Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Mountain Bike Rider

Hands up who watched the World Championships in Scotland last month. I only followed the racing via the livestream, rather than pushing against the tape among the midges and drizzle. But even on screen the atmosphere and drama seemed to leap out of the pixels. With an impressive haul of medals for the Brits, and coverage across more categories and events than we’ve been used to in the past, it feels like mountain biking is really heading in the right direction as a sport. In the mag this month we’ve got a round-up of new bikes for 2024. We’ve been doing them for a few years now, but I can’t remember one that’s as jam-packed with fresh metal as this one. In total we’ve squeezed 28 new models into this…

“The right line is death,” Will Warren calmly tells us. “The left line is just… horrible,” he adds. “Take your pick.” Not the words you’d usually expect from a guide halfway up a mountain, but he’s not wrong. As the riders in front of me creep into a chute ahead, I’m not exactly filled with confidence, and there’s an alarming amount of squeal echoing towards me, from both brakes and riders. Up until now the trail’s been on the nervous side of technical, boulders the size of softballs roll and boil under our wheels, greased with a liberal dash of mud. The gradient’s been steep but not ridiculous, and it’s given us 500m of trail to settle in and get a feel for the grip. Of which there is nowt.…

HAWCOMBE HEAD, EXMOOR 37.2km (23.1 miles) The Hawcombe Head bridleway is a masterclass in flowy singletrack, and although there are some other cracking descents on this big loop, it’s definitely the head chef. You’ll start on open heathland, but the skinny singletrack, occasional tree, and ravine to your right-hand side will keep your speed in check. Not for long, though. The further you go, the faster it gets, purple heather flashing by before following the river back down to the road. Top tip: wear gloves as the gorse comes at you from both sides. GPS download bit.ly/HawcombeHead STICKS PASS, HELVELLYN 19.67km (12.1 miles) We love this ride. Helvellyn is a big, brutal mountain that challenges your strength and skill, but it’s also beautiful and features the best mountain descent in…

£4,399.99 • 29/27.5in • vitusbikes.com NEED TO KNOW ● Affordable full power e-bike with 170/160mm travel ● Alloy frame designed around custom Bafang M510 motor ● Removable 630Wh Bafang battery and colour display ● MX wheels, so 29in front, 27.5in rear, both with 2.5in tyres ● Five power modes: Eco, Eco Plus, Trail, Boost and Race ● Prices start at £3,299.99 for the E-Mythique LT VR With e-bike prices fast approaching £15k, it really seems like the sky’s the limit in terms of pricing. And while those super-bikes are super-cool, Vitus has taken a very different approach with the new E-Mythique LT. Instead of head-in-the-clouds thinking, the design team at Vitus has set its sights on a more down to earth and infinitely more difficult task: produce the best-performing e-bike…

£3,999 • 29in • giant-bicycles.com NEED TO KNOW ● Entry-level e-bike platform with 125mm travel and 29in wheels ● SyncDrive Sport motor has 75Nm torque and is paired with a 625Wh battery ● RockShox 35 Silver fork pumps out 140mm travel ● FlexPoint suspension design reduces complexity and cost ● Colour LCD controller and display is clear and easy to use ● Stance E+ 2 available for £3,499 The Stance E+ 1 is a shorter-travel 29er e-bike that strips back some of Giant’s proprietary suspension tech to deliver a ride that is both smooth and affordable. It still boasts a full power Yamaha-made SyncDrive Sport motor with 75Nm torque which is combined with a 625Wh removable battery to ensure that you’re not being shortchanged on either power or range. The…

£4,100 • 29in • specialized.com NEED TO KNOW ● Lightweight 29er XC race hardtail designed for speed ● Fact 11m carbon frame with threaded BB and 148mm dropout spacing ● RockShox Reba RL fork delivers 100mm travel ● SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain with full-range 10-52t cassette ● The cockpit has a 60mm stem and 750mm bar to enhance control ● Four frame sizes: S-XL with entry-level bike for £3,300 Who is the Epic hardtail for? That’s the question I posed to the product manager responsible for Specialized’s XC race bikes. His response was both honest and telling. “It’s for anyone that wants an XC bike, but can’t stretch their budget to get a full-suspension bike.” And it makes perfect sense. At 10.68kg without pedals, the Epic Hardtail Comp is a…

