Mountain Bike Reviews By Trusted Experts

Frog MTB 62 review

The Frog MTB 62 is not perfect, but I can sense that perfection may well be impossible to achieve on an off-the-peg, mass-market 24 incher.

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Islabikes Creig 26 review

The Islabikes Creig 26 has been in Islabikes’ range for approximately yonks. It’s one of its iconic, mainstay offerings in fact.

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Marin Rift Zone XR review: coil for the trail

The Marin Rift Zone XR - XR stands for eXtra Rad - bumps the front travel up to 140mm, adds a coil shock and beefs up the build.

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Vitus Escarpe 29 CRS review

Around 7 or 8 years ago the Vitus Escarpe 29 was a way better 29er trail bike than Big Brand offerings. How is the Escarpe holding up now?

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Merida One-Sixty First Ride Review: Long & Purple

The evolution of the Merida One-Sixty enduro bike sees it packed with new features. Here\'s our first impressions.

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Hope HB.916 first ride review: The Perfect Bike?

The Hope HB.916 is one of the nicest looking bikes we\'ve seen. But does the 160/170mm enduro bike live up to its aesthetic promise?

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New Santa Cruz 5010: first ride review of mid-travel mullet

The latest Santa Cruz 5010 sees a move to mullet but the travel resolutely remains the same: 130mm at the rear, 140mm fork up front.

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Trek Roscoe 24 review: great little trail bike

The Trek Roscoe 24 sports fat tyres, 1x drivetrain, wide-range cassette, sloping top tube and rear brake calliper is tucked into the frame.

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Issue 144 Bike Test: WTF is a Trail Bike?

Benji and the team set out to stick to the trail, without veering off into the enduro or cross-country.

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Pace RC295 AXS Ultimate review

The Pace RC295 then. Full carbon. 135mm rear travel dual linkage. 140-150mm fork. Full 29in or mullet thang with an offset shock bushing.

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Specialized Stumpjumper Evo Alloy Comp review

The Specialized Stumpjumper Evo Alloy gets all the cool things that the carbon Stumpjumper has had for a few seasons now.

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Whyte T-140 RS: First Ride Review

The Whyte T-140 is very much the classic trail bike of the Whyte range. Enough travel to cope with most things but responsive and efficient.

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Canyon Spectral 125 CF 8 review

The new-for-2022 Canyon Spectral 125 has pretty much the exact same geometry as the regular 150mm rear-travel Spectral. Why?

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Kona Process 153 DL 29 Review: Mellow Yellow

The latest Kona Process 153 rolls on 29in wheels and sits in the middle of the Process range; Process X on one side, Process 134 on the other.

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Carbon Wasp Truffle Review: All the Speed

The Truffle is Carbon Wasp’s first foray in to a full production MTB frame. Designed, made and tested entirely in and around Leeds.

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Canyon Torque 29 CF 9 review: big travel agility, big grins

The Canyon Torque 29 CF 9 is a big travel bike that won\'t sterilise the trails. Heaps of fun from the trail to the race tape, in one package.

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Singletrack Issue 143 Bike Test: Party At The Back

Have we swallowed the marketing hook, line and sinker, or is there something to the mullet trend?

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Review: Geometron G1

GeoMetron is essentially Chris Porter. If you don’t know who Chris Porter is, do a Google. Just make sure you have a brew ready before you dive in.

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Review: Santa Cruz Bronson

Maybe the Santa Cruz Bronson does need an introduction. The latest Bronson is a massively different beast to the Bronson Mk1.

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Review: Starling Twist Trail

Starling Cycles is Joe McEwan. Joe used to work as an aerospace engineer and build bike frames in his shed as a sideline.

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How to pick the best mountain bike for you

While there may not be such a thing as The Best Mountain Bike, there are certainly bikes that will suit you more than others.

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Santa Cruz Chameleon R MX review: venerable yet versatile

For the past 25 years the Santa Cruz Chameleon been a tough hardtail that can still be comfortable and light enough for longer rides.

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2022 Nukeproof Scout 290 Review: Trail Toy!

2022 Nukeproof Scout offers four build specs, all as 275 or 290. Nukeproof have brought the signature yellow paint back, too...

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Atherton AM.150.1 first ride review

Does the 150mm travel Atherton AM.150 mountain bike offer something that\'s unachievable via more traditional construction methods?

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YT Capra Core 2 review: doing it for the lolz

After the carbon launch models, then the aluminium Uncaged versions, here is the more affordable alloy YT Capra Core 2.

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142 Bike Test – The Big Short

Benji ponders the meaning of ‘short’ as he rags these three not-long travel bikes round his local trails. What is short travel? Too short? Short enough? Shorter than what? What...

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Review: Cotic FlareMAX Gen4

The Cotic FlareMAX Gen4 is reviewed in Issue 142 Bike Test – The Big Short. Gen4 means fourth generation. This is the fourth iteration of Cotic’s shorter travel (125mm) full...

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