Reviews

bell super dh wil les gets goggles

Review: Bell’s brilliant Super DH MIPS convertible helmet really is 2-in-1

Stemming from a long lineage of mountain biking lids from the 64-year old helmet brand, Bell’s flagship Super DH helmet represents the 4th generation of the popular Super model. The...

giro chamber clip-in spd shoes

Review: There’s no need for disco slippers when the Giro Chamber II shoes are so good

James Vincent gives up his usual toe-tappers to test out the burly Chamber II shoes from Giro.  The original Giro Chamber was launched back in 2014 as a casual, skate-inspired...

barney nukeproof horizon wheels

Review: The Nukeproof Horizon Wheelset Costs Less Than £350 And Is Barney-Proof

Barney does his level best to destroy Nukeproof’s Horizon wheelset. And, as in so many other things he tries in life, he fails. Nukeproof is a brand with a long...

dakine hot laps waist pack

Review: Dakine Hot Laps 5L Waist Pack

There are a few things I swore I wouldn’t do when I got at job at Singletrack. Wear a gilet, ride clipped in, and use a hip pack. So of...

Review: Chicken Line Cargo Shorts and Solid Jersey

I’d first come across the Italian women’s MTB clothing company Chicken Line on the MTB Chix and Trails Facebook group where there was a debate about whether the tongue-in-cheek name...

shimano deore xt flat pedals

Review: The huge Shimano Deore XT PD-M8040 flat pedals come with vicious pins, but not all of them made it

First announced over a year ago at the Fort William World Cup alongside the new Saint flat and Saint SPD pedals, the PD-M8040 is the first ever flat pedal from...

smith optics attack max glasses wil

Review: Smith Optics Attack Max ChromaPop Sunglasses

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...

cotic solarismax calderdale

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...

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....

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?

mondraker foxy review

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...

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...

scott genius 900 tuned wil

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...

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 –...

Giro Riddance flat pedal shoe review

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...

Merida One-Forty 800

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

thule vital 8 hydration backpack wil

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...

Schwalbe

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,...

renthal fatbar carbon

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...

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...

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...

The Motion Ride E18 first ride review

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?...

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...

shimano xtr brake disc m9100 m9120

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...

brake force one h2o disc brakes

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....

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...

canyon lux xc wil

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...

pivot firebird 29 moab utah wil

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,...

sram nx eagle 1x12 drivetrain

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,...

Endura Singletrack II

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...