Fancy paint on the Canzo Pro highlights a quality four-bar full-suspension frame
but the geometry looks sorted for all round trail work
The basic Canzo gets a solid RockShox Shimano spec with a dropper post being the only obvious missing essential
We'll be finding out if it rides as well as it looks as soon as we get our sample off Voodoo
Voodoo’s all-new 140mm travel Canzo 29er frame has totally up-to-date aggro geometry
and Shimano stop-and-go with complete bike prices starting at just £1400
but you’re getting a lot more bike now.
That means they’re not just for beginners
but serious shredders that the Voodoo team says are ready for bike park or off-piste action
The totally up-to-date frame design and high durability
brand name components make them a proper long-term investment not just a disposable gateway bike too
Both Canzo bikes get the same totally new butted 6061 alloy chassis with internal cable routing
The 140mm of travel comes via a classic four-bar rocker link set up with a rear pivot on the chainstay
and L frames respectively create a promising handling dynamic too
as well as pimpin’ blue-purple paintwork
he’ll be meeting the design team and getting a ride sample ready to hit the trails next week
He started writing and testing for bike mags in 1996
Since then he’s written several million words about several thousand test bikes and a ridiculous amount of riding gear
He’s also penned a handful of bike-related books and he reviews MTBs over on YouTube
The Voodoo Canzo Pro is a 140mm trail bike and is a solid offering to the entry-level of the trail bike market
there's plenty of room for upgrades and weight reduction
the Voodoo Canzo Pro deserves credit for making a well-performing trail bike accessible
The Voodoo Canzo is a budget-friendly trail bike built to blend performance with an accessible price
With 140mm of suspension travel front and rear
it sits squarely in the popular trail bike market as a "do-it-all bike"
The alloy-framed Canzo is available in two specification levels: the £1,400 Canzo and £1,800 Canzo Pro
Both options are budget-friendly with componentry to get you ripping down the trails
The frame uses internal cable routing to keep things clean but has stayed away from the new trend of headset cable routing
The derailleur is mounted to a Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) which should make getting hold of a spare hanger simple
medium and large to suit riders from 5’3” (162cm) up to 6’0” (185cm)
I use the reach measurement to understand the sizing of a bike
The Large comes in at 478.3mm which is perhaps a little on the short side but
The 433mm reach figure on the Small and 455mm on the Medium gives a good range of sizing but
There are 435mm chainstays across all sizes
which also suggests this bike is set up to be lively and playful – and the 65-degree head angle is right where it should be
The 75.5-degree seat angle is a little on the slack side
which puts the rider’s weight towards the rear on climbing
This is handy for traction but does leave the front feeling light on steep climbs
You can tell whoever picked the components on this bike knew what they were doing
even at this price point some smart decisions help this bike perform more capably than you would expect
the derailleur and shifter are covered with kit from the Deore range that features a clutch to quieten up chain slap and improve chain retention
The 12-speed Deore cassette has a wide range of gears (10-51T) giving plenty of range for climbing and descending
The 170mm long Shimano cranks use a 32T chainring
The wheels are WTB's ST Light i30 rims with Shimano hubs wrapped in Maxxis rubber
The Dissector rear and DHR II on the front are smart choices
particularly in MaxxTerra compound and appropriate casings (Exo front and a thicker Exo+ rear)
The finishing kit is basic but the numbers are spot on – a 45mm stem and 780mm wide alloy bars are aimed at descending
A 150mm dropper is a little on the short side for my liking
but there is plenty of room to upgrade in the future if you so wish
obviously they’ll be able to advise on getting the suspension set up for your weight and riding style
As a personal preference I swapped out the grips for something thicker
the standard grips are too thin and hard for my liking
My first impressions of the Canzo Pro were positive
The spec is lower-end but are good quality parts which makes for a reliable build
I was impressed by how quickly I felt comfortable on the bike
It has a lively and playful feel where changing direction and picking lines is no bother
The 65-degree head angle gives enough stability to carry plenty of speed whilst the short chainstays help dispatch corners quickly
With the reach numbers being right on the money there is enough room to move around on the bike whilst it remains settled at speed
this gives the confidence to push your comfort zone a little
The RockShox suspension has a good platform to pump the trails and does a good job providing controllable travel when things get a little rougher
the 29-inch wheels carry speed well and pumping trail features are rewarded with efficient speed
the 12-speed Shimano gearing gives plenty of range to find the right gear
the 51T rear and 32T front gears should allow you to climb all but the steepest hills
The seated position is a little outstretched for my liking
This is down to the seat angle which is a touch on the slack side
This puts the rider’s weight over the rear which is good for traction but does result in the front end lifting on steep climbs
The suspension remains efficient during climbing with very little pedal bob – and the climb switch helps stiffen up the rear end for more efficiency
The Shimano shifting was flawless throughout testing
These parts are consumable items that can be upgraded in the future
the Voodoo Canzo Pro represents great value
It has a clever spec that leaves room for future upgrades without compromising the ride
The entry-level trail bike market has other offerings worth considering
The Marin retails at £1,700 and has a 140mm fork with 130mm of rear-end travel and a much more climbing-friendly seat angle but also a slightly steeper head angle
The spec on the Marin features own-branded parts
there is very little to tell the two apart
The Voodoo Canzo Pro is positioned towards the entry-level side of the trail bike market
the smartly chosen spec and performance on offer means it punches above its weight
the geometry is right where it needs to be
The bike gets up to speed easily and has no problem maintaining this across flatter sections of trail and rough terrain
The Canzo Pro does a great job as an all-rounder and
makes a convincing case for those looking to enter the trail bike scene
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Things are hotting up in the budget full-suspension category
Voodoo Canzo review Credit: Mick Kirkman
Voodoo’s all new Canzo full-suspension trail bike isn’t perfect
but it’s a brilliant example of an affordable have-a-go-hero with future-proof upgrade features you won’t normally find at this price
The basic Voodoo Canzo delivers ample cheap thrills
the shock tune on the Canzo doesn’t stifle the suspension
This latest Canzo gets an all-new alloy frame including totally up-to-date features like a UDH dropout (the old Canzo used a 135mm QR rear end) and forged clamps for the internal control routing to stop it rattling and ensure a silent ride
The suspension is also a true four-bar design with a pivot on the chainstays and a vertically mounted shock
driven by a rocker link pivoting on the seat tube
Clamped and sleeved internal cable routing ensures a blissfully silent ride
and an effective seat angle of 77.2º at my 745mm saddle height
Reach is decent at 478mm on the large I tested
and the 435mm rear end is a happy medium between agility
but most riders will still be able to fit a 170mm dropper post if they buy a bike of the suitable length
BB height is an appropriate enough 339mm given the 140mm travel
That means the only real sizing miss is the lack of extra small or extra large frames
the new Voodoo Canzo is in a different league to its predecessor
Perhaps the biggest improvements to the Canzo are the addition of 29in wheels
which cover ground more efficiently and offer better stability
giving you more room to move around the bike on technical trails
while the UDH hanger makes replacements easier to source
Voodoo offers two Canzo models; the Pro at £1,800
and this base model at £1,350 (or £1400 as tested)
The cheaper bike gets 10-speed Shimano Cues gears and twin-piston Shimano MT201 brakes
rather than 12-speed Shimano Deore and 4-piston MT420
The obvious difference between the two bikes when they were launched is now being sorted though so finding that extra £400 is no longer a big deal
That’s because while the first batch of bikes will come without a dropper for £1350
and you can add a 150mm Satori over-bar lever post for £50
and the second batch of bikes will come with a well-proven X-Fusion Manic dropper seat post with underbar lever fitted as standard
The dropper post is a £50 upgrade on early bikes
but will come standard fit on later batches
The RockShox 35R coil fork is very heavy at 1,840g
but something of a sleeper in terms of smooth performance
The RockShox Deluxe rear shock turns out to be a real win in terms of consistent control
can be very rough in feel as well as unreliable
the rims and Maxxis tyres are tubeless-ready if you add valves and sealant
with heavy wire rather than folding bead construction
those Forekaster tyres use a fast but usefully trustworthy tread pattern
syncs well with the steering and the bolt-on grips are OK too
but the action is beautifully supple and fluid
many affordable full-suspension bikes have been saddled with out-of-date geometry
Either because brands have just bought older open-mould frames from Far-Eastern factories
or out of the misguided belief that entry-level riders don’t want – or need – dialled handling
new riders need a centralised riding stance and stable length / head angle more than anyone else
the Voodoo Canzo is not the spriteliest climber
but it’ll plod up at a steady pace with a comfortable riding position
for giving the Canzo totally on-point geometry that keeps the front end calm and controlled in steep and/or slippery conditions
Which means it hustles also cross-country super well
The seat angle kept the rear tyre biting on steep climbs without having to stick the saddle tip in my bum
Make sure you get the dropper post option fitted if you’re buying a bike from the first batch
Using the brass washer-smoothed seat release for lowering the saddle does work
but it’s a lot easier to just have a lever on the bars that’ll do it instantly
Chuck it down a descent and the Canzo is fun and rewarding
with suspension that encourages the hooligan element
without any obvious interruption to traction or comfort
and that it carries speed from pedalling or braking isn’t a surprise
The chainstay-pivoting ‘Horst Link’ layout of the Canzo has been a recipe for smooth neutrality since the Turner bikes of the early 1990s
compared to its obvious competitor at this price point – the Calibre Bossnut – Voodoo has clearly opted for a more open damping tune on the RockShox shock
That leaves the back end free and easy to move in response to lumps and bumps of all shapes
There’s enough bounce-back control from the simple rebound damping to keep the tyre gripping
As a result I loved how the Voodoo burbled fluidly over roots and rocks for traction through turns
but still didn’t freak out when I slapped it into a big block or landing
Features like the clamped cables and silent ride make a big positive impact on the riding experience
the coil-sprung RockShox 35 fork is outrageously smooth too
genuinely matching forks with four figure price tags for initial grip and comfort
the steel 35mm legs also give a very accurate ride
with no choke coming from structural flex or internal slider binding
That meant I was still pushing the Voodoo hard several minutes into rough descents
when I’d normally have expected my hands and arms to start blowing up after the first few seconds of proper hammer
Riders of 90kg and over – or lighter riders who land hard – will also appreciate the extra spring support of the progressive coil for the last 40mm of travel
you’ll struggle to push the fork past 100mm of travel
although there is an air spring upgrade available if you hunt around
the bolt-in cable clamps are backed up with internal foam sleeves on the lines themselves to keep the Canzo super quiet
but a real subconscious boost to how controlled
calm and settled the bike feels as a whole
Integrated chainstay protection is a feature usually found on much pricier models
the numb feel and resin pads of the basic Shimano brakes mean power and control drop off rapidly in the damp despite being bearable in the dry
They’ve still got more feel and better reliability than most brakes you’ll find at this price though
and a switch to a 200mm front rotor would unlock 20% more stopping power for around £20
sintered or hybrid brake pads will improve all-weather performance noticeably
The unbranded bottom bracket and hub bearings will need monitoring if you’re rain-riding or washing the bike a lot
compared to branded Shimano equivalents like those on the Calibre
The performance of the Shimano Cues LinkGlide gears themselves is a revelation
both in terms of light-trigger-touch and accurate shifts across the regular ratios of the 11-48 tooth block
The largely steel construction makes it tough in terms of wear
and more robust defending against wallops from trailside rocks and sticks too
Voodoo has done a fantastic job of making a mountain bike that’s fun and rewarding to ride
a fork that weighs almost the same as RockShox Boxxer DH fork
my large Canzo test bike weighed in at 16.7kg
Again that’s a bonus when it comes to feeling grounded and not getting thrown around
But there’s no escaping the inertia implications of that weight when it comes to acceleration or more dynamic moves
At least the Forekaster tyres make achieving and sustaining a reasonable speed easier than I feared
and the supple suspension flatters their grip in return
and therefore performance when designers are trying to build a bike for an affordable price
The Voodoo Canzo doesn’t seem to care about compromises though
as it’s still bursting with everything you need for the engagement
entertainment and sheer idiot joy of arsing about in the woods on a push bike
but the riding position and handling are totally on-point for pedalling up stuff and then goofing back down
but the suspension still punches way above the level you’d expect
allowing me to be reckless without regretting it
the brakes are better than most you’ll find at this price
and UDH dropouts mean the Canzo is well worth upgrading as you grow into your riding
Or you could just invest in the Pro version now and get significantly better kit as standard
we look at not one but two budget-friendly bikes coming from the mountain and gravel sides of the sport
we check out Canyon's multi-tool offering (yep
Although things generally slow down during August, there's still been a lot of new releases. Hitting headlines this week was news of Trek's latest Procaliber
the brand's infamous cross-country hardtail
The Procaliber drops Trek's IsoSpeed decoupler in favour of IsoBow – extended seat stays built to encourage more flex
Speaking of alloy, Voodoo is back on the scene having unveiled its overhauled Canzo
It's a full suspension mountain bike but prices start at a very friendly £1,400 with prices going up to £1,800
Voodoo has aimed to hit that performance at a budget mark with the range-topping Canzo Pro boasting a RockShox Pike fork and a Shimano Deore 12-speed drivetrain
The bike then gets 140mm of suspension at both ends and it rolls on 29-inch wheels
The alloy theme continues as SUNringle has brought its latest 309/307 wheelsets to the fray
Both sets use alloy rims but are built for ultimate durability and to be rolled between the tapes through the world's most gruelling enduro and downhill courses
As for features, we highlighted the essential tools you need for off-road riding, where we talk about the most basic tools that every rider needs. We also looked at the world of Boa dial retention asking, Why do most premium off-road riding shoes have Boa dials?
