The Domane is a tremendously smooth bike thanks to Trek’s IsoSpeed rear damping system and high volume, 32mm tubeless tyres

Not to be confused with Crash Bandicoot’s large-headed nemesis, Sonder’s range-topping trail ripper, the Cortex GX AXS is a bike that combines solid trail-orientated geometry with ridiculous value for money. While there’s an awful lot to like about the bike and it’ll certainly please a lot of riders, a lack of refinement in a number of areas sadly holds it back from shining in the best full suspension mountain bikes segment Sonder Cortex GX AXS - Technical details The Cortex is Sonder’s 120mm traveled 29er that’s designed to fill the boots of downcountry, and all-mountain riding.

A Ti-rrific bike, ready for adventure

Whyte’s new T-140 RS 29er plugs a very obvious mid-travel, big-wheel hole in the range of the UK brand. And it does so with an outstandingly sorted, ‘favourite from the first ride’ feel that’s up there with the very best full-suspension mountain bikes, especially if you’re really into technical trail riding. Need to know New, 29in version of Whyte’s popular T-140 trail bike Frame travel is 135mm and all models run 140mm forks, hence the name Whole ride feels absolutely spot on straight away with a tenacious yet flowing trail connection At 15.3kg (33.7lb) it at the heavy end for trail riding Three sizes only; so no XS or S sizes in 29in Now if you’re wondering where this bike has been, it’s not because Whyte was late to the 29er party. Au contraire. Its original T-129 was a genuine cliché-deserving game changer when it was introduced a decade ago and the S-120 was arguably too early for the ‘down-country’ boom. Yes, a faster rolling, bigger wheel version of Whyte’s multi-MBR test winning T-130 and T-140 trail bikes has definitely been missing for a while though. And with the brand largely caught up in corporate cost saving exercises, ahead of a sale that got sorted last year, the project got delayed. Covid wasn’t the best time to develop a new bike either. But it’s finally here and while the alloy front end looks similar to existing Whyte frames it’s totally fresh, the most obvious difference being the sleeker, straight top tube and external seat collar. The back end shares dropouts with the T-160 but again it’s new, the T-140 sporting a bridgeless seat stay design to keep the chainstay length well under 440mm. The addition of weather sealed cable/hose entry points, super wide main pivot and lifetime warranty on the pivot bearings will also allow you to sleep easy, even when the rain is bouncing off the roof. Whyte retains its signature four-bar linkage/ shock-yoked suspension, where the switchable ‘Shape.It’ shock chip knocks 0.7º off the head angle and 8mm off the BB height in the low setting. How it rides It’s the dynamics of that linkage however, and the tuning of the Fox Performance Elite DPS shock, that Whyte designer (also two time and current National Enduro Series Champion) Sam Shucksmith spent most of his lockdown locking down. And considering how many brands have refined the classic four-bar linkage suspension layout since it appeared on bikes 30 years ago, and how good most of them feel, the fact that Shucksmith’s work makes the Whyte feel noticeably better is seriously impressive. We could – and did – pull lots of parallels out of comparable bikes from Canyon and Specialized during testing, but the bottom line is that the Whyte just feels more right, more of the time. It’s slightly more sensitive to grab grip in desperate climb and corner moments. But with a split second more advance when it deliver the power to edge you up, or out of a …Continue reading »

The revamped race bike's saddle goes up and down at the press of a button.

The Marin Rift Zone XR - XR stands for eXtra Rad - bumps the front travel up to 140mm, adds a coil shock and beefs up the build.

First ride review of the 2022 Antidote Woodsprite, a carbon trail bike handcrafted in Poland. Taking on the trails with a balanced mixture of agility and composure.

