taking in the views as she rides and stopping to take a photograph of a bluebell, though she’s still partial to whizzing down more familiar descents. Let’s see what they both thought.

NUKEPROOF SCOUT 290 PRO

Price: £2,449.99 From: Nukeproof, nukeproof.com

The Nukeproof Scout has been a permanent fixture of the Nukeproof range for a few years now, and for 2021 the playful aluminium hardtail has received a few updates. As many hardtail riders already know, aluminium, in this case, triplebutted 6061 tubing, is great for building lightweight and stiff frames, but if not careful it can return a less than compliant ride. One of the main updates for the new Scout is in the chainstay assembly. Nukeproof ’s engineers have changed the profile to provide a smoother ride without affecting torsional stiffness; at the same time the frame clearance has been increased and the new Scout is wide enough to accommodate 2.5in tyres (2.8in if you want to run 27.5+ wheels on your Scout 290) for even more comfort.

Of course, the 2021 Scout also benefits from a longer reach and slacker front end, as most bikes released this year do, but the numbers aren’t way out there, meaning the simple hardtail remains agile and lively. Nukeproof, very helpfully, lists the geometry of the Scout both as static and at sag. For a hardtail this is very important as the geometry does shift when the fork is compressed, meaning a bike with a slack static seat tube angle actually rides with a slightly steeper one. In this case, our medium-sized frame has a reach of 441mm, head angle of 66.5° and a seat tube angle of 74.5° based on the stock 140mm fork with 25% sag, but if you were to run 30% you’ll get an even steeper angle and slightly longer reach. Attached to the frame we get a host of great parts, hardly surprising as this pro spec Scout costs £2,500. The fork is a real highlight, being a burly Lyrik Select with 140mm of travel – you really couldn’t want for anything else on a hardcore hardtail. The drivetrain is built up from 12-speed SLX kit.

Brakes are four-piston SLX, wheels from DT Swiss, while the rest of the kit is from Nukeproof ’s own in-house brand. In the past, running own-brand kit was seen as a cost-effective way of building up a bike, but the Nukeproof kit constantly impresses and is highly regarded as high-quality aftermarket components. The quality of the build kit along with the beautifully polished frame makes for a stunning-looking hardtail that grabs the attention whenever it hits the trail.

Before we move on to the ride of the bike, we want to point out the excellent tyre choice on the Scout Pro. We were really happy to see an Assegai and Dissector fitted to the DT Swiss hoops, it is a much better and higher-performing combo than the usual DHF/DHR mix we generally see, especially for UK riding that can often be muddy. It may not seem much, but as a pair of tyres can easily cost over £100 it was great to see that the Scout Pro has decent rubber out of the box.

The Ride 

Andi says… I ride a lot of bikes through the year, and most of them are generally longer than the Scout Pro, but I wanted the bike to feel as playful and fun as possible while remaining comfortable for long days. For me, the medium-sized bike meant tons of smiles in Grenoside and Wharncliffe, and a good position for longer rides, though if my intention was to cover more ground and be less rowdy, a large would fit the bill. From the very first ride, the Scout felt dialled. The frame is playful and snappy and eager to pump or jump on smooth sculptured trails as you find at Grenoside and Lady Cannings. The agile handling and generous standover makes lifting and manoeuvring the Scout around a breeze. This is great for when you suddenly come across an unexpected trail feature or for when you and your riding mates want to session a jump/ gap/drop or just skid through a pile of leaves.