On the review front, we delivered our verdict on the Orbea Laufey H-LTD hardtail, Michelin's Wild Enduro MH and Shimano's CUES U8020 brakes
you get a 6061 alloy frame draped with a RockShox Pike fork and a Deluxe Select+ shock at the rear
Shifting is handled by Shimano's humble but excellent Deore 12-speed drivetrain paired with Shimano BR-MT401 hydraulic brakes
The Maxxis DHR II and Dissector tyres sit on WTB ST i30 rims
The new Canzo Pro's geometry firmly places it into the trail category with this large framed bike getting a 478.3mm reach
we've got Ciovita's AR Long Sleeve Trail Tee and it's built using a bunch of fabrics
with polyester mesh inserts incorporated to provide airflow and there's an Italian mesh insert that runs down the back of the jersey to further increase breathability
The jersey boasts a refined fit with a v-neck and an elongated lower back
including a sunglasses wipe and a handy pocket at the lower back
That's bolted onto a 6061 alloy frame which rolls on a set of Boardman's own wheels
wrapped with Goodyear Connector 700x45mm tyres
It's also routed to run a stealth dropper post which is ideal if you're looking to push the limits of gravel into mountain bike territory
This bike gets even more exciting when we look at the geometry
The medium frame pictured here dons a 70.5-degree head tube angle with a 74-degree seat-tube angle
Reach is pegged at 395mm and the chainstay is 430mm
The Core Jersey comes with a loose fit to help with airflow and boost comfort and it's built with a soft
matte fabric for comfort in all conditions
It's loaded with silicone grippers to keep it in place and there's the signature 'Rapha' armband
The Core Bib Shorts are designed for the same goal
high-stretch bib straps and a dense-knit fabric for support
Wrapped within a neat neoprene pouch is the tool and a selection of double-ended
with a ratcheting head at the top that can withstand up to 30Nm of torque
there's an official Dynaplug insertion tool that covers tubeless tyre repair
alongside the CO2 inflator at the bottom of the tool
Since beginning his mountain biking career while working as a resort photographer in Greece in 2014
Liam became a freelance contributor at off.road.cc in 2019
he’s climbed the journalism job ladder from staff writer to deputy technical editor
heart rate-raising efforts on slim-tyred cross-country bikes
hell-for-leather e-MTB blasts or even casual gravel jaunts
there’s not a corner of off-road cycling where Liam fears to tread
With more than 40 bike reviews under his belt and hundreds more on MTB
Liam’s expertise continues to be cemented and respected by the industry
Voodoo's redesigned Canzo hopes to achieve similar critical acclaim and commercial success in the budget full-suspension market
But that could all be about to change if the all-new Canzo rides as good as it looks
The new Voodoo Canzo Pro looks to be a massive step-up from its predecessor
the new Canzo shares nothing except a head badge with its predecessor
with a sleek new 6061 alloy frame at the heart of the relaunch
This frame now accommodates 29in wheels (the previous bike had 27.5in wheels front and rear) while the 65º head angle and 77.5º effective seat angle are totally up-to-date for a modern trail bike
Travel is 140mm front and rear, that’s up 10mm at the back from the old bike, and Voodoo says the kinematics and shock tune have been revised as well. When we tested the old Voodoo Canzo in 2020
saying: “On rolling terrain the rear suspension feels soft and wallowy
so much so that we increased the rebound damping to reduce the risk of motion sickness
get the VooDoo on anything fast and rough and it exhibits a surprisingly harsh response.”
The previous Voodoo Canzo had outdated geometry
The new one looks to have addressed those issues
So let’s hope Voodoo has taken that feedback on board and sharpened up the ride quality of the new bike
Certainly the designers have seem to have addressed our complaints about the sizing and geometry with this update
meaning that it lacked high-speed stability
The new bike’s 2º slacker head angle and 30mm (!) longer reach are much more appropriate for modern trail riding
As is the upgraded 148mm Boost rear dropout width (the old bike used a 135mm quick-release standard) and UDH hanger
The basic Voodoo Canzo is £1,400 and comes in matt black
There are still three sizes in the new Canzo range
but rather than an old-school 16/18/20in spread
Depending on your budget there are two models offered – the Canzo and Canzo Pro
this costs £1,400 and comes with a RockShox 35 Silver R fork
Shimano Cues 1×10 drivetrain and Shimano series hydraulic disc brakes
Find an extra £400 and you can step up to the Canzo Pro
This comes in an eye-catching purple metallic paint job
Shimano Deore 1×12 drivetrain and Maxxis Minion DHR II/Dissector tyre combo
We’ll be looking to swing a leg over the new Canzo ASAP, so keep an eye out on the site for a first ride review coming soon. If you want to check out the new Canzo on the Halfords website, click here
Smooth rear suspension; contemporary cockpit shape
spiky fork ruins dynamic balance; slippery tyres and weak
wooden-feeling brakes; limited seatpost drop; flexy rear end
VooDoo’s four-bar linkage bikes have been strong contenders in the sub-£1,000 suspension field
but can the Canzo compete with the latest four-figure full-sussers
The chassis has a proper metal head badge on its tapered head tube
Its main tubes are double-butted and hydroformed
and the seat tube has an S-bend moulded into it to support the rocker link that drives the rear shock
That means you can’t drop the seatpost far into the frame
so you’ll need to upgrade to a dropper if you want to move your body weight around significantly on descents
The back end is from the ‘simple but reasonably effective’ school of design
Single-sided pivots at the end of square chainstays combine with the rocker link to create a four-bar linkage
This moves the rear wheel in a curve plotted by the designer
rather than just arcing it round like the Jamis’s single-pivot swingarm
While it’s disappointing to see QR dropouts
This doesn’t translate to any significant gains in clearance
because the seatstays have a brace above the tyre
Cables are routed externally (though there is provision for a semi-internal dropper) and a single bottle mount is provided
The Suntour DuAir rear shock gets a ‘lockout’ switch to stiffen it up
which has 34mm upper legs (rather than the normal 32 or even 30mm at this price) and a Boost-width through-axle
Its Zeron single-ring cranks use an alternating ‘ZIGZAG’ tooth profile to hold the chain in place
aided by the switchable clutch on the Shimano Deore rear mech
The cockpit is impressively up to date too
with a short 45mm stem holding a 760mm bar fitted with lock-on grips
it doesn’t live up to that promise on the trail
so it takes a significant impact to get it moving
and the negative spring which should help offset that stickiness is too weak
It clatters and spikes over anything more than a small stick
and riding trails that are even remotely rocky is a punishing experience
You can make it more fluid by reducing the air pressure until you see the negative spring suddenly pull the fork into its travel
But that leaves it so soft that it plunges through its stroke over the slightest lump
or even when braking or pedalling out of the saddle
the rear shock is pretty smooth over small bumps
This means the whole-bike balance is out of kilter
with the front riding stubbornly high and the back sagging down
effectively rotating the ride axis of the bike around the bottom bracket
The rear end sucks up smaller bumps to maintain momentum without bouncing too badly
because the ‘lockout’ is so bad it actually made me laugh as I pogoed uphill (it switches off the rebound damping
so the shock fires back with a savage bounce)
The skinny shock link and single-sided pivots mean noticeable twist and twang through the back end when you’re stomping the power down
even compared to the cheapest Shimano M300-series stoppers
they do improve noticeably if you upgrade the pads
You’re unlikely to wear out the tyres for years either and they roll okay considering how knobbly they look
But if you’re wanting a combat-ready trail bike rather than a lookalike cruiser/commuter
Those who avidly follow the climbing news may have already noticed the name of Iris Bielli
is quickly establishing a first-rate climbing curriculum
with standout climbs being her onsight (!) of Invisibilis on Marmolada
a repeat of Giallo Dream at Torre Mezzaluna and the first ascent of Madre Roccia on Marmolada
where on Saturday 20 January she climbed her first 8c
Endangered on Pala del Frate at Corni di Canzo
This is a hyper-technical slab put up by Stefano Carnati which Bielli sent in just 8 sessions
At the same crag the student of Environmental and Land Engineering pulled off two other notable ascents: the 8b+ Lo sprito del bosco in just 5 goes and
an onsight of the 8a+ Les Communistes
Despite being overshadowed by the brand's solid range of hardtail mountain bikes
Voodoo's Canzo is its long-standing full-suspension bike that's built to blend performance with a very accessible price
Voodoo has completely revamped its full-suspension mountain bike
hauling its geometry right into 2024 with prices starting at a very friendly £1,400
Voodoo says the very latest Canzo only shares its name with its predecessor as its 2024 iteration has been sculpted to be a do-it-all trail bike
It gets 140mm of suspension at both ends and the bike rolls on 29-inch wheels
Tthe standard Canzo will set you back £1,400 whereas the Canzo Pro is £1,800
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Javier Cancio is a descendant of one of the most important governors of St
Gonzalo Mendez de Canzo served as governor in Florida from 1597 to 1603
Mendez de Canzo's lasting influence can be seen especially in the layout of St
Augustine - the street grid that remains today in the oldest section of the city
In such a scenario Mendez de Canzo could boast of the improvements that he achieved
He informed the king that he made certain that St
Augustine's streets conformed with Spain's city-planning ordinances
There may have been major changes or a less drastic "tweaking" of existing street to conform
Were residents displaced and made to build new buildings in the interest of the street plan or not
Mendez de Canzo established the market place in the town's main square (plaza) which included the use of standard weights and measures for transactions - the first consumer protection policy in today's United States
Méndez de Canzo relocated the governor's executive residence from the shoreline to a higher and drier site adjacent to and on the west side of the city's plaza
He complained that the previous location of the governor's house near the waterfront was unhealthy and subject to erosion
probably referring to the casa de gobernador (governor's house) shown next to Matanzas Bay in a 1593 drawing by Hernando de Mesta
The governor purchased the property from María de Pomar (a relative of Pedro Menéndez) for 600 ducats
Also included were sites that would be sold for soldier's houses and others that were rented out
The governor reported that he made improvements
probably to have the location of the governor's office comply with Spanish ordinances that major buildings face the main square (plaza)
he offered the property and its houses to the Spanish crown for 1,500 ducats
a bankruptcy selling price in the his opinion
Florida's colonial seat of government would occupy this location for more than two centuries
the federal government used the site for administrative purposes
Today it is under the oversight of the University of Florida
After 406 years it remains a government site - the oldest government site in the United States
because we guarantee you'll be salivating over this list of 2025's most exciting new bikes
Most of the newest and sexiest bikes for 2025 have already been released
with blistering new models in every segment of the market from budget full-suspension right the way through to full-on World Cup DH rigs
to take a run-down through the hottest bikes that I’m most excited about right now
The high-flying Calibre Bossnut is not held back by its price point
Both bikes are in-and-around the £1,500 mark and
Hot on the Bossnut’s heels is the excellent Voodoo Canzo
Only this model serves to lower the bar to entry into the XC race scene
as well as tear down singletrack at top speed
A bike that can rip around your local woods on a Saturday and line up at an XC race on a Sunday
The learnings from 15 versions of the Stumpjumper have been fed into this latest version
the Stumpjumper is on its 15th incarnation
thanks largely to its highly-adjustable dual rate Genie air shock
Cotic ploughs its own furrow with the new Rocket e-bike
Steel tubing has been making the headlines all year. From its appearance on the World Cup DH circuit, as riders like Amaury Pierron and Neko Mullaly seek out more compliance and less deflection from their frames, to the likes of Cotic revealing its unapologetically steel Rocket e-bike
there seems to have been a ferrous resurgence
And it’s even spread to the very biggest brands
with Trek showing a prototype Pipedream that uses a custom steel front triangle mated to a Top Fuel back end
After spending years and many dollars designing and protecting proprietary technology
the Pipedream abandons all of that – and probably attracted more eyeballs and likes than most Treks with all the cutting-edge tech
Trek’s Slash+ is one of three new lightweight e-enduro bikes to hit the market this year
Another Trek that’s got my attention recently is the Slash+ e-bike
At first it was for the bizarre pricing that meant you could buy the version with motor and battery for nearly £1k less than the analogue model
and since then I’ve mostly been having a blast riding it
but for being the first e-bike with TQ’s new high capacity battery
Seriously rapid – and that’s not just the speed of the Amflow PL Carbon Pro
as it’s only taken a year to come to market
Staying with e-bikes, how can I not mention the Amflow PL Carbon with the DJI motor
No one can talk about e-bikes anymore without some kind of reference to the Amflow
I can safely say the hype is justified around the power and tune of the motor – it destroys anything else I’ve ridden for power
because the chassis is at the lighter end of the spectrum
and there’s a huge dichotomy between the grunt of the motor and the frame it’s attached to
That’s not a judgement that can be levelled at the Nicolai Saturn 16 MGU with the Pinion motor and gearbox unit
with a massive (and intricately-machined) alloy frame
along with what could be the most robust and durable drivetrains ever to grace an e-bike
For riders looking to spend more time in the saddle
even lower centre of gravity – the Whyte ELyte 150 EVO
high-revving Bosch SX motor with the full-power
so you can choose to have a heavier bike with more range
or a more dynamic set-up for shorter blasts
That’s a good-looking downhill bike – the Pivot Phoenix
Time for a few downhill bikes, and the Pivot Phoenix has had a very public development process at the hands of Bernard Kerr and co on the World Cup scene (and numerous YouTube vlogs)
Some of which was probably not ideal from Pivot’s perspective
such as snapping the head tube clean off at Crankworx
But kudos to Pivot to sticking with the plan
and now the new Phoenix is out (in monocoque form
Canyon has also been getting a lot of attention (and quite a few podiums) with its as-yet-unreleased Sender V3
I’d expect to see this new bike launched before the start of the 2025 race season
a brand that has been hiding its new downhill bike is Scott
The updated Gambler has sneaked into a reel posted by Ethan Craik
even if it hasn’t been raced in anger
and the latest frame design hides the shock in the base of the down tube for a sleek look that matches the rest of Scott’s range
Undoubtedly there’s some wild six-bar linkage (at least) in the frame to be able to package everything
but we’ll have to wait and see for the specifics
I’d expect the new Gambler to surface for time the first round of the World Cup next May in Poland
The M's want their pitchers all across the organization to fill up the strike zone
as they believe that throwing constant strikes with all your pitches will yield positive results
the M's want their hitters to lay off tough pitches and get in advantageous counts so they can do damage
you have a better opportunity to have the at-bat go your way
in both the hitting and pitching departments
As nice as that all sounds, Dominic Canzone simply is not executing that philosophy. Canzone is currently running a chase rate of 37.5 percent, which is one of the worst in baseball. As a result, he also has a strikeout rate of 30.7 percent, also one of the worst in baseball. All this can be seen on Baseball Savant.
