Adding to its growing line of performance eyewear targeted at cyclists, last year Smith Optics debuted the all-new Attack and Attack Max sunglasses. Joining the PivLock Overdrive and PivLock Arena – glasses that we’ve got on very well with in the past, the Attack range…
Review
Review: The latest Cotic SolarisMAX is one of the fastest hardtails we’ve tested
In case you hadn’t noticed, Cotic has been on absolute fire lately. The small Peak District-based company launched a new BFe hardcore hardtail just on a year ago, which then gave way to the 15th anniversary Soul, the latest FlareMAX, and more recently, a new…
Review: Specialized Motodiva Women’s Mountain Bike Shoes
Sold as an all-round trail riding shoe, I’ve been using these for the more pedestrian end of trail riding – mostly because when things get gnarlier I’ll switch to flats. However, these are so comfortable I have found myself wearing them for more and more…
Review: The Acros Enduro is a carbon wheelset to survive the apocalypse
Tough, good value, are there any downsides to the Acros Enduro Race Carbon wheelset?
Review: Mondraker Foxy RR: The Long, Low, Slack Do-It-All Bike
Look at any press release for a new bike and chances are that the bike company will shout from the rooftops are that they’ve gone longer, lower and slacker, but it was Mondraker that did it first. Over the past five months, I’ve been riding…
Review: RDR Ares – 11 Grand For A Race Bike? It Had Better Be Good…
RDR is a relatively small frame builder based in the mountains of Northern Italy. According to the website, RDR consists of the father (Vincenzo), his son (Nicolas) and one employee (Cristina). The entire frame manufacturing process is done in the RDR factory in Italy. Carbon…
Long Term Review: Did Wil ruin the Scott Genius 900 Tuned test bike with these 3 changes?
It’s now been six months since we first received the Scott Genius 900 Tuned longterm test bike. In that time, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to put it through its paces on a variety of different trails, while also exploring this bike’s in-built wheelsize adaptability.…
Review: The Hoy Bonaly 24 is a great first mountain bike
The Hoy Bonaly range is Hoy Bikes’ answer to a mountain bike. It’s a step up from the usual children’s hybrid bikes – or hybrids with slightly knobbly tyres – but doesn’t go the whole hog and include any form of suspension. However, I’m still…
Review: The Giro Riddance flat pedal shoe uses a Vibram Megagrip sole for #flatpedalthunder
Brand new from Giro for 2018 is the Riddance – a flat pedal specific shoe that comes into the range one step above Giro’s current Jacket shoe. Designed for aggressive riders, the Riddance was developed in collaboration with top-class trail and freeride legends Kurt Sorge,…
Review: Merida’s playful One-Forty 800 trail bike
6 weeks on Merida's black beauty One-Forty has been a blast, but now Rob wraps up his review of this do-it-all trail bike
Review: Thule’s lightweight & flexible Vital 8 hydration backpack is ideal for all-day rides
Last year the Swedish storage specialists at Thule announced their first ever range of mountain bike hydration backpacks. Three packs were launched in the Vital series, including a compact 3L model, a mid-size 6L model, and this one: the Vital 8L. As the largest pack…
Rubber Round-Up: New Tyres Of Eurobike
‘Are you interested in e-bikes?’. It was hard not to roll your eyes when being asked this again. It’s where the market is at, everyone is trying to cash in, and that includes the tyre manufacturers – which isn’t surprising, as tyre choice has certainly…
First Ride: Renthal replaces the Fatbar Carbon with… the Fatbar Carbon 2
Iconic UK moto and mountain bike brand, Renthal, has got a brand new Fatbar Carbon. And it’s called…err…the Fatbar Carbon V2. Joining the recently released alloy Fatbar 2, the carbon version also grows wider from the previous version’s 780mm wingspan, up to a more fashionable…
Love Mud Distortion pedals – a mid-price pedal that’s not too budget, not too bling
Our resident bargain hunter, Antony, has been testing out a set of flat pedals from UK-brand Love Mud. The Distortion pedals are great value on paper, but are they any good? Over to Antony for the review! There’s a dilemma with pedals. They’re a part…
