Table of contents for September 2025 in Mountain Biking UK

For this year’s Bike of the Year test, we decided to focus on just one category – trail bikes. But if these mid-travel, wholly muscle-powered machines aren’t your thing, don’t fear – many of the included brands make enduro and e-bikes too, with the same suspension platform and similar dynamic geometry. So, if you like the sound of, for example, the Canyon Spectral, but want something bigger-hitting, take a look at the Canyon Strive. Likewise, if you want a bit of a helping hand on the climbs, the Spectral:ON or Strive:ON should fit the bill nicely. Another change is that we haven’t set a price bracket, in part because in the past, that led to higher-end brands being excluded. Again, though, most companies also offer more affordable models, which share…

This year’s Red Bull Hardline Wales will be remembered for two things – Scottish rider Louise Ferguson being crowned the inaugural women’s winner and 18-year-old American star Asa Vermette taking a surprise victory in the men’s race. Lou became the first female rider to tame the treacherous Dyfi Valley track in the finals, despite not having pieced together a full top-to-bottom run during practice. “I can’t explain how much it means!” she told us afterwards. Her victory comes after she was one of the first women to complete a full run down the Hardline Australia course earlier in the year, albeit with two crashes along the way. Asa, meanwhile, beat Hardline veterans including Charlie Hatton and Rónán Dunne to take the men’s title with a wild run over the slippery…

LESS IS MORE Propain want their new, reduced-travel Hugene to redefine the modern trail bike German direct-sale brand Propain have updated their Hugene trail bike. They claim the latest iteration is more agile, playful and efficient, as a result of the changes to its design, which are intended to reframe what a ‘true’ trail bike is. Chief among these is a drop in rear-wheel travel from 140 to 130mm – the idea being that shorter-travel bikes make it easier to push both rider and machine towards their performance limits. However, Propain say the Hugene’s descending capabilities aren’t compromised, thanks to builds that feature plenty of kit more frequently found on far burlier bikes (and can be customised via the brand’s online spec configurator). The carbon fibre frame is all-new, but…

Emil Johansson has enjoyed enormous success in slopestyle riding. For those out of the loop, that’s where riders perform ridiculously complex, video game-like tricks over a succession of different-shaped jumps and features, at events such as Red Bull Joyride, held in Whistler, Canada. Since being crowned FMB (Freeride Mountain Bike) World Tour champion in 2017, aged just 18, the super-talented Swede has gone on to win the Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Championship (SWC) four times in a row, notch up 13 slopestyle victories at Crankworx festivals across the world – in the process becoming a three-time Triple Crown winner – and also drop in at the infamously gnarly Red Bull Rampage freeride comp. Tom Marvin caught up with ‘EJ’ on the MBUK Podcast to find out more about his riding,…

Lewis may not be a household name among mountain bikers yet, but the Chinese brand are rapidly making a name for themselves, going up against industry leaders such as Shimano, SRAM and Hope. The LHT Ultimates are their premium brakes for downhill, enduro and all-mountain riding. They bear more than a passing resemblance to Trickstuff’s exotic Direttissima stoppers and have been designed to offer similar performance, yet cost less than half the price of the eye-catching Italian-made anchors. Bling brakes Opening the box, the black and gold colour scheme is instantly arresting, as is the CNC machining. The use of titanium for the bolts and pistons, with the latter also featuring ceramic insulation, helps keep weight down to 270g (front)/285g (rear), including pads, which Lewis claim is 39g a pair…

With his Sprung video magazine series and Earthed films, Alex Rankin set the standard for mountain bike filmmaking. Known for his pan-and-zoom camerawork and eclectic music choices, he inspired a whole generation of riders. We caught up with him for the MBUK Podcast to find out how it all came about and what he’s up to now. 1 SPRUNG WAS ‘INSPIRED’ BY SKATE AND BMX VIDS “I was really influenced by skateboarding videos – Powell-Peralta and Bones Brigade stuff. I’d only skated for two years, when I was 13/14, but that’s such an influential time. I went into video because of that, did five years at college/uni, and bikes were a theme all through. Milan [Spasic, co-creator of Sprung], a mature student, and I used to go riding together. We…

