2023 Vitus

Nucleus 26

Head over to the Vitus website and you could be forgiven for thinking that you’re seeing double. You’re not, it’s simply that Vitus offers the Nucleus VR with either 27.5in wheels or 29in wheels. Both options are the exact same price and both come with very similar wheel size appropriate build kits, that include different fork travel, different tyre sizes and different gearing.  Best hardtail mountain bikes: classic trail-shredding machines Regardless of your preferred wheel size both options also use bespoke alloy frame designs, where Vitus has sensibly used the wheel size split to offer subtly different size ranges. The 27.5in wheel bikes run from S to XL, the 29ers from M to XL. The idea being shorter riders will benefit most for the smaller wheels, as they need more bum/tyre clearance. To keep the test fresh we opted for the Nucleus 29 VR, as we know from experience that bigger wheels roll over bumps better, especially when you have zero rear suspension, so they keep the rider fresher too.  The lightweight alloy 29er frame has all the features you’d expect on a modern trail hardtail. A tapered headtube, internal routing for a dropper and ISCG tabs on the bottom bracket shell for fitting a chain device. And even though the seat tube has a slight kink in it, to help tuck the bigger 29in rear wheel in nice and tight to keep the chainstays short, there’s still plenty of seat post insertion, so getting the saddle well out of the way for shredding is easy.  Suspension One of the big differences between the 29in Nucleus VR and the 27.5in bike is that it has 20mm less fork travel, so 100mm vs 120mm. Both bikes get the Suntour XCR 32 LO-R which is air-sprung and easily adapted to different rider weights. The fork also has externally adjustable rebound damping, but that’s not enough to put it level pegged with the fork on the Carrera, as this fork is really sticky. Maybe the bushings were too tight, but even with all of the dials wound wide open the fork was slow to react to impacts and very harsh.  And while you could take one look at the 9mm quick release dropouts and assume the fork wouldn’t be stiff enough, Vitus is the only brand in this category to use a tapered steerer tube, so fork stiffness isn’t a problem.  Components With a Nukeproof riser bar and 50mm Vitus stem the cockpit on the Nucleus is totally sorted – the lock-on grips a real bonus in wet conditions. The Maxxis Ardent tyres also offer a good compromise between rolling speed and traction, and will definitely dig in better in loose conditions than the lower profile Ikon tyres on the Polygon. We were impressed by the Clarks brakes too, as they were more powerful than the Tektros and have a light lever action just like the Shimanos. In fact, the only question mark over the build kit is the 8-speed Box drivetrain. Yes, …Continue reading »

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Despite some decent parts, the Nucleus has a disappointingly stiff and XC-biased ride

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