First Ride Review: The 2019 Marin Alpine Trail is a big travel 29er that is tough & simple, but it’s also really good
Brand new from Marin Bikes for 2019 is this long travel 29er called the Alpine Trail. Replacing the outgoing Attack Trail 27.5, the Alpine Trail is an all-mountain bruiser equipped with a 160mm travel fork, 150mm of rear suspension travel, and big 29er wheels wrapped…
Review: Motion Ride E18 Anti-Dive Linkage Fork First Ride
Motion Ride is a new French suspension fork company that has taken a fresh piece of paper to design a fork from the front hub up. The main design brief? Create a fork that doesn’t dive. After determining out that it could indeed build a…
Review: Shimano’s Powerful Deore XT M8020 4-Piston Disc Brakes
I’ve been a fan of Shimano brakes for quite a few years now. After trying numerous different brands I always seem to gravitate back to the modern Shimano’s – their predictive feel and ease of maintenance being hard to beat. My go to brake of…
2-piston or 4-piston? Testing & comparing Shimano’s brand new XTR disc brakes
Last week I was lucky to find myself in the wonderfully atmospheric Kranjska Gora in Slovenia. A location unfamiliar to this antipodean, Kranjska Gora is squeezed into the north western corner of Slovenia, right up against the intersecting border with Italy and Austria. Surrounded by…
Review: Brake Force One’s 2nd generation H20 disc brakes are filled with…water?
This isn’t the first time we’ve tested the H2O from Brake Force One. We first reviewed them in our disc brake group test last year, but they weren’t exactly quirk-free. BFO then sent us out a revised version of the H2O brakes, so we put…
First Ride Review | 2019 Canyon Lux CF SLX 9.0 Pro Race
In June 2018, the German direct-to-consumer giant, Canyon Bicycles, invited me out to Girona in Spain to test out the all-new Lux full suspension race bike. Featuring a full carbon fibre frame, 29in wheels, 100mm of travel, and thoroughbred race geometry, the Lux is Canyon’s…
First Ride Review: 2019 Canyon Lux CF SLX 9.0 Pro Race
Earlier this month, the German direct-to-consumer giant, Canyon Bicycles, invited me out to Girona in Spain to test out the all-new Lux full suspension race bike. Featuring a full carbon fibre frame, 29in wheels, 100mm of travel, and thoroughbred race geometry, the Lux is Canyon’s…
First Ride Review: Pivot Firebird 29 Pro X01
After the first day of riding at the Pivot Cycles launch in Moab last month, we gathered inside the living room of one of the apartments Pivot had taken over, to get the full product presentation on the new Trail 429. We’d been out on…
Review: SRAM NX Eagle 1×12 Drivetrain
Following the release of the XX1 and X01 Eagle groupsets two years ago, then GX Eagle last year, the latest NX Eagle groupset slots into the lineup as the fourth, and cheapest 1×12 drivetrain option to come from SRAM. Equipped with the same 12-speed technologies…
Review: Endura SingleTrack II Helmet
A few months ago I reviewed Endura’s MT500 helmet, and quite liked its fit and broad coverage design. So when the more affordable and similar-looking SingleTrack II helmet arrived at the office, I was handed the petrol coloured lid and told to get on my…
Review: Shimano GR7 vs GR9 Flat Pedal Shoes
Shimano unveiled a brand new line of gravity-oriented flat and SPD shoes last year, and since then we’ve been testing a whole swag of them. Two such shoes are the latest GR7 and GR9 models (GR = flat pedal specific), which we decided to give…
Review: You want aggressive plus tyres? We test the Minion DHR II & High Roller II 27.5×2.8in tyres from Maxxis
Up until recently, the options for plus tyres have generally left a lot to be desired for riding anything beyond hardpack and dry, rocky trails. Thankfully for us British folk, Maxxis released its versatile High Roller II, and aggressive Minion DHR II tread patterns in…
Review: The SUNringlé Düroc 40 wheels are designed for chubby tyres from 2.5-2.8in wide
To go plus, or not to plus? Is that even a question? If it is, Tom Nash has been trying to answer it after receiving a set of SUNringlé Düroc 40 wheels designed to accommodate 27.5+ tyres. Over to Tom! 27.5+ isn’t something I had ridden…
Review: Auxtail Cycle Carrier. A bike carrier that’s even better if you have a Nissan.
