Photos taken from my phone in a not terribly well lit garage while shivering a bit. This statement should preempt any complaints about picture quality. It’s not my garage either, but my mate Matt had made a real effort to tidy it up. First time I’ve ever actually seen the bench. I just assumed tools had been thrown into a corner and piled up to bench height 😉

Right take that box of bits and fit them to the frame. Shouldn’t take long.

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Didn’t had the right size headset press. Did have a hammer. Tight interference fit. Hope the neighbours weren’t trying to watch the TV or anything.

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Had to borrow Matt’s wheel as mine haven’t turned up yet. Attempt to sort chain line was interrupted by realisation that BB threads were in need of chasing out. LBS borrow tomorrow to sort.

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

BooBar! £30 off CRC, 780mm, sort of a matching colour.

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Which is more than can be said of that stem. Those forks are second hand and clearly the steerer tube was hacked off with a butter knife. I felt quite upset until we sorted that.

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Still BOS forks at 170mm should be perfect for the Mega. Can’t wait to get them out on the trail. Will probably wait for the wheels to arrive first!

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Forgot the cable guides, so couldn’t shorten the hoses.

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Adequately stout back end. Put Matt’s 2.4 tyre in there and not too much clearance tho.

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Brakes, Shifter, Stealth reverb fitted (easy, great system), steerer tube cut straight.

Nukeproof Mega Build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Wheels should come tomorrow. Will sort BB threads and see if we can get it all done tomorrow night. Because the weekend is for riding 🙂

Enjoy. Built mine a few weeks ago and really like it. The BB threads needed doing on mine too which is something that needs addressing. Hope you left some room for for headset spacers as the front end felt quite low on mine with 170mm Lyrics.

Looking good already

Good work mate! Mine’s been “evolving” for the past 3 years and is very close to perfect (for me). Just a DB Air to go…..

That colour looks loads betterin your pics than on the site.

I’m torn between an am and a tr; AM is the kind of bike I’d normally go for but now I have a proper DH BIKE a tr might suit the other stuff better. Decisions decisions…

Nice build!

Do the awful decals on the frame come off? It wouldn’t be a bad looking frame without them.

As well as it being a girls bike, you appear to have fitted the wrong grips. 😉

You will love the Zee brakes.

You will love the Zee brakes.

Are you French?

@NickC – Remember this was going to be a full second hand build? The grips ARE the only second hand things on it. Oh and the forks but they weren’t exactly cheap. And Matt somehow made a working set of ATCS from four broken ones I’d left in a box and hoped they’d ‘self -repair’. Girls bike indeed. Go wash your moth out 🙂

@Scamper – bought the Zees (and the Deville’s) based on seeing them on mate’s bikes. Really impressed with the power. Have new XTs on another bike which are pretty damn powerful but the zees are something else.

@Paul123 – I’ve got 20mm of spacers under there currently on a 210mm (bit less now I’ve straightened it!) steerer tube. It’s a 17 so quite a small frame for me, so we’ll see how it feels when I get the wheels on

@batfink. I think they’ll come off pretty easily based on what I’ve seen so far. Probably with the paint. It’s not the thickest I’ve seen. Whole thing is pretty industrially made but as long as it’s straight, I don’t care really. But the BB threads were in a shocking state. No way you could clean them out even with an old BB.

@slowrider – I went for the AM as it’s really a bike for alps/bikeparks/pretending I can go fast on steep an scary stuff. It’s built up that way as well. I’m lucky enough to have a brilliant HT an FS for all other UK riding. So I was always looking an AM. I think it’ll weight 33lbs ish which seems similar to the TR Chipps tested. He did like it tho.

Love the colour with the red stripe detail but that Nukeproof logo on the downtube spoils it a bit.

I like how your comments to the pictures sum up every build i’ve done. There’s ALWAYS something you forget or find half way that stops you getting it finished in an evening!

Yeah well it wasn’t worth trying to fit a BB. Best do the job properly. And it wasn’t like I was riding today. Wheels have arrived (those 2Pure/IBIS ones) although a quick look suggests rear is currently 135×10 and spare adaptors don’t look like 142s but will have a proper investigate later.

Assuming all is well, and my mate has managed to borrow the LBS’s BB tool, we should be done tonight. More pics then I should think.

Well that was a difficult birth. LBS couldn’t find drive side chasing tool. Non drive side was fine after we cleaned that a number of times. So it looks finished but it isn’t as that bb is one we cut down just so we could set everything up. You wouldn’t want to stand on it 😉

Nukeproof Mega AM build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Wrong hub adaptors shipped with new wheels and 2Pure don’t have the right ones in stock. So borrowed a mates Easton which we thought was 142×12. No, it was 135×12. No matter have some adaptors. Which didn’t fit. So we had to machine those to size.

Nukeproof Mega AM build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

What else. Rear disc was rubbing the mount (prob won’t when I get a proper 142mm in there) so I had to file it a bit. Front calliper was butting up against the 203 post mount adaptor, so had to find a low headed bolt to make that work. Cable routing was a bit random, not sure I’ve made the best decisions but it all seems to work so it;s staying for now.

Nukeproof Mega AM build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Anyway eventually it’s done – or as done as it can be until I can find a BB chasing tool/shop that can it for me and on a non matched rear wheel. Took it for a ride tho 🙂

Nukeproof Mega AM build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Firstly 26inch wheels don’t half accelerate fast! Those forks are unbelievably plush even dropping off curbs. Just feel a cut above anything I’ve ever had. Rear shock didn’t feel great to start then I realised it was in pro-pedal mode. Switched it to open. Lovely.

Nukeproof Mega AM build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Brakes – bonkers, no more to be said on there. Doesn’t feel that heavy to ride, but it’s the wrong side of 30lbs by a bit i reckon. Looks short but measuring up against my solaris, reach is about the same, but you feel more inside the bike, right over the BB. I did have a ‘oh crikey’ moment when I first took it off the stand wondering if 150mm dropper post might be too much for my dwarf legs, but no it’s fine.

Nukeproof Mega AM build by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

If I can get BB sorted tomorrow, I’ll take it for a shake down/slop ride in the FoD. Then come back and helitape all the bits I missed.

A Mans bike

Yes I’m hoping I can find my ‘inner man’ to ride it properly 🙂

Shame you now live in the sticks now Al, as I have a BB chasing tool here 😉

Cheers Justin. Probably a good job I don’t otherwise I’d have asked you to build it for me 🙂 I reckon they cut those BB threads with a stapler! Honestly the NDS one needed the tool and lots of oil for about 10 mins before it was clean.

You may be surprised to hear that in the 10+ years since I’ve seen you, I’ve not got any more patient, Want to ride it NOW !

We’ll have to FoD at some point Al and catch up. It would only take 5 mins to chase it and then you could ride it. You know I would never mind building a bike for mates, I still do !!

Let’s do it. Be great to catch up 🙂