Nukeproof is a brand that has achieved near-cult status since its founding in 1990, thanks to its well-priced performance mountain bikes, and a series of downhill and enduro podiums over the 10 years from 2013.
Now, Nukeproof is back with a range of bikes including a new, competitively priced version 2 of its Reactor and its full range of popular downhill, enduro and trail bikes.
But in the gap left by the brand’s disappearance with the 2023 collapse of Wiggle Chain Reaction and its re-emergence under the auspices of Belgian Cycling Factory, which also owns the Ridley and Eddy Merckx brands, multiple fake Nukeproof websites appeared, according to Clive Gosling, Nukeproof’s global brand director.
“Because nukeproof.com has been inactive while we relaunch the brand, other people have taken advantage of that situation,” Gosling says. That’s resulted in a slew of faux Nukeproof sites online, often outranking the official site in Google search results.
Gosling says the process of taking down each imitator site took at least six weeks and involved Belgian Cycling Factory’s legal department.
“It was a bit like whack-a-mole. As soon as we got one down, another one popped up,” he says.
The result has been, according to Gosling, that even one industry insider he’s worked with on the Nukeproof relaunch has been fooled. That gave a poor initial impression of the Nukeproof brand, due to the low quality of the spoof site they’d accessed, which Gosling says included AI-rebranded Santa Cruz bikes.
“There’s different spoof sites,” Gosling says. “Some look like the real site to fool you into buying something and take your credit card details. Other weird spoof sites are just there for brand information. I’ve got no idea what the purpose of them is.”
Gosling says it’s important to check a site’s online credentials, such as its URL and whether the connection is secure, as well as any contact details to make sure you’re on the bona fide brand site.
The good news for Nukeproof is, following its relaunch, it’s now the top result on Google search again.