For those of us that don’t own vans and have families that probably don’t want to share their personal space with a muddy, awkwardly-shaped bike while on a car journey, the only practical option to transport bicycles is one of the many different types of…
Review: Specialized goes #fullenduro for 2018 with the longer, lower, 170mm travel Enduro Elite 650B
Specialized had already redesigned its popular Enduro platform for 2017, but the big-S (well, one of the Big-S’s anyway) decided it could go one better for 2018. With a new frame and some key spec changes, the latest Enduro is an absolute monster, so we…
Review: Hutchinson Taipan Hardskin 29×2.25in Tyres
Hutchinson is a well-known brand in the mountain bike tyre world, but in recent years the French rubber manufacturer hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of the scene. After nabbing an award in last year’s tyre group test however, we decided to see what else…
Review: This 185mm long Revive dropper post from BikeYoke is better than the original
Shortly after the original BikeYoke Revive dropper post was introduced, we tested and reviewed one. Full of promise with its super-slick action and clever IFP-free hydraulic internals, it wasn’t without fault however. BikeYoke has since updated the Revive dropper, adding a huge 185mm travel version…
Rachel wrecked two helmets to bring you this review of the sub-£100 Lazer Roller MIPS
When we sent out a Lazer Roller helmet to our resident pedal-head, Rachel Sokal, we didn’t quite expect her to ‘test’ it so comprehensively. Over to Rachel to explain further… The Roller is Lazer’s entry-level helmet sitting below the Ultrax (which I reviewed last year)…
Review: G-Form’s Elite knee pads are burly and flexible, but they’ll make you like ‘The Thing’
I used to detest wearing knee pads, or any other kind of body armour for that matter. Living in a warm climate was part of it, and up until a few years ago, I guess my expectation was that only beginners or hardcore downhillers wore…
Longterm Review Part One: 2018 Scott Genius 900 Tuned
Scott’s popular Genius has been in the lineup for no fewer than 14 years now, occupying a position smack-bang in the middle of the range between the XC-oriented Spark, and the DH-focussed Gambler. There have been numerous Genius models over the years built with varying…
Longterm Review: Shimano XC7 vs XC9 SPD Mountain Bike Shoes
At the risk of RUINING EVERYTHING, consider this a somewhat cautious announcement that summer is now finally upon us. The weather is (steadily) improving, the trails are (sort of) drying out, and the over-ripened muddy puddles of a brutally long winter are (mostly) making a…
SDG Tellis Dropper Post First Look Review
We’re told it’s taken two years of development, and 120 test units out in the field, but SDG is now ready to release its first ever dropper seatpost. The SDG Tellis is a cable-operated dropper post that features a sealed hydraulic cartridge housed inside scratch-resistant…
Review: Convert Your RockShox Reverb With The Wolf Tooth ReMote Sustain
We’ve already become fans of Wolf Tooth Components’ brilliant ReMote dropper post lever, though it’s now available in a kit to convert a RockShox Reverb dropper post too. To test how ‘easy’ it is to turn a hydraulically-activated dropper post into a cable-actuated one, we…
Review: Magura’s updated Vyron is the easiest dropper post in the world to install, and it’s better than the original too
Magura first announced the Vyron wireless dropper post in 2015 at Eurobike, and it’s been on the market for a couple of years now. We’d already tested the original, though it had some issues. Since then, Magura has updated the Vyron’s guts to improve reliability,…
First Ride: The All-New Trail 429 From Pivot Cycles
Setting out to redesign your most popular full suspension bike must be an incredibly daunting task. Get it right, and you can potentially turn a great bike into an even greater bike. Get it wrong however, and you have a very real risk affecting a…
Smores and brews? The Solo Stove does both!
