Nukeproof Scalp

rockmonkeysc

Got myself a nice new Nukeproof Scalp DH Pro.
Only intended to go the basic Scalp but I have a expensive habit of upgrading bikes so I decided it would work out cheaper to buy one which is already kitted out with top spec kit



•Frame: Hydroformed Double-Welded 6061 Aluminium Single Pivot Design Featuring Fallout Linkage Driven Three Stage Progression Suspension, 209mm Travel
•Rear Shock: Cane Creek Double Barrel, 500lb Steel Spring
•Forks: RockShox BoXXer R2C2, 200mm Travel, 20mm Maxle Lite Thru Axle
•Handlebars: Nukeproof Warhead 760 Riser Bar, 25mm Rise
•Stem: Nukeproof Warhead BoXXer Direct Mount
•Grips: Nukeproof Lock-On
•Headset: Nukeproof 49IISS
•Chainset: Truvativ Descendant GXP, 36t, 165mm
•Chainguide: Truvativ X0 ISCG05, 36-40t, Black
•Chain: SRAM PC-1051
•Cassette: SRAM PG-1070, 11-26t, 10-Speed
•Shifter: SRAM X9
•Rear Derailleur: SRAM X0
•Brakes: Avid X0, 200mm Rotors
•Saddle: Nukeproof Plasma Scalp
•Seatpost: Nukeproof Warhead Inline
•Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF Front & Rear, 26” x 2.5” 42aST
•Wheelset: Nukeproof Generator Race, Thru Axle 110mm-20mm/150mm-12mm
•Weight: 17.9kg (Medium)

Wont get my first ride until tomorrow which will also be my first race on it

bonezy

Very, very nice! Brave to make your first ride a race too, good luck!

rockmonkeysc

Managed to get out for an hour this afternoon. It rides great, very fast through the rough stuff, great through Berms. It absolutely flies off jumps, caught me by surprise a bit the first time.
Suspension is very good, I see why the CCDB has such a good reputation, ride quality is like floating on a cloud of titties :-)

Thewaylander

You need to give your bike to me.....

That is all

rockmonkeysc

It's a fast bike! Knocked several seconds of my expected race time and finished 6th. So easy to hold a drift and even pull it back in to line when the front lets go and very stable at high speed through boggy sections.
Just let down by the wrong tyres. I was on Swamp Things and all the riders who beat me were on Dirty Dans. Need to get a set of Dirty Dans

RideOnTime

looks stealthy. smart.

mrmonkfinger

very nice

not a lot of scope for upgrades

felix.london

Very Nice!

Seen a couple of these over the last two weekends up the road at Montgenevre. Even had to lend my pump to an Italian guy who had one who was rating it as well

1mancity2

So would you go back to the Reign x? (I already know the answer)

Looks really well and a very decent spec as well.

rockmonkeysc

I wouldn't but I was beaten by someone on a Reign X at the weekend!
Fortunately it was Steve Geall, bmx & mtb legend, ex Giant factory rider who also made Chris Smith the legend he is. Steve could turn up to a DH race on a folding bike with 20" wheels & still win.

rockmonkeysc

Fitted some Drift titanium fork armour to protect the lowers from rocks & uplifts.
Not too pretty but nicely made and a good fit.

rockmonkeysc

After two months of hard riding I really can't fault the Scalp. It has made me a much faster rider and give me a lot more confidence to go bigger.
The only component to have failed so far is the chain device which snapped (my finger snapped as well!) when I crashed at FoD when I got a step down jump all wrong.
I have fitted a e*thirteen LG1+ which I got from CRC for £89 which seems like a bargain

Really simple to set up & more effective than the Truvativ X0 device

rockmonkeysc

I did the Southern downhill champs a few weeks back. Great day riding and somehow managed 11th in the masters even though I crashed in both race runs.
I tried a set of Bontrager G-Mud downhill tyres, they are great in loose mud, amazingly grippy and fast but lethal on the roots.
The bike is capable of much more than I am as I found out trying to keep up with Rich Thomas from the Wideopen Nukeproof world cup DH team. It all got a bit much and ended with a broken finger from a scary crash on a big road gap jump.
As soon as I am healed from my latest injury it's serious training ready to race in the Forest Of Dean mini downhill winter series and hopefully some reasonable results.
Here's a couple pics from the Southern Championships at UK Bike Park

cat_with_no_tail

Looks like you were shredding there! Good results, well done.

That 1st pic gives a good idea of how muddy it was too.

rockmonkeysc

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Looks like you were shredding there! Good results, well done.

That 1st pic gives a good idea of how muddy it was too.