IT COULD BE THE TIPPING POINT FOR MID-POWER E-BIKES bosch-ebike.com NEED TO KNOW ● Compact, lightweight motor option from Bosch ● System weight of 4kg made up of 2kg motor and 2kg battery with 400Wh capacity ● Claimed 55Nm max torque and 600W max power ● Customisable modes and extended boost ● 250Wh range extender ● Uses Bosch’s existing System Controller and Mini Remote to display battery charge and select power modes Is 2023 the year of the ‘diet’ e-mtb? With Specialized dropping the new Levo SL, and multiple brands joining the fold with new models, there have been plenty of strong signs already, but if you’re still not convinced, Bosch’s new Performance SX system is surely the 100ft tall, giant, wacky, waving, inflatable arm-flailing tube man. You see, Bosch…

If you talk to any decent rider about cornering or jumping, or watch videos on YouTube explaining the same, they all talk about pushing in the turn or jump. This is often accompanied with the person doing the pushing motion with their arms as they face you and explain. This is a huge part of the problem. When this information is received by any rider trying to improve their cornering, they think that the push is supposed to be quick, just like the person that was explaining showed them, and that it’s supposed to be with their arms. In actual fact it’s neither. The push that confident, composed riders are describing is with their legs, and it lasts all of the way around a corner, or all of the way…

£4,399 • 29in • zyrofisher.co.uk THE RIDER SEAN WHITE Position Freelance writer/tester Mostly rides Forest of Dean, Mid Wales Height 6ft 2in Weight 87kg THE BIKE ■ 29er trail bike with 130mm rear travel and a 130mm fork ■ Ride Aligned proportional geometry with size-specific chainstays ■ Size options: S to XXL ■ Shimano XT drivetrain and UDH hanger so also compatible with SRAM’s T-Type Transmission ■ Bottle cage and tool/tube mount but no internal frame storage OK, I’ll put my hands up and admit it, I’ve jumped ships. As mbr’s official hardtail holdout I’ve been relentlessly championing rigid frames, with my previous mbr longtermers being an aluminium Nukeproof Scout 290 Pro followed by a steel Sonder Signal ST GX; both 29er trail hardtails with a strong following in the…

Trek has been on-it these last few years, turning over old bikes and releasing updated models faster than you can say “enduro race-ready”. The previous generation Slash only came out in 2021, while the space in-between has been filled by a reworked Fuel EX, the brand-new lightweight Fuel EXe e-bike and an updated full-power Rail. Trek is going places, and it’s not hanging around. The new Slash is a big jump from the old bike, with the most obvious change being a high-pivot and idler: Something GT and Cannondale have also employed with the Force and Jekyll, and smaller brands like Forbidden and Norco have pioneered. Is Trek just chasing the zeitgeist, or are there real advantages to be gained, seconds won, and glaring holes filled from the old bike?…

mbr Congratulations Charlie! It’s nearly a week after winning the Worlds at Fort William, has it sunk in yet? Charlie Hatton Yes, it’s definitely changed things a lot for me. It’s been a crazy, crazy few days. I finally got back yesterday, but it’s been amazing and I’m trying to let it soak in still, I guess. mbr World champion is a long way from the Forest of Dean (when we first met you as a kid, sessioning the jumps on the GBU trail). CH Yeah, I must have been six, seven, eight, something like that! I grew up in the Forest of Dean, riding with my brothers after school and the friends that lived in that village, and my uncle and cousins rode too. It was quite a big mountain…

£12,700 • 29in • saddleback.co.uk NEED TO KNOW ● Full carbon 29er e-bike with Bosch Performance CX motor ● 148mm rear travel, 160mm (optimised) fork travel ● 750Wh integrated batteries on Pro and Team models ● Optional frame-mounted 250Wh range extender ● Claimed weight 21.7kg (Team model) ● All models use SRAM T-Type Transmissions ● Frame-mounted Pivot/Topeak Tool Dock option Finale Ligure, Italy, the outdoor region famed for its 1,000km trail network, all within riding distance of the picturesque coastal town. The ideal place to launch an uplift-dodging e-bike? Pivot certainly thinks so, as it reimagines the Shuttle AM. So what’s new? This time the Shuttle AM comes in the form of a Bosch-powered 29er and sits neatly between the heavy-hitting Shuttle LT and the lighter, trail-oriented Shuttle SL. It…

£899 • 29in • canyon.com NEED TO KNOW ● Aggro alloy hardtail with size specific wheels: XXS, XS, S (27.5in)/M, L, XL (29in) ● Entry-level bike of three, all with 140mm travel forks ● New Shimano CUES U6000 drivetrain on latest model ● Soft compound Schwalbe tyres for maximum control ● Boost dropouts front and rear increase wheel strength If you’ve been following our Hardtail of the Year test, you’re probably wondering why the Stoic 2 wasn’t in the mix. And the answer is simple. It didn’t arrive on time to make the cut. Now that it’s here though, and with the Hardtail of the Year test still front of mind, I wanted to see how the Canyon would have stacked up in the sub £1k category of that test.…

