If you want to get some good riding in this winter, don’t limit yourself to trail centres — there are plenty of natural winter routes out there too.
Mountain Bike Rider
Best mountain bike trousers/pants: regular and waterproof
All these mountain bike trousers on test will get the job done, but the expensive stuff will be a little bit more durable and more comfortable to wear
Glentress an accident hot spot, with around 50% of mountain rescue callouts originating from the popular MTB trail centre
Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team (TVMRT) is expecting a record number of callouts this year, and the majority have involved mountain bikers at Glentress, according to a report by the…
27.5in aint dead! Lapierre’s new Overvolt e-bike can be mullet, 29er or full 27.5in at the flip of a chip
French bike brand Lapierre has updated its all-mountain e-bike for 2025, with five new models in the Overvolt AM range. They all run the new Bosch Performance Line CX Gen…
Castelli’s Prosecco is the most effective base layer I’ve ever tested, it wicks sweat faster than you can make it
Italian brand Castelli has been providing kit for pro road teams for decades and offers various product tiers from amateur or training gear, right up to top-level World Tour outfits.…
The clocks are going back this weekend, but with the Magicshine Monteer 12000 on your bars, who cares? Get the insanely powerful MTB light for 23% less than usual in this deal
Riding MTB trails after the sun has gone down is a wildly different experience from hitting them in daylight – even on trails you know really well. And with sunset…
Merida’s new eOne-Eighty is the most capable long-travel e-bike I’ve ever tested, at 27kg I’d hate to have to muscle it over a gate though
Merida started down electric avenue early, it developed sweet riding e-bikes before many other brands even got switched on to the concept. This helped the Taiwanese behemoth tie in with…
Merida’s two new e-bikes are night and day: a super heavyweight with full power, and a lightweight SL with Bosch SX
Merida has two new e-bikes out, one is just about the biggest hitting full power behemoth of a bike you’ll ever see, while the second is a true SL designed…
Mondraker’s new Crafty e-bike might not be the most agile descender, but it made me laugh out loud on the climbs
As the most successful bike in Mondraker’s substantial range of e-bikes, the new Crafty has big shoes to fill. ‘Don’t mess it up!’, or slightly stronger words to that effect,…
Best mountain bike jackets for staying dry in wet weather
Staying warm and dry in is easy with the right outer layer: we put the best mountain bike jackets to the test. Light shells and storm jackets.
Cotic’s new Rocket e-bike is ultra expensive, and gets a lowly 418Wh external battery, but Cotic says it has a “gorgeous ride feel”
Cotic’s first ever e-bike is called the Rocket, as you’d expect from this famous ferrous brand it’s made from steel with an alloy back end, but rather unexpectedly it’s got…
The Gorewear Lupra is a top-rated MTB jacket for fending off those winter downpours, and it’s currently at the lowest price I’ve seen it with a massive 37% off
With winter on the way, now is a good time to pick up a new MTB jacket and the Gorewear Lupra is a top choice – particularly when it’s reduced…
All of this for just £1,500? Calibre’s Bossnut is back, with more travel, bigger wheels and a higher quality frame
After a four year hiatus the Calibre Bossnut is back. It’s got bigger 29in wheels, more travel and now comes with a dropper seat post fitted as standard. Yup, the…
Pivot’s new Shuttle LT gets the exotic Bosch Performance CX Race motor, but the older and heavier 750Wh battery making it a strange proposition
The Pivot Shuttle LT has a new look for 2025 and gets the fancy Bosch CX Race motor. That’s the good news. The bad news is Pivot has fitted the…
Will Brendan Fairclough ever ride Red Bull Rampage again? Not likely, on the strength of these comments
Brendan Fairclough won’t be at Red Bull Rampage in 2025, after revealing just how “gutted and butt-hurt” he is about finishing in 11th place at this year’s event, his worst…
Nukeproof and Ragley are gone: step forward Merida’s new Big Trail, one of the few properly radical hardtails left
The original 2020 Merida Big Trail started as a collaboration between Merida and UK dealers wanting something more rad than the average trail hardtail. Four years later it’s become available…
POC’s VPD Air Flow knee guards are supremely comfy and cool… and on sale right now at 63% off!
The POC VPD Air Flow knee pad takes its design cues from roadie bib shorts, it’s the lightest and most minimal knee protection offering from the Swedish brand and targeted…
Downhill racing shows “brilliance, and moments when I’m bored watching,” says World Cup’s Greg Williamson
For the best part of 30 years, Will Longden has been involved in downhill racing. Starting as top rider himself, he progressed on to managing the Madison Saracen team when…
Why Innerleithen’s mountain bike centre won’t now be housed in a renovated textile mill
Innerleithen’s promised mountain bike innovation centre will not now be housed inside a renovated textile mill, after its costs ballooned. A redeveloped Caerlee Mill had been the preferred site for…
Best mountain bike saddles: Make sure you’re sitting comfortably
We've ridden the backside out of our shorts to draw up this list of the very best mountain bike saddles available for all types of trail riders.