Whyte Bikes have been around since 1999, and in that time, they’ve been responsible for some pretty ground-breaking machines, from their debut PRST-1 and the dual-crown-forked, 150mm-travel Whyte 46 to boundary-pushing modern trail, enduro and electric bikes. However, during a recent visit to their Gloucestershire design studio, we came across perhaps their most out-there creation ever – this prototype super-high-pivot machine based on the aforementioned, Jon Whyte-designed PRST-1, with its monocoque frame and linkage fork. The dual-link Plus Fours fork is present and correct, but out back, the normal big, one-piece rear triangle is gone, replaced with a single-pivot swingarm pivoting just below the top tube/seat tube junction. This drives a vertically-mounted, coil-sprung shock, instead of the usual horizontally-orientated air shock, while the chain is routed via a home-brew upper…

Fox’s Enduro Pros are some of the – if not the – most comfortable knee pads I’ve ever worn. Thanks to the silky-smooth sleeve and the way the protective insert can move (slightly) over the top of it when pedalling, it’s easy to forget you’re wearing them on the trail. There are no straps to worry about, and no issues with the pads slipping down your legs, thanks to an excellent fit. Pricing is competitive too. The only thing to note is that the slimline Enduro Pros only meet the CE Level 1 safety standard, rather than the higher Level 2 achieved by Rapha’s Trail knee pads – my previous go-to – and others. All in the detail Taking care of protection inside the Enduro Pros is a (removable) Koroyd…

EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE Shimano and SRAM dominate the groupset market, especially at the top end, but there are other players too. Microshift, TRP and Box all offer complete drivetrains, while other brands offer cranksets, cassettes, chains and more. MICROSHIFT Microshift groupsets usually feature on low- to mid-priced bikes, with the brand offering the Acolyte, Advent and Advent X. The same cable-pull ratio is used across all three, allowing components to be mixed and matched. While this ratio makes them incompatible with Shimano components, Microshift also make replacement parts for Shimano groupsets, based on the Japanese brand’s cable-pull ratios. MICROSHIFT ACOLYTE Components: Shifters, rear derailleurs, cassettes Acolyte is only available as a 1x8 drivetrain, with cassettes ranging from 11-42t to 12-46t. The rear derailleur has an aluminium body and steel cage.…

OUR RATINGS We base our scores on value for money and performance EXCEPTIONAL Close to perfect (rare) VERY GOOD Not quite class-leading GOOD Will do the job BELOW AVERAGE Flawed in some way POOR Not recommended MEET THE TESTERS SINGLETRACK ASSASSINS This year we’re doing things a little differently and focusing solely on trail bikes for our Bike of the Year test. It’s an exciting category that’s really developed over the past few years, with bikes now performing better than ever. On top of covering only one style of MTB, the way in which we’ve pulled the bikes together for this year’s edition is a little different too. Instead of asking brands to submit their choice of bikes in a given price bracket, we’ve taken Alex and Rob’s top picks…

Electric mountain bikes are becoming more and more powerful as advances in motor and battery technology push their development ever further. However, with some e-MTBs now offering up to 1,000W of peak power, is there an argument to say they’ve become too powerful? The erosion of popular trails is already a hot topic, for starters, thanks in part to the increased accessibility offered by e-MTBs. With all that extra electrical power on tap, could mountain bikers be tearing up the trails more than before? We decided to do some digging to find out more about this and the other arguments being made about increased e-MTB power. How powerful are modern e-bikes? Bikes with DJI’s incredible Avinox motor – including the Amflow PL and Forbidden Druid-E – boast 1,000W of peak…

MAXXIS REKON 3C MAXXTERRA EXO £64.99 www.extrauk.co.uk Maxxis’s Rekon is targeted at fast cross-country and light trail use, and has the tallest tread blocks on test, which offer solid grip in slow, technical corners and good braking traction. Despite the aggressive lugs, its tightly packed centre tread and ramped knobs give it competitive rolling speed and acceleration. Measuring just 2.28in wide on a 30mm rim at 25psi, it’s considerably narrower than its 2.4in labelled width and has a less composed feel on the trail than wider rivals. The EXO Protection casing is supple and conforms well over roots and rocks, aiding traction when climbing. At 884g, the Rekon is heavier than the Michelin and Kenda, likely due to its chunky tread. However, it was the least stable tyre on test,…