Nukeproof is quietly developing a new version of its Megawatt e-bike, powered by a SRAM motor and scheduled for release in 2028. That’s according to Nukeproof’s new owners, which bought the mothballed brand from Frasers Group earlier this year.

The Megawatt will be the launch bike of Belgium Cycling Factory, which has big plans for the brand and that extend beyond selling existing stock once developed as part of CRC Wiggle.

The previous generation Nukeproof Carbon Megawatt was developed alongside SRAM Powertrain… will the new one get Powertrain 2.0?

“The first Megawatt was really a very tight collaboration between frame maker – Nukeproof – and SRAM and that [new Megawatt] will be the same very tight collaboration,” BCF CEO Jochim Aerts told me in an exclusive interview for mbr. “That’s already started a couple months ago.”

Nukeproof was snapped up by Frasers Group in March 2024, after its parent company Wiggle CRC folded the previous year. Since then we’ve seen a swathe of old stock pumped out at discount prices through Frasers Group’s brands Evans Cycles and Sports Direct, but nothing new or exciting.

Now though, BCF and Jochim Aerts, which also owns Eddie Merckx bikes and Ridley, are looking to develop the brand further. 

Jochim Aerts BCF Nukeproof

“We are going to honor the brand,” Jochim says. “We are going to bring back this beautiful legend. We will not kill the Nukeproof DNA, it will not become a sticker brand. Nukeproof fans will not be disappointed when they see what we’re doing.”

Whether the new Megawatt will use SRAM’s existing Powertrain motor in this “tight collaboration” or something completely different isn’t yet known, but I’d be amazed if SRAM wasn’t working on something new. Back in 2023 we spotted a patent application showing SRAM’s plans for a potentially new e-bike motor. 

The patent showed a wrap around battery design with 39 cells, and a potential power pack of around 800Wh, at 21Wh per cell. The motor itself looked concentric in design and slung low on the bike. Needless to say though, it’s too early to tell if the patent will really lead to the next generation of SRAM motor, or indeed if the Megawatt will use it at all.

Is this SRAM’s new e-bike motor in the works?

What we do know is that BCF has rehired some Nukeproof employees responsible for developing the brand over the past decade, most notably Dale McMullan, the former head frame engineer responsible for kinematics and geometry. 

“I’ve been involved since the beginning of UK Nukeproof and Vitus, around 2009,” he told me by email. “I’ve designed pretty much every full-suspension Nukeproof and Vitus bike since then. My role was to design the kinematics, then work with Enrique, the concept engineer, and the 3D engineers to develop the final model.”

Three other as yet unnamed ex-CRC employees have been brought in too, with skills in kinematics, engineering, brand management, marketing, and sales. They’re putting the band back together, in Blues Brothers terminology. 

Jochim Aerts isn’t joking when he says Nukeproof really will develop new bikes and products then. But it’s not all about new stuff – this summer we can expect the return of the old Nukeproof Megawatt with Powertrain motor, a bike we haven’t seen since its launch nearly two years ago.

“We already did an Asian trip in fall last year to see, ‘OK, what’s the current status of the inventory, what’s the current status of new developments,’” Jochim says.

The Giga Carbon Factory from 2024 was lots of fun, we’re hoping for a new version of this super enduro bike too

Presumably this existing inventory will be brought into the European market for sale. This could be great news for any existing Nukeproof or perhaps even Vitus owners out there needing new parts for existing bikes, and perhaps for the return of favourites like wheels, pedals and Nukeproof-branded clothing.

“But there will also be some very exciting product that has never been seen,” Jochim adds. “With the same dedication and precision development as new proof has been doing over the past 10 years.”

Nukeproof bikes will now be distributed in the UK over BCF’s dealer network. “That’s also beneficial for Nukeproof, and as a company we will become much more attractive for the shops that are looking for a full lineup.