While mountain bike brands are jumping shark to launch new gravel models and tap into a new market for dirt bikes, renowned road bike marque, Cervelo, is swimming against the tide with its first mountain bike. The key question being, is it any good compared to the best XC race mountain bikes? Need to know First MTB from the premium road/triathlon brand Super light weight but lifetime tough 29er race hardtail Punchy under power, but not a punishing ride Steep angles and prices, but it is a premium brand “We’ve ridden ‘roadie mountain bikes’ and we wanted to make very sure this wasn’t just one of those.” It’s a promising opening line from Cervelo Marketing Head, Brian Bernard. The last time Brian talked to me about an XC race hardtail was at the launch of the latest Santa Cruz Highball. A bike Brian had a big part in developing before he moved across to Pon family sibling Cervelo. So that was another promising aspect. But how different can a race hardtail really be? And does Cervelo’s ZHT-5 feel like it’s genuinely got dirt in its DNA, or is it just a cosplay dirty weekend bike for posh roadies to keep at their second home in the country? Most XC race hardtails aren’t as slack as the latest XC full suspension bikes and the ZHT-5 reflects that in its 68.5º head angle. The 74º seat angle hasn’t been nudged forward for steep climb poise either. The reach on the large test bike was generous at 470mm though, and the bottom bracket swings low between the wheel axles. While it’s not the lightest production hardtail option (Specialized and Unno are fighting over that title) the 810g, 840g, 870g, 895g frame weight spread from S-XL certainly isn’t heavy. Those impressive frame weights are achieved with tube profiles and lay up lessons from Cervelo’s lightweight R5 road race bike. While the stiff, sturdy bottom bracket area owes a lot to the Aspero gravel race frame. Thankfully, it uses a threaded bottom bracket, not a press fit time bomb, and it’s still 310g lighter than the aero profiled Aspero. Despite the low weight you still get a lifetime warranty with no maximum rider weight limit either. Two bottle cage mounts make it marathon friendly, the rear axle comes with a detachable tool handle. There’s plenty of room between the stays for 2.4in tyres. Yes, the headset top cap cable/hose internal routing makes later maintenance awkward, but it does keep the lines super clean. It also removes the need for weight adding, reinforced entry points on the frame tubes. The seat stays blend into the sloped top tube via a subtle shelf around the seat tube. That’s the obvious difference compared to the otherwise very similar, but dropped-stay Santa Cruz Highball. The Cervelo seat post is also a larger diameter than the Highball, 30.6mm vs 27.2mm, dramatically opening up the choice of compatible dropper posts. One really cool feature is that the rear brake is mounted …Continue reading »

Along with a new brand identity, Ibis is expanding their lineup with an ebike. Yes, an ebike. A big, burly, beast of an ebike.

Price: $2799.00 | Model Year: 2022 | A comfort-oriented road bike with lightweight carbon frame, fork, handlebar, and seat post. Single speed drivetrain is clean and quiet with Gates CDN belt drive. Available in two frame sizes and three color schemes. Custom dot-matrix LED display panel with voice control, fingerprint ID locking, optional smartphone app.

An updated version of the long-travel 27.5 bike is now available for pre-order with new colors and build options

Spaceship or work of art? The new Ibis Oso 2023 eMTB with Bosch Performance Line CX motor and 750 Wh battery in test

It’s an aggressive yet versatile electric bike that’s designed to expand the range of all-around trail riding and all-mountain style riding with a big battery and Shimano’s EP8 drive unit.

As far as the best gravel bikes go, carbon fibre is the go-to material when it comes to frame and fork construction. And while it does have many benefits, metal frames can deliver an equally impressive riding experience, too, and I’m not talking about aluminium, steel or titanium here but rather magnesium. Yep, you read that right. The Vaast A/1 Allroad gravel bike represents a different take on the gravel bike recipe; a left-field, high-value option poised to do battle in what has become a rather claustrophobic space.

The latest generation Trance X E+ range comes out swinging with a ton of new features and performance upgrades over the previous versions and one of the things that is really notable on the new bike is how beautifully integrated and ‘clean looking’ its appearance is. The bike now features an LED information display seamlessly integrated into the toptube and there’s a new ‘super compact’ controller for switching through the various power modes. Would you say Giant have really upped […]

Price: $1995.00 | Model Year: 2022 | An efficient city style electric bike available in 17

If you’ve followed Aventon over the years you’ve likely noticed how its evolved in the e-bike space. Its e-bike lineup has held some crowd-pleasing favorites, and they’ve added even more diverse offerings to it, but over the last 18 months or so we’ve really seen refinement from Aventon’s e-bikes. That focus on refinement is what

Great for tamer trails, but its potential is limited by conservative geometry and a raw-feeling ride

A lack of mudguard mounts holds it back from being the ultimate ‘real world’ road bike

A pair of shoes for the Brit, a pint for the Irish rider, and a bit of Tasmanian forest for the Aussie.

Maple leaves and British racing green for the last big enduro race of the seasons.

The latest Domane is true to the original racer, yet massively versatile

Meticulously manipulated to optimize performance

A budget hybrid bike that isn't afraid to get adventurous

The Engwe EP-2 Pro is an affordable and powerful folding e-bike with fat tires and a suspension fork for when your adventures take you off the beaten path.

The Swift S1 e-bike features a powerful motor, fat tires, and a folding design; all features that make it perfect for riders looking to explore areas beyond the pavement.

The Himiway Escape is a powerful and affordable e-bike with off-road finishes that will have you searching for more adventurous options on your urban commute.

The RideWrap Tailored Frame Protection Kit uses a custom design to match your frame and offer up to 95% coverage, protecting your investment from scratches and dings.