PRESS RELEASE

Nukeproof Refreshes their Horizon and Neutron Wheelsets

Date Jun 10, 2020

Nukeproof's wheel and hub building prowess goes back to the 90s, but they're focused firmly on the future with the release of their latest wheelsets: the Horizon and Neutron. Available with all three major MTB freehub specs and a variety of axle compatibilities, these aggressively priced aluminum wheels look like a solid upgrade over OEM-spec wheels. Read on for full details including weights and pricing.

Since the early 90s, Nukeproof has been synonymous with creating quality hubs and wheelsets for riders. The new range is a result of many hours of research, development and testing by our team. The result is an all new, improved and updated Horizon & Neutron wheel range (V2).

Improvements have been made across all aspects of performance, durability and serviceability of both the Horizon and Neutron wheel families. As a response to customer demand we have changed the way we supply the wheels. Wheels now sold individually (front/rear) to give riders versatility in a complete new set, replacement for one wheel or mix and match. As well as the wheels, a full list of accessories (valves, ARD, Rim Tape etc.) and spare parts are available, forming our most complete wheel range to date.

Horizon Range:

The Horizon range is our premium performance component range, designed for riders looking for the ultimate performance from their bike. At the heart of the new wheelsets is an all new hub. Featuring 102 points of engagement (engagement every 3.52 degrees), the Horizon hub offers rapid engagement to allow riders to get the power down instantaneously when asked. As it’s a Nukeproof product, longevity and reliability are key. The Horizon hub rolls fast and smooth using lipped Enduro ABEC 5 Bearings, which importantly protect the hub from the water and dirt on the trails. To ensure longevity, they feature 80% grease filled bearings to reduce metal to metal contact (generally bearings are 30% filled). Lastly, the hotly debated topic of how they sound? Off the shelf they have a (nice) distinctive “buzz” to them, but as a result of a unsettled debate between our office team, we have also chosen to offer a stealth pawls & springs upgrade/ option for riders who prefer to shred in silence.

To cater to all modern drivetrains SRAM XD, Shimano HG, and Shimano Microspline freehubs are available as an option. To ensure they fit a wide variety of frames, various hub widths are available: 135mm/ 142mm/ 148mm/ 150mm & 157mm and 110 & 100MM fork spacing.

Like most of our customers, we wanted to create the wheels with a wide range of use and appeal. Therefore, the rim had to be tough enough to withstand the abuse of racing downhill, but svelte enough to be happy on fast rolling trails. The rim is constructed using a dynamically aged magnesium-Silicon enriched alloy to give both the stiffness and hardness, but also ductility and yield properties (in short, the benefits of both 7 series and 6 series alloys). Rather than exposing the rim to the heat of the welding process, which can lead to potential weak spots, they are sleeved. This ensures the properties of the alloy remain consistent and effective throughout the circumference. In simple terms; strong and stiff but with a nice level of compliance allowing you to feel the trail where you need it to and ultimately help improved handling and control.

In terms of rim width, we believe the 30mm internal rim width gives the best compromise. For most 2.3 to 2.6” tires it allows the tire casing to create the best contact patch with the trail, while retaining strength and protection. For ease of maintenance, they are finished off 32 hand laced J bend spokes (laced in a 3x pattern). The wheels are therefore tested and approved for downhill, enduro, all mountain and trail use.

Neutron Range:

The Neutron range gets a full overhaul as well. Again, from hub to rim we’ve made improves in performance, strength and reliability. The all new hub is designed for a smooth, fast pick up with increase in points of engagement (36 points of engagement, every 10 degrees) . The same freehub and width options are available on the Neutron range to ensure maximum compatibility. Strength and reliability of the wheelset are key for Neutron and 6066 alloy 29mm internal width rims are hand laced to the hubs with 32 J-Bend spokes. Again, we have developed and approved Neutron V2 Wheels for downhill, trail and enduro use. To keep them always running fresh we’ve designed all our wheelsets to be fully serviceable and a full range of spares will be available through Nukeproof retailers.

Both Horizon and Neutron wheel are available in 27.5” and 29” wheel offering and are supplied set up and tubeless ready (just add tyre and sealant) and come pre-taped with Nukeproof rim tape and our Horizon Tubeless valves.

The rim tape is also available separately in various widths 28mm-36mm, as our the Horizon tubeless Valves (black supplied, but also sold separately in various colours). All our wheels are fully compatible with our Active Rim Defence (ARD) tyre and rim protection.