The Marin Rift Zone EL is a new lightweight e-bike straight out of California, it comes with the punchy Bosch’s SX motor, 29in wheels and tyres built for dust. It’s…
Bikes
The DJI Avinox motor in Amflow’s PL Carbon Pro is obscenely powerful, but I found the lightweight chassis and trail bike attitude at odds with the extreme drive unit
The Amflow PL Carbon with DJI’s Avinox motor has put the cat among the pigeons. In 30 years as a mountain bike journalist, I can’t remember another bike that has…
Santa Cruz ditches the Heckler (and VPP!) for the new Vala: Bosch powered, two flip chips and a smaller battery
Santa Cruz has just unveiled the Vala – a brand new all-mountain e-bike that replaces the similarly intentioned Heckler. Instead of a Shimano EP801 motor like its predecessor though, the…
Hope’s handmade HB.916 is dull and dead to ride… but in a really (really) good way
High pivot bikes with idlers have been trending recently, but are they all hype like the Emperor’s New Clothes or do they offer genuine ride advantages? Multiple brands including Forbidden,…
The new Santa Cruz Hightower is an enduro weapon… and plenty of riders will hate it for that
The Hightower was designed as the Santa Cruz for everyone. Everyone with deep enough pockets, anyway. It’s got 145mm travel, 29er wheels and relaxed but not silly-slack geometry, and the…
The Canyon Spectral:ONFly’s dynamic ride quality left me smitten, but the small battery ran out of energy before I did
This is Canyon’s new Spectral:ONFly Ltd, a lightweight, low-powered e-bike, but one that shares the same geometry and suspension travel as one of MBR’s most highly-rated e-bikes – the Canyon…
I’m a huge fan of Trek’s high-octane Top Fuel 9, and the latest version is the best yet – but it could be even better
I was a big fan of the previous alloy Top Fuel from Trek, as were Danny and Alan when they tested the last Top Fuel 8, and this latest version…
Sonder’s Evol is a good back-to-basics enduro bike, but adding wireless gears puts it in the ring with some heavy hitting competition
Sonder Bikes has grown out of the Alpkit stable, where affordability meets good design and rugged build-quality in outdoor equipment. The comprehensive range now runs to 14 different bikes, from…
Lightweight, lively and nimble: Cannondale’s Habit LT is a proper trail bike, not an overbuilt enduro rig
As one of a handful of trail bikes with a very similar shape and suspension design, Cannondale’s Habit LT had a hard job convincing me it was a truly unique…
Why the brilliant new Santa Cruz Bronson makes me feel sad… and safe, at the same time
Santa Cruz says it’s learnt a lot about mixed wheel bikes since launching the Bronson 4 as its first MX bike, and it’s loaded those lessons into the new Bronson…
The Yeti SB165 is my new American dream bike after it helped me to victory in an epic alpine enduro race
Arguably the most boutique of boutique brands, there can’t be many of us who haven’t fanaticised about owning a Yeti at some point or other. The brand’s been doing things…
I’ve tested every generation of Specialized’s full suspension Stumpjumper, and the latest version with the Genie shock tech is the best yet
Specialized’s Stumpjumper Evo is without doubt, one of the best mountain bikes on the market. And I’m not just throwing that statement out there lightly… the Stumpy Evo has the…
I loved the ride quality of Trek’s latest high-pivot Slash, but a bent idler means I’d have to think long and hard about buying one
With high-pivot suspension, mullet wheels and multi-adjustable frame, the latest Trek Slash is about as modern a bike as you’ll find in 2024. It’s more than just trendy though, this…
With a cutting edge frame and custom Yamaha motor, Giant’s Stance E+ 1 excels on price and looks
Giant’s Stance E +1 makes a compelling option if you’re in the market for a top budget e-bike. It looks fantastic, it comes with a punchy Yamaha motor, and it…
It’s easy to pick holes in Yamaha’s first e-mtb, but the Moro 07 is so much more than a statement of intent
Most of the best electric mountain bikes are designed around a second party motor, but not the Yamaha Moro 07. Instead, Yamaha built its first e-mountain bike around its own…
Testing the Polygon Siskiu T7E was a rollercoaster ride, with a terrifying battery ejection, but fixing the issue made it my budget e-bike test winner
Polygon builds on the success of the popular Siskiu T series analogue trail/enduro bikes, by going all in on a sleek new e-bike version with the same progressive geometry and…
The Specialized Chisel FS is a cut-price Epic with the pace to go racing on a budget
Specialized has taken its latest carbon Epic XC/DC range and translated it into aluminium to create the new Chisel FS. The result is an affordable, but still seriously rapid, impressively…
I’ve tested hundreds of e-bikes, but I was blown away by how much fun I had on the Decathlon Rockrider E-EXPL 520S given the amazing price
Decathlon’s entry-level Rockrider E-EXPL 520s proves that e-bikes don’t have to be expensive to be fun. Outdoor specialist, Decathlon offers a massive range for full-suspension e-bikes and the Rockrider E-EXPL…
The Marin San Quentin 1 is the most progressive hardtail I’ve ever tested, but a few compromises stop it reaching full potential
If you’re looking for a radical hardtail, at a down-to-earth price, one bike stands head and shoulders above the rest. That bike is the Marin San Quentin. Clearly inspired by…
The Neuron:ON fly CF9 is Canyon’s first sub-20kg e-bike, and it kills it on flowy singletrack
Canyon is far from a newbie when it comes to building e-bikes, the direct sales brand has arguably the best electric mountain bike out there, in the Spectral:ON CF9. What…