Drop bars do not belong on mountain bikes. I’m not just talking about aesthetics, although they do look pretty weird, I’m talking from a control perspective. Have you ever been…
Mountain Bike Rider
“It can be intimidating, but once everyone’s gotten the macho posturing out the way it’s welcoming” – how it feels as a female journalist in the bike industry
It will come as no surprise to many of you that I find mountain bikers to be one of the most welcoming and considerate community I’ve encountered. As someone who…
Deviate’s first e-bike is a none-too-subtle high-pivot marauder, and the Kurgan boasts some clever features that further separate it from the hordes
Deviate Cycles has built a loyal fan base from its home in the heart of Scotland, centred around a small range of high-pivot idler bikes. The launch of its first…
The Specialized Status 2 is the perfect holiday bike for Alpine tourists or bike park weekends: it’s cheap, fast and fun, but ultimately safe and composed
Californian and sun-kissed, the Specialized Bicycle Company is a bit of a bike-industry Golden Child. The brand has an enviable reputation for performance, an S-Works range that’s a top choice…
Is this the ugliest, most expensive e-bike ever?
It’s been a few months since the dust settled on the industry’s biggest trade show – Eurobike 2025 in a steaming hot Frankfurt. But what hasn’t settled is the interest…
I’ve tested trail bikes for 20 years, and while performance has never been better there can only be one winner of our 2025 Trail Bike of the Year award…
The best trail bike of 2025 isn’t necessarily the lightest, the one with the trickiest drivetrain, or even the fastest. Instead it’s the machine that best balances all those elements…
Bored of Jelly Babies? The new Torq Energy Jellies deliver a punchier energy hit and taste delicious, but they’re not cheap
I bumped into Richard from Torq up at a cool gravel bike event called Dalby Grit, and like some dealer of illicit substances, he hooked me up with my first…
Are World Cup fans tuning out of Discovery+ and TNT Sports after the £30.99 a month paywall, and turning to social media instead?
Most World Cup fans are following the action via social media in 2025, instead of relying on more traditional channels like Discovery+, according to the latest data from WBD, which…
Trek’s new alloy-framed Fuel 8 is over £1,000 cheaper than the outgoing model, and small changes help it rip even harder on the trails: but at 17kg it weighs nearly as much as some e-bikes
Mid travel trail bikes are theoretically the sweet spot of modern mountain biking, but the reality is that sales are stagnant in the sector if they don’t have a motor.…
Trek updates the Fuel EXe with more power, bigger battery and a new name, Fuel+ while existing EXe owners can retrofit the TQ HPR60 motor too
Trek has relaunched its ill-fated SL e-bike, the Fuel EXe, which now comes with more power, more travel, more component choice and a new name. The Fuel+ uses a revised…
Vittoria’s new Mostro is right up there with the Maxxis Assegai for supple trail damping, but you won’t believe the weight of this thing
Italian tyre brand Vittoria is massive on the road bike side of things, but yet to make it big on dirt, where Maxxis, Continental and Schwalbe make some of the…
Why did e-bike-only brand Forestal make a regular-powered mountain bike called the Cygnus? I’ve ridden it and there are flashes of genius
While the entire mountain bike world is figuring out how to turn regular bikes into e-bikes, Forestal has done the opposite with the Cygnus and turned one of its eebs…
I spotted Deviate’s new Kurgan e-bike hiding in plain sight at the Ard Rock enduro: with a high-pivot suspension design and 165mm travel it could be Scotland’s answer to the Forbidden Druid CorE
Deviate is about to launch its first ever e-bike, called the Kurgan it gets 165mm travel via a high pivot idler suspension design, Bosch CX motor with the new display,…
The Rapha Summer Sale is live, I kitted myself out with a mountain biking outfit and saved a staggering £240 – here’s how you can too
I’m a big fan of Rapha and have owned many of the brand’s pieces over the years. My go-to trail trousers are by Rapha, and they are still going strong…
Propain’s new Hugene is a “specialist” trail bike with less travel and a new geometry
Propain has updated its short travel trail bike, Hugene for the first time since 2023. It now comes with less travel, room for longer droppers, and a whole new frame…
Lou Ferguson’s ride at Red Bull Hardline Wales 2025 was a turning point for mountain biking, and I can’t wait to see what comes of it
We all know Red Bull Hardline as the brainchild of Dan Atherton, who seems to have a talent for imagining lines from nothing, and creating the techiest, toughest downhill tracks…
98% of us ride illegal trails, and most of us do it regularly, according to our latest poll: just why do footpaths, cheeky tracks, and loamers hold sway over bridleways?
Most mountain bikers are riding unsanctioned or illegal trails on a regular basis, with loamers, footpaths and ‘cheeky’ stuff all fair game, according to our latest poll on Facebook. That’ll probably…
Schwalbe’s Nobby Nic Soft is a Magic Mary for people who like to pedal, with great all-weather grip, but the range is massively confusing – here are the only options you want
Schwalbe’s Nobby Nic used to be the tyre I dreaded finding on a test bikes. However, those sketchy days drifting in the wilderness are no more – a few years…
Canyon’s Neuron:ON e-bike is surprisingly fun to ride, and the new CLLCTV edition looks even more of a hoot, but two things immediately put me off
Canyon has just unleashed a bigger, burlier, radder, version of its Neuron:ON e-bike called the CLLCTV edition. This is the first new e-bike we’ve seen from Canyon since the German…
SL e-bikes aren’t dead yet! Instinctiv’s Ocelot is light, stealthy, and gets a Swiss motor you’ve probably never heard of
Instinctiv is hoping to keep the SL e-bike flame alive with its svelte new Ocelot, powered by the Maxon Bikedrive Air motor. Neither are household names in the mountain bike…