Truth be told, one of the best aspects of bikepacking or long days out on the bike in the hills is the point at which you decide to stop and break out the stove. Quite why this is the case, I’m not exactly sure. Perhaps…
2.6in Tyre Grouptest – Schwalbe Nobby Nic APEX Addix Speedgrip Tyre Review
The Nobby Nic is a well-loved tyre from Schwalbe, which has recently been bolstered with the new Addix rubber compound and a ‘plus-minus’ 2.6in width option. To put these new not-quite-regular-not-quite-plus tyres to the test along with three other pairs of 2.6in wide tyres, we…
2.6in Tyre Grouptest – Bontrager XR4 Team Issue Tyre Review
As Bontrager has developed wider rims for use on Trek’s hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes, its range of tyres has gotten wider too. Case in point, the versatile XR4 tread pattern is now available in plus-compatible 2.8in and 3.0in widths, as well as this…
2.6in Tyre Grouptest – Maxxis Minion DHF EXO 3C Tyre Review
The venerable Maxxis Minion DHF tyre has been shaped and moulded into a wealth of different sizes over the past decade, though more recently the blocky tread pattern has been adapted for the new-school 2.6in width. With more volume than ‘regular’ tyres, but purportedly fewer…
2.6in Tyre Grouptest – Specialized Hillbilly GRID Tyre Review
Designed as an intermediate mountain bike tyre suitable for winter slop and loose, technical trails, the Specialized Hillbilly tyre is distinguished by its sticky rubber and mud-cutting tread pattern. More recently, Specialized has added a bigger 2.6in option to the Hillbilly range, which follows the…
Review: Schwalbe Rocket Ron Addix Speed. Fast XC tyres that last.
Claiming to offer more grip, faster rolling and improved durability, Schwalbe’s new Addix rubber compound has been implemented throughout its entire mountain bike tyre range, replacing the previous PaceStar, TrailStar and VertStar compounds in the process. Our resident pedal-head, Rachel Sokal, has been putting the…
After 8 months of foul-weather testing, here’s our review of the OneUp Components Aluminum Flat Pedals
Having tested no fewer than 17 flat pedals in last year’s epic group test, David Hayward has developed a keen eye (or is that foot?) for detail when it comes to assessing a flat pedal’s feel and performance. So when OneUp Components decided to enter…
Review: These Incline glasses from Ryders Eyewear have an unusual shape, but the lenses are brilliant
Hailing from British Columbia in Canada, Ryders Eyewear has been around since the early days of mountain biking. The brand was established way back in 1986 by Canadian MTB Champ Brent Martin, and it went on to become one of the most successful sporting eyewear…
Review: 4 highlights from Alpinestars for the eternal British winter
I don’t reckon I’m alone when I proclaim that this winter in the UK has absolutely sucked. It has sucked all of the enthusiasm and joy out of me that should have been on tap for a warming spring release. That release hasn’t really happened…
Review: BLS wants to get your kit organised with the VeloRacing Bag
As many who know me will testify, advance preparation and organisation have never been my strong points. Packing for a race usually involves running around the house shouting at my long suffering partner about how I can’t find anything, and furiously throwing any bike kit I do find into some…
Black Beauty Hits Warp 8! Canyon Spectral CF 8.0 Review
Canyon’s mid-travel bike has undergone a complete redesign for 2018, and the result is a bike that looks a lot less like the original Spectral, and a whole lot more like Canyon’s flagship DH bike, the Sender. Making the new Spectral visually similar to the…
Canyon Spectral CF 8.0 Review | Black Beauty Hits Warp 8!
The Canyon Spectral gets a redesign for 2018 with input from the Dudes Of Hazard.