£6,799 • 29in • haibike.com NEED TO KNOW ● Haibike’s lightest e-bike yet ● Full carbon frame gets 140mm travel ● Fazua Ride 60 motor with removable 430Wh battery ● Optional 210Wh range extender ● Four frame sizes and three models starting at £5,899 for the Lyke CF10 Haibikes have always had a unique look. Multi-faceted tube profiles, muscular proportions, and that striking hunchback top tube coalesce to form an instantly recognisable, if somewhat challenging aesthetic. It’s a tactic that’s certainly great for brand recognition, but its divisiveness has possibly lost the company a few sales along the way. This new Lyke however, well, that’s an entirely different prospect. One in which Haibike has been able to cleverly tone down its signature look without losing sight of its DNA. So…

ROSE SCRUB DC 1 €3,299 In the tradition of all good gameshows, here’s what we could have won (if we’d stayed in the EU). Yes, Rose is one of the brands that has ceased to ship bikes to the UK post-Brexit, which means you’ll have to travel to Europe to get your mitts on one of these rad new Scrub freeride bikes. Fortunately Rose has stores all over Germany, and a few in Switzerland, so you can click and collect, then head to one of a stack of nearby bike §parks to get it bedded in. The alloy frame is built tough enough to take either dual-crown or single-crown forks, and it runs a mixed wheel set-up. Choose between coil or air shocks to deliver the 200mm of rear wheel…

Dropping your outside foot, or pedal, in turns is something that we’ve all thought about. If you watch the world’s best riders they all seem to do it when they are hauling, and it makes so much sense for a number of reasons. It allows you to lean the bike, it keeps your inside pedal away from any chance of catching it on anything, it lowers your centre of gravity, and it locks you into traction in a way that feels helpful and secure. The problem with dropping your outside foot all the way down is that, when it’s the only thing you’re doing, it tends to make you rigid, stops any dynamic movement from being able to influence your grip, and locks you solid in such a way that,…

£9,349 • 29/27.5in • canyon.com THE RIDER PAUL BURWELL Position Freelance writer/tester Mostly Rides The High Weald and Surrey Hills Height 5ft 10in Weight 79kg THE BIKE ■ Full carbon frameset, 160mmtravel fork and 155mm rear travel ■ Shimano EP801 motor with Auto-Shift and upgraded 900Wh battery ■ Mullet wheels and a chunky 2.6in tyre ■ One-piece Canyon carbon bar and stem, full Reynolds carbon wheelset In my first instalment last month I made a mistake, I said the Spectral:ON CFR had Shimano’s Auto Shift gearing. But that feature isn’t enabled on this bike because it runs a 12-speed drivetrain with a conventional Shimano HG+ cassette and Auto Shift requires the LinkGlide cassette and an 11-speed drivetrain. I was confused because the Canyon website says all the new Spectral:ON bikes…

£10,999 • 29in • scott-sports.com THE RIDER BEN SMITH Position Art editor Mostly rides Forest of Dean Height 5ft 9in Weight 76kg THE BIKE ■ Scott’s range-topping carbon trail bike with 150mm travel, paired with 160mm-travel Fox 36 Factory fork and no TwinLoc ■ Fox Float X Nude shock is hidden in the frame for low centre of gravity and ultra-clean lines ■ 29in Syncros carbon wheels and chunky 2.6in Maxxis tyres ■ High-end spec includes SRAM X01 AXS shifting and Syncros Hixon one-piece bar and stem In the 'Why it’s here' blurb for my bike it says it’s because it’s the first Genius without the TwinLoc remote. Why is this such a big deal? Well, it’s because previous generation Scott Geniuses (Geniuii?) have always been hampered by Scott’s insistence…

La Grave isn’t your average Alpine bike park, with a ride to the top of the gondola dropping you off next to the Girose Glacier at a not inconsiderable height of 3,200m. There are just two runs from the top station, and they descend over wild terrain, with barely rideable, sketchy rock slabs and technical features to challenge even the best riders in the world. Catching the last lift of the day, we had the mountain to ourselves and revelled in the loose and dusty conditions, hurtling our way back down to the valley floor. James Vincent Under 5km from the start, we had already bagged an 830m summit. It was one of ‘those’ rides: type-two fun. Climb quick, lose it faster. Going across is overrated anyway, right?! Mountain biking…

