Mountain Bike Rider

Published by Time Inc. (UK) Ltd mbr is the UK's leading magazine for trail riding, mountain bike enthusiasts. Published since 1997, mbr aims to inspire readers to just get out and ride! with every issue, by providing the very best expert advice about where, what and how to ride. Every edition delivers the ultimate mix of inspirational riding features, with extensive bike and product reviews, along with superb advice and reader involvement - plus free pull-out route guides.

Crisis? What crisis? • Plain to see in this year's HOTY test, bikes are bucking the cost-of-living trend

MEET THE TEAM • Decades of riding and writing about bikes goes into every issue, this is who we are…

Big picture

HAVOK REIGNS • After a long hiatus, slight relocation and a whole lot of digging, Havok Bike Park is back; welcome to Havok 2.0

AL-ABOARD • Four new alloy e-bikes at down-to-earth prices

HOT STUFF • WHAT WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH

LATE SUMMER LOVIN’ • Classic UK holiday hotspots that really shine when the crowds have gone

HEADSPACE • New guidance reveals how to spot concussion, and how best to treat it

HOW TO TREAT CONCUSSION

TRANSITION RELAY CARBON GX AXS • With its barely-there Fazua motor, the Relay carries the mid-power baton forward in style

CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2 • It’s got more suspension tunes than a Hitchcock movie, but will this Moterra thrill us or chill us?

SUBSCRIBE TO mbr AND GET A FREE MUC-OFF BIKE CARE ESSENTIALS KIT

HARDTAIL OF THE YEAR 2023 • It needn’t cost the earth to ride a machine that will rock your world; we put eight of the latest hardtails through their paces to see which deserve our ultimate entry-level accolade

CARRERA FURY £680

JAMIS HIGHPOINT A2 £650

POLYGON XTRADA 5 £600

VITUS NUCLEUS 29 VR £649.99

CALIBRE LINE T3-27 £1,000

ON ONE SCANDAL SX £999.99

VITUS SENTIER 29 £949.99

VOODOO BIZANGO PRO £950

Conclusion

Our test winners’ stablemates

Mountain Bike Rider

HOTTEST NEW TECH FOR 2024 • Get the inside scoop on all the latest bikes and gear

SWEAT AND SLATE • We ride 140 miles through Snowdonia on Cycling UK’s newest and gnarliest long-distance trail

STORM FORCE • Manon Carpenter may have retired from downhill competition, but her new role as a trail advocate is achieving results far beyond the race track

NEW STARS REVISITED

LISTEN TO YOUR FRIENDS (SOMETIMES!) • Experienced riders can be a goldmine of advice if you’re new to the sport… here’s how to sift out the genuine nuggets

“BRAKE WHERE IT’S SAFE”

CLASSIC ADVICE NO1: “KEEP YOUR WEIGHT BACK (ON STEEP TRAILS)”

CLASSIC ADVICE NO2: “PULL ON THE BARS (ON FAST DROPS)”

PB'S CANYON SPECTRAL:ON CFR • MONTH 1: For a man of PB's advancing years, automatic gear shifting could be a true game-changer. He'll work out how to set it up soon…

IN THE SHED

BEN’S SCOTT GENIUS ST 900 TUNED • MONTH 4: Ben restores the blissfully quiet ride of the Genius after some detective work

JAMES’S PIVOT FIREBIRD PRO • MONTH 11: The Fox Float X2’s external damping adjusters save the day for James

SEAN’S SONDER SIGNAL ST GX • MONTH 17: Progressive geometry and 29in wheels are a sign of the times, but did Sean give the Signal the thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

GIRO MERIT SPHERICAL HELMET

YOUR TESTERS

GUSSET S2 EXTRA SOFT GRIPS

mbr ratings explained • The scores on the doors

FASTHOUSE TRACE SS TECH TEE

FASTHOUSE CROSSLINE 2.0 SHORTS

DMR STAGE 2 MTB RAIL SADDLE

100% GLENDALE GLASSES

Bars & stems • A sorted cockpit gives you the...