Canzone has some very nice qualities, and he comes with some very good power. There are clear reasons to like him at the plate
but it's time to start following the philosophy or being held accountable for not following it
In Friday night's win against the Twins
Canzone had the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning of a tie game
The M's needed a competitive at-bat and instead
Canzone swung at basically everything thrown to him
He's getting himself out far too often and making life easy for the pitchers
Take this at-bat from the recent Rays series
which was put on social media by @MarinerMuse:
Canzone swung at every red ball here pic.twitter.com/tO6Jotcze7
Canzone is prone to swinging at the high fastball
the changeup fading away from him and the slider/cutter burrowing down on his hands
The Mariners' hitting coaches undoubtedly help players develop plans of attack at the plate
It's time for Canzone to start finding his - and sticking with it - because the team can't afford to have non-competitive at-bats in which he gets himself out
If he doesn't start making the adjustment
Dylan Moore and just about anyone else looks like a better option to play the outfield and take at-bats in key situations
The Mariners play the Twins on Saturday night at 7:10 p.m
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Brady on "X" @wdevradiobrady
1) Munoz makes baseball history in Friday night performance
BRADY FARKAS
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The City of St. Augustine is proposing to revamp one of the oldest streets in the United States — King Street, according to the front-page article in The Record last week on June 30
We claim Aviles Street to be the oldest street in the nation
King Street served as a thoroughfare for carriages
carts and pedestrians along the southern edge of the Plaza
Gonzalo Mendez Canzo took credit for bringing St
Augustine's street layout into compliance with the ordinances for laying out towns in the Americas
Did the governor tweak King Street more than 400 years ago
King Street's route blended seamlessly into the Plaza itself as did the streets on the Plaza's other three sides — St
George Street and Maria Sanchez Creek (now Cordova Street) the street-like character became obvious with the Governor's House property forming a physical boundary along the street's northern side
Susan Parker: St. Augustine became an American city on July 10, 1821
Susan Parker: Florida's transfer 6 days too late for Fourth of July
You can take King Street and its extension
The city is negotiating to take ownership of streets that feed King Street as well as the San Sebastian Bridge
One proposal of the city's plan is to add a pedestrian and bicycle bridge across the San Sebastian River to connect the eastern part of King with West King Street
even a foot bridge would have been welcome
Union troops had torn down the coquina-lined causeway and wooden bridge that had crossed the San Sebastian
a ferry propelled with ropes provided the crossing
Morton" that the ferryman stopped in the middle of the river to collect the toll
Graham also tells us that in 1994 the coquina wall of the causeway was uncovered briefly when city workers made repairs to a leaking water main
In the area where today King Street and Holmes Boulevard intersect
John Hanson had established his sugar plantation
William Cullen Bryant had vacationed in St
Augustine and described Hanson's sugar enterprise in "Letters of a Traveller; or Notes of Things Seen in Europe and America,” published in 1850
"We stopped to look at the buildings in which the sugar was manufactured
In one of them was a mill where the cane was crushed with iron rollers
in which the juice was boiled to proper consistency
Nearby in the open air lay a pile of sugarcane of the ribbon variety striped with red and white."
It was Hanson's Black slaves who cut the cane
manned the "iron rollers" and stood over the huge
Wyllie published his engraving of the sugar works chimney that still stood from the plantation
In the 1920s the classrooms and dorms of Florida Normal and Agricultural Institute would be built on Hanson's former lands
The historically Black college was later re-named Florida Memorial College and is now Florida Memorial University
King Street received national interest as a link in the major north-south route from Michigan to Miami
the route passed through neighborhoods of our city
Autos drove south between the towers of the City Gate
and continued on through the narrow streets of West Augustine
It will be interesting to see what the city's plans add to King Street's more-than-four centuries of history
Parker holds a doctorate in colonial history
It looks and feels very dated; the sizing and geometry are both from a bygone era
the Voodoo Canzo at £1,000 and the Zobop at £1,250
>>> Best cheap full suspension bikes: £1000 to £1500
Think performance mountain bikes, and Halfords probably isn’t the first name that springs to mind. But with VooDoo as one of its exclusive bike brands, Halfords has proved time and time again that it can deliver the goods. Indeed, its £675 VooDoo Bizango 29 is one of the most decorated hardtails ever produced
Can VooDoo deliver the same level of performance from the 130mm-travel full-suspension Canzo
with its SRAM Eagle 12-speed drivetrain and RockShox suspension components
Monarch Rl shock is anything but regal when things get rough
It’s also the only bike here to come with a 135mm quick-release rear end
And that’s not the only way the Canzo frame is showing its age
and it is clear that the Canzo still has other hangovers from the past; namely front derailleur compatibility
we had to chop nearly 100mm off the post to lower the saddle
but then there wasn’t enough seatpost left to meet the recommend minimum insertion when we raised it again
that the Canzo is the cheapest bike on test
as you’ll instantly need to upgrade to a dropper post
there’s a seat tube cable port and guides under the down tube for doing just that
RockShox Recon R fork with 140mm of travel
Nowhere on Halfords’s website does it state how much travel the Canzo frame has
as we measure the travel of all the test bikes
The exact amount isn’t that important though
as VooDoo hasn’t quite nailed the tune of the RockShox Monarch RL shock
On rolling terrain the rear suspension feels soft and wallowy
get the VooDoo on anything fast and rough and it exhibits a surprisingly harsh response
It’s a very different story with the 140mm-travel RockShox Recon RL suspension fork
the only sound you hear is the rebound damping wheezing as the fork recoils on bigger hits
this is a good indication that it is working well
but even with the rebound set fully open the fork wasn’t lightning fast
so lighter riders running lower pressures will struggle to achieve an optimum setting
135mm quick-release skewer is old-school but not in a good way
The highlight in the Canzo build kit has to be the 12-speed SRAM SX drivetrain – the 11-50t cassette offering a gear range to match all gradients and fitness levels
Shifting wasn’t quite as slick as on the Calibre though
and we suspect that’s due to flex in the Canzo frame
The lowlight? The underpowered Clarks Clout disc brakes with their variable bite-point that creeps further from the handlebars with successive lever pulls
We gave VooDoo a massive leg up in this test by fitting our top-quality Maxxis control tyres to the Canzo. Sure, the stock 2.25in WTB Trail Boss is a decent rear tyre, but up front it lacks the edge needed to really carve turns. The shorter fork offset doesn’t do the Voodoo any favours either; the Canzo could do with the extra stability of a longer front end
The Canzo is very efficient at covering ground
but it’s much less adept on anything steep
more upright riding position makes the bike less stable
and at times the frame flex was so pronounced that we thought the rear tyre had gone soft
the VooDoo Canzo would have been in with a fighting chance in this test
The sizing and geometry are both from a bygone era
the Clarks Clout brakes are woefully inadequate and the ride quality of the rear suspension doesn't match that of it’s rivals
even of the specification is every bit as good
If you simply focus on the individual components the VooDoo Canzo looks like a great proposition
but taken together shortcomings in the ride quality really overshadow it competitive pricing
With the World Championships well underway
there's always a minute to look back at the plethora of hot new kit that's come out over the past fortnight
Whether that's Fox's first wireless dropper post or Santa Cruz's updated Bronson
a lot's happened so let's get you up to date with all things tech
Where the magic has happened is within that suspension – a reconfigured shock layout to lower the bike's anti-squat for a more efficient pedalling character
Santa Cruz also claimed reduced pedal kickback
Prices start at £4,900 and go up to £8,000
For more, here's the story - New Santa Cruz Bronson gets updated suspension design
But here's the kicker – it costs a whopping £1,129 and spare batteries are £99.95
Here's the story for a deeper dive into this new dropper - Fox ditches the cables with its first wireless dropper, the Transfer Neo.
Both bikes use Shimano's EP801 motor combined with a 612Wh battery and plenty of suspension
For more details click here - Kona adds the remote X and 160 DL to its e-mountain bike roster.
a carbon gravel bike that employs the new wheel standard
Chosen for the larger contact patch and better ride for taller riders
the Jumbo is the first carbon bike on the market to run the bigger wheels
Here are more details - Merit's Jumbo gravel bike adopts the 750d wheel standard
With prices starting at £1,400 and going up to £1,800 Voodoo has made full-suspension goodness more accessible
For more, here's the story - The new Voodoo Canzo is a full susser that starts at £1.4k
Almost every millimetre of the bike's geometry has been changed to make for a more confident ride but importantly
Trek has binned IsoSpeed and has swapped it for IsoBow
Unlike IsoSpeed which relied on an elastomer to bring compliance to the bike's seat tube
More details are in the story - Trek's new Procaliber XC bike introduces IsoBow technology.
We list the bare minimum tools that every rider worth their salt should own. Here's the piece - Essential tools for off-roading
Here is the full feature - Boost spacing explained.