MOST WANTED FIVE TEN KESTREL BOA £200 The name might be familiar but the Kestrel BOA is all new from Five Ten. It’s aimed squarely at the down-country set, meaning it’s firmly tilted towards XC in terms of stiffness but also shields your feet inside a reinforced toebox for downhill protection. Up top you’ll find a couple of Velcro straps, but also a dial BOA Fit System to make adjustments on the fly as easy as possible (and to try and mitigate the hefty price). The synthetic upper is made from 50% recycled materials and there’s a seamless overlay to minimise hotspots inside and add comfort and durability. The best bit is underneath, though. The Kestrel BOA is of course clipless, but it’s still got Five Ten’s famous Stealth Marathon rubber…

£8,499 • 29in • mondraker.com NEED TO KNOW ● Full-carbon frame and TQ system adds up to a sub-18kg e-bike ● New Zero suspension layout with 150mm rear travel ● Removable 360Wh battery and optional 160Wh range extender ● Four frame sizes and three models starting at £6,799 While the bike industry currently seems to be battling strong headwinds, no one seems to have told Mondraker. Against a backdrop of demand suppressed by rapidly rising prices, and a market flooded with excess units, the Spanish brand enjoyed growth of 50% last year. To thank for this enviable success are rising sales of its e-bikes, and chiefly the Crafty trail/enduro model. That 160/150mm-travel category seems to be the sweet spot for the brand at the moment, and where demand is strongest.…

£5,349 • 29in • canyon.com NEED TO KNOW ● Trail-orientated e-bike with 140mm travel ● Aimed at covering distance over varied terrain ● Carbon frame options starting at the CF 7 for £4,599 (alloy bikes use old frame and Shimano motor) How many of you have fired up Netflix after dinner and next thing you know it’s 10pm and you still haven’t chosen something to watch? Decision paralysis can affect us all, and while a wasted evening in front of a TV is annoying, it doesn’t have the financial consequences of choosing the wrong bike. There’s a fine line between serving specific customer needs more appropriately, and ensuring you don’t confuse them into inaction. So with three high power, full-suspension e-bikes already on Canyon’s books, adding a fourth bike to…

£7,149 • 29/27.5in • canyon.com NEED TO KNOW ● Built for blasting self-shuttled bike park runs ● Has 175mm of travel paired with a 180mm fork ● Mullet wheels and four frame sizes across a three-model range ● Shimano EP8 motor with 85Nm and 520W peak power ● Choose to run either 720Wh or 900Wh battery ● Split top tube accommodates custom gas tank-inspired drinks bottle ● Three models with prices starting from £5,749 If you’ve ever braaped an imaginary throttle as you’ve powered out of a tight switchback, or stuck an inside foot out as you’ve landed a jump into a berm, then Canyon’s new Torque:ON freeride bike will elevate your supercross fantasies to new heights. Hey, there’s even a Ken Roczen special edition colourway to satisfy the frustrated…

£7,299 • MX or 29in • forbiddenbike.com THE RIDER GUY KESTEVEN Position Bounty hunter Mostly Rides Yorkshire Height 5ft 11in Weight 70kg THE BIKE ■ High-pivot idler trail bike with mixed 150/130mm travel ■ Full 29in or MX build options ■ Evolved ‘Inverted four-bar’ suspension design with idler ■ Properly proportional geometry, with size-specific chainstay lengths ■ Latest SRAM GX AXS T-Type Transmission There are so many massively competent trail bikes available right now that it takes something truly special to stand out. But within minutes of riding Forbidden’s new top-end Druid when it launched earlier this year, I was already plotting some kind of hostage scenario, just so I could keep hold of it for longer. Having already spent a ton of time on the original Druid, I was…

SCHWALBE TACKY CHAN TYRE £68.99 - £74.99 (tested) SPECIFICATION Weight: 1,340g (Super DH 29x2.4in) • Width: 60mm (2.36in) on 30mm internal rim • Casings: Super DH, Super Gravity, Super Trail • Compounds: Addix Ultra Soft (tested), Addix Soft • Sizes: 29x2.4in (tested), 27.5x2.4in • Contact: schwalbe.com Iam not sure whether to laugh or cringe at Schwalbe’s latest tyre pun. And it’s not only the name that’s unconventional; the tyre itself comes at downhill performance from a whole new angle, which means it rides with a very distinct character. More on that later. Only coming in 2.4in width in two diameters, the Tacky Chan focuses on all-out speed for racing, whereas the majority of rivals target all-round grip and maximum braking traction first, with rolling pace a lesser concern. Key to…