Three big bikes that don’t fit under any label. So we made one up.

WORDS DEAN HERSEY PHOTOGRAPHY CHIPPS

Once upon a not very distant time ago, mountain bikes were easily recognisable and labelled. If they were cars, then short travel hardtail bikes were for the Lycra clad whippets racing cross-country, lightweight and fast, similar to your classic softtop roadster. Meanwhile, youngsters rolled around in skinny jeans and T shirts on tiny hardtail frames with the one brake and a sole purpose to hit tombstones of dirt. I liken these bikes to the impracticable beach buggy.

Of course we had ‘BIG’ bikes for the speedsters, the monster trucks of mountain bikes, built for racing downhill over any obstacle. With adaptations, downhill race bikes could be tweaked into cliff-dropping freeride weapons capable of jumps that would scare Evel Knievel.

Then along came the trail bike, the everyday hatchback, for the most part full suspension and extremely capable of all day epics and weekend blitzes around trail centres in relative ease and comfort, a happy medium for the masses. But, with the addition of key items such as dropper posts and 1x drivetrains the frames and components morphed again into what some people might call ‘enduro’ bikes. To the untrained eye, the same outline as a trail bike/hatchback but some what beefed up for stage racing to create a rally car.

They had bigger travel and tweaked geometry, diTherentiating them from their trail bike cousins and yet they were still lighter than the brutish, burly, park and freeride bikes of yesteryear. Capable of everything from lung-busting alpine transition climbs to ten-minute downhill stages and everything in between.

Now the lines really start to blur. Finally, every mountain bike manufacturer the world over had its own take on the trail, all-mountain and enduro wave of bikes. The end.

Not so fast. So what’s next? Do we really need clearly defined ideas of what we should be riding and on what machinery? I think not. After all, free time is precious, money is tight, and all we really want or need is to ride when we can on what we have. No? Well, kind of, but that isn’t what makes the world go round for everyone. But I believe that being able to pedal around having fun is most important.

That is where these bikes come in. Some may say this type of bike has been around before. But only now can we truly exploit them. All three bikes are from very popular brands in the UK at three diTherent price points. They all boast ample travel, 27.5in wheels, up-to-date sizing and geometry and dropper seatposts meaning they scream ‘fun’, among the world of the, now clichéd, ‘jump further, ride faster and for longer’.

Arguably, on paper, these three bikes may seem ‘too much bike’ for UK enduro racing and far more capable than the old skool freeride, bike park sledges. They are slightly lacking in head angle and travel to be labelled as true downhill race bikes – meaning they are in a kind of uncategorised zone we’ll coin ‘Beyonduro’.

So what sort of a tool are they and if you felt the need, how can you pigeonhole them into a genre of mountain biking? Think of them as Sunday-best bikes, like Sunday cars.

These are bikes for that holiday in the mountains, designs that shout ‘bike park shuttling’ and can yet still plod to the top as long as you’re not in a hurry. They’re a special occasion bike you own for the pure fun of using it, and when you own a ‘daily driver’ for vast majority of your local riding, these bikes should bring a smile in every mile, every time they come out.

NUKEPROOF MEGA 275 COMP

Price: £2,399.00 (as tested) / From: Nukeproof, nukeproof.com

Like many well-established mountain bike manufacturers, Nukeproof can trace its roots back to the ‘90s when it was best known for its super-light carbon and aluminium hubs.

Unfortunately, Nukeproof Industries struggled with the downturn after the initial boom of the ‘90s. Up stepped Northern Irishman Michael Cowan, an avid downhill racer and admirer of the brand. He decided to breathe fresh life into the name and set about acquiring the necessaries. In 2004 the Nukeproof that we know today was born. Fast forward to 2007 when Nukeproof started an initial run of components such as shock springs and wide (even by today’s standards) handlebars for the gravity mountain bike market. This component production coincided with the development of a frame to compete in the infamous Megavalanche race. The three-year development programme resulted in the Mega.

Originally the Mega was based around 150mm of single pivot suspension conceived to tackle all the rough and tough of the mountain race it was named after. The bike was made strong, stiff and was oThered at a privateer-friendly price.

Now in the fourth generation of the Mega, the bike has some serious pedigree when it comes to racing results. This current model can boast development from three times downhill world champion Sam Hill. This Mega is also the reigning EWS champion under arguably one of the most gifted mountain bike riders of all time at the helm.

The 2018 Mega can be acquired in either 27.5 or as a 29er. Both wheel sizes share the same component specification across the range. The Comp level alloy framed bikes start at a competitive £2,400. Although the 290 model is only available with a full alloy frame, the 275 model range tops out with the flagship Mega 275c RS at £4,599 that is constructed using a carbon front end mated to the alloy swingarm.