This Alpina Roca is the German brand’s first shot at producing one of the best full-face mountain bike helmets. It is focussed on lightweight and ventilation, meaning it’s more aimed…
Mountain Bike Rider
Hotstuff: what we’re excited about this month
YT Industries 720Wh battery £899 The pace of e-bikes is relentless. I don’t just mean how rapidly they tear up climbs, I mean how prolific new ones have become, how…
POC Spine VPD Vest review
Top-end Swedish brand POC has a varied line up of protection vests and jackets stretching up to almost £300 for some of its AIR range. This Spine VPD sleeveless vest…
Alpinestars Paragon Plus Protection vest review
Alpinestars’s Paragon Plus is one of the best MTB body armour vests on the market. It’s also £30 cheaper than POC’s VPD, but the basic design is almost identical, whereby…
Deity Bladerunner pedals review
Plenty of the best flat pedals, like these Deity Bladerunners, strive to be super thin. In fact Deity claims they are its lowest profile (and lightest) model. But to achieve…
Five Ten TrailCross Pro winter boots review
There are a couple of ‘Pro’ features to it, but essentially the TrailCross Pro is just a high-top version of Five Ten’s regular Trailcross. The cuff adds a bit of…
YT’s new Capra Core 1 is a low-cost enduro sled
YT has added a new budget version of the Capra to its enduro lineup, called the Core 1 it leads with a beefy RockShox ZEB Base fork, comes mullet or…
The Cotswolds 200: Ultradistance off road and through the night
The Cotswolds conjures a picture of old English perfection. An expanse of gently rolling countryside through which small country lanes carve an insignificant furrow. A sprinkling of quaint towns and…
Mondraker’s Chrono DC puts downcountry riding in a hardtail form
Mondraker is putting the downcountry into hardtails with the new DC line of its Mondraker Chrono model. Boasting a slacker head angle than its XC counterparts, a full aluminium frame,…
Scott Heater winter boots review
In the world of the best winter boots for mountain biking, the Scott Heater is like a half-way house between the Giro Blaze and Shimano MW7. It gets a full…
Ride Concepts Hellion Elite (2023) review
We’ve tested the Ride Concepts Hellion Elite shoe previously and awarded it full marks and added to our buyer’s guide to the best mountain bike shoes, but how does this…
Birzman Travel Tool Box review
Birzman’s Travel Tool box is a new addition to the brand’s range that’s much more affordable than the larger Studio Tool Box that scored 10/10, previously won our group test…
Endura MT500 Women’s Freezing Point Jacket review
Even though the trails have been rinsed, on most of my rides this winter, my go-to body muffler has been this Freezing Point Jacket from Endura. Why? Well I’ve been…
Burgtec Bartender Pro grip review
Like the other contact points on a bike (saddles and pedals) there’s a definite love/hate thing going on with certain grips. When I first tested the Burgtec Bartender Pro, I…
Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo SL review
When Specialized launched the Levo SL back in 2020, it was going where no mountain bike brand had ever gone before. And while it wasn’t really a moonshot, it was…
Leatt 7.0 HydraDri winter boot review
If you ride flats in the winter there are currently only a handful of weather-resistant shoes on the market, but Leatt has thrown its hat in the ring with the…
Merida EX Enduro: a must-ride event for 2023
The Merida EX Enduro is a must-ride event, officially (according to MBR). Three days of incredible tracks, incredible scenery and incredible atmosphere, with a night-enduro stage, evening entertainment, downright delicious…
Altura Esker Dune Insulated Gilet review
Altura’s latest line-up of biking kit is undeniably fresh and good looking. This Esker Dune gilet is a prime example, looking like the sort of down gilet you’d see in…
100% Hydromatic waterproof jacket review
Like several manufacturers, 100% uses a non-branded fabric in the construction of the Hydromatic jacket. This is classed as a 2.5-layer laminate, meaning there is a polyester/elastane face fabric, a…
Five Ten Trailcross Gore-Tex shoes review
Five Ten has come a long way since the original Impact shoe that mopped up liquid like a roll of industrial kitchen towel and resisted drying for weeks on end.…