Pinarello is a relative newcomer to the world of XC racing. Until 2021 the Italian brand had most of its attention focused on producing road and cyclocross bikes for the…
Mountain Bike Rider
This could be the biggest payday in mountain biking! There’s €100k up for grabs for the first rider to win a World Cup on a Gates belt drive – equivalent to winning 27 World Cups back-to-back!
One rider will scoop €100,000 in 2025, prize money for winning a World Cup race using a belt drive and gearbox bike, making history as the first rider to do…
All the XC team news for 2025: Jenny Rissveds to Canyon, Jolanda Neff to Cannondale, Pidcock still on a Pinarello, and Hatherly to the road
The winter break from the 2024 season has been pretty lively, with riders switching teams like it’s like musical chairs. We’ve seen some shock departures and some more expected announcements,…
New OneUp platform clip pedal claims to be the thinnest on the market, and it’s Shimano cleat-compatible
A new pedal from OneUp claims to be the thinnest clip-in model in the world. But this is no ultra-minimal XC component – OneUp’s new pedal is rated for downhill…
UPDATED: Who is riding what and where in 2025? All we know about the DH World Cup teams and rider rosters for this upcoming race season including Matt Walker to Trek Factory Racing
It’s 2025 and that means the new downhill season is soon to be upon us. If you’ve been keeping an eye on the socials over Christmas, you’ll know that we’re…
The Merida Ex enduro is universally praised, and the 9th edition returns this September with just 80 spaces up for grabs
The Merida Ex presented by Shimano returns for 2025 on 12-14 September with a combination of great riding and good times. There is space for only 80 riders, with entries…
Manitou’s highly tunable Mattoc Pro fork delivers impressive trail bike performance with minimal maintenance
Manitou is one of the original MTB suspension fork brands alongside RockShox and Marzocchi. It’s been 25 years since it were a top choice for trail use though. Which is…
I’ve tested a dozen lights this winter and Exposure’s Six Pack is literally brilliant… I just wish the mount was more robust
Six Pack is the biggest of Exposure’s self contained bar lights and the MK14 Reflex+ is the equal brightest too. It’s not the smartest or most expensive light Exposure makes,…
Aluminium is “the elephant in the room” for global emissions, according to Trek, but the latest gen Marlin hardtail cuts CO2 by 53%
Trek says aluminium is “the elephant in the room” when it comes to its global emissions, with 95% of all its CO2 coming from suppliers who source materials and build…
The 7Mesh Spruce jacket is so good I’ve basically lived in it all winter
Fellow mbr tester Mick Kirkman rightly raved about the 7Mesh Chilco jacket after I tipped him off about its miraculous weather-beating warmth. For most of my high energy riding the…
No screens, no remote switches, no gimmicks: Lezyne’s Mega Drive 2400+ is one of the best night riding lights I’ve tested this winter
The Mega Drive is the most powerful of Lezyne’s 14 strong bar light arsenal but it’s simple in terms of features. Deliberately so though, the idea is to prioritise brightness,…
Best cross-country XC mountain bikes: Thoroughbred racing steeds
The best cross-country mountain bikes are about raw speed, making them lightweight, efficient and ideal for fast, flowing singletrack as well as racing.
I spent a year testing Merida’s One-Forty and it’s one of my favourite trail MTBs – you can now get a third off the usual price in this deal
Merida’s One-Forty is an excellent mid-travel trail bike that’s seriously capable, has a sorted suspension system, and gives a really user-friendly, planted ride. I used the One-Forty 6000 as my…
UPDATE! Is Atherton Bikes working on a downhill race bike with a gearbox and belt drive? Instagram post shows gearbox bike in testing
A short teaser video has appeared on the Athertons’ YouTube channel offering glimpses of what looks like a gearbox downhill frame project. Entitled ‘A.200G – Something’s cooking!’ the social video…
YT’s new Izzo is done with down-country – gets more fork travel and burlier components, but the weight creeps up
YT has grown the Izzo into a proper trail bike, increasing fork travel, the burliness of its components and the overall weight of the direct-sales brand’s shortest-travel MTB. At over…
Best mountain bike forks: XC, trail and enduro forks reviewed and rated
With fork technology evolving, the singletrack is getting faster and faster - our pick of the best mountain bike forks will help you run smoother.
Rapha’s Trail Gore Tex Pants are the best waterproof trousers I’ve tried in twenty years of testing
If it’s not currently raining, it will be quite soon. This is the reality of winter mountain biking, but get the right kit, including some of the best waterproof mountain…
I didn’t gel with SRAM’s old AXS shifters, but the new Pod Controller is totally intuitive
Ever since SRAM first launched its electronic AXS drivetrains for MTB about five years ago, it’s offered a wireless gear shifter. The brand has been through various shapes and designs…
Is this the future of lightweight e-bikes? New motor and battery system could build into 14kg e-mtb
Just when we thought DJI had killed off the mid-power e-bike with its uber powerful, yet compact and lightweight DJI Avinox drive unit, than a new player pops up with…
Endura’s MT500 Polartec jacket is cheaper than my favourite cold-weather top, and more practical too
Endura’s MT500 fleece is a new hooded mountain biking jacket designed to offer ‘incredible temperature regulation’. It uses multiple textures and panels in different zones, along with a swathe of…