Good entry-level full-suspension bikes for proper mountain biking start at around this price point
We've tested loads if them; here's our pick of the best on the market
The sole purpose of the best cheap full-suspension bike is to provide the highest-performance bike at the most competitive prices
In many ways it’s at the entry-level that design is truly cutting-edge
the constraints of tighter budgets making every component choice that much more critical to ride quality
Selling direct keeps costs down; whether that’s through high street multiples, in the case of retail-specific brands like Boardman, or by shipping direct to your door, as Vitus does. But it is no coincidence that there aren’t any bikes under £1k that we’d classify as being amongst best full-suspension mountain bike candidates
Polygon Siskiu T8 builds on the game-changing Calibre Bossnut
XL (29in) | Weight: 15.6kg | Suspension travel: 150mm f/140mm r 27.5in
the Siskiu is available with 29in or 27.5in wheels depending on the frame size
with the larger frames using 29in wheels and the small and medium getting 27.5in hoops
The entry-level Siskiu T7 gets a 1×12 wide-range drivetrain
while it shares the same frame as the more expensive T8 model
Polygon might not be a household name among mountain bikers
but the performance it has packed into the Siskiu means it deserves recognition far and wide
and it has done a much better job at making an affordable full-suspension bike than most big name brands
It’s not quite as polished as the Vitus Mythique
but it’s still a standout bike that will nurture your riding skills
Read the full review of the Polygon Siskiu T8
The Calibre Bossnut is back for 2025 and it means business
Wheel size: 29in | Frame sizes: XS (27.5in)
XL | Weight: 16.84kg | Suspension travel: 140mm f/135mm r 29in | Rating: N/A
Calibre is back with the game-changing Bossnut
and it’s bigger and better than ever before
but there’s a host of significant upgrades to justify the hike
So this is several steps beyond what was already a ground-breaking bike
he said “it’s faster and more fun than ever before
to take advantage of the price you’ll need to pay £5
But considering the Calibre’s bang-for-buck
that doesn’t seem like too much of a hardship
Read the full review of the Calibre Bossnut
Voodoo looks to have ironed out all the creases in the Canzo
L | Weight: 16.84kg | Suspension travel: 140mm f/140mm r 29in | Rating: 9/10
It’s not only Calibre that has redesigned its budget full-suspension option
Voodoo has also dropped a brand new Canzo platform with two models on offer
excellent suspension parts and Shimano’s slick shifting Cues drivetrain with durable Linkglide coating
At £1,400 you have to make do without a dropper post
and there are only three sizes to choose from (Calibre offers five)
but it’s a good looking bike with a great spec at an affordable price
but the suspension is sublime considering the price
and it offers all the efficiency you could hope for on the climbs
and all the grins you could wish for on the descents
Read our full review of the Voodoo Canzo
The Polygon Siskiu D5 is the old Calibre Bossnut with a different badge and parts
Wheel size: 27.5in | Suspension travel: 120mm | Frame sizes: S
L | Frame: 6061 T6 Aluminium | Weight: 15.43kg (34.02lb) | Rating: N/A
Team Sky Ineos would be proud of Calibre’s ability to aggregate marginal gains
shock tune and specification helped make the Bossnut the benchmark entry-level suspension bike
While we await a new Bossnut from Calibre (stop press
Polygon (who manufactured the bikes for Calibre) has stepped into the breach with Siskiu model
sold through retailers Blacks and Go Outdoors
It’s the same frame as the old Bossnut with some different parts bolted on
if you want a quality full-suspension bike that’s fast
fun and ridiculously good value at under £1k
the Polygon Siskiu is the bike we’d recommend
Read our full test review of the Calibre Bossnut
The Cannondale Habit 4 puts a smile on your face
Wheel size: 27.5in (XS) and 29in | Frame sizes: XS (27.5in)
XL | Weight: 15.2kg | Suspension travel: 140mm f/130mm r | Rating: 9/10
The new Cannondale Habit offers both carbon and aluminium frames
and even a longer travel option if you’re heading into bigger terrain
But perhaps its key selling point is a focus on creating the same ride and handling across the whole size range
so a 5ft 5in rider should enjoy the same experience as someone who’s 6ft 3in
we were impressed that it comes standard with a dropper post
so you can get the saddle out of the way easily on descents
Cannondale has also nailed the rear suspension performance
helping to boost confidence however chunky the terrain
with really active suspension and dynamic handling
suspension and efficiency and has an engaging
responsive ride quality that feels anything but budget”
Read the full review of the Cannondale Habit 4
The Canyon Neuron 6 really impressed us with its versatility and turn of speed
Wheel size: 27.5in or 29in | Travel: 130mm | Frame sizes: XS
XL | Frame: Aluminium | Weight: 14.63kg (32.25lb) | Rating: N/A
The Neuron is Canyon’s back-to-basics trail bike
There are four carbon and four alloy models to choose from
with prices starting from £1,849 for the Neuron 5 and going up to £5,749 for the Neuron CF LTD
There’s also a kids’ Young Hero model with an XS frame and 27.5in wheels for £1,499
Neuron 7 and Neuron CF8 available at no extra cost
all XS and S frames come with 27.5in wheels
while the Medium upwards come with 29in wheels
you’ll need to factor in a bike box at £18.99 and delivery at £37.99 to all of the headline prices
as happy hitting enduro tracks and sending jumps as racking up the miles on a multi-day ride
and the choice of fast-rolling Schwalbe tyres means it rolls along almost effortlessly
Read our full test review of the Canyon Neuron 6
Marin Rift Zone 1 is the entry-level bike in the range
Wheel size: 27.5in or 29in | Frame sizes: S
XL | Weight: 15.54kg | Suspension travel: 150mm f/140mm r 27.5in
Marin’s new Rift Zone captures the essence of agile handling and an engaging ride and slaps on a price tag that doesn’t just appeal to hedge fund managers
Consumers get to choose between three wheel sizes; 27.5in and 29in obviously
but there’s also a 26in JR model for the groms
Build kits start at £1,695 and go up to £2,995 for the XR model
bottomless travel and stratospheric price tags
the Rift Zone is as refreshing as plunging your face into a glacier-fed stream
As we said in our first ride: “if you prefer to let your riding do the talking rather than strut about preening your feathers on something that cost the equivalent of a house deposit
then the Rift Zone won’t disappoint”
Read the full review of the Marin Rift Zone XR (2023)
Boardman has refreshed its budget range for 2025
and the new MTR 8.8 looks fresh and ready to shred
When we last tested Boardman’s full-suspension platform
The geometry and sizing were both on the money and it looks stunning
but the rear suspension on the MTR 8.8 felt stodgy and congested
and it gains a sleek new frame with different geometry
components such as the bar and stem have been updated to allow riders to really exploit the more aggressive angles and generous fit
If Boardman has woken up the shock tune to give the suspension more grip and the bike a more dynamic ride
then this could be a stone-cold trail bargain
But with tough competition from the likes of Calibre and Voodoo
Read our full test review of the Boardman MTR 8.9
Calibre’s Bossnut redefined the performance of entry-level suspension bikes
it’s rare to find a good full-suspension bike for less than £1,000
Look to direct-sales brands like Voodoo and Boardman (sold through Halfords)
Vitus (sold through Chain Reaction Cycles/Wiggle)
Polygon and Calibre (Go Outdoors) and B’Twin (sold through Decathlon) as they can cut margins and bring a decent bike in on budget
by sitting on the bike while holding the bars and putting all your weight through the bike
You’re looking for 30% sag in this position
The frame will almost certainly be made of aluminium and boast between 120mm and 140mm of travel. This is plenty for most trail mountain biking. Ideally you want air-sprung suspension, as this will let you set the bike up to your body weight without needing to buy new springs. All you need is a shock pump and some know-how. For suspension set-up advice check out this article
There are many different suspension designs
but don’t get hung up on the system used as they all have their pros and cons and it’s just one factor of many that influence the ride and handling of a bike
Check out our detailed reviews for more insight and try and get a test ride if you can
Thrashing the best cheap full suspension bike candidates
In terms of wheel size
but it doesn’t matter too much which you choose
but 27.5in bikes can be more agile – although that’s only a rough rule of thumb
you may feel more comfortable with smaller wheels
while taller riders may enjoy more confidence with larger wheels
Frames come in multiple sizes and it’s crucial to pick the right one. You want decent length in the frame so you don’t feel cramped when seated, and have a stable bike when descending, but plenty of clearance over the top tube to inspire confidence in technical sections. For more advice, check out our guide to choosing the right frame size
SRAM’s NX drivetrain is popular on cheap full-suspension bikes and offers 12 gears with a wide range from low to high
For components, look for a single-ring drivetrain, with just one chainring up front and between 10 and 12 sprockets at the back. A wide range cassette (10-46t or 10-51t) will make it easier to spin up climbs and help you save energy. Hydraulic disc brakes are a must
These will be powerful and need less maintenance than cable-operated discs
and can be retro-fitted for around £100-150
Dropper posts let you get the saddle out of the way for descending without having to stop
Simply press the lever on the handlebars and use your body weight to push the post down
but don’t fret if your chosen bike doesn’t come with one
It’s easy to add one later for around £100 upwards
Tyres are one of the most important components off-road as they make or break your grip in the dirt
But they are also relatively economical to upgrade
and our expert panel of reviewers are here to narrow things down
Mountain bikes come in different designs depending on their intended use
A mountain bike for racing cross-country is not the same as a mountain bike designed for weekend trail riding
our round-up of the best mountain bikes available right now features winning bikes from different disciplines within the broad church that is mountain biking
We’ll go through the differences in disciplines further down this guide
backed up with years of experience reviewing thousands of mountain bikes since MBR was launched back in 1997
This isn’t some shortlist pulled together from browsing brochures and brand websites – these bikes are ridden and rated by some of the most experienced testers in the business
all with a shared passion for mountain biking and giving you the best buying advice possible
Note: this guide only covers non-assisted mountain bikes. If you’re looking for the best electric mountain bikes
Voodoo’s Braag is a cracking entry-level mountain bike
XL | Weight: 14.6kg | Suspension travel: 120mm front | Rating: N/A
Using the same frame as the multi award-winning Voodoo Bizango (featured below) the Braag saves money in a few areas to bring the price point under £600
fun handling and excellent spread of sizes
along with a wide-range yet simple 9-speed drivetrain and a plush coil-sprung suspension fork
The only fly in the ointment is that the fork can get a bit clunky
but overall this is a killer bike for the money and one you can upgrade as your skills progress
Read our full review of the Voodoo Braag
The Voodoo Bizango is a classic hardtail that still delivers the goods
XL | Weight: 13.1kg | Suspension travel: 120mm front | Rating: 10/10
The alloy Bizango simple has no competition
given the choice we’d probably opt for this bike over many decent £1,000 mountain bikes (saving a couple of components upgrades for the ensuing seasons)
Read our full review of the Voodoo Bizango
the Polygon Xtrada 5 would be a 10/10 bike
XL | Weight: 14.31kg | Suspension travel: 120mm front | Rating: 9/10
The Polygon Xtrada 5 may well sport a dated 2×10 drivetrain
but this 29er has the slackest steering geometry for stability at speed
along with the lowest top tube and shortest seat tube to give you maximum range of motion on black-level trails
and we could really throw it around on fun
Read our full review of the Polygon Xtrada 5
Calibre’s Line T3-27 is our latest Hardtail of the Year winner
XL | Weight: 14.52kg | Suspension travel: 140mm front | Rating: 10/10
Calibre is back in the game after a two-year hiatus
and it’s newest Line T3-27 is straight into the top of our hardtail charts with a perfect 10/10 rating
Built around progressive trail geometry and oversize tyres on 27.5in wheels
the Line T3-27 comes with a clear advantage on rough trails
Getting a dropper post as standard is another impressive feat on this budget bike
and helps the Calibre show a clean pair of heels to the competition on the descents
It’s also more comfortable on the climbs
as you don’t feel every bump travel through your spine
the fast that you can get this level of performance for £1k is remarkable
Listed retail price for the T3-27 is £12,00
if you sign up and buy a Go Outdoors membership card for just £5
the bike’s price drops to a great value £999
Read our full review of the Calibre Line T3-27
Voodoo’s Bizango Pro is an absolute flyer
XL | Weight: 13.2kg (29.2lb) | Suspension travel: 130mm front | Rating: 10/10
The Voodoo Bizango has smashed pretty much any test it’s ever entered, winning our Hardtail of the Year award multiple times, earning regular podium places on our list of the best hardtail mountain bikes
It must have been very tempting for Halfords to stick with the old frame
fettle the spec and keep mixing up that winning mix
standing still in the ultra competitive hardtail market is suicide
