Pro Bike Check: Sam Hill's Custom Nukeproof Pulse

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New bike, new stoke! Let's dig into Sam Hill's custom DH bike.

Almost as well known as the racer he keeps rolling, Jacy Shumilak has been with Hill almost his entire career. Half the time it seems like there is a telepathic connection between them, with Hill only having to give a brief description of the problem before a solution is sorted and he's back on the lift.

Sam Hill's custom-geometry Nukeproof Pulse 27.5 hanging out in the rain, down by the river. Having stuck with aluminum for a frame material allows Nukeproof to deliver prototypes and rider-requested changes fairly quickly and cheaply compared to carbon fiber.

RockShox Vivid RC2 coil shock with a M/M tune and a 400lb Nukeproof Ti spring.

Always in everyone's thoughts is Stevie Smith. Don't expect these custom RockShox Boxxer stickers to go away anytime soon. Sam's BoXXer World Cup set up features 3 bottomless tokens and 90psi of air pressure.

A custom-cut Schwalbe Magic Mary is on the rear of Hill's bike. The cut was made for Fort William's high speeds. Lower rolling resistance means more enegry saved on one of the longest tracks of the season.

As expected, everyone's favorite flat pedal hold-out is riding his signature Nukeproof Horizon pedal. Sam runs the stock pins with the backing washers removed, turning them into terrifying 8mm shin destroyers. This model is a magnesium body, titanium axle version which saves a significant amount of weight.

SRAM BlackBox 36t X Sync direct mount chainring mated with X0 carbon cranks.

SRAM X01 DH 7-speed drivetrain.

A close look at the Pulse rear spacing.

Jacy preps Sam's bike for a muddy Leogang weekend with moto foam rammed into every crack and crevice to keep the mud out and make cleaning easier. Over a full DH run, this can help keep the bike weight down significantly towards the bottom of the track when your legs and arms are out of gas.

Sam's cockpit setup is simple, but extremely detail oriented. Check out the custom carbon number board for the go-fast look. No need to cut number plates to pass through cables, and no zip ties rubbing on everything. Everything hangs from a 750mm wide Nukeproof Sam Hill Warhead bar.

A few years ago SRAM's BlackBox program made custom shifter paddles for a few of their top athletes. This is the design that Sam preferred. While they are no longer made, having Shumilak in your corner means there's always a little something special squirreled away in a corner of a workshop for when you need it.

Sam mobbing at Fort William on the new steed.

A SRAM GUIDE Ultimate lever helps reduce weight even more and has the feel that Hill likes.

Nukeproof Sam Hill grips. Prototype durometer for extra grip and comfort.

Hill is extremely particular about his brakes and sticks with a Code caliper for more power and better heat dissipation on long World Cup runs. More titanium bolts here for both the caliper mount as well as the rotor.

Sam Hill signature Nukeproof Vector saddle. Expect to see a modified mud version of this saddle on Hill's bike this week as soon as the contact cement dries!

A closer look at Sam's stanchion and stem spacing. 10mm in spacers under the stem, and 10mm of stanchion showing. Sam is so particular here that he dropped 2mm in stanchion height last week in Fort William. Moto foam in the stem cutout and more ti bolts in the number plate holder. No details are overlooked.

#longlivechainsaw

Downhill's favorite flat-pedal rider, Sam Hill, has a new Nukeproof Pulse DH bike with custom geometry. He rode the bike for the first time at Fort William last weekend and is getting more and more comfortable with every run. Sam felt the original Pulse geometry did not put him in a centered and balanced riding position for his particular riding style. Because the CRC / Paypal team runs aluminum Nukeproof frames, they are able to make subtle tweaks to geometry fairly easily and inexpensively. Listen to Sam and his long-time friend and mechanic, Jacy Shumilak discuss the tweaks to this World Cup steed.

Photos and audio by Fraser Britton

Geometry

Head Angle: 62.8-degrees (about 1-degree steeper than previous edition)
Bar height from ground: 1060mm
BB Height: 355mm
Chainstay length: 448mm
BB to front axle: 785mm
BB to bars: 785mm
Top middle of bars to seat post: 625mm

Bike Build

Custom-geometry size Medium Nukeproof Pulse frame
RockShox BoXXer World Cup 90psi of pressure, 8 clicks from full open on compression and 3 Bottomless tokens
RockShox Vivid RC2 coil (MM tune) with 400lb Nukeproof Ti spring and custom bottom-out bumper
Nukeproof Warhead Sam Hill bars, cut to 750mm
Nukeproof Warhead Sam Hill stem, 45mm long, 30-deg rise
SRAM GUIDE Ultimate levers with Code calipers, 200mm G2 rotors front and rear
Sam Hill Nukeproof Grips, custom softer prototype rubber
Sam Hill Signature Nukeproof Horizon Pedal. Full length pins with washers removed for extra length. Ti axles, magnesium body
SRAM X01 DH, 7-speed with custom, modified shifter paddle
SRAM X0 DH carbon cranks, 165mm
SRAM 36t X-Sync direct mount chainring
MRP G4 Chainguide
Schwalbe Magic Mary tires, tubeless at 25f and 28r PSI
Mavic Deemax Rims