We caught up with Joe Smith at the RedBull Hardline and he took the time out to show us his explosively good Nukeproof Pulse downhill bike.

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After a year of testing prototypes on the World Cup circuit, Joe Smith was riding the new and improved 2016 Nukeproof Pulse at Hardline. The frame remains fully aluminium, unlike it’s carbon rivals, but it has slimmed down tubes to keep the weight down and a new geometry sheet. After a year of bodging 27.5 inch wheels into the old 26 inch frame, the 2016 Pulse is 650b as standard.

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Joe’s Nukeproof is complemented with RockShox suspension, a SRAM X01 drivetrain, Mavic Deemax Ultimate wheels and Schwalbe Dirty Dan tyres.

Like most riders, Smith had to adjust his settings for the hardline simply due to the ferocious nature of the course. The harsh g-outs and landings meant that Smith opted to put more pressure in his tyres and forks to offer him more support.

Joe finished second at the Red Bull Hardline with a time of 3:57.402, 3.7 seconds behind the winner Ruaridh Cunningham. He will return with the Nukeproof CRC team on the World Cup circuit next year.