the new Bizango Pro is much the superior bike to anything Voodoo has made before
Great brakes mean you can go faster in the happy knowledge you can stop when you need to
while the 12-speed shifting means you can cruise the hills faster than plenty of full-sus bikes out there
it’s hugely superior to anything we’ve tried before on a £1k hardtail: air-sprung so you can set the sag to your weight
Read the full Voodoo Bizango Pro review
XL | Weight: 15.28kg | Suspension travel: 130mm f/130mm r 29in | Rating: 10/10
Not to be left out from the limelight Following the release of the new Calibre Bossnut and Voodoo Canzo
Boardman has updated its MTR full-suspension bike range
flat-out stance that leans more towards covering ground and railing fast singletrack than hitting booters and slashing berms
and rounds out with the MTR 8.9 tested here
and that seems like the sweetspot if you can stretch to it
with a drivetrain and suspension bringing notable benefits to the ride quality
Read our full review of the Boardman MTR 8.9
The Calibre Bossnut is back for 2025 and its bigger and better than ever
Wheel size: 29in | Frame sizes: XS (27.5in)
XL | Weight: 16.84kg | Suspension travel: 140mm f/135mm r 29in | Rating: N/A
and it’s bigger and better than ever before
but there’s a host of significant upgrades to justify the hike
he said “it’s faster and more fun than ever before
to take advantage of the price you’ll need to pay £5
But considering the Calibre’s bang-for-buck
that doesn’t seem like too much of a hardship
Read the full review of the Calibre Bossnut
Voodoo has worked its black magic on the Canzo
L | Weight: 16.84kg | Suspension travel: 140mm f/140mm r 29in | Rating: 9/10
Voodoo has always been super-strong in the budget hardtail market
and sussed out the formula for the perfect hardtail long before anyone
But it’s always played second fiddle to Calibre in the full-suspension stakes
with its Canzo never quite measuring up to the performance of the Bossnut
because the new Canzo is an entirely different proposition
with contemporary geometry and upgraded suspension
saying the Canzo is “bursting with sheer idiot joy”
with the riding position and handling totally on point for pedalling up stuff and then goofing back down”
In fact he reckoned the suspension is even better than the Bossnut’s
Read the full review of the Voodoo Canzo
XL | Weight: 14.47kg | Suspension travel: 120mm f/110mm r | Rating: 9/10
Specialized’s Epic has long been at the sharp end of XC racing
culminating in the latest Epic 8 just missing out on Olympic gold in Paris 2024
But while the carbon Epic costs serious money
the cut-price Chisel enjoys much of the same tech and raw speed
A cutting-edge alloy frame keeps the weight down
and the suspension and geometry mirrors that of its pro-level cousin
Guy Kesteven – a head-banging XC ripper himself – proclaiming it to be the perfect starter XC race bike
Read our full review of the Specialized Chisel
The Cannondale Habit 4 boasts direct-sales value
Wheel size: 29in (XS frame gets 27.5in wheels) | Frame sizes: XS
Kudos to Cannondale for nailing the fundamentals on the latest Habit trail bike
with the cheapest model coming in at under £2k
despite being sold through physical dealers
And the quality alloy frame and solid parts specification show no obvious cost-cutting
There’s even a dropper post on the entry-level Habit 4
flickable handling rewards your every input
Polygon Siskiu T8 is a slick full-sus trail bike
XL | Weight: 15.6kg | Suspension travel: 150mm f/140mm r 27.5in
blew the entry-level full-suspension bike market to smithereens when it launched the original Bossnut back in 2016
And it continued to be the benchmark full-suspension bike until the pandemic hit
The Bossnut has disappeared from showroom floors recently
but while we wait for Calibre to launch a new model
Calibre’s frames were made by Polygon
and the Indonesian manufacturer has adopted the geometry and suspension tuning (that made the Bossnut head and shoulders above the competition)
with the larger frames using 29in wheels and the smaller ones getting 27.5in hoops
the short seat tubes mean you can upsize without getting tangled up in the saddle
And the suspension provides loads of support
so you can push hard on both the climbs and the descents
even if it doesn’t quite have the grip of the Vitus Mythique
The Whyte 629 V4 comes from a long lineage of award-winning hardtails
XL | Weight: 14.41kg | Suspension travel: 120mm f | Rating: 10/10
Whyte has been on path to build the perfect trail hardtail for many years now
and the 629 V4 is really honing in on that goal
When we tested it we had this to say about it: ‘The Whyte 629 V4 really impressed us
and in many ways it mirrors its stablemate
you’ll instantly become addicted to its ways’
Read our full review of the Whyte 629 V4
The latest Merida Big Trail 600 is the archetypal hardcore hardtail
XXL | Weight: 14.48kg | Suspension travel: 140mm f | Rating: 9/10
Merida is a brand that’s easily overlooked
but it has made great strides in the design of its hardtails in recent years
listening to feedback from UK dealers and press to dial-in its geometry and spec
the latest Big Trail is a well-honed option that impressed us when we tested it
exclaiming that ‘with its low weight and sweet handling the Big Trail 600 ripped
Merida has also managed to keep the prices keen
and there’s a comprehensive size range that should suit riders of every height
Read our full review of the Merida Big Trail 600
Specialized’s classic four-bar suspension delivers on its promise of 160mm travel
Wheel size: 29in f/27.5in r | Frame sizes: S1
S5 | Weight: 15.75kg | Suspension travel: 160mm f/160mm r | Rating: 10/10
If you’re starting to see a few grey hairs appear then you may well remember the iconic Specialized Big Hit
it was perhaps the most successful mixed wheeler before the trend’s recent resurgence
it wasn’t designed for long distances or going racing
it was built to put a smile on riders’ faces
The Status captures the spirit of that classic Big Hit
an affordable price and the ability to generate fun at every turn
one with 140mm travel and the original version with 160mm travel
Read our full review of the Specialized Status 160
The latest Specialized Stumpjumper 15 loses the Sidearm
but gains the Genie shock and a magic carpet ride
S6 | Weight: 13.98kg | Suspension travel: 150mm f/145mm r | Rating: N/A
2024 saw the 15th iteration of Specialized’s seminal Stumpjumper full-suspension bike
and immediately it hit the mark with our Bike Test Editor
Alan Muldoon – a man who has ridden every single version over the years
with the new Genie shock letting riders tune for efficiency and pop
There’s a price to pay for this jump in performance though
and the latest Stumpy costs a pretty penny
But if you want a bike that shifts under power
Read our full review of the Specialized Stumpjumper 15
The Yeti SB120 is a down-country bike you can buy with your head as well as your heart
From one of the most aspirational brands in the business comes the impeccable SB120
Yeti shrinks and shoehorns its unique Switch Infinity suspension design into the SB120 chassis
Where the swingarm moves up and down on dual Fox shafts just above the bottom bracket
so it should stay in tip-top condition for longer
And this clever suspension design really works
“the supple suspension is stable under power gives a really positive pedalling feel”
when you really hit a something hard and the rear wheel sticks to the ground
It needs a lighter set of wheels to do the flickable geometry and sublime suspension justice
but even out of the box the Yeti SB120 had us smitten
Read our full review of the Yeti SB120
Santa Cruz’s Tallboy is a terrier that thinks it’s a rottweiler
Although often overlooked in the comprehensive
we think the Tallboy is an undiscovered gem
where it steadfastly believes it’s actually an enduro bike
The stiff frame and aggressive angles beg to be wrung out on every descent
yet the efficient suspension and lightweight mean it’s always the first bike back up to the top of the hill
all that straining at the leash might be too much
But if you love wringing the neck of a short travel whip
and seeing your buddies slack-jawed in amazement as you undermine and overtake their big-travel enduro bikes
Read our full review of the Santa Cruz Tallboy
Transition’s Spur is still one of the finest down-country bikes we’ve ever tested
XL | Weight: 11.25kg | Suspension travel: 120mm f/120mm r | Rating: 10/10
The Transition Spur is arguably the bike that spawned the down-country category
and also the bike that perhaps best defines it
haring up climbs and tearing along high-speed singletrack
That lack of inertia encouraged us to sprint every rise
helped by the stable geometry and supple suspension
With lightweight RockShox Sid forks up front
but to do so is to dilute the Spur’s potency and add unnecessary grams
So while there’s a bit of flex when pushed hard
and lap up the whirlwind of action that accompanies every descent
the Transition Spur is “the best-realised ‘down-country’ bike we’ve ever tested and the one we all covet if we were spending our own cash”
Read our full review of the Transition Spur
XL | Weight: 13.65kg (30.09lb) | Suspension travel: 150mm f/130mm r | Rating: 10/10
Mondraker has never been afraid to push ahead with innovation
It was the first brand to really give us modern sizing
And now it’s getting creative with suspension set-up
to make set-up and analysis easily available to a trail bike audience
But it hasn’t forgot about the basics
that – as we explained in our review – has ‘nailed the balance of speed
compliance and capability to perfectly capture the essence of the short-travel trail category’
Read our full review of the Mondraker Raze Carbon RR
The Specialized S-Works Epic WC is dripping with tech
including the automatically adjusting Flight Attendant suspension
XL | Weight: 10.49kg | Suspension travel: 120mm f/120mm r | Rating: N/A
Specialized handed over the reins of control over its suspension efficiency to RockShox
Removing the BRAIN and letting RockShox’s reactive ride system look after the lockout has made the Epic 8 better in every direction
with a svelte frame that’s blisteringly fast yet fatigue-reducing thanks to a carefully honed carbon lay-up
Loads of sizing options and internal storage make the Epic practical as well as rapid
and the geo and suspension are now versatile enough to shred outside the course race tape
Read our full review of the Specialized S-Works Epic 8
Integrated suspension system conceals the RockShox NUDE 5 shock inside the full carbon frame
XL | Weight: 11.12kg | Suspension travel: 120mm f/120mm r | Rating: 9/10
Scott’s Spark has won more trophies than any other race bike
This latest version gets a sleek new frame and more modern geometry
meaning that while the Scott Spark has lost none of its potency
It also gets a hidden shock for reduced maintenance
and remote suspension control for uphill efficiency without compromising on downhill confidence
Read our full review of the Scott Spark RC WC AXS
XL | Weight: 15.84kg | Suspension travel: 170mm f/165mm r | Rating: 9/10
Two MBR testers fell in love with the Yeti SB165 bike on Alpine trips
First Danny took the MX-wheel freeride/enduro bike to Switzerland
then Mick took it to the French Alps and raced it (and won) the Enduro 2 race
And both of them were equally smitten with the Yeti for its playful handling and sweetly-tuned coil-sprung suspension
This feels like a bike you can do anything on
and have your back when it all gets a bit sketchy
“the bottom line is I reckon you’d struggle to get better performance and versatility from any other long travel enduro bike on the market”
Read our full review of the Yeti SB165
The Nukeproof Giga offers a right rollicking ride
XXL | Weight: 15.4kg | Suspension travel: 180mm f/170mm r | Rating: 10/10
The Giga is testament to the adage that you can have your pudding and eat it
It rides just like a normal mountain bike when the gradient tips up
The Giga really is a race-worthy enduro bike that doesn’t feel like a chore to pedal around on your Sunday Social rides
Read our full review of the Nukeproof Giga 290 Carbon Factory
YT Industries’ Capra Core 2 GX just had the edge on the Canyon Torque when we tested them back-to-back
XXL | Weight: 16.6kg | Suspension travel: 170mm f/170mm r | Rating: 9/10
YT’s Capra narrowly clinched victory against its arch nemesis
and which one is best depends largely on your priorities
racing for those fractions of a second that are crucial in enduro racing
A classic bike that has just got better with age
Read our full review of the YT Capra Core 2 GX
The Canyon Torque Mullet AL 6 loves to party
XL | Weight: 16.6kg | Suspension travel: 170mm f/175mm r | Rating: 9/10
the Canyon Torque is the joker in the pack
goofing around on side hits and rarely seen with both wheels on the ground at one time
It’s a bike that revels in being twisted into crazy shapes at the bike park or surfing loamy turns in the hills
Of course Canyon also offers a huge array of options
All of the Torque models come with exemplary specs
Read our full review of the Canyon Torque Mullet AL 6
The Merida One-Sixty FR 600 offers plenty of bang for not too many bucks
XLong | Weight: 17.2kg | Suspension travel: 180mm f/171mm r | Rating: N/A
The competitively-priced Merida One-Sixty FR 600 really impressed us when we tested it
the One-Sixty packs enough travel to take on pretty much anything
and the flex-stay rear suspension design is innovative while reducing complexity
so you have fewer bearings to worry about in the long run
Given that the One-Sixty is sold through a dealer network
so there’s loads of standover height on all frames
and you can choose your size according to length
but it actually pedals and climbs surprisingly well
we found the Merida One-Sixty was easy to ride
Read our first ride review of the Merida One-Sixty FR 600
The Vitus Mythique 29 VRX is one of the best budget full-suspension bikes on the market
If you really want to stand out from the crowd, there’s nothing quite like an Atherton Bikes, and we’ve tested – and loved – the Atherton A.130X, Atherton A.170, and Atherton S.170
