With the downfall of Chain Reaction Cycles, the legacy brand Nukeproof was brought down with it, to the disappointment of many. However, for a while now, we’ve known that the brand was planning a comeback since being purchased by Belgian Cycling Factory, as evidenced by its display of some bikes at Eurobike 2025. One of those was the Reactor, and today the brand has officially relaunched with that very bike.
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Even before its demise, the Reactor was Nukeproof’s do-it-all trail and all-mountain bike, and the very latest version aims to bring the character of the old bike while modernising it with a fresh geometry. The brand has also gone ahead and tweaked the suspension kinematic to boost the Reactor’s versatility.
The latest iteration of the Reactor comes with a pair of 29in wheels as standard, although we’re told that it can accommodate a mixed wheel setup (650b/29) thanks to a geometry-adjusting flip chip. As for suspension travel, there’s 142mm at the rear and 150mm up front.
There are a lot of features on the frame that we’ve seen on the Reactor of old. There are two frames available, carbon and alloy, with the former using T700 and T700 fibres, and the latter is built from triple butted and hydroformed 6061-T6 aluminium. Oh, and there’s a carbon seat stay on the alloy frame, too.
Nukeproof recognises that even at the best of times, internal cable routing is a proper pain. So on the carbon frame, there are internal pipes that guide the cables and hoses to all of the right places, and the aluminium frame employs large windows to help make cable maintenance that bit simpler. It’s great to see Nukeproof choose a threaded bottom bracket, and the carbon bike comes with a RideWrap protective film pre-fitted. There’s also space for a 750ml bottle in the front triangle.
With modernisation being the real theme of the new Reactor, the brand has paid some attention to its suspension kinematic. Now, the overall progression has been reduced to improve its opportunity for tuning, and the brand says that a higher average ratio improves its sensitivity. There’s then more mid-stroke support and more end stroke leverage, making the end of the stroke less progressive and again, allowing for more tuning. Nukeproof has also boosted the bike’s anti-squat for better pedalling performance.
When it comes to geometry, it’s all pretty spot on for an all-mountain bike in 2025. A large frame boasts a 480mm reach while all frames get a 64.5-degree head angle in the ‘low’ setting. Some parts of the geometry are size-specific, so small and medium frames get 440mm chainstays and 77 degree effective seat tube angles, while large to XX-large frames get 445mm chainstays and 77.5 degree effective seat tubes.
Models and prices
To start with, Nukeproof is keeping the Reactor range incredibly simple. There are two bikes, the Reactor Carbon Pro and the Reactor Alloy Pro. The former is equipped with a RockShox Lyrik Select+ fork and Super Deluxe Air Select+ shock. There’s SRAM’s GX AXS T-Type shifting, SRAM Maven Bronze brakes and Schwalbe Magic Mary, and Nobby Nic tyres. The rest of the build is finished off with Nukeproof’s own kit.
The alloy bike gets the same suspension and tyres but uses SRAM’s Eagle 90 T-Type drivetrain, DT Swiss M-1900 wheels and SRAM Maven Base brakes.
Both frames are available as frame-only options priced at £1,900 for the alloy frame and £2,500 for the carbon. Full builds will set you back £4,000 and £5,500 respectively.
As Nukeproof is now a part of Belgian Cycling Factory, it opens up its bikes to be custom-painted via an online configurator. Potential customers can pick from around 15 colours and design their own Reactor frame to suit their own style.
At the moment, this is merely a taster of what Nukeproof is up to. We’re told that we can expect a lot more from the brand throughout 2026.