Thanks, results should have been a lot better but this is my first season racing so I make mistakes & still have a lot to learn.
Conditions were tricky, some sections were completely dry but other sections were loose and muddy. I think I should have put some HIgh Rollers on for better grip in the rooty sections. The first pic was the best section of the track, it's straight after a road gap, as soon as you land you can throw the bike in to the turn and that loose berm catches you no matter how hard you hit it. I was surprised to see how compressed my forks are though!

jonniorrell

bike looks great in action!!

rockmonkeysc

It's amazing to ride. It's a proper race bike, which just encourages you to go faster and bigger then laughs at your best efforts!
The only negative is that there are loads of them at every race, but there is a good reason why!

ilovedirt

Haha, yeah they're not exactly rare are Scalps. That said, Sundays are common as hell too, but then there's good reason for that, too.

Wouldn't mind testing a Scalp to see what the fuss is all about, they're meant to ride nice, but I just can't force myself to like how they look. I've never really tried a proper modern downhill bike - the Sunday is about as close as I've gotten, but it's not exactly a bad bike.

rockmonkeysc

Sunday's are awesome bikes, a future classic. They were probably the best DH race bike of their time.
It's difficult to get a test ride on a Scalp. To be honest I didn't like the looks of it and it wasn't even one of the bikes I wanted to buy when I was looking for a new DH bikes but I couldn't ignore the value and the amazing reviews. A quick blast down a short trail on one belonging to someone I met on an uplift was the only test ride I had.

It's getting it's first upgrade next week, a set of Shimano Zee brakes (£195 for the pair from Rose Bikes). Hopefully they should be a bit more consistent than the Avid X0's and have a little more bite. After reading specs and reviews I just couldn't justify the extra for Saint brakes for a really minimal weight loss and a pad contact adjuster which according to reviews doesn't work.

ilovedirt

Lol, Sundays are already a classic!

Sounds good, I got some new XTs on my Sunday, not had a chance to ride it yet though so I'll see how I get on. Silly easy to bleed though.

rockmonkeysc

Shimano Zee brakes fitted. Much easier to bleed than the Avids and a much nicer feel at the lever. Tomorrow's race should get the pads bedded in!

subzero64

really nice bike

im hoping to get a dh bike soon

how did the zee brakes cope this weekend

rockmonkeysc

They are really excellent. The track was too short to see if they will fade when they get hot but power, control & feel of the brakes is excellent.

rockmonkeysc

It's still putting a big grin on my mug every ride and my race results are improving though as the speed increases so does the size of the crashes.
Here's a pic from the final round of the 661 Mini downhill series at Forest of Dean


Not the fastest run I have ever done but Minions just weren't gripping in the damp conditions.

mrmonkfinger

you should try and sign for team nukeproof

the race course (was it sheepskull all the way down?) must have got trashed, corkscrew/gbu runs were quite dry.

what times did you score?

rockmonkeysc

I think I would be great value for sponsors. Loads of advertising space on an XL jersey!
It was sheepskull, only the last 20 yards really got trashed. I crashed my first run, about 20 yards in, just went too hot in to a turn. Second run was a bit over cautious so I did a 1:41. I was getting 1:35 in practice so really disappointed.
Need to decide on a summer race series now, I'm thinking maybe Gawton summer series with a race or two at Taff Buggy and the Coombe Sydenham round of the Borderline series.

mrmonkfinger

that's pretty fly, podium spots were around 1:30 IIRC? (from my quick glance at the result page)

the bike seems to be working nicely for you

rockmonkeysc

Fastest time of the day was 1:24 so I was a little way off. I was hoping for top 15 in the masters but ended up 38th which was disappointing.

rockmonkeysc

More racing and shredding the local trails without a single fault. It still feels like new.
Since I managed to shift nearly three stone I thought I would treat myself to a softer rear spring which has really improved small bump sensitivity and grip. I also treated myself to a gopro and made a short video from a afternoon at Triscombe chasing one of the quicker locals.
http://youtu.be/S1BdtAWdkVM

rockmonkeysc

More stupidity with the Triscombe locals. This video makes the road gap looks a lot smaller than it is (25 foot gap, 7 foot drop).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNtLVsH6 ... e=youtu.be
I'm the third rider both times, cased it a little second time.
As always the bike is performing superbly though I'm taking the wheels to JD Tuning tomorrow to get them rebuilt with some Mavic EX721 rims. The Nukeproof rims are just a little soft and have a few dents now.

Ben_morris

Hi,

Great video.

If you was in the chesterfield area i would be interested in sponsoring you for next season.

Great bike btw.

Ben.