The ‘A’ models use the original additive manufacturing method of construction
while the new ‘S’ range uses machined alloy lugs and alloy tubes
and we think the more expensive A bikes look and ride better
but the S range brings an Atherton within reach of a much wider audience
this is the antithesis to all the generic designs found among the mainstream brands
The Forbidden Dreadnought is a high-pivot high flyer
High-pivot bikes are no longer a niche product thanks mainly to the success of Forbidden, and both the Druid trail bike and Dreadnought enduro bike make excellent options for anyone partial to a high-pivot
The latest Dreadnought is now a top notch enduro bike with unshakeable control along with more agility than the old bike
Guy fell head over heels for his Druid longtermer
dismissing the extra drivetrain drag for its “trophy truck ability to charge down or claw up almost anything”
a bike Mick said is both “beautifully made and fast as hell”
The slinky Commencal Meta V5 Race blends elements of both new and old-school enduro bikes
with the combination of steel front triangle and alloy swingarm
Sonder’s Evol also has a certain flex to its alloy frame that helped keep fatigue at bay
but suspension lacked sparkle and the bottle rubbed on the shock with the piggyback option
One bike that has always done well in MBR tests recently is the Trek Top Fuel
Guy reckoned it needs a travel hack as standard to really release its full potential
Pidcock’s Pinarello Dogma XC race bike is not for the faint-hearted
Here Danny found that the budget spec killed the obviously talented frame
Our list is drawn up by a test panel of mountain bike journalists, most of whom have over 20 years experience reviewing bikes (read more about our bike testers and writers them here)
In recommending the best mountain bikes to you
we draw on that experience and our expansive knowledge and comprehensive overview of the market
In 2022 alone we tested over 80 different mountain bikes and we’ve been testing bikes since MBR was launched in 1997
In 25 years that’s over 2,000 bikes reviewed – that’s why you can trust our advice
We never take a product at face value and manufacturer’s claims are always probed
travel and geometry on all our test bikes (the numbers we publish are our own figures unless specified)
In group tests we always try to fit control tyres to create a more level playing field and help isolate critical differences in handling and suspension performance
A good starter mountain bike costs from £400 upwards
but an extra couple of hundred quid really counts at this level
£400+ is a good start for a bike that will stand up to off-road abuse without falling apart in five minutes
We’re going to go into what you get (and don’t get) for your money in a moment
You can get a perfectly decent mountain bike for under £600
You can also max out your credit card and drop over £10k on a mountain bike
The law of diminishing returns definitely applies to mountain bikes
sometimes significantly so depending on the rider and terrain
but essentially you get less drastic improvements in bike quality the higher you go up the price scale
looking for a bike that’s fun and efficient on a wide variety of terrain
Whilst your budget is probably going to be main thing you’re thinking about at first
you need to decide on the type of mountain bike is going to suit you best
Then you can look at what your budget will get you
Mountain bikes are now very capable and versatile machines
They can turn their hand to all sorts of riding
You can go for a trail ride on an enduro bike
You can ride enduro trails on a down-country/XC bike
So you aren’t closing off all avenues of riding by going for a certain sort of bike
But you’ll have a more fun and rewarding experience if you get a bike that best suits your main type of riding
but you’ll need good skills to make the most of it
don’t be tempted to get a bike for the extreme 1% of the riding that you’ll do on it
A burly gravity-fuelled bike is fine and dandy for an annual uplift day
but you’ll have to pedal that thing around for the other 51 weekends of the year
For the purposes of this guide let’s ignore the extreme ends of the spectrum
Chances are you aren’t looking for an Olympic XC race bike
Nor are you looking for a World Cup level Downhill bike
This buyers guide is about ‘normal’ mountain bikes
But even within the realm of ‘normal’ mountain bikes there are various sub-genres
some are seemingly entirely fabricated by marketing departments
These will be capable enough on more extreme terrain but won’t feel like a burden on calmer
Modern trail bikes are versatile beasts and come in many different flavours
Trail riding is arguably best defined by what it’s not
It’s riding around regular tracks and trail centres with the occasional 50km epic thrown in and the odd uplift day or two
Trail bikes sport between 120mm and 150mm of travel and are designed to be strong enough to withstand all sorts of abuse without being too portly
Recommended mountain bike: hardtail or full-suspension with 120-140mm suspension
or mixed (mullet) wheels (29in front and 27.5in rear)
Some of the latest XC bikes have progressive geometry that lets you blast the descents just as hard as you can scorch the climbs
This is less about jumps and slamming berms and more about pedalling miles and crossing fells
don’t write it off thinking it’s for doddery older riders on dull
XC riding and racers are still about off-road speed
But with cross country there’s more of an emphasis on climbing
They also don’t pack much in the way of suspension travel (sub-120mm) as more suspension travel results in heavier bikes
They are also often less overbuilt in terms of fork/frame/wheel stiffness
They also aren’t able to install a dropper seatpost due to having narrow (sub-30.9mm) seat tubes
XC bikes can also still have rather old-fashioned geometry that often ignores descending prowess and is still heavily modelled on road bikes
This is all well and good if you’re Nino Schurter
but for most people the end result is fairly terrifying on any technical terrain
even if you want to ride cross-country you’re probably better off on a (light as possible) trail bike than a sketchy XC bike
Recommended mountain bike: light-as-you-can-afford hardtail or light full suspension with 100-120mm suspension and 29in wheels
Enduro bikes have to survive the equivalent of racing multiple World Cup DH tracks in a single day
and being pedalled back up to the top again
Enduro riding intentionally and unashamedly prioritises descending capability and speed
The terrain can resemble Downhill race tracks but there’s no uplift here
Enduro bikes are essentially longer travel (160+mm) Trail bikes with stronger parts
As a result they’re heavier than Trail bikes
Or the same weight and significantly more expensive
Enduro bikes are very much in vogue but you should be careful before you automatically head down this route
A couple of kilos may not sound much but it’s always there no matter what trail you’re on
If most of your riding is trail centres then an Enduro bike is going to be OTT and very probably slower than a Trail bike
One area where Enduro bikes are leading the way for all kinds of riding however is geometry
A cutting edge Enduro bike will have a riding position that bests both XC and Trail bikes for climbing
Enduro bikes are at the forefront of mountain biking
A lightweight Enduro bike is an amazing thing
Recommended mountain bike: full suspension with 150-170mm suspension
The best hardtails under £1,000 make a great starting point
It’s easy to assume that everyone would be riding full suspension bikes instead of hardtails if there was no price difference
Hardtails do have some advantages over full-suspension bikes regardless of price tag
Hardtails have less to go wrong or require servicing
Hardtails can be faster and more fun on smoother trails
Adding to this the fact that hardtails are cheaper than their full-sus counterparts means that hardtails aren’t going to be extinct anytime soon
What are the benefits of going full-suspension
Full suspension bikes track the ground better and as such offer greater traction
Full-suspension bikes are more composed and not as sketchy to ride as hardtails
The fatigue and comfort benefits are also important
Being less beaten up and less tired on longer rides is an added bonus of bounce
They usually have a lower component spec (compared to hardtail of the same price)
They have bearings and pivots that will eventually wear out and cost money to replace/service
And if you don’t understand the basics of how to setup suspension
then a full-suspension bike can ride really badly
Riders have switched on to e-bikes in huge numbers over the last few years for one simple reason: they let you pack a lot more trails into your usual ride
In fact you can often enjoy double the distance and metres climbed/descended in a typical three hour Sunday ride than you can on an analogue bike
and with people’s lives busier than ever
E-bikes have also improved massively since the early versions came out in 2013/2014
impressive range and handling that can be as fun as any non-assisted model
E-bikes are governed by a number of legal restrictions
so they can only assist while you’re pedalling and only up to 15.5mph
but that doesn’t hold them back off-road
and the best models will slap a bigger grin on your face than any other bike you’ve ridden
e-bikes are generally more expensive than analogue models
they are more expensive to maintain and they are very different to ride
but you can also get a really good workout (including your upper body) if you put your mind to it
If all that sounds enticing, check out our buyer’s guide to the best electric mountain bikes and the best budget electric mountain bikes
At the mid to high end level there’s something of a crossover point where you can sometimes choose between a carbon framed bike (with lower end parts) or an aluminium framed bike (with better bits) at around the same price point
We’d always recommend going for the better specced aluminium model
To go carbon will cost you approximately an extra £1,000 (for the similarly equipped bike)
The more convincing argument for going carbon is not weight
Carbon bikes ride differently to aluminium bikes
Sometimes with a damped (dead) sort of feeling
And these days carbon bikes are often stronger than their aluminium counterparts
The carbon feel and strength is what it’s all about
rally-car ‘carbon feel’ is going to suit everyone
Some riders prefer the feel of aluminium bikes over carbon
Cotic uses steel in its full-suspension frames to great effect
Some people are even making big hype about steel again
with brands like Cotic and Starling leading the charge
Maybe things can get too stiff on a mountain bike
Maybe some chassis flex results in a faster ride
steel full-sussers are going to be even heavier than aluminium
the frame material isn’t going to affect most people’s bike riding
So we would actually say that frame material isn’t worth worrying about overly
we’re going to be mildly controversial and say that the difference between 27.5in bikes and 29er bikes isn’t as pronounced as it was back in the mid ’00s
Nowadays you can get 29ers with decent amount of suspension travel (up to 170mm – more for DH) and with decent geometry
Some brands even offer two versions of each model
one with 27.5in wheels and one with 29in wheels
so you can just choose the option that suits you
29ers are more stable and have better grip
But they have unavoidably higher front ends and the rear tyre can hit your bum on steep stuff if you’re under 6ft tall
The higher wheel axles can make the bike feel taller in tight switchbacks and thus require more leaning over
can have lower front ends and the rear tyre won’t boot you up the behind on steep drops and chutes
The lower wheel axles require less body English in tight hairpins so the bikes can feel more nimble for a given rider input
Canyon’s Torque CF8 Mullet is an example of a modern mullet bike that blurs the lines between enduro and freeride
you’re probably going to better served by a 29er
If you’re under 5ft 6in then a 29er is likely going to feel too big
These models use a 29in wheel up front (for maximum stability
speed and rollover) paired with a 27.5in wheel at the back (to improve agility and bum clearance)
They’re a great option for riders who want a fun
The Orange Switch 7 SE is a single-pivot design with a linkage to drive the shock
Although there’s less hype and grand claims made about different suspension frame designs these days (compared to the slanging matches and OTT marketing of yore
anyway) there is still a valid interest in how the designs differ from each other
The mountain biking market is now mature and experienced enough to admit that there is no single Best Suspension Design
The four-bar (or Horst Link) used to be the Holy Grail
Single pivots used to get ragged on for being crude
pretty much all suspension designs are good
They do differ in how they feel and respond (to both the trail and to the rider onboard)
Some are fussy in how precisely they’re set up
Some also require more maintenance than others
The rear shock – and how you can tune it – is arguably more important than frame suspension design these days
It is now possible to do an awful to with a rear shock to alleviate any frame design niggles you may encounter
Chances are something can be done with the rear shock to address this
The differences between them are now extremely subtle
Learning about suspension theory and setup is more important
The angles and lengths of the frame tubes governs almost everything in how a bike will ride
The best suspension in the world counts for nought if the geometry is poor
a bike with great geometry can often overcome any suspension shortcomings and ride just fine
What’s the best geometry for a mountain bike
This is a tricky area and one which is still full of old myths and prejudices
Long reach (the distance between saddle and handlebars
And we’re not talking just ‘good for descending’
