An electric Nukeproof will come as little surprise to anyone with a grasp of both the Nukeproof brand and the wider MTB market in general. The only surprise was that it took until MY2022 for the Nukeproof MegaWatt to appear.
The Nukeproof MegaWatt looks like it was worth waiting for. Hang on though, don’t get overly excited; there’s nothing cutting edge or pioneering here. But – unlike some brands’ first e-attempts – the MegaWatt doesn’t appear to have any unfortunate design quirks or eyebrow-raising specs.
Read more: Best electric mountain bikes – join the riding revolution!
Nukeproof MegaWatt need to know
- 170mm travel
- Mixed wheel ‘MX’ AKA mullet
- Shimano EP8 drive system
- Removable 504Wh (Comp) or 630Wh (Elite, Factory) battery
- Adjustable internal battery mounts
- 6061-T6 Aluminium
- Takes 620ml bottle (or 500ml without adapter mount)
- S – XXL
- 23.9kg (52.6lb) Medium Factory, tubeless
- Prices: £5000 for Comp up to £7000 Factory
Read more: go straight to our review of the Nukeproof MegaWatt
With brands such as Vitus having had electric mountain bikes (and really good ones at that) in their range for a few years now – and previous hold-outs such as Santa Cruz finally succumbing to the power of power assist – the lack of an electric Nukeproof was becoming somewhat glaring.
Even without the need to play catch-up with rival brands, the fact is that Nukeproof are arguably one of the most electric-suited MTB brands out there. Gravity-loving, unpretentious, capable, go anywhere, have serious fun.
The MegaWatt was developed at the same time as the latest acoustic Nukeproof Mega. Or, perhaps more revealingly, the new acoustic Mega was developed at the same time as the MegaWatt. There are definitely things on the new Mega that are the way the are because of the MegaWatt and the brand’s desire to have a unifying/shared aesthetic between the two bikes. As well ast he Horstlink layout being pretty much identical, just look at the BB-downtube junction on the acoustic Mega. You can pretty much picture a Shimano EP8 motor in there can’t you?
Speaking of the Shimano EP8 drive system, the MegaWatt will ship with two custom-tweaked power presets: ‘Power’ and ‘Range’. Essentially the ‘Power’ preset has the dials turned up pretty much all the way, whilst the ‘Range’ preset reduces top end wattage assist, torque and slows (makes milder) the assist start-up kick-in.
Comp: £5000
The start of the MegaWatt range. All MegaWattt models will come the Shimano EP8 motor, with the Comp featuring a 504WH Battery. Drive is from Shimano Deore 12 speed group set with stopping power from the Deore 4 pot brakes. Suspension is from Rockshox 170mm ZEB Select Charger RC fork with a custom tuned Rockshox Super Deluxe Select R shock. All models will feature a tyre combo of Double Down casing Maxxis Assegai up front and High Roller out back.
Elite: £6000
The Elite Spec. MegaWatt again features the Shimano EP8 motor but combines this with the a larger 630WH battery. Fox 38 Performance Elite and custom tuned Fox Float X2 rear shock (with two positions) provide the suspension performance with Shimano’s SLX drivetrain and 4 pot brakes (203mm rotors). It again will feature all the Nukeproof finishing components from premium Horizon range.
Factory: £7000
The Top of the MegaWatt range. Fitted with tuned Fox Factory Series Suspension and Shimano XT 12 speed and powerful XT M8120 4 pot brakes.
Read more: go straight to our review of the Nukeproof MegaWatt
Availability
Comp £5000 – available July 2nd
Elite £6000 – available July 2nd
Factory £7000 – available August 5th