Park Tool DS-1 - Digital Scale Tool

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Wheel size: 29in | Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL | Weight: 13.25kg (29.2lb) | Suspension travel: 130mm front | Rating: 10/10 Jamis bills the Highpoint A2 as a true all rounder and it’s easy to see why. With big 29in wheels to roll over bumps better and a 120mm travel coil-sprung Suntour XCM 32 fork to take the edge of the harshest impacts, it’s designed for speed, but not at the expense of comfort. Wheel size: 26in (XXS), 27.5in (XS, S), 29in (M, L, XL, XXL) | Frame sizes: XXS, XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL | Weight: 13.2kg | Suspension travel: 100mm front | Rating: N/A

Reasons to avoid: Old school XC geometry with steep head angle and short reach means it’s a handful on technical terrain.

2. Trek Supercaliber Gen 2

Trek has been building XC race bikes for over 30 years, and it currently boasts the Olympic XCO women’s champion and world champion on its books, so it knows a thing or two about building a great race bike. Your brake levers should be angled in line with your arms as they’re positions when you ride; don’t rotate them to point straight down. 3. Set your saddle position

Wheel size: 27.5in | Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL | Weight: 14.47kg (31.9lb) | Suspension travel: 130mm front | Rating: 9/10 You’ll need tighter reins compared to a true down-country bike, but the Epic Evo is more than capable of winning on Sunday, shredding on Monday. At the cheaper end of the market, try and choose a bike with an air-sprung fork. This will let you set adjust it to suit your body weight. Also try and get a fork with adjustable rebound damping at the minimum.

SYNCROS FRASER IC COMBO

Finance is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Performance Cycling Limited FRN: 720557 trading as Tredz are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a credit broker not a lender – credit is subject to status and affordability and is provided by Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC. Terms & Conditions Apply. A hardtail is a mountain bike that has suspension at the front (a suspension fork) but has a rigid un-suspended main frame and rear wheel. The term hardtail differentiates it from full suspension bikes – with suspension at both wheels – as well as fully rigid bikes – which have rigid forks as well as rigid main frames. What size frame should I buy? Don’t worry too much about things like grips and saddles, as these can be changed relatively cheaply at a later date to suit your personal preference. Look for modern geometry While most new bikes come with inner tubes inside the tyres, a simple upgrade is to go tubeless, using liquid sealant inside the tyre to seal the air and even fix minor punctures without getting your hands dirty. So look for tubeless-ready tyres and wheels, to make the switch easier. We tested the Trek Procaliber 9.7 a couple of years ago and it blew the competition away to take the top step of the podium in our grouptest, and the current model uses the same OCLV carbon frame with effective, trail-smoothing IsoSpeed decoupler.

The frame is excellent quality and the ride quality is infectious, but much of the credit for the Sentier’s trail manners can be attributed to the tyres rather than the geometry or the suspension. Another great feature of the Sentier is that you can get it in a choice of wheel sizes. The 29in option comes in M, L and XL frame sizes, whereas the 27.5in wheel Sentier is in S, M, L and XL. The Nukeproof Scout started life as a burly, dirt jump/4-cross bike. But over the years the Scout has broadened its horizons, maturing into a capable trail bike, without ever losing sight of its more playful past. And with the latest round of frame revisions in 2022, the Scout is more capable than ever before. It’s also bang up-to-date. Wheel size: 27.5in | Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL | Weight: 13.61kg | Suspension travel: 130mm front | Rating: 9/10 If the Highpoint A2 is to truly deliver on its promise of being a true all rounder though, it’s going to need calmer steering geometry, better standover clearance, a broader range of gears and a wider range of saddle height adjustment. Wheel size: 29in | Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL | Weight: 14.88kg | Suspension travel: 120mm front | Rating: 7/10Reasons to buy: Ditching the chainstay pivot has only improved its speed. No more Brain makes suspension set-up easier. Rolls fast, more stable at speed and less interrupted by bumps, which makes them great on a hardtail, so long as the geometry is right. Wheels can be weaker and heavier though. What are the best components – like forks, brakes and tyres – for a hardtail?

Ultimately we want a bike to put a smile on our face every time we ride it, and the Vitus passes this test with flying colours. Wheel size: 29in | Frame sizes: M, L, XL, XXL | Weight: 14.03kg | Suspension travel: 140mm front | Rating: 9/10 Like all survivors, XC racing has prospered by evolving. Long gone are the three-hour mud-fests on non-challenging terrain. Courses are now shorter and more demanding, challenging riders and equipment, while pushing the visual aspect to make it more appealing for spectators.Looks nice… but is it the correct size? What to look for in the best hardtail mountain bike What is a hardtail mountain bike?