Slack head angles don’t cause front end wandering on climbs (that’s caused by slack seat angles and/or short top tubes)
Low bottom bracket heights are generally good (for stability and for cornering)
but riders who pedal in rutted/tufty/stumpy terrain
may get bored with frequent pedal strikes and so prefer a higher bottom bracket height and accept the compromise in handling
Chainstay length is another area full of cliché
Short chainstays are seen as highly desirable
It makes bikes easier to manual but that’s about it
They can be problematic on climbs if the seat tube is too slack
making it difficult to keep the front wheel weighted
Long chainstays offer greater stability and climbing prowess
Another aspect these days is the return of standover as being high on the important list
The advent of dropper posts with 150mm+ of travel has meant that bike designers are factoring shorter seat tube lengths in their bikes now so that they can fit in long drop dropper posts
you still can’t judge how a bike will ride by looking at its geometry chart
Geometry is a combination of multiple factors that all interact with each other
One isolated measurement doesn’t govern everything
Have a budget in mind before heading to your local dealer
If you have less than £1,000 to spend then we still think a hardtail is the way to go
Sub-£1k full-sussers are going to be overly hefty and sport low-end kit that will impair your ride experience
These days you can get capable and fun full-suspension bikes for between £1,000 and £2,000
They aren’t especially light but they aren’t restrictively heavy either
And the parts package on a good £1k susser will feature perfectly good stuff from recognised brands
Sure there’ll be some cost-cutting here and there
but it won’t overly affect the bike’s ride
A lot of people are riding around the wrong size bike
The first myth to bust is that smaller bikes are more nimble/playful/manoeuvrable
Don’t buy a bike that’s too small thinking it’ll be alright
Don’t get suckered into buying the wrong size bike because it’s at a bargain price
A cheap bike that’s big enough for you and has good geometry will be infinitely better than a half-price bling bike that’s too small for you
The best way to do it is consult a size calculator (most bike brands have them), confer with other owners, and (if you’re in the 5ft10in-5ft11in height range) check out our reviews. We always add the rider height and size tested information in the specification table and we will usually comment on the sizing within with review. You should also check out our guide to choosing your mountain bike frame size
Remember that there is a degree of adjustability when it comes to fit with any frame size – you can slide saddles fore and aft on the rails
high-rise or low-rise bars – but you can never change the length of the seat tube
try-hard tester Guy Kesteven has picked Trek’s latest Top Fuel ‘Hunter Killer’ as the ideal
high velocity weapon for his ongoing E-bike scalping agenda
Guy Kesteven gear of the year 2024 Credit: MBR
Considering how many thousands of bikes I’ve ridden since my first bike test in MBR issue #3 in 1997
the fact that a pair of no-frills trail bikes can still make me genuinely giddy and excited for every ride is worthy of celebration
and the reason the Trek Top Fuel and Voodoo Canzo top my 2024 list of standout gear
The Trek Top Fuel kept Guy firing on all cylinders this year
Teo progression rates thanks to this new Mino-Link
The Top Fuel has piled on the pounds since the original bike was introduced
but it’s also got a lot more capable
is why it’s so damned expensive when everyone else has gone minimal on margins to try and compete with last year’s bikes being chopped out cheap
Props for Trek trying to protect its profits and those of its dealers though
I’m telling you this is my favourite bike this year
yet I’ve spent the first 300 words explaining how it’s nothing really new
not sold in its best format and it’s expensive
there are tons of bikes that don’t flag up any of these issues
and the sensible ‘judged on stats and price’ advice would definitely be to pick one of those
There’s no wheelie-bar on this Top Fuel dragster
The thing I haven’t talked about yet though is ride
and here’s where the Fuel really does come out on Top
While the geometry and suspension kinematics are only slightly tweaked
the incremental adjustments perfectly match the evolution of the bike
Being half-a-degree slacker in the head angle
and a 6mm lower BB height let me push the Trek harder on descents and through turns
The seat tube is shortened to allow a longer dropper post
Half a degree steeper in the seat angle put me in a more aggressive position to exploit the 150g – 200g weight saving from the all-new frame construction
The Top Fuel is laser-focussed on speed thrills
If you’ve read or watched my reviews over the years
you’ll know I’m one of those lactic acid craving die-hards for whom climbing performance is still really important
The latest incarnation of Trek’s distinctive digressive tuning tastes in the shock rewards riders like me
who love the taste of blood in their ragged breath on climbs
So while the Top Fuel ABP suspension layout if fundamentally neutral and mobile
there’s more than enough support and snap through the pedals to keep any thoughts of surrendering to motor-assisted riding at bay for a while longer
with its low bar position keeping the nose nailed down on steep tech ascents
but hunt down motability MTBs on a lot of trails if you’ve got the legs
and a smart (if relatively heavy) parts-pick
means it’s capable of carrying the chase onto serious descents too
Especially if you conduct the minor surgery required to extend the shock stroke to 55mm and open up its full 130mm travel potential
this doesn’t impact the pedalling performance
so you’ve got more traction and less speed choke over slap rocks and ruts without losing the lust for acceleration
then you can alter the progression of the shock from 14 to 19% in less than a minute by reversing the Mino Link
That gives more drive out of turns and backsides
because if you’re not already picking them off
because I have some sort of realism to my generally delusional goals
The Carbon Top Fuel shaves some much-needed grams and enhances the bike’s natural pace
All the above is just what I found out in my time testing the TF9 alloy model
but since then I’ve been running my own custom build on the 2.7kg carbon-framed version
And while that’s definitely ‘heavy’ by race bike numbers
that’s an actual weight of a ready-to-ride chassis
not a claimed weight that’s missing stuff like axles
Trek’s refined its trail platforms over many iterations
and that tactic has paid off with the Top Fuel
and favourite big fat Schwalbe Rock Razor 27.5 x 2.6in rear rubber option first to see how rude I can make the Top Fuel
it’s a bike that’s made the back half of my year a lot faster and more fun
and pissed off my regular riding mates in the process
I reckon the fact it has the potential to be so many different bikes goes a long way to excusing the high price of entry too
then you can currently buy the Gen 3 for silly low money as the bike industry repositions itself from its current slogan – ‘survive until ’25’ – to ‘still sick in ’26’
While combing through geometry charts and back and forth emails checking compression tunes with designers are a crucial part of the bike testing process, it’s ultimately the emotions created by that engineering that matter most. That’s why I’m a huge fan of Voodoo’s can-do Canzo
I’m cranking up onto some of my favourite enduro test trails on a bike you can buy from Halfords for just £1,350
OK ‘just’ £1,350 is still a lot of money in the grand scheme of things
But in this day and age it’s about the lowest you can spend on a new full-suspension bike and get something that not only rides well
DH-focused landscape MTB seems to have become for many people
it’s pretty much the same price as just the Push ElevenSix shock on the Privateer 161 I’m trotting around on
And 2.66 times less than the frame price of the Santa Cruz that’s leading my gang of riding buddies
just ahead of a Forbidden that costs around eight times what your local motoring superstore would want for the Voodoo
and vape flavoured air-fresheners that could buy you
the Canzo’s simple thrills shine through
Despite the comical fiscal disparity, I’m feeling quietly confident though; the tyre compound might be more Lego than Blu Tack, and when you pull them off – after inevitably puncturing the supplied inner tubes – you’ll find out they’re wire beard, not folding. They are Maxxis Forekaster’s though
and the harder compound and 29in sizing means they roll fast enough to offset the 16.5kg build
While I’m looking down at completely blank top caps
that tell me the fork is the very base spec
RockShox 35 fork – which weighs the same as a Boxxer dual crown – it’s actually incredibly supple
Genuinely more supple than most £1,000 forks
due to the lack of air-spring seals and a super-simple rebound-only damping adjustment
The lack of an adjustable compression circuit on the open-tune RockShox rear shock
means the back end is outrageously fluid too
but compared to any other bike I’ve tested this year
And I’m confident saying this as I rode an £11k rig on the same trails a few days later and genuinely felt like it was struggling to match the Voodoo in terms of suspension performance
This purple fade paint job even looks boutique
Rolling into the first long and rowdy descent
I initially backed off for fear of blowing the inner tubes on the random rocks littering the singletrack rut like SAM missiles on Maverick’s Top Gun run
Clocking that the rest of the crew still weren’t actually far ahead was enough to let go of the adequate base-model Shimano brakes and try and close in to combat range though
not only really bring home how smooth the suspension was
but also appreciate the totally-up-to-date progressive geometry that meant the inevitable tyre slips provoked grins rather than gritted-teeth terror
Going wide and letting it slide was enough to trigger the missile lock alerts on the bikes ahead
I was closing to gun range or going down trying
Watching the big bike pilots hammering desperately on the pedals as the cheap Forekasters devoured the remaining gap to their slow-rolling
sticky rubber on the flatter mid-section was nothing short of a euphoric experience
Heckling one mate about the fact his 170mm travel Fox Factory 38s seemed to be struggling against my RockShox 35s (that were only getting 110mm
Spitting out sideways onto the track at the bottom totally drunk on underdog have-a-go-hero mojo
Laying the power down and keeping up with mates on way more expensive machines was cat-nip to our Guy
And it’s been the same on every ride since
Genuinely laughing and whooping out loud at not having to worry about the usual multiple damper dial and pressure settings
and just totally losing myself in the ride instead
Not even concerned about the shorter-than-advertised travel because
and the smoothness of that first 110mm is sublime
Happy to ignore the fact the rudimentary damping definitely gets a bit delirious and random after a minute or more of proper flat-out hammer
by that point I’m borderline hysterical at the comedy overachievement of the Canzo anyway
I’ve got the dropper post that’s now standard on all bikes since the launch too
so I don’t have to worry about dropping the seat by hand
But then I didn’t really mind that anyway either
because it set up the whole ‘knife in a gun fight’ vibe perfectly
and I’m old enough to remember how to raise and lower saddles accurately with them clenched between my thighs
Supple suspension encouraged Guy to open up the taps
and developed with as much – if not more – passion and expertise as most bikes multiple times their price
7Mesh’s Spruce Hoody stood out in a sea of mediocre (expensive) waterproofs
the Spruce – and the other gear in 7Mesh’s WTV200 fabric range – actually finally delivers the performance that so many other products have promised and failed on
you’re likely to stay as dry in the rain as every ‘waterproof’ I’ve tested
But that was a) too fragile to ever go near a bush
and b) a coalition of Germans and dolphins have made it illegal
by the time a bit of water has seeped through the close-knitted face fabric you’ll be as damp as you would be from the build-up of sweat from a waterproof
Especially as that Deutsch dolphin combo has also made effective PFC water-repellent treatments so the ‘breathable’ membrane will be sat under a drowned outer fabric in a few minutes
The difference is that you won’t be sweating half as much in the times when it’s not raining
and it wicks and dries super-fast if you do get wet
with windchill-killing performance that keeps it remarkably warm for its weight
and despite the fact it’s from premium brand 7Mesh
seeing as I reckon you’ll wear nothing else once you’ve got it
And if you don’t want the XC/Gravel back-pocket-jacket vibe of the Spruce jacket
Specialized’s Genie shock does what it says on the can
This Specialized-developed exclusive colab with Fox just looks like a fat can air-shock from the outside
because Genie is a suspension feel magician
but unpicking the circlip and sliding the outer sleeve back reveals up to five volume spacers
Adding or removing these clip-on spacers literally takes seconds and completely changes the progression of the first two thirds (or something like that) of the shock stroke
Tuning the air volume of the inner and outer chamber gives the opportunity to really customise the spring curve
Guy’s blend of XCR levers and Pro E4 calipers gave him the best of both worlds
After years of old designs blowing up forearms faster than they slowed you down
Hope has jumped back to the top of my braking chart with the Tech 4 E4 brakes a couple of years ago
and agriculturally-prominent bite-point adjust of the Tech 4 lever
As a rider with a bad brake-dragging habit
I don’t need the 15% power bump that lever added over the old Tech 3
A little burlier than your average XC brake
Which means I was stoked when Hope finally paired its super-clean
carbon-blade XCR XC brake lever with the E4 caliper this year
The result isn’t crazy-powerful like SRAM’s new Maven
and it’s a lot more expensive than the CNC brakes from breakthrough-brand Lewis
It’s got a superbly-modulated feel at the bar though
doesn’t cook like the XCR Pro X2 can on long descents
and you get all the multiple anodised colour options and ‘handmade in the Pennines’ factory or event support that’s made Hope a household MTB name in the UK for 35 years
Halfords is set to become more than just your go-to for entry level bikes and wiper blades after increasing its premium range of bikes by 60%
Halfords will now offer 20 bikes that cost more than £1,000
which it classes as premium mechanical bikes
It’s unclear how many of these e-bikes and regular bikes will be mountain specific, but Halfords will launch a new Boardman MTR 9.0 at £2,400 this month: it’s an alloy 29er with 145mm travel, a 150mm fork, 12speed SLX and Maxxis tyres. Perhaps we’ll see Halfords stocking one of the best mountain bikes of 2024
The Voodoo Canzo Pro is one of the most desirable bikes we’ve seen come out of Hafords in a long time
Halfords is actually a huge player in the bike industry at entry level
3,000 mechanics and two wheeled stuff now accounts for 25% of its business
It wants to move more into the vacuum left by the loss of CRC Wiggle
which went into administration earlier this year
Halfords also says this premium sector has grown by 25% in the last three years alone
This is great news for those of us looking to buy a new bike beyond that starter entry level bike. The competition to build great mountain bikes under £1,000 is ferocious and that’s led to an explosion in quality and quantity, with bikes like the Calibre T3 amongst the best beginner mountain bikes
That’s traditionally not been the case at higher price points
with fewer bike supermarket-type brands like Go Outdoors competing in this space
The Calibre Line T3-27 remains one of the best entry level bikes around… if you can get hold of one
Halfords says the new ranges will top out at £3,800
but there are strong hints it’ll go higher than that if this expansion into the premium space is a success
You’re unlikely to find gucci names like Santa Cruz
Specialized or indeed any other big brands in store though
as Halfords almost exclusively sells its own models
Voodoo and Boardman will be boosted by the expansion
built and retailed by Halfords under licence
which does stock other company’s brands and includes Specialized
RockShox suspension and a paintjob pinched right off a Stumpjumper
The MTR gets 145mm travel with a 150mm fork
comes with a RockShox Oike Select fork and a Deluxe Select+ shock
although the bike’s 66° might be a touch steep
We’ve not ridden it but the spec and geo look good
it’s got a 140mm RockShox Pike fork and Deluxe Select + shock
there are only three sizes and the biggest L boasts a modest 478mm reach
Here’s an exclusive first look at the new VooDoo Bokor 29er hardtail and Canzo 130mm-travel full-suspension bike, which will be available to buy from March 2011 via Halfords in the UK
The £679.99 Bokor 29er has a double-butted 7005 alloy frame kitted out with a 100mm-travel Suntour Raidon X1 through-axle fork with remote lockout
Shimano Deore 27-speed shifting and Maxxis Ardent tyres
the Canzo has a tapered head tube and uses RockShox’s new Sektor RL 140mm-travel fork with 15mm through-axle
A RockShox Ario R shock with rebound adjust is used out back
with Shimano’s SLX taking care of shifting
Tektro Auriga Pro discs look after braking and Maxxis Minion tyres come as standard
Look out for full tests of the new bikes on BikeRadar soon. We loved the 2010 Canzo and the 26in-wheeled Bokor
so it'll be interesting to see how the new versions shape up
VooDoo's Canzo combines an old-school looking frame with the latest kit
Our expert reviewers take you through the wide range of Halford mountain bike models and separate the wheat from the chaff
leaving a decent shortlist of proper bikes to weigh up
There are over a hundred different Halfords mountain bike listings
we mean bikes that are called ‘mountain bike’ on Halfords website
But by filtering two must-have features (hydraulic disc brakes and at least 9 speed gears) the field quickly narrowed own to 21 models to choose from
It’s from these bikes that this guide covers
Normally it can be easy to narrow the choice down even further by choosing the best mountain bikes that are best suited to your intended style of mountain biking ie
This is not the case with Halfords mountain bikes
The good – and bad – thing about mountain bikes from Halfords is that they are all just… well
They are all normal trail riding mountain bikes (with the exception of a couple of Voodoo bikes which are aimed at slightly more aggressive riders and technical terrain)
This means you are unlikely to end up with an inappropriate or overly-specialist bike
The bad thing is that it can make it very difficult to decide on which Halfords mountain bike to go for
Thankfully there are some filtering-out questions you can ask yourself
Do you want a hardtail or a full suspension bike
Both of these questions can be hard for some people to answer
In which case you don’t need to answer the wheel size question as there’s only 27.5in (AKA 650B) full suspension models to choose from
we’d advise going for 29in if you’re tall and 27.5in if you’re short
there isn’t a wild difference between them these days
Choose the bike with the best paintjob if you prefer
now you should pretty much know what sort of mountain bike you want (£1000 27.5″ wheel full suspension bike
We’ll split the range of Halfords mountain bikes via their brand (Carrera
Boardman and Voodoo) and go into each model from there in increasing level of price
You will notice that beneath each product summary is a ‘View Deal’ link
If you click on one of these links then mbr may receive a small amount of money from the retailer should you go to purchase the product from them
Carrera Kraken is a £450 hardtail with 27.5in wheels and an aluminium frame with generous standover that affords confident proper mountain biking
Build highlights are the 120mm travel Suntour fork
the Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and Shimano 3×9 drivetrain
There are a couple of Carrera Titan X models and,whilst the £850 version is no doubt tempting
it just has too many compromises for us to safely recommend it
This £1ooo veriosn however is a different kettle of fish
Decent alloy frame and RockShox Recon fork both offering a useful 130mm of travel
Coupled with wide-range SRAM Eagle gearing and hydraulic brakes from Shimano
the Titan X is a great first full susser for loads of folk
The Boardman MHT makes a change in attitude for Boardman and mountain bikes
Essentially it signals a move away from the cross-country end of the spectrum and a welcome move to the more all-round trail bike remit
A nicely made alloy frame with a pretty good set of geometry numbers and a nicely thought out spec sheet that sees no hidden cost-cutting or teeth-sucking cautionary choices
there is a cheaper version of the Boardman MTR in the range but
again it just has too many compromises gone into speccing it to meet a price point that we don’t think it’s the best bang for buck MTR option
The Boardman MTR 8.6 is a capable 140mm travel trail bike that has no doubt come about due to other high street (and mail order) brands offering full sussers around the £1k mark
We’re all winners when it comes to cut-price capable bouncy bikes
They product three mountain around the £500 mark with this Bantu being the regular 27.5in wheel option
Sporting an aluminium frame an a typically ‘Voodoo’ hard-riding attitude (the brand shares a fmaily tree with cult favourite Kona bikes)
a modern rangy stance and a stable front head angle
The spec list may not compare well to other brands around £500 but this is a well designed bike that’s designed to upgrade over the years and be your new best friend
Read our review of the Voodoo Bantu
This is the £500 hardtail rocking high volume 2.8in ‘Plus’ tyres
‘Plus’ simply means ‘really fat’
kind of like suspension but without the extra weight
It’s rare to find a Plus bike at this price and this one is impressively specced too: 130mm travel Suntour fork
Clarks hydraulic disc brakes and 2.8in Kenda tyres
Read our review of the Voodoo Wazoo
Voodoo Bizango is a sub-£700 hardtail with 29in wheels and is actually a hell of a bike
We’ve always loved the previous Bizangos and this new version updates to modern long ‘n’ slack geometry and ups the spec to include a stout 34mm-legged suspension fork (130mm travel)
Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and SRAM NX 1×11 gearing
Read our review of the Voodoo Bizango
The alloy Voodoo Bizango is one of the genuine modern classic hardtails
There’s good reason it has won an award in our coveted Hardtail of the Year tests on multiple occasions
The new carbon Bizango looks set to take all that’s great about the Bizango and polish it up a notch
A carbon fibre hardtail with pretty sorted geometry and no-nonsense finishing kit for a thousand quid
Read our review of the Voodoo Bizango Carbon
Voodoo Canzo is a £1,000 full suspension bike with 27.5in wheels that is the upgraded and middle-spec Voodoo 140mm travel full susser
Should you save up and get the £1,200 Zobop below
Mainly because we think the extra height of the fork on the Canzo improves the bike’s handling
Read our review of the Voodoo Canzo
The 2020 Zobop-E initially moved from Bosch to the newer Shimano Steps E7000 motor but due to supply-vs-demand issues they’ve not upgraded the motor to a Shimano Steps E8000
There’s no denying that it’s a capable and very fun ride
Read our review of the Voodoo Zobop-E
Looking for a Halfords mountain bike you’ve seen but can’t see it listed above
Chances are it hasn’t made our cut due to it either lacking hydraulic disc brakes or having 9 speed (or more) gearing
the new Carrera Titan X looks like it could take cheap thrills to a whole new level
Carrera Titan X mountain bike from Halfords Credit: Halfords
Halfords has long been a destination for excellent value mountain bikes
with the likes of Voodoo and Boardman offering excellent performance at realistic prices
Now the automotive superstore chain has launched a new Carrera Titan X boasting an alloy frame
Although I’ve seen the best full-suspension bikes hit this price point before (the Polygon Siskiu D5
and it had a very basic spec with no dropper post as standard
So this Carrera Titan X is a potential hot ticket for anyone looking to get into the sport
or dip their toe in the world of full-suspension bikes
The new Carrera Titan X could be a great way to get into mountain biking without breaking the bank
Forming the backbone of the Titan X is an alloy frame with a single-pivot linkage design where the shock is driven by a swing-link under the top tube
Carrera doesn’t list the rear suspension travel
but it’s likely to be in the region of 120-130mm
Using an air shock at the back ensures that it’s easy to set-up correctly for a wide variety of rider weights
Up front is a Suntour XCR34 LO-R Air fork with 130mm travel
34mm upper tubes and rebound damping adjustment
but give the advantage of being easy to set up and lighter than coil sprung options
Clean lines and a well-considered spec point to a bike that should be ready to shred out of the box
Shimano’s simple but robust Cues drivetrain features on the Titan X
with a wide-range 10-speed cassette that should allow you to climb all but the steepest ascents
There’s a short 45mm stem and wide 780mm bars for confident
and I’m happy to see WTB’s fast-rolling yet grippy Trail Boss tyres front and rear
by using smaller 27.5in wheels instead of 29in options
there’s a dropper post with 125mm of travel and an internally routed cable remote on the handlebars
Something few bikes at this price can boast
and large – with the reach starting at 424mm for the small
while the chainstays are relatively short at 435mm
even if the seat tube and head tube lengths are a bit on the tall side compared to more expensive
With great bikes from Voodoo and Boardman also sold at Halfords
the motoring giant is showing it also knows its stuff on two wheels
Halfords have unveiled their new range of VooDoo mountain bikes which includes four hardtails – one of which is a 29er – two full-suspension machines and two dirt jump bikes
Designed by legendary frame builder and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member Joe Murray
will be available exclusively in the UK from March 2011
The high-end Wanga hardtail comes with a RockShox Revelation RL140 fork with 15mm bolt-through axle
Avid Elixir R disc brakes and Shimano Deore XT shifting kit
and hit the all-important Cycle to Work pricepoint of £999.99
the £679.99 Bokor (18in and 20in only) uses Suntour’s 120mm-travel Epicon LOD fork with 15mm axle
Shimano Deore for shifting and Tektro Auriga Comp disc brakes
There’s a 29in-wheeled version of the Bokor too
with a 100mm-travel Suntour Raidon X1 through-axle fork with remote lockout
At £479.99 the Hoodoo (pictured below) comes in 16in
18in and 20in sizes and has a Suntour Raidon X1 fork
Shimano Alivio for shifting and Tektro Auriga disc brakes
The entry-level Bantu offers a Suntour Raidon fork and Shimano Acera shifting for a budget £379.99
The Canzo is VooDoo’s entry-level full-suspension bike and is priced at £999.99 – perfect for the Cycle to Work scheme
It comes with RockShox’s new Sektor RL 140mm fork up front
with a RockShox Ario R shock with rebound adjust out back
Shimano’s SLX is used for shifting while Tektro’s Auriga Pro disc brakes perform stopping duties
the £1,599.99 Zobop gets a RockShox Revelation RL150mm fork and Monarch RT3 rear shock
Shimano XT for shifting and Avid Elixir R disc brakes
VooDoo bike designer Joe Murray said: “We're extremely excited about the 2011 range
By teaming up with Halfords we’ve been able to ensure VooDoo’s unrivalled level of specification and attention to detail is priced extremely competitively.” Stay tuned for full reviews of the new bikes on BikeRadar