LOCALS - Tom Yaxley Nukeproof Scalp and Mega TR

Our popular LOCALS feature is back, this week we catch up with Tom Yaxley, an engineer in training who has a bit of a thing for Nukeproof, living in Chester!

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

Name: Tom Yaxley
Location: Chester, England
Job: Placement Engineer
Bike: Nukeproof Scalp and Nukeproof Mega TR

How long have you been riding?
I’ve been riding properly for about 3 years this Christmas. But I’d been ‘mountain biking’ before with my brother just on gravel paths and fire-roads.

How often do you ride?
I try to get on the bike at least once a week, whether this is just messing around in the city centre or even just practicing bunny hops and manuals/wheelies. If possible I go to my local trail centre over the weekend too, but I don’t normally have the time, more like once every 3 weeks..

What bike are you currently riding and talk us through your set up?
Currently I have 2 bikes I ride; both Nukeproofs and both set up pretty aggressively. My Scalp has Fox 40s, Fox DHX RC4 Kashima rear shock, Mavic 729-Hope ProII EVO wheel set, XT brakes, atlas bars, saint cranks E13 Taco, X-9 short cage derailleur and Superstar nano tech flats. My Nukeproof Mega TR has Fox Float 36 kashima forks, Rockshox Monarch RT3 shock, Rockshox reverb dropper post, Superstar DH595 wheel set, Formula ORO K24 brakes, atlas bars, raceface respond cranks, E13 chain guide with blackspire C4 Bash, an XT long cage derailleur (wanting to change this next!) and Superstar nano tech flats.!

What's your favourite part on your bike?
On my Scalp it has got to be the Monster green atlas bars! They’re such a nice colour and they go really well with the harsh yellow of the frame. I need to get more green parts…

On the Mega it is definitely the Superstar DH-595 wheels. I’ve had these for 2 years now and they’ve taken some real abuse. They’ve never caused me any trouble, not been trued once yet and only a few dings in the rims too. Plus they look awesome!

What other bikes do you own?
I own a Specialised P1 dirt jump frame which is used as a commuter at the moment, plus I sometimes go to the local pump track with it. I also have a tiny kids bike (14” wheels) I used for a crazy downhill ride with my DH club at university once!

What types of riding do you normally do?
In an ideal world I would do mostly downhill. But as it’s more difficult to go downhilling by myself I tend to do mostly trail riding.

What was the last bit of new gear on your bike?

The newest part on my Scalp was the Fox DHx RC4 Kashima. The newest part on my Mega TR was the chain device, I kept dropping my chain so I decided to get one!

What are your local trails
My local trail is Llandegla, there is probably some stuff closer but as I’ve only been in Chester for 5 months, I haven’t found it! The closest DH track is Llangollen, but I’m yet to go here, my preferred DH track is Farmer Johns MTB park in Marple. (about an hour away from me).

Cheers Tom!