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It’s been new bike day at Singletrack Towers this week – this Nukeproof Cub Scout 26 Race has made its way to a very lucky junior member of the STW family.
This Nukeproof Cub Scout isn’t a test bike – it’s Kid2’s (Hannah’s youngest) new bike, but since lots of you are likely on the lookout for a new bike for your offspring (why oh why do they keep growing?) we thought we’d bring you a closer look.
The Cub Scout Range
The Cub Scout comes in 20, 24 and 26in wheels, each in a Sport or Race model. The Race model is the higher spec of the two, so what we have here is the largest and highest specced bike in the range – the Cub Scout 26 Race.
| Rider Height | Inside Leg | Approx Age | Colour/Decals | Price | |
| Cub Scout 26 Race | 140-158cm | 64-70cm | 10+ years | Blue/Silver | £999.99 |
| Cub Scout 26 Sport | 140-158cm | 64-70cm | 10+ years | Grey/Yellow | £849.99 |
| Cub Scout 24 Race | 127-142cm | 57-66cm | 7-11years | Silver/Black | £999.99 |
| Cub Scout 24 Sport | 127-142cm | 57-66cm | 7-11years | Grey/Yellow | £849.99 |
| Cub Scout 20 Race | 120-130cm | 52-59cm | 5-6 years | Red/Black | £999.99 |
| Cub Scout 20 Sport | 120-130cm | 52-59cm | 5-6 years | Grey/Yellow | £649.99 |
For the money you get a proper air fork custom tuned for lighter riders (Except the 20in Sport model, which has a rigid fork), hydraulic disc brakes with child specific levers, size specific cranks, and child specific grips. In the box you get a set of basic composite pedals and a pedal spanner, a multitool, a few frame protection stickers, a set of cable ports to use if you want to fit a dropper (it comes fitted with solid/blank port covers), the usual bell and reflectors, and a pot of touch up paint for the inevitable scratches.
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Cub Scout 26 Specification
| Cub Scout 26 Sport | Cub Scout 26 Race | |
| FRAME | Nukeproof Cub-Scout 26”, custom butted hydro-formed 6061 Alloy, internal cable routing for dropper seat post, threaded bottom bracket, 142mm Bolt-thru rear axle spacing | Nukeproof Cub-Scout 26”, custom butted hydro-formed 6061 Alloy, internal cable routing for dropper seat post, threaded bottom bracket, 142mm Bolt-thru rear axle spacing |
|---|---|---|
| FORK | X-Fusion RC32 27.5” Air Suspension forks, 1.5” Tapered Steerer, 46mm Offset, 15x110mm Bolt-thru Axle | Manitou Markhor 27.5” TS Air, 120mm Travel, Custom Kids tune, 1.5 Tapered Steerer, 51mm Offset, BOOST 15x110mm Bolt-thru Axle |
| SHOCK | NA | NA |
| FRONT WHEEL | Joytec D041-B15 15x110mm BOOST hub on WTB STi30 26″ TCS Rim | Nukeproof Neutron 15x110mm BOOST hub on WTB STi30 26″ TCS Rim |
| REAR WHEEL | Joytec D952TSE-X12 12x142mm hub on WTB STi30 26″ TCS Rim | Nukeproof Neutron 12x142mm hub on WTB STi30 26″ TCS Rim |
| TYRES | Front & Rear: Maxxis Minion DHF 26″ x 2.5” EXO TR (Tubeless Ready) | Front & Rear: Maxxis Minion DHF 26″ x 2.5” EXO TR (Tubeless Ready) |
| CRANKSET | Samox TAF38J 2 Piece Crank 160mm, 32T, BCD 104 | Samox TAF38J 2 Piece Crank 160mm, 32T, BCD 104 |
| SHIFTER | BOX FOUR 8-Speed | Shimano M4100 Deore Rapidfire 10-Speed |
| REAR DERAILEUR | BOX FOUR 8-Speed short cage with clutch | Shimano M5120 Deore, Shadow Plus, 10-Speed |
| CHAIN | BOX FOUR 8-Speed | KMC X10-1 10-Speed, with Quick Link |
| CASSETTE | Sunrace CSM680 8-Speed, 11-42T | Sunrace CSMS2 10-Speed, 11-46T |
| BRAKES | Tektro M276 Kids Specific Hydraulic Brakes | Tektro M291 Kids Specific Hydraulic Brakes |
| FRONT ROTOR | Tektro Wave, 160mm | Tektro Wave, 160mm |
| REAR ROTOR | Tektro Wave, 160mm | Tektro Wave, 160mm |
| HANDLEBARS | Nukeproof Urchin 700mm Wide, 15mm Rise, 31.8mm Clamp | Nukeproof Urchin 700mm Wide, 15mm Rise, 31.8mm Clamp |
| STEM | 50mm, black | Nukeproof Neutron AM, 45mm, black |
| SADDLE | Nukeproof Urchin, Black | Nukeproof Urchin, Black |
| SEATPOST | Nukeproof Urchin, Black, 27.2mm, 300mm Long, 0 Offset | Nukeproof Urchin, Black, 27.2mm, 300mm Long, 0 Offset |
| HEADSET | Nukeproof Warhead, 44-44 IETS | Nukeproof Warhead, 44-44 IETS |
| GRIPS | Nukeproof Urchin Single Clamp lock on, 132mm Long, Soft Compound | Nukeproof Urchin Single Clamp lock on, 132mm Long, Soft Compound |
| BEARINGS | NA | NA |
| WEIGHT: | 12kgs/26.5lbs (Tubeless) | 11.83kgs/26lbs (Tubeless) |
If you want to bling things up a bit, aftermarket there’s the Nukeproof Urchin range of bars, pedals, and grips that come with matching decals/anodising, plus you can add a 27.2in internally routed dropper post. Rather than the included composite pedals, we first fitted a set of size small crankbrothers Stamp 3s Kid2 has been using for a while, but when the blue (‘ooh my favourite colour!’) Urchin pedals arrived we’ve swapped over to them. With size 4 feet, Hannah’s Kid2 is just below the recommended shoe size for the Stamp pedals, and he says he prefers the smaller Urchin ones. But, that could be because they’re blue as much as for functional reasons!
Cub Scout 26 Geometry
| REACH | 366 (381 SAGGED) |
|---|---|
| STACK | 592 (582 SAGGED) |
| EFFECTIVE TOP TUBE LENGTH | 550 (546 SAGGED) |
| SEATTUBE LENGTH | 360 |
| EFFECTIVE SEATTUBE ANGLE | N/A |
| SEATTUBE ANGLE (ACTUAL) | 72.75° (74.25° SAGGED) |
| SADDLE HEIGHT AT SADDLE OFFSET | 510 |
| SADDLE OFFSET AT SADDLE HEIGHT | 151.24 |
| HEADTUBE LENGTH | 100 |
| HEADTUBE ANGLE | 66° (77.5° SAGGED) |
| CHAINSTAY LENGTH | 420 |
| FRONT CENTRE | 661 |
| WHEELBASE | 1076.5 (1065 SAGGED) |
| BOTTOM BRACKET DROP | -47 (-58 SAGGED) |
| BOTTOM BRACKET HEIGHT | 296.5 (285.5 SAGGED) |
| STAND OVER HEIGHT | 655.5 |
| FORK TRAVEL | 120 |
| TRAIL | 77.43 |
| FORK OFFSET | 46 |
| AXLE TO CROWN | 514 (484 SAGGED) |
| MAXIMUM SEATPOST INSERT | 260 |
The 26×2.5in Maxxis Minion DHF tyres look great on the bike and with that straight line through the top tube into the seat stays the Nukeproof Cub Scout has the look of a proper hardcore hardtail for kids. Indeed, a first outing through town drew shouts of ‘nice bike!’ and ‘ooh, that’s one of them Nukeproofs’ from a gang of mountain biking teenagers with enough gear and GoPros between them to start their own YouTube channel (it’s probably TikTok these days, right?). A bit of kudos from the older kids added a bit of extra sparkle to that new bike glow!
The tyres are tubeless ready and on Nukeproof Neutron hubs with WTB STi30 rims, further adding to the solid looking build. The tick-tick-tick of the hubs is appreciated by Kid2.
The 10-speed Shimano gears with 11-46T cassette gives a huge range for little legs to spin their way up even the steepest of Calderdale’s climbs. There’s an indicator window on the shifter to show where on the block you are. Kid2 noticed immediately that it’s on the rider side of the bars so he can see it easily when riding along – on his old bike this window was on the same side as the brake levers, meaning he had to peer over the top of the bars to see it.
There’s room for an internally routed dropper, which pops out at the side of seat tube and down tube junction on its journey through the frame.
There’s room to add a bash guard or chain guide too, if things are getting gnarly (or jumpy and a bit casey?). It’s a threaded bottom bracket which will be good news when you inevitably come to hand it down or sell it on to…child 2…child 3…child 4? This bike certainly looks like it will stand the test of time and questionable line choices. We won’t be reviewing it since we don’t want to bring our buyer’s bias to a review, but if you’ve got any questions drop them in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them. So far we’ve been out every day since it arrived, new trails have been tackled, and rooty, rocky off-road descents are the new favourite trail!
Should you want one, Nukeproof bikes are available online and through local bike shops. This is from a shipment that just landed, so there should be stock to be grabbed right about now!
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I would hope the Cub Scouts are getting a small percentage of every bike sold, to help pay for hall fees and the like.
Nice looking bike but too heavy for a kids hardtail. Unfortunately big brands are not interested in making light bikes for kids. If you want a capable and really suitable MTB for your kids, you need to look for brands specialised in kids bikes.Like Vpace, Trailcraft, Prevelo or Spawn.
Our 5 year old was lucky to get the Cub Scout 20 Sport for his last birthday, we looked at lots of options and hesitated on this because the weight is a bit more than some other alternative models but on closer inspection those are street bikes or a 4 figure price tag (for a 5 year old?!). In the end it was the geometry that persuaded me and to save weight we skipped the suspension fork option. It is a real MTB that is proving easy to ride on the rough trails that make up most of his riding, very happy with the purchase so far. If we go on some longer XC tours in the summer I might swap the tyres to a faster rolling option for him, otherwise I see no